"I'm beginning to realize that. I thought I had close relationships with at least you and Kelsey. I knew Willow wasn't confiding in me, but I believed you two were. The last few days have proven me wrong."
"You judge quite harshly, Mom," Kelsey said. "It's why we can't tell you things."
"Maybe I judge because you're wrong."
I had to smile at that response. My mother might be trying to be more self-aware, but she was still who she was.
"Mom," Brooklyn said sharply. "You just did it again. You judged what Kelsey said, and you got defensive."
"If I judge, it's because I always have my daughters' interests at heart. But I will try to do better. Now don't you all have anything to say to your father, perhaps something you want him to work on?"
My father laughed. "Don't turn this on me, Monica."
"Fine, you're perfect," she said, making a face at him.
"Not perfect, just trying my best. I'm so grateful to have all of you here. I feel like the luckiest man in the world." He looked at my mother. "How about we rustle up some dinner for our kids?"
"Lorraine can do that."
"I sent her home. I thought tonight it should just be us. Let's cook something, Monica, the way we used to when the girls were little."
I couldn't remember them cooking together, but apparently my mother could, because she smiled and got to her feet, following him into the kitchen.
"Now that it's just us," Brooklyn said, her gaze settling on me. "Did Gage know that Eileen killed Melanie?"
"No."
"Well, that's a relief. I wonder what Sean thinks. Did he know he was married to a murderer? Was he complicit?"
"There's no evidence Sean was involved."
"The Chadwicks will never be the same," Kelsey murmured. "But then I guess none of us will ever be the same."
"Probably not." My gaze moved from Kelsey to Brooklyn. "I know who James was with the night Melanie disappeared. It may come out in a more public way at some point. If you want to know, I can tell you."
"Wait! James was with someone else that night?" Kelsey put in. "I thought he was with you, Brooklyn."
"I lied for him," Brooklyn admitted. "Who was he with, Willow?"
"Jenny."
Brooklyn drew in a breath and slowly let it out. "I guess I'm not that shocked. I knew Jenny had a crush on him."
"Well, I'm stunned," Kelsey said, confusion in her gaze. "Not so much that he was cheating on you, Brooklyn, but that you lied for him."
"When I told the lie, when I backed up his alibi, I didn't realize the long-term repercussions," Brooklyn said. "But that lie festered within me. I could never trust him again. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore, and I broke up with him."
"I had no idea," Kelsey muttered. "I wish you would have told me, Brooklyn."
"I was ashamed."
Kelsey nodded. "I understand. I couldn't tell you about Carter, because I was ashamed, too. We both messed up, me far more than you. I destroyed two men's lives because I was trying to have it all. I'm sorry about what I did." She paused. "Gage must be reeling. He finds out his mother is a murderer, and that his father isn't his father. I don't know how he's standing up right now. I was thinking I should call him, but I'm a little afraid."
"Is it over between you two?" I asked.
"It has to be, for a lot of reasons," Kelsey said. "I've been thinking about Gage and Melanie, about her getting pregnant, about the secret he kept for so many years. It makes sense to me now why Gage has a problem with intimacy. He never gets that close. He always holds something back. I didn't love Gage as much as I should. But he didn't love me that much, either. I wonder if that's tied to Melanie in some way."
Before I could comment, the doorbell rang.
Kelsey tensed. "I don't know if I want to see anyone."
"I'll send them away," Brooklyn said decisively, as she got to her feet.
A moment later, we heard Gage's voice, and despite Brooklyn telling him to go home, he rushed into the living room. He stopped when he saw Kelsey. I'm not sure he even noticed I was sitting on the couch next to her, because his gaze was fixed on my sister.
I expected anger, and I mentally prepped myself for another stormy scene. But when Gage opened his mouth, what came out was massive regret.
"I am so sorry, Kelsey. For everything," he said. "I should have seen what was going on with my mother. I should have known what happened to Melanie. I should have protected you."
I'd never seen Gage look so human or so vulnerable.
"Oh, Gage. You don't have to take the blame for your mother," Kelsey said. "And I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have done what I did with Carter. I hurt both of you. And now Carter is…well, I heard it's bad."
"It is bad," he admitted. "If you were involved with him, why did you say yes to me?"
"You're a wonderful guy. I wanted to love you, Gage. I wanted us to be the couple everyone thought we were. But we weren't. Something was missing. We never got as deep as we should have."
"You're right. I loved you but not in the way a man should love a woman he's going to marry. The truth is my heart froze a long time ago. I didn't want to admit it, not even to myself. I didn't want to think that one sixteen-year-old girl could ruin me for everyone else. But maybe I deserved it. I told Melanie to get an abortion. I turned my back on her. And I'm the reason she's dead. My mother killed Melanie because I was scared of being a father. I never imagined that she could do something so horrible." His gaze finally swung to me. "I really thought it was a stranger, Willow."
I believed him. "It was easier to think that, Gage. We all told ourselves that no one we knew, no one we loved, could do something like that. But Drake knew all along that it was one of us. He just had the wrong person."
"He wasn't completely wrong. I just didn't know how involved I was." Gage turned back to Kelsey. "I'm glad you're all right. I searched for you, Kelsey. I did everything I could to bring you back. But I couldn't find you."
"I know. Brooklyn told me how hard everyone looked for me. I'm grateful. We were going to start a new life together tomorrow, Gage. But I think tomorrow you and I need to restart our own lives and be more authentic. We can't keep living for social media, for other people, for money, or fame. When I was stuck in that cabin, all I could think about was how meaningless my life had become. I want more. And you should want more, too. You need to find someone who can unfreeze your heart, and I need to find myself before I can find someone else. I've spent too many years going from guy to guy, defining myself by who I was with. I need to figure out who I am. I want you to be happy, Gage. And I hope one day Carter will wake up, and I can beg for his forgiveness, too."
"I hope that as well. I hate what he did behind my back, but he's my brother, and I still love him," Gage said. "Now, I'm going to let you be with your family."
As Gage left the room, Brooklyn sat back down on the couch and grabbed Kelsey's hand. Then Kelsey smiled and grabbed my hand. I reached across for Brooklyn, and we formed a tight circle, the way we had when we were very small children, before we'd started competing for attention.