“What’s going on?” Paige asked, sensing something was different.
“I need to talk to you,” Sharon said.
“Actually, we both need to talk to you.” Anthony moved in behind her mother, looking rather imposing. She wanted to kill him for taking her mother away, to take him out of the equation so it was just her and her mother, waiting for her father. Donnie came in behind her with his friends. “Luiz, Tonio, Jake, you all need to leave. This is family time right now.”
No one argued with Anthony. He was the head of the house, and even if Paige wanted to kill him, she couldn’t.
“Come. Sit.”
Two simple words, and yet Paige knew they were going to destroy her. She followed her mother into the dining room. The table was free apart from a large vase of daffodils on the table. It was strange to see the daffodils seeing as they were out of season.
Sitting across from Anthony and her mother, Paige pulled her bag onto her lap for something to hold onto.
“What’s going on?” she asked, wishing she was anywhere but in this man’s dining room. When they had been with her father, they never had anything grand, but they were both loved. This was the complete opposite. Her mother was now owned, not loved. She was a mere trophy to a man like Anthony, and something inside Paige told her that it wasn’t a trophy he was after.
“Your mother and I have talked long and hard about this, and we think it’s time that you knew the truth, Paige.”
She looked from one grim face to the other. Sharon was hard, no tears present, but she wouldn’t meet her eyes. Paige suddenly felt like she was floating.
“Tell me what truth?”
Someone touched her knee, and when she gazed down she found Donnie’s hand there. Why was he touching her? Why did she care that he touched her? So many questions and yet none of them made sense.
Anthony looked at Sharon. “It’s about your father.”
“What about him? Is he okay?”
“That’s the thing, honey,” Sharon said. “Your father.” She stopped, placing a hand over her heart. “It has been so hard for me to tell you something like this. I thought if I didn’t tell you it would give you hope.”
“Hope of what?”
“Your father is dead,” Anthony said.
Shaking her head, Paige started repeating the word “no”, over and over again.
“Listen to me—”
“No, no, no, I don’t have to hear this. I can’t hear this. It’s completely insane what you’re talking about. My dad can’t be dead. He left, and he hasn’t returned. You’re lying. You’re lying so you can move on and marry someone else.”
Sharon pulled out a piece of paper. Paige stared at it, but it was blurry. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she couldn’t see properly.
“It’s his death certificate.”
“You’ve known all this time and didn’t tell me?” She wasn’t looking at her mother anymore but a stranger. When had her mother started to disappear?
“I wanted to, but no time was ever the right time.”
Pushing back from the table, Paige just couldn’t handle it anymore. “I can’t do this. I won’t deal with this.”
“Honey—”
“No, you don’t get to honey me.” She held onto her bag tighter, hurt, angry, and breaking apart at the news that she’d just heard. “You lied to me. When you told me he left, it hurt. How could he have just gone, but you lied to me. He was never gone, and that, I don’t know you anymore, Mom. No, you’re not a mom to me—Sharon.” With those parting words between them, Paige ran toward her room, rushing up the stairs, tripping as she went.
Life was never going to be the same again.
Chapter Four
One year and three weeks later
Paige’s eighteenth birthday was around the corner, and Donnie stood in his father’s garden, smoking a cigarette as he listened to his stepmom make all the arrangements for the party. In the last year a lot had happened, and yet nothing had. He’d gotten close to Paige, helping tutor her through math. They did stick to their deal, and she continued to work at the diner, much to his annoyance. He got his friends to leave her a big tip. To a point, Paige had become part of them. Luiz, Tonio, and Jake treated her like a friend and were always happy to have her around.
They’d even hung out around the house watching movies when their parents left for the weekend to spend time together. When Sharon and Anthony had gotten married it had been hard for Paige. Donnie had spent more time with her, hanging out, talking. He truly believed he’d spent more time talking with his stepsister than any other girl. What bugged him was his reaction to her. In the last year he’d watched her grow and fill out. She’d had a curvy body to start off with, and it only got more so. He found himself using other women just to release his aching need so that he didn’t make a complete fool of himself with her.