“Why do you think I’m weak?” I scrunch my nose and flinch, as even my face is burning. “Yes, months ago I’d agree with that. Not today. Two thousand, one hundred seventy-one. That’s almost six years I won’t waste because of her. You need to trust me and . . . not sure. Every time your family is involved it’s as if you’re ashamed of us, Coop.”
Our gazes connect and his eyes transmit only love. “Trust me, Thea. You both are everything to me. My family knows I’m dating you both.” He stands up and walks around the room. “Scott, my assistant, knows too. It’s a slow process, so can you please trust me, baby? Give me a little more time to work it here.” He touches his temple.
Matt clears his throat. I push myself from the bed because I want to know what the hell is going to happen.
“You think it’s easy?” Tristan stares at Matthew, his chest puffed and his jaw tightened. “How are we going to handle it in public? Three?”
“There’s nothing to handle, Coop.” Matt touches my hand, kissing it. “It’ll be on a need-to-know basis. If I introduce you as my boyfriend and Thea as my girlfriend, you just don’t freak out. We’ll have to play it by ear, babe.”
“Kids?” I blurt out, taking part of this impromptu Q&A.
“She wants them, and I want them. How about you, Coop?”
“How are we handling the paternity of those children?” Tristan counters. “Or who is marrying her?” He points at me. “Why her and not us? Either one of