Page 86 of Don’t Open Your Eyes

“I want to go see Dad,” Lucas says for the tenth time. What is it with this kid? His dad gets arrested, and he still thinks he hangs the moon. I’m so tired of Chase being everyone’s darling.

“Let’s sit down. I wasn’t going to tell you this yet, but I think you have a right to know.”

His brow furrows as he pulls up a chair at the kitchen table.

“Your dad hit that young girl with his car and left her there to die.”

Lucas shakes his head. “You’re lying! Dad told me he didn’t have anything to do with that. He swears he only went to talk to her.”

I reach out to take his hand, but he snatches it back. “Lucas, listen to me. The police found her backpack in his home office. He had a phone where he was texting her, pretending to be you.”

Confusion fills his face. “No. That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he do that?”

It was all going to come out soon, so she may as well get it over with. “There’s no easy way to tell you this. Something happened the night you were born. There was another woman there that night. She thought her baby died, but it turns out that our babies were switched. The girl Dad was texting is your half sister.”

I can see him trying to process my words, but I’m not sure they’re sinking in. He shakes his head. “Wait, you mean, you’re not my real mother?”

“Of course I’m your mother. I raised you, and I love you. But, no, I’m not your biological mother. Dad found out when you gave blood. Your blood type is incompatible with ours.”

The sixteen-year-old sitting across from me regresses to the child he used to be and begins to cry. I stand up and put my arms around him. “Dad and I love you. That’s never going to change.”

“Will I have to go live with someone else? I don’t want to!”

“No, I’ve spoken to her. She’s not going to pursue any legal action, and you’re old enough that the courts will respect your wishes. But she does want to meet you when you’re ready.”

“I don’t know.” He’s sobbing now. “I don’t know.”

“Shh, it’s okay.”

“I want to talk to Dad.”

I bite my lip before I can say something I’ll regret. “Okay. Go call your dad.”

Annabelle

It had been two weeks since Tara had come to the house. Annabelle had thought of nothing else but Lucas.

She was tired of waiting. She picked up her phone and called her.

“Hi, Annabelle,” Tara answered.

“Tara, I’m trying to be patient, but this is killing me. I need to see my son.”

She heard a sigh on the other end of the line. “I was going to call you. I’ve spoken to Lucas. He doesn’t want to meet you.”

Annabelle’s breath caught. “What did you tell him?”

“The truth. But he says he’s not ready. I’m doing my best to talk him into it, but his therapist says I need to let him go at his own pace. His entire world has been thrown upside down. I promise I’ll keep trying.”

What could Annabelle say? She wasn’t about to force Lucas. She hadn’t told the authorities that James had switched the babies because she wanted to protect Scarlett and Olivia. She didn’t want her children to see their father in prison, so she would go along with the lie that it had been a hospital mix-up. She thought of Lucas having to deal with Chase’s arrest. Tara was right: It was too much. She had to give Lucas time.

“Can we meet for coffee?” Annabelle asked.

“Um, okay. I’ll meet you at Sugar’s in an hour.”

After getting off the phone, Annabelle scrolled through Lucas’s Facebook page again, riveted to the images in front of her. He was a beautiful boy. Her beautiful boy. Her heart ached to know him. Light brown hair and brown eyes specked with gold—like her mother’s. He had Annabelle’s nose, Randy’s smile. Tall and lanky, yet with none of the typical teenage awkwardness. He seemed like a popular kid, but not stuck-up, at least from what she could tell on his page. She’d been surprised he even had a Facebook account, but Tara told her that he had one so he could access his basketball team’s page where important info was shared. He also had an Instagram, but it was set to private, so Annabelle couldn’t see what he posted there. She suspected he was much more active on that platform, as most kids were these days. He didn’t post often, but there were pictures of him with basketball teammates, friends at a barbecue at the beach, as well as some family photos with Chase and Tara. She stopped at one of the three of them celebrating Lucas’s most recent birthday at a restaurant and felt a pain in her chest. He should have been celebrating all those milestones with her.

Chase’s image made her seethe. It all came rushing back—the way he’d drawn her out, making her feel like they had so much in common. How he’d faked his grief over losing those babies. All a facade. He must have ice in his veins. To be the reason Scarlett was in the hospital and then call every day to check on her. It was mind-boggling. She was so full of anger, and she had nowhere to put it.