In My Father's Shadow (27 page)

“It’s not? Let me tell you what’s not fair, little
girl,” he said, shoving Jamie out of the way. He took a menacing
step toward Ally.

Cole shot to his feet and placed a hand on RJ’s
chest. “Back off, man. Just calm down and say what you have to
say.”

“Of course you’ll stick up for her. I should have
known this was coming,” RJ said.

“None of this is Ally’s or Jay’s fault,” Jamie
said.

“Of course it’s all on Jay,” RJ argued. “It’s always
what Jay wants! Rhys Redden approached him with a job offer and Jay
took it. He could care less about my dad or the rest of them!”

“That’s not true,” Cole said. “We don’t even know
what’s going on yet. Jay said…”

RJ snorted, interrupting Cole. “Yeah – what Jay says.
But what about the rest of them, huh? What about my dad and Jamie’s
dad and your dad? Is Jay just going to kick them to the curb
because a better offer came along?”

“No,” Ally said, shaking her head. “My dad’s not like
that. He’s loyal to the band and to his friends.”

“You think your dad is so perfect, don’t you
princess?” RJ said darkly. “But he’s not. And he’s definitely not
loyal.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ally said
anger coursing through her veins.

“I don’t?” RJ continued, voice rising. “I heard my
parents talking the last time we were home. They were talking about
your dad. Sure, the parents made sure we all knew about Jay’s drug
problem, but do we all know about how bad it was?”

Ally sank to the bed, her knees weak. It was the only
thing about her daddy that bothered her. She hated that he’d been
weak and had once succumbed to drugs. She hated thinking about him
living like that – disregarding those he loved just so he could get
high. But she was also very proud that he’d beat it. “He’s over
it,” she whispered.

“Yeah, he’s over it,” RJ agreed. “But he nearly cost
the band everything! My dad said he was so bad, not only did he
push your mother away, but he nearly pushed all the guys away, too.
The record company wanted to dump the band and my dad, along with
Nate and Mark, had to fight to keep it together. And the whole
time, your dad was snorting lines, getting high. He didn’t care
about anything but his own selfish needs. Just like now.”

“Stop,” Ally demanded, tears streaking down her
cheeks.

“But they all stuck by your dad,” RJ said, quietly.
“Stuck by him, got him help, kept the band together. Hell, they
bailed him out of jail countless times. And how does your dad repay
them? He dumps them as soon as a better offer comes around.”

Ally wiped at her eyes and nervously glanced at the
others. They were all watching RJ, shocked into silence. But she
noticed the dawning realization in each of their eyes. “No. My dad
wouldn’t do that,” she said, weakly.

“Guess what, princess,” RJ said almost gleefully. “He
just did.”

“Do you know what bothers me the most is that they
lied to us,” Cole said. “None of them told us any of this was
coming down.”

“Maybe because they didn’t know,” RJ said. He lifted
a brow at Ally, daring her to dispute him. “Remember – Jay was
spotted talking to Rhys alone. That’s when all the rumors of him
going solo started but he wasn’t discussing a solo career, was he?
He was discussing his cushy new job running Redden Records
Chicago.”

Ally tried to meet Jamie’s or Cole’s eyes but neither
would look at her. “You all agree, don’t you?” She stood up and
angrily scrubbed the tears from her face. “You all think my dad is
that much of a jerk -the man that considered all of you his sons
for all of these years? Well, screw you! He doesn’t need you and
neither do I!” She yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind
her.

Stephanie sat fearfully on her bed, afraid to speak.
Cole looked at her as if asking for help. “I don’t know Jay very
well,” she said. “But I don’t honestly think he’s the type to do
that.”

RJ snorted and plopped back down on the vacant bed.
“Yeah, well, he doesn’t have a clean track record. Besides, he’s
always idolized Rhys Redden. Now he has the chance to be like him.
Rhys’s band retired a few years ago and now Jay’s following in his
footsteps.”

“How come they never told us about what happened when
Uncle Jay was on coke?” Jamie asked stunned.

RJ shrugged. “Who knows? After I heard my dad talking
to my mom about it, I looked the band up online and found some
interesting stuff. Jay was arrested a few times for DUI and
possession.”

“I knew about that,” Cole said quietly. “My dad told
me once.”

