Page 324 of Mad Girl

“And you tell him that?”

“Yes,” Nic said softly. “All the time.”

“While you’re lying to him?” Michael asked.

“Lying to me about what?” John looked to Nic for an explanation.

“You think Elliot and I aren’t healthy for each other, but you hide things from my parents, and that’s okay?”

“What’s he talking about, Nic?” John demanded.

“Ask him what happened after Elliot’s assault on Halloween,” Michael said. “Ask him what he took care of behind your back and covered up.”

“So there was something to the look you gave Casey that day, back when Elliot accused you of hiding stuff,” John said, his head shaking, lips parted in disbelief. “You lied to me? Again? How many are you up to now? Three? That I know of?”

Now, I’ve rarely seen my dad scared of anything, Casey—except maybe me—but right then? He swallowed hard at the anger and betrayal behind John’s gaze, scared as shit.

“John? Nic?” Libby called up the stairs. “What’s going on up there?”

John pressed a finger to Nic’s chest. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Shaken by Michael’s revelation, they drifted out of my room. Leaving us alone, after all.

“What the hell, Michael? You just threw yourself under the bus. You’ll get in so much trouble when my dad tells John what you and Casey did.”

“Don’t care,” he said, staring after them. “It’s about time Nic’s held accountable for all the shit he’s been hiding.” Then he fell back against my bed and whispered, “This is so messed up.”

“What is?”

“Everything. Our dads. This secret about Casey. It could tear our families apart.”

My chest squeezed. “Don’t say that.”

“Elliot.” Michael tossed me a serious look. “After what just happened, how do you figure my dad will react when he finds out Nic’s been hiding a surprise son right under his nose?”

I thought of what Eleanor had told me about John—how devastated he’d been when Cassandra had run off, how desperately he’d tried to find her, how badly he’d needed to know what had happened to the baby. To you.

When I considered that stuff, it seemed especially problematic that my dad would keep you a secret from John.

“My mom will be angry, too,” Michael said. “At Nic and my dad—for getting some other girl pregnant right before her.” Michael thought for a minute. “Hey, where’s that picture of Casey’s mom at the bar with your mom?”

I grabbed Tessy off a nearby pillow, pulled the Velcro loose on her dress, and plucked the folded picture from her back. Michael and I huddled over it.

“I can definitely see the resemblance,” Michael said, studying Cassandra. “The eyes. The smile. Her whole face, really.”

“But Casey has John’s nose,” I said, poking the tip of Michael’s. “Yours and Bree’s, too.”

“Yeah,” Michael said. “After you told me, I went back and looked at all the pictures we’ve taken together over the last couple of years. I can’t believe I never noticed that before.”

I smiled. “It’s pretty obvious. And those baby pictures? You two looked freakishly similar when you were little.”

“Yeah,” Michael agreed. “Seeing those pictures should’ve been a major clue. Maybe I was in denial.”

“Do you think John will be able to forgive my dad for keeping Casey a secret?”

“I don’t know,” Michael said, staring at my headboard. “But I’m scared to find out.” His gaze slid back over to mine. “Why are you crying?”

“Before Casey left for England, I threatened to tell you the truth if he didn’t. He said he’d never forgive me if I did that.”