A Little Bit of Truth (Little Bits) (23 page)

“I have to go Jacob, I’ll call you later.” She hangs up and my hear
t plummets, she’s lying to me. But why?

So last night Kev dropped me home after trying to grope me in his car on the way home. Yeah, I called that off after giving him an earful. What an asshole.

Fortunately it didn’t really bother me, I went inside and argued with Mason for a while. We mostly argued about me dating and not letting Mason see
the guy before I left. To which I told him I’m not a child and can do whatever the hell I want, to which he responded, “FINE!” And stomped off to his room like a moody teen.

Anyway… I went to sleep and sleep was fine, save for the regularly recurring nightmare of me shooting Dana in the head
, but whatever, that’s all under control. Kind of.

I made breakfast and quickly dressed and showered, ready for work. Then Mason came out of his bedroom grumbling to himself about baby sisters needing to remain baby sisters. He perked up greatly when I placed a meaty breakfast under his nose and lured him to the table with it like one would lure a dog.

I was ten minutes away from leaving for work when a knock came at my door. So I opened it expecting it to be a disgruntled neighbor or Maya or anybody, not once did I think it would be him. How wrong I was.

Standing there,
(his once blonde hair now gray and his blue eyes, that are much like my own, blank and saddened), was my dad. Cue a dramatic DOM DOM DOOOOOOOOM right here. I swear my heart dropped out of my chest.

“Dad?”

“Hey baby girl.” He opens his arms and I don’t even think before leaning into him and allowing him to envelope me in a solid and warm embrace. He even smells the same as I remember him, like pipe tobacco and mint. “God I’ve missed you.”

I don’t even say anything, I don’t know what to say.

“Holy fuck!” Mason chokes out from somewhere behind me. “Holy fuck.”
Then I’m being yanked away. “Get the fuck out!”

“Mace,” my dad pleads, his eyes large and round and… phone’s ringing.

I answer without even thinking, my shock seems to be clouding my judgment.

“Shush,” I hiss at my brother and dad
.

“Hello?” Jacob’s sexy voice fills my ear and I almost forget I’m in the presence of a homicidal brother and a suicidal father. “What are you doing?”

My dad and Mason whisper angrily at each other, their arms flailing, it distracts me for a moment. “Umm… Can I call you back?”

“You need to leave,” Mason hisses.

“No.” Jacob snaps irritably in response to me. “Why?”

I pause
for a moment, “I kind of have company right now.”

“What? Who?” Uh-oh. He sounds a tad rejected.

“Marie, please,” my dad begs when my brother grabs him by the scruff of the neck.

“Give me a second,” I tell Jacob, my heart breaking at the sight of my brother throwing our dad out but I get why he’s doing it.

“Who the fuck is that Marie?” I’m really not in the mood for his mood right now.

“It’s umm…” I’m about to lie but decide the truth is probably best for now. “It’s my dad.”

He scoffs, I can tell he doesn’t believe me. Why doesn’t this shock me? “Your dad?”

“Yeah,” pause. “Look, I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

“Why’s your dad there?” Why won’t he just say bye and hang up?

“I have to go Jacob, I’ll call you later.” So I hang up and figure I’ll worry about the consequences later.

Placing my hand on Mason’s shoulder I tug him away from our pops. “Dad. What are you doing here?”

“I’m free baby girl,” he smiles and it’s the same smile I remember growing up. Mason’s smile. My smile. “Free.”

“More fool the people who signed those papers,” Mason grouches and I watch with no little amount of sorrow when pain flits across my dad’s face.

“Mason,” I warn and place my hand on his forearm.

He glares at me, “Have you forgotten what he’s done?” Wince. “No of course not, I just…” I don’t know to be honest. “It’s good to see you dad.”

“You too baby girl.” He touches my cheek gently. “I’ll be out of your hair soon I just needed to see how grown up you are. I couldn’t resist.”

Yeah. I wouldn’t be able to resist either. “Stay for the day, have dinner with us later.”

“If he stays then I leave,” Mason half shouts.

I turn pleading eyes to my brother and beg, “Please Mason. For me. Just one dinner.”

“Have you honestly forgotten what he did?”

“No, but I don’t feel like it’s bad enough to condemn him,” I respond honestly. “It’s bad yes but he’s done his time.”

“You’re joking right? Please tell me you’re joking.” Mason shakes his head in disbelief. “Fine. I’ll stay but you piss me off even once and you’re out.” I watch him storm into his bedroom and my body sags with relief.

“Thank you princess,” my dad says and follows me into the room. I take his coat before he sits and hand him the control for the TV.

“Coffee?”

“Please.”

“Hungry?”

“I can wait for dinner.”

I smile knowing this means he’s hungry
(probably from skipping breakfast) and pad into the kitchen to make him a meat sandwich. I make one for my brother too with the salami he loves, hoping he’ll cheer up a little in time for dinner. My brother is like me, he’s grumpy when he’s hungry. Although part of me knows his hunger has nothing to do with his grumpiness.

My phone rings at least seven times throughout the day. I end up turning it off, this is way more important. This might be the only day I get with my dad depending on where he’s being placed during probation.

“What are your plans for the month?” my dad asks when we sit down to dinner.

“I’ve got work, it’s Maya’s wedding in twelve weeks.” When Jacob finishes filming.

Mason laughs a little, “She pushed the date back again?”

“She keeps doing it. But they’ve decided to go during Evelyn’s birthday. Jacob will have finished filming by then too,” I explain and pick at the lasagna on my plate.

“She’s sent out about ten save the dates already.”

“Only two and the third one is due next week,” we both smile at each other. “I can’t wait. Do you think you’ll still be here then Mason?”

“How are the forces?” My dad asks Mason cautiously. “Where’ve you been based?”

Mason completely ignores him, “I should be. If I was leaving that soon they’d have notified me of the possibility by now.”

I don’t say anything, I continue picking my food.
This is good news obviously, but the fact he’s completely blanking our dad is cancelling out the good and mixing in a healthy dose of awkward.

“Where are you staying?” I ask dad as he finishes off his dinner. I slide my plate towards him, he takes it eagerly. Mason snorts in disgust, I kick him under the table.

“In a shared house for the next two weeks and then I’m going back home hopefully.” Back home. A place I haven’t been since I left for college.

“You think anyone will want you back there?” Mason remarks and I kick him again.

“Home is where my family is and I’m not welcome here so I’ll go where I feel comfortable.” My father’s eyes crease as an overwhelming sorrow floods through him. His eyes glitter with unshed tears. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for what I did.”

I grip his hand over the table, “I know dad.”

Mason sighs and rubs his face with his hands, “I know you’re sorry. I just can’t accept it.” He pushes away from the table and leaves the room once more.

“Why don’t we go for a walk?” I suggest and my
dad nods slowly before standing.

We pull our jackets on and link arms
as we head outside into the cold air. My dad holds my arm tight as if afraid to let me go. I hold tight back because I’m afraid he will.

“I can’t believe how much more beautiful you’ve become,” he doesn’t look my way, only stares straight ahead, pretending to see the crazy décor around us signifying the fact it’s Halloween soon. “Mason too, hard to imagine you both came from me.”

“Why’d you do it dad?” I blurt the question I’ve wanted an answer to for years. “We were happy.”

“Yeah,” he whispers and shakes his head on a laugh. “You were so excited for college. It broke my heart when I told you I had to use your college fund to save
our home.”

“It broke my heart too but I understood.”

We keep going, almost sluggish in our movements. Being with my dad again, it brings me a kind of peace I haven’t had for a long time. He was my best friend, he loved me and Mason more than anything. I want what we had back but I know it isn’t possible. Mason will never forgive him.

“I forgive you dad,” I say suddenly and he stops in his tracks. “I know what
you did was wrong but I get it.”

I hear him inhale a staggered breath. “Why? I don’t deserve it.”

“I guess I’m hoping for the same thing.”

“Forgiveness?” His eyes seek mine, full of concern and love. “For what pumpkin?”

Pumpkin, my old nickname. It hits me right in the heart. After a shuddering breath I admit it, I say out loud. “I killed someone. I shot them right between the eyes.”

“You didn’t have a choice, what you did was heroic.”

I laugh coldly, my body becoming a block of ice, my warm blood turning to grit in my veins at the thought of whatever the fuck I did being heroic. “What I did was murder.”

“Self-defense baby.”

“She wasn’t aiming at me,” I almost shout, ignoring the angry glares from a couple walking by. My middle finger shows them the way to go teamed with a glare of my own.

He sighs and grips my shoulders, “She was a damaged person,
she tried to kill your friends and who’s to know she wouldn’t have killed you next? You tried the other route, you tried to stall for help. What you did saved the life of a single father with a young child.”

“You’ve been reading the papers then.”

He shakes his head, “Maya.”

“Ah. Good old Maya,” It’s none of her fucking business.

“She’s just kept me updated on you both,” he says softly after hearing the clear sarcasm in my tone. “She cares about you.”

“It’s none of her business.”

“It’s not your fault Marie.”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” It hurts too much to think about.

“There is one thing I’ve read about,” he quirks a brow at me. “When am I going to meet the movie star asshole who’s stolen my little girl’s heart?”

“Jacob?” I chuckle, good mood back. “He hasn’t got my heart Pops.” Just my body.

“That his name?”

Nod. “Yeah, he’s a good guy. We’re just friends.”

“Right.”

“He’s with that Beth girl.” I barely hide the loathing from my voice. She really grinds my gears. Bethany fucking bitch. I’m sick of seeing the two of them on covers of gossip magazines. I won’t deny I’m a little jealous that she has his attentions and I don’t.

Though I push these thoughts away and lock them up tighter than a billionaires safe.

“I’d like to see your studio, if you wouldn’t mind? Maybe watch you at work?”

My grin broadens, “I’d love that a lot. Maybe I can get some photos of you before you get too old to snap shots of.”

“The cheek,” he pinches my arm but I see the twinkle of humor in his eyes. “Damn I’ve missed you girl.”

“You too Pops, you too.”

******

“No fucking way,” I gawp in horror
at the ridiculousness that is the outfit Loryn has laid on the bed for me. “Not a chance.”

“Amelia demands it.” Loryn sighs as she pulls her wings on.

“Why can’t I be the slutty fairy?” I grumble as I look at Loryn with her white translucent tights, her sparkly purple leotard that shows the top of her breasts and the curves of her ass, then there’s the awesome black tutu covered in purple and silver sequins that sticks out all around. Her wings are just awesome, large and spirally, also black and purple.

“Because Lucas demands it.”
Fucking Lucas. “Get dressed.”

I pretend to cry into my hands, I even stomp my foot and whine, “I don’t want to be a fat bumblebee!”

“Dressed, now,” Loryn laughs and starts making buzzing noises with her tongue and pallet. Fucking Loryn.

So I get dressed, the stripy yellow and black tights are on after a bit of tugging, the body is padded out to make me round like a bee and I even have small black wings between my shoulders. I pull on the cap after shoving my hair into it and use my fingers to swipe black face paint around my eyes. I look stupid. I look about seven.

The door opens and all I hear is laughter. Loryn joins in and soon she and Lucas are taking pictures. “I hate you both,” I say with a fake cheery voice. “And I’m going to kill you both.”