“Yeah well there’s all kinds of stuff online about
Jay. I didn’t have to look hard,” RJ told them.

“But I don’t believe Uncle Jay would abandon
everyone,” Jamie argued. “You’d think there would be a lot of
tension between them and I didn’t sense any when we were home.”

“Like I said,” RJ muttered. “Maybe they didn’t know
at the time. Maybe Jay was keeping it secret.”

“No,” Jamie said, shaking his head. “Uncle Jay isn’t
that way.”

“Dude,” RJ said, sitting up. “When he got hooked on
coke, he totally abandoned your mother – his own little
sister.”

“My mother wasn’t a child back then, RJ,” Jamie said.
“And there were issues…”

“Doesn’t excuse what Jay did,” RJ said.

“I’m gonna go try to talk to Al,” Cole said as he
glanced worriedly at the door. “Try to talk some sense into her. I
mean, yeah it sucks that Jay would take this job and leave the band
high and dry, but it’s not Ally’s fault.”

“Good luck,” RJ snorted.

Cole strode across the hall, knocked twice and opened
the door. Ally was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

“Go away, Cole,” she said, not even looking at
him.

“Not going to happen, princess,” he told her. He sat
at her desk and fiddled with a pencil. “Listen, about what RJ
said…”

“I don’t care what RJ said,” she told him, sitting up
and pushing the hair off her cheeks. “It’s all a bunch of lies! My
dad is not like that! He wouldn’t abandon his friends.”

“I don’t think he abandoned them,” Cole said, leaning
forward. “But he is taking another job and it sounds as though the
rest of the guys had no clue.”

“Have you even talked to Nate about this?” she
asked.

“Yeah, I did and he told me he’d talk to me about it
when the tour ended, just like Mark told Jamie and Richie told RJ,”
Cole said.

She took a deep, shuddering breath. “If my dad wants
a different job then he’s entitled to it. He’s worked hard his
whole life, just like the rest of them. You guys can’t blame my
father for that.”

“Ally, no one is placing blame,” Cole tried to argue.
“All we’re saying is that it sounds like Jay didn’t even talk to
the rest of the band before making his decision. It looks like Jay
did this behind their backs.”

She sucked in a deep breath and hopped off the bed.
She stormed to the door and opened it. “Get out of here, now! I
don’t have anything to say to you or the others anymore! Got
it?”

“Fine, Al,” he said, getting to his feet. “If that’s
how you want it.” He towered over her in the doorway, looking down
at her in disgust. “It figures you wouldn’t want to listen to
reason – you never want to hear anything bad about your dad. You
live in this little world where you think he’s so perfect but news
flash, Ally – he is human.” He paused to take a breath. “I always
knew you were nothing but a little princess.”

He stormed across the hall where Jamie was standing
in Stephanie’s doorway. He looked up at Ally and turned away
quickly, not able to meet her eyes. She slammed the door shut and
locked it before flinging her body on her bed, holding back the
storm of tears that threatened to totally overtake her.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ally was extremely relieved to see the week pass,
even though she had to face what she figured would be a grueling
physical that Saturday. Still, it was better than trying to avoid
the boys or see them around campus, Stephanie obviously taking her
place.

She did have a little sympathy for Jamie. He’d greet
her in class and try to talk to her when he had a chance, but she
figured it was only out of family loyalty. It was blatant that he
was torn between his friends and his cousin. She took pity and
avoided him also, not wanting him to feel as though he had to
choose.

She started taking her meals later, when she figured
the boys would be done, and took to sitting with Jeana or girls
from the basketball team. They’d tried to question her repeatedly
but she refused to talk about it, not wanting to tell anyone that
the boys she grew up with thought so lowly of her father. It
hurt.

She endured a constant barrage of questions about her
father and the future of the band but she blew everyone off,
telling them it was none of their business and as soon as the band
made an announcement, then they’d get their answers. She’d angered
and alienated the few friends she had outside of Cole, RJ, and
Jamie but she didn’t care. She didn’t want or need anyone.

She had played in Wednesday’s game, and had played
well. It had been the bright spot of her week. She’d been
exhilarated to be back out on the court, dribbling the ball and
shooting threes. Although she had tried not to, she’d managed to
catch sight of the boys in the stands and it had hurt her heart to
know that they’d only been there to watch Stephanie.

