They weren’t supposed to know.
But now that they do, it can’t be taken back.
I . . .I shouldn’t have come back.
“I’m so sorry,” Luna repeats, and I back away, my skin feeling like it’s crawling.
They’re never going to be able to look at me the same way again.
I drag my hands over my face, fighting the urge to run and never look back. I like to think I’ve grown as a person—that running isn’t my only resolution for everything, or lighting things on fire. I know I’ve moved past that for sure.
Or have I?
My internal scars and decisions just burned through the fragile relationships I’ve been painstakingly trying to rebuild with my family.
Mom moves toward me and I hold my breath, expecting her to tell me to get out. I don’t know how she can even look at me. I traded myself for somewhat safe places to sleep. For showers and money to take care of myself. I hit rock bottom until I reached out to Luna for help because I couldn’t do it anymore. It was slowly killing me, and I was dead inside.
“I-I—” I stammer, refusing to meet her eyes. I think seeing the disappointment in them would be the final straw.
What I’m not expecting is for her arms to close around me instead of pushing me away.“Ça va, mon fils. Ça va.”?1
All of the fight sinks out of me, and I fall apart against Mom, finally sharing my pain with her. She just holds me and doesn’t let go.
I couldn’t explain right away, but after I somewhat managed to pull myself together. I slipped out of the room to gather my thoughts and take a shower, as if it would make it easier for me to share the fractured pieces of my soul with my family. I still have no idea where to begin, but my skin is raw from how hardI scrubbed.
I can’t believe this happened.
Behind the safety of a closed door, with the shower still running despite my having already rinsed the ocean from my skin, I hit play on the interview Kiera gave. I need to know how specific she was so I know what I have to correct or elaborate on when I face everyone.
Kiera’s sitting on a couch with someone, twisting her hands in her lap. The host asks a few questions about her relationship with my dad, and Kiera explains how they met, the timeline of the relationship up until the proposal, then she falters.
“Thinking back, I was a naive fool. The answers were always right in front of me, but I stupidly believed Sebastian when he said Thalia was like his sister and they just didn’t get along. I believed him. I had no reason not to. They couldn’t even make it through a meal at holidays when everyone got together without needing to be separated.”
“How did they go from that to becoming a married couple?” the host questions, and Kiera’s smile is sad.
“I blame myself. I begged Sebastian to have Thalia as the photographer at our wedding. Despite everything, I admired her talent. She really has a gift for capturing the perfect moment and immortalizing it. Seb refused until he eventually gave in. I tried so hard to get her to like me, but I could never figure out what I had done to her. The truth was, I was engaged to the man she still loved. I learned about their history together, and how the ring Sebastian had given me was the same one he proposed to her with.”
This elicits a dramatic gasp, and I didn’t know this part, but I can only imagine she’s telling half the story. “You’re kidding. He was in what number season with the Blue Panthers making millions, and he recycled an engagement ring?”
I forgot how good she is at twisting the truth to fit her narrative.
Kiera laughs, still twisting her hands. “And the house, the dog. It was the same life he planned to share with her, but the only thing missing was Thalia. I’m not proud of the decision I made afterward by cheating on him with a classmate from study group. I convinced myself it was one mistake. It didn’t mean I wasn’t in love with Sebastian. I was hurt, and I think I just wanted to hurt him back. I know how wrong it was, but I thought everything would be fine until I learned I was pregnant, and I knew it wasn’t Sebastian’s. I came clean with him, and he ended things. I wish I could say it surprised me how quickly he ran back to Thalia, but I wasn’t.” Kiera pauses, taking a sip of water. I note that her hand is shaking.She sells a good story.“I love my son, and I married a wonderful man who raised him as his own, alongside our other two children. We were having a conversation one night about Carter’s biological father, and I didn’t know he overheard until later. He’d jumped to several conclusions based on the information provided on the internet from articles back then, and the next thing I know, he’d brought Thalia and Sebastian’s youngest child home, going on and on about how he was Bailey’s brother.”
“And you didn’t correct him? Why not?”
The camera angle switches to show only Kiera on the screen. “Carter looked so excited, and if I’m being honest, Bailey seemed lost. He was quiet and reserved. I felt bad for him. My son explained that Bailey had run away from home because things weren’t good with his parents. I thought it would only be for a couple of days, and then I’d tell them the truth.”
She’s lying. That’s not how it happened at all. Why the fuck is she doing this? Why now?
“And you never reached out to his parents to tell them where he was?”
Kiera shakes her head. “I wanted to, but Bailey begged me not to. He wanted a place where he could fit in and be a part of a family that wanted him. So I said nothing with the hope he would eventually contact them.”
The best way to lie is to tell partial truths to prevent yourself from being caught. It makes it more believable.
“Months went by, and Bailey was happy there with us. My now ex-husband and I were going through a rough patch, and it affected all of them. He took it upon himself to tell Carter and Bailey they weren’t half brothers like they believed they were. Carter told Bailey to go home, and I honestly believed he had—until I learned last week Bailey had instead chosen to live on the streets. It breaks my heart that the sweet boy I knew would rather be homeless than go back to his parents’ house.”
I miss the next question, my stomach rolling with waves of nausea because it’s not true. I didn’t come back because I didn’t know how to face them out ofguilt. Besides, I know what’s coming next. It all depends on how much Lu told Carter, though.
