“Gaby.”
“Look, I was raised with a father, and whether that changed for him in the end or not, it didn’t work for me. I can go on and cry about it, or just think of it as I gained my best friend as my sister, and that’s great.”
Is this the same Gaby? What the actual fuck? She found out hours ago that her best friend’s dad is her dad as well. She’s in denial or some shit.
“Well, that’s a real positive and mature way to look at it,” I offer with a steady tone.
“Yeah, well I’m a woman not a little girl, and Mike helped me see that.”
Mike appears to be having a good influence on her. I just hope it lasts and she’s not going to blow up or break down when the reality of everything that transpired finally sinks in.
“Good. I’m happy for you.” I smile. She’s changed since this morning. She’s all dressed up and wearing too much make-up
“Well, that doesn’t mean I forgive you for letting me believe there was a possibility I was related to Gavin.” She pokes me in the chest and narrows her gaze at me.
“I fucked up and handled the entire thing poorly. It was a shock, and whether you believe me or not, I was trying to protect you and keep you from finding out information that would hurt you.”
“Good job,” she snipes.
I did a shitty job of protecting her from all this crap. I can’t believe how wrong I was. Finding out about dad and Antonia’s parents is all too much.
I look her over; she’s got her hair up and a full face of make-up. She’s dressed in a floral print outfit that’s not club wear, but not staying in attire either.
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Mom wants me to have dinner with her. She’s creeping, which means she will be flashing her credit card around, and I have a wedding to pay for.” She smiles smugly as she saunters off to the elevator.
There’s no way she will pay for a thing for her wedding. It’s hard to accept that she’s engaged and will be getting married. I’m not sure if the fling between her and Gavin will ever be over, and if Mike can handle him being around all the time.
I pull my cell from my pocket and dial Antonia’s number. It clicks straight into voicemail, and images of Gavin setting up a new phone for her flashes through my head. I pull up his number and dial. After a few rings, he answers. There’s whooshing in the background, like he’s driving.
“Hey, man. Do you have Antonia’s new number?”
“I don’t, but I have her, if that’s any good?” He says it with amusement, but all I can think about is why the fuck he’s with her again. It’s irrational, but sane isn’t something I am right now.
“What the fuck is she doing with you?”
“Finlay.” Her voice chastises me down the line. He must have me on hands-free.
“Well, where are you? You didn’t tell me you were going anywhere.”
I’m pissed that I left her to sleep and she’s not here when I came back to check on her. A heads up would have been nice.
“I don’t have to tell you everything I do.”
She’s angry, and this is the last thing we both need, especially in front of Gavin.
“Okay, I know. I’m sorry. I was just fucking freaked out when you weren’t here.”
“I’m on my way home now. I had to see my parents.”
“I’ll wait for you at yours.”
I end the call and search her cupboards for some alcohol, but there’s nothing here. I’m irritable, and it’s like a virus under my skin, clawing its way into the marrow of my bones. I can’t break free from this crippling feeling that everything is over, and no matter how much I want to hold onto it, it’s an impossible task.
Ten minutes pass then Antonia walks through the door. She’s alone and glares at me as soon as I’m in her eye line.
“Gavin saw me walking home so he picked me up, before you ask,” she grates out.
“You shouldn’t be walking places.”
She shrugs off a hoodie that’s way too big for her and slings it on the counter.
“I lost a baby, not a leg, Finlay!” she barks, and it fucking stings like a bite.
Her shoulders slump and she rubs her hands down her face. “That was a shitty thing to say. I’m sorry. I’m just tired and angry and sad.” She shrugs, and it’s in such defeat that it almost buckles my knees. How can I get her through this? Get us through this? “There’s something I need to tell you.”
My heart slows and begins a deadly slow pound in my ears. The room is hazy, and I’m trying to hold onto the vision of her so I don’t pass out. I don’t know why I’m so scared of what she’s going to say, but my body is trying to warn me it’s not something good.
Before she can say anything else, her cell chimes.
Anxiously, she pulls it from her pocket and puts her hand up to me. “I’m so sorry. I need to take this.”
Who the fuck could it be? She’s only had her cell two minutes.
The voice of James answering when I called the number back echoes through my thoughts and makes my hand twitch with the need to punch the wall.
She hurries into her bedroom and pushes the door closed. It’s making me more fucking paranoid, and the need to erase everything is even stronger.
Grabbing a pen, I scribble a note for her, telling her I’ve gone out to grab something to drink and will be back soon.
I LEAVE FIN TO take the call from Detective Ross in my room. I don’t want Fin overhearing before I’ve had time to explain things to him. I can tell by the look of confusion and then a mix of anger and jealousy he’s more than likely going to want some answers from me, and he deserves them.
“Hello?”
“Miss McNally, it’s Detective Ross”
“I know who it is, and you don’t have to be formal.” I pace anxiously.
“Antonia, I did some digging.”
“And?” My hand is so tight on the cell it’s cutting off my blood supply and going numb.
“James does have a brother. Jackson Wright. He spent his youth in and out of a juvenile detention centre and was removed from the family and placed in foster care at the age of fifteen. He was incarcerated at the age of nineteen on a rape charge.”
Bile burns my stomach.
“How did you not know any of this before?” I ask, confused why he would never have been thought about when the robbery went down. He was known for violent crime.
“He has a different last name, and James and his family were never suspects.”
“Tell me you have him.”
He sighs down the line. “No. I’m sorry. But we will, and James too.”
I wish I never loved James then this wouldn’t hurt so badly.
“Do you know where James is?”
“No. An officer went to pick him up but he wasn’t at his parents’, or anywhere he’s supposed to be. He may be in the wind. I’m going to check with airports and put out a no-fly alert. Don’t worry; I’ll catch them.”
“Thank you.”
Ending the call, I swallow the lump lodged in my throat. It’s true. Everything that man said was genuine and James really did betray me and allow for that to happen and then treat me so poorly afterwards, like I did something wrong.