When Saturday came, she drove to Chicago on her own
and spent two hours with representatives and doctors from the State
Team. She’d met a few of them the previous summer at the softball
camp she’d attended and knew that they desperately wanted her. But
they wanted to be in medal contention and the National Tournament
was a big thing. They didn’t want to waste their time on a player
who wouldn’t live up to their expectations. Plus, many players for
the National Team, which would compete in the International Games
the summer after she graduated, were often chosen from State Teams.
There was a lot riding on her ankle.

After she finished with the doctors, who told her
they’d send her the results in about a week, she decided that since
she was close, she’d spend the weekend at her house. Her parents
were still gone on tour and she was grateful. She had a few
decisions to make, especially after one of the doctors warned her
about overworking her ankle.

***

Cole made his way to Stephanie’s room Saturday
evening with RJ and Jamie in tow. They’d heard about a party off
campus and Cole figured it might be just the thing they needed to
take their minds off of recent events. Stephanie was excited to go,
eager to get off campus and relax.

Jamie paused before Ally’s door as the others waited
for Stephanie.

“I know you guys are fighting, but I’m going to see
if she wants to go. She can ride with me if you guys don’t want to
speak to her, but she is my cousin,” he explained.

Cole shrugged. RJ flashed Jamie a brief, guilty look
before nodding. Jamie knocked once before Jeana opened the
door.

“Hey guys,” she greeted with a frown. “I thought you
weren’t talking to Ally.”

“I just wanted to check on her and see if she wanted
to go with me to a party,” Jamie said.

Jeana folded her arms over her chest as she stepped
into the hallway, eyes narrowed. “Why? Do you guys want to break
her heart again? Haven’t seen her cry enough yet? Want to totally
destroy her?”

“Relax, Jeana,” Cole said tiredly, knowing Jeana had
every reason to be angry. Their treatment of Ally wasn’t something
he was totally proud of but he was torn as to what to do or think.
“Is she here or not?”

“No,” Jeana said curtly. “She left early this
morning. She said she would probably go home for the weekend.”

“No one’s even there,” RJ mused. “They’re still out
on tour.”

“Maybe she wanted to get away from you guys,” Jeana
stated, a smug smirk on her lips.

“Or maybe she had that physical today,” Jamie
remembered. “Damn. I forgot about that.”

Cole cursed under his breath. “I told her I’d take
her.”

“Well, she went by herself. I offered to go with her
but she told me she wanted some time alone,” Jeana informed
them.

Stephanie walked out of her room. “What’s going
on?”

“Nothing,” Cole said, grabbing her arm, guilt tearing
a hole in his gut. “Let’s just go.”

***

Cole sat in a corner and watched as drunken idiots
make fools of themselves. Sure, he’d had a drink a time or two but
he didn’t like drinking at parties - he liked to keep control of
his body. He didn’t want to end up like the morons in front of
him.

The party was rather boring, there was no one he
really wanted to hang with, and the music sucked. RJ and Jamie were
talking to some girls and Stephanie was playing the social
butterfly role.

Jennifer Mansfeld approached him, fake, sympathetic
smile on her face. “Hi, Cole. I hear you and Ally are on the
outs.”

Cole finished his soda and crushed the can in his
hand. “Get away from me you jealous, cheating bitch.”

She gasped. “Blame me all you want, but it was an
accident. I never meant to hurt her. Besides, it took her down a
peg or two, didn’t it?”

Cole stood, leering angrily. “I don’t hit females but
I’d gladly make an exception for you if you go near Ally
again.”

“What’s going on, Cole?” Stephanie asked as she
appeared at his side, resting a hand on his arm.

“Oh, moved on to the stepsister? How nice,” Jennifer
purred.

“Who are you?” Stephanie asked.

“She’s the supposed teammate that pushed Ally and
made her break her ankle,” Cole said, eyes shooting daggers at
Jennifer.

Stephanie took a step near Jennifer and smiled. “I’d
love to slap that smirk off your face for that, but I don’t like
violence. But people like you are sad. You’d think you’d support a
teammate, especially one who is good and enhances your team. But
no, you’re jealous that you don’t have her skill or her work ethic
so you choose to hurt her to make yourself look better.”