My eyelids felt like they were made of lead. I was tired, thinking of Annie, frustrated as hell. My focus was fading despite the seriousness of the situation.
“Why hell can’t we do it like that? Give me some money and that’s the end of it.”
“Because we can’t trust you!” Between my fatigue and the Annie situation and what was going on right then, I snapped. “You don’t deserve a single dollar, and even if we did, there’s no reason to think someone like you wouldn’t just come back for more even if we were to give into this bribe – which is what it is.”
Silence hung in the air. Adam and Deborah were stunned, her mouth opened slightly in total disbelief. Adam’s lips were a thin line as he stared at me.
“W…what?” Deborah stammered.
I’d screwed up. I was right, of course, but I realized what had happened. I was done lying.
“It’s not going to happen,” I repeated. “You were fired for a reason, and when you’re fired for a reason, you don’t get damn cent.”
She arched her eyebrows in surprise. “Is that right?” She scoffed, shaking her head as she got up. “This was me being nice, just so you know. Next is with the lawyer. I hope you’re ready for a fight.”
Deborah grabbed her purse, whipped it over her shoulder, and stormed out.
Adam said nothing at first, as if he were trying to process what he’d seen. “I…I hope you know what you’re doing, Duncan.”
I didn’t say them out loud, but two words popped into my head. “Same here.”
Annie
My parent’s house, totally decked out in Christmas décor, should’ve put a smile on my face. But all I could think about was him.
It was Saturday, and I’d decided to spend the weekend with the family. After what I’d gone through with Duncan, there was simply no way I’d be able to be alone, cooped up in that tiny apartment, nothing to keep me company but my own thoughts. Not to mention it was Christmas Eve eve. I’d originally planned on coming down the next day, but when Mom had called to confirm, I’d decided to drop in a little earlier.
The living room was lively. Mom was playing with Parker, Dad watching the two of them with a big, proud grandpa smile on his face. Bethany was in the kitchen getting everything in place for our annual Christmas cookie baking extravaganza. Dean was on his way from the office.
I hated to admit it, thinking it made me selfish as hell, but all I could think about was how much Bethany had, and how much I didn’t. She had a husband who loved her and a gorgeous little boy, and I had nothing but my broken heart.
“You alright over there, kiddo?” Dad asked, taking his eyes from Parker, who was currently in the middle of showing Mom some brightly-colored game he’d installed on her phone.
“Just thinking about stuff,” I said. And there was the worst part – I hadn’t yet told them about Duncan, how things had ended between us. I had no idea how to drop the bombshell.
“I bet you are,” Mom commented. “You’ve got a new job, a new boyfriend, and a ton to look forward to.”
Dad furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand why you didn’t bring him into town with you. There’s plenty of room for you both to stay here.”
Mom pursed her lips. “Come on – a doctor like him? He’s probably so busy he can hardly take time off for Christmas.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Dad scoffed. “A man should be meeting the family of his new girlfriend. Work’s work, but this is more important than that.”
I shifted nervously in my seat, not sure what to say or do.
“Hey!” Bethany exclaimed, popping her head out from the kitchen. “I’ve got an idea!”
“What’s that?” Mom asked.
“We can do a Facetime! Call him up and we can all say hi!”
Mom’s eyes lit up, but my stomach sank. “That’s a great idea!”
“No, it’s not,” Dad negated. “First impressions are important, and they need to be done in person.”
“Hmm,” Mom considered. “And he might be busy. It might throw off his doctor stuff if he answers the phone and there’s a whole family grinning back at him.”
“I don’t like that Facetime business,” Dad added. “He should be here with us. I want to know who’s dating my little girl.”
“It’ll be a nice introduction,” Bethany said. “It doesn’t have to be this big thing – he can just say hi and that’s that. It’s what I did with Dean, remember? And Duncan’s just as much of a workaholic as him, sounds like.”
I couldn’t take any more. Duncan had already been a liar, and I wasn’t about to do the same to my family.
“Listen,” Dad said. “How about instead of arguing, we actually listen to Annie and see what she wants to do.”
I cleared my throat. “We’re not doing any of it,” I said. “Because…”
“What?” Mom’s complete attention was on me. “Why aren’t we going to do anything? I don’t even understand what that means.”
“It means we can’t do anything, because I broke up with Duncan.”
No one said a word. I wiped the tears from my eyes, jumping from my chair and rushing from the living room into the kitchen.
“I’ll talk to her,” I heard Bethany say from the other room.
The kitchen counters were covered with dough and sprinkles and all sorts of festive holiday cookie fixings, the colors and cheer a total contrast to how I felt at that moment. I leaned back against the counter, letting my head hang.
“Hey,” Bethany said, appearing at the kitchen entrance. “You want to talk?”
Part of me desired some solitude, but I knew I’d just be crying if I were to get it. “Sure,” I said. “Talking sounds okay.”
Bethany stepped over to the fridge and pulled out a couple of mugs. “Dad’s famous eggnog. Should take the edge off.”
I allowed myself a smile, taking one of the mugs and sipping. It was rich and creamy and delicious.
“So,” Bethany said, leaning against the counter next to me. “I just want to say that we’re not mad or disappointed or anything like that. Me, I’m just confused. It seemed like you really had something with Duncan.”
“We did. We had something amazing, more amazing than I thought I’d ever get.”
“So…what happened?”
“What happened is that I found out it was all a lie.”
She cocked her head to the side, confused. “He lied to you? About what?”
I sighed, a shuddering breath. “He’s Andrew’s brother.”
At first, Bethany didn’t appear to understand what I was saying. “Andrew, as in your ex?”
“One and the same.”
I told her the whole story, how they were brothers separated by adoption, how Duncan had only recently come back into his life, how Duncan had lied to me about knowing who I was.
“Let me get this straight,” Bethany said. “He lied to you because he wanted to meet you?”
I shrugged. “I guess he was into me or something.”