Then two, and I’m about to prod him because I can’t take it anymore, but Conrad breaks his silence. “It wasn’t him.”
“What?”
“It was his father.”
“His father?”
“Yes.”
“B-but they said Mr. Jackson and…”
“He’s not the only Mr. Jackson, is he?”
He isn’t, no.
He’s not the only Mr. Jackson.
But for the life of me it never ever occurred to me that his dad would be involved. The man I’d never even seen. Not once in all the times that I’d been to their house.
He was always either away for business or at the office.
I saw their mom once though.
She was on the balcony, looking so small and beautiful with her blonde hair fluttering in the wind. I guess Tempest and Reed both get their dark hair from their father.
The man who had me arrested for stealing his son’s car.
“So you… knew this the whole time?”
“Yes.”
Oh my God.
I press a hand on my stomach and lean against the booth.
All this time, I thought it washim.
Because it was his car, the thing that he loved the most. So it made sense that he’d want to punish me for stealing it. And strangely, those charges hurt me even more.
Because he cared about his car more than he ever cared about me. Which I knew already but still.
He didn’t though.
Hedidn’t.
He had the charges reduced. He… he brought my brother the deal.
I can barely draw a proper breath or form a coherent thought in my head. But still, I make myself ask my brother, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why do you think?”
“You knew that I thought it was him. Youknewthat. Why didn’t you tell me if you knew?” I ask, tears welling up in my eyes.
“Because you’re naïve, Callie,” he snaps, his voice making me flinch, and my tears fall harder. “Because I didn’t want you to paint him as a hero who swooped in to save you after everything that he did. Because I wanted to protect you. Because I wanted you to be smart. I wanted you to move on and live your life and think about your future. I didn’t want you to waste your life over a guy like him. A guy you almost destroyed your life for. A guy who broke your heart and made you cry.”
God, I wish I could hide myself somewhere. I wish I could stop this shame from spreading out over my body. I wish I could stop these tears.
But more than that, I wish I could hug him.
