Suddenly I hear my mom’s voice on the line. “Luke, maybe you should come over so we can talk.”
I don’t remember driving to my parents’ house but suddenly I’m barging through the door, calling for them. “Mom! Dad! Where are you?”
My mom meets me on the way to the kitchen and I immediately notice her eyes are bloodshot, red-rimmed and puffy. She motions for me to follow her outside where dad is waiting at the patio table. The one Andi bought them.
“What the hell is going on, Dad?” I’m not in the mood for any fucking games.
Dad sighs heavily and looks deeply into this coffee cup, as if the answer is swimming there, before answering. “Andi’s father, Maxwell, and I were once business partners. We had a real estate development agreement and he’d bought a key piece of property just before he died. Max had put up all the money for that property to help me out, so my name obviously wasn’t on the deed.
When he died, the property was tied up in probate and I haven’t been able touch it. I’ve lost money on this deal for years – we own the property around it but the development couldn’t be done without the one parcel he had bought.
I realized who Andi was when she told us about her parents’ death and how she was put in foster care. So,” his voice cracked and he stopped talking for a minute.
“I had a private investigator look into her background. He found the court documents of when she was sent to the mental hospital. Then he visited the hospital and got the pictures of her when she was there. When you walked in during our conversation, I had just told Andi that if she didn’t give me that property, I would leak those pictures to the press and the board would block her from taking over her family’s business.”
He won’t even look up at me. The shame of what he’s done has taken a significant toll on him. But that doesn’t stop the intense anger and outrage at what he’s done to Andi. And to me.
I emphasize each word in a menacing whisper while my eyes blaze with fury directed solely at him. “You used and hurt the only person who has ever believed in me without question. Then you twisted everything to turn me against her.”
I’m not asking questions. I’m making statements but he still acknowledges what he’s done.
“Yes, Luke.” A tear drops from his eye but he won’t meet my hard stare.
And my response echo’s through the yard. “Why?”
“My business is going under! We will loseeverything. The property is an old, dilapidated building and it means nothing to her. She will have more money that she knows what to do with – she can afford to lose this one thing. I would’ve never given those pictures to anyone – never. I just needed to make her think I would so she would go along with it. I thought I had to put pressure on her to make sure she gives me what I need. She loves you – I thought if the pictures didn’t work, then the threat of losing you would.”
My dad is near panic and so am I. It’s not a good combination. “That’s why she said she would’ve given it to you freely if you’d just told her you needed it,” I’m just now understanding her comment from that night.
This makes my father completely break down and tears are falling down his cheeks. “Yes.”
“How the hell could you do this to us? I love her, Dad. I love her more than anything and I completely betrayed her.” Wait a minute….. “What else do you know about her being remanded to the mental hospital?”
He takes a deep breath, “That was all true, but the PI said the circumstances were very, very suspicious. She attacked her foster father, who was some well-known political figure but his name has been redacted from every document. Everyone the PI asked about it warned him off of it. Told him to leave it alone if he valued his life.”
My response is like a lion’s roar, “You knew this when you showed me the pictures? When you let me believe a lie about her?”
Dad nods his response. “I’m so sorry, son. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I love you, and I love Andi, and I hate myself for what I’ve done.”
I don’t even know what to do with this information. I don’t know how to process all this shit.
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ANDI
“I’m not going,” I state matter-of-factly.
“Oh hell, yes, you are, girl,” Tania retorts, just as matter-of-factly, as she digs through my closet, tossing clothes all over the floor. “You have nothing to wear tonight.”
“I’ve already said that,” I point out to her, “and that’s why I’m not going!”
The determination in Tania’s eye can’t be missed. She grabs my hand and drags me out of my house, ignoring my complaints. After hitting the Atlanta formal dress shops, we finally settle on a full-length gown with one long sleeve that covers my tattooed arm but leaves my other arm, shoulder, and back bare. It’s navy blue and silver sequins set on black silk with a thigh-high split in the front. It is exquisite with the matching heels.
Taniaand I go to our appointment with my hairdresser. I love the pink stripes in my hair. I got them because it helps get the kids at the youth center to trust me. But I was convinced, ahem strong-armed, by Tania to get them covered up and go all blond for the board announcement tonight. I still can’t believe this is really happening.
I’ve dreaded this day for so long – being thrust into the limelight and having all my secrets dissected by the media. Being judged for something none of them really know the truth about and knowing that no one would even believe me if I told them. I know it’ll happen especially since Sam’s private investigator found thosepictures of me. Whoever the private investigator got them from will undoubtedly make the connection and sell copies to the highest bidder. I hope I’ve found a private island to seclude myself on by then.
