“I don’t know what to say.” I stood up and looked at Brandon. “I didn’t know you cared at all.”
“You can see in these files.” He handed them to me. “I’ve been keeping up with everything in your life.”
“Why didn’t you come to the club when I was there?”
“He didn’t know.” Greyson spoke up then. “He didn’t know you were there. I didn’t know who you were at first. Patsy didn’t tell me. I thought you were just another girl. When I found out you were Maria’s sister, I didn’t know what to do. I knew, of course, that you were the baby we’d covered up, but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t tell Brandon right away. I was so caught up in Meg. I wanted to pretend that my past didn’t exist. I felt like the devil and I just didn’t know what to do. And then I saw you and Meg getting close and I was scared. I didn’t know what you knew. I didn’t know what you would say. I asked Patsy what was going on. She said she didn’t know.” He sighed. “I trusted her. I should have known she was the weak link. She knew everything, of course. She was the only one who knew everything, aside from Brandon and me.”
“He told me that you were there the day you went missing.” Brandon spoke up then. “We thought David or Patsy had you. We were going to talk to her, but then the notes started arriving and we didn’t know what to think. The only thing we knew was that you knew the truth. We just wanted to meet you and talk to you, but then you never showed up to the lunch.” His eyes looked at me with a question and I shrugged.
“Patsy told me to leave.”
“We waited for hours. I just wanted to see you, to explain, to hug you.”
“I wish I’d stayed.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I felt like I owed her.” I sighed. “I don’t know anymore.”
“Will you give me another chance?” He reached his hand out to me.
“Yes.” I smiled, and he pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight.
“I love you, Nancy. Please always remember that I love you.”
“There’s something you should know.” I looked up at him. “Patsy’s pissed.”
He made a face. “She’s always pissed.”
“No.” I shook my head. “She’s really pissed. When she found out that Katie was pregnant, she got really mad.”
“What?” He froze and looked down at me.
“She said—” I started, and then we heard a loud noise.
We all froze and looked towards the door. Patsy walked in with a gun in her hands. She looked at me with a sneer and then started laughing.
“Well, what do we have here?”
“What are you doing here, Patsy?” Greyson stepped towards her, and she pointed the gun towards him.
“Stop!” she screamed. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”
“Patsy, you don’t want to do this.” His voice was soft. “Please just give me the gun.”
“So you can shoot me? I don’t think so.”
“Patsy,” he said again, and she made to pull the trigger.
“Shut up!” Her eyes turned cold. “Just shut the fuck up or I’ll shoot.”
“Patsy.” Brandon spoke up now and took a step towards her.
“Stop right now, Brandon Hastings. I swear I will shoot you through the heart if you take one more step.” She paused and laughed. “That’s if you have a heart.”
He stopped still, and I could feel my heart racing. I was scared. More scared than I’d been when David had had me in the room. I hadn’t minded dying then, but now? Now I wanted to live, and I needed for Brandon to live as well. I wanted my father in my life. I wasn’t going to lose him now.
“Patsy, please don’t do this,” I said, and she looked at me with bitter eyes.
“I can’t believe you turned on me. I thought we were in this together.”
“I never wanted to hurt anyone, Patsy. I just wanted answers.”
“They discarded us, Nancy. Don’t you get it? We don’t mean anything to them.”
“Patsy, I’m sorry that I never loved you,” Greyson said, and she turned to look at him again.
“I loved you, Greyson Twining. I loved you so much.” Her voice cracked. “That night with Brandon was a mistake. I made a mistake. I fucked him, yes. Yes, I fucked him and a part of me knew it wasn’t you. And a part of me didn’t care, but then I got pregnant. I got pregnant and I was so excited. I thought this was it. This was going to cement our relationship. We were finally going to be together. And then it struck me. What if it wasn’t your baby?” Her voice broke. “What if it was Brandon’s? You’d never take me back then. You’d never want me. So I took care of it. I took care of it because I loved you. And I wanted you to forgive me and take me back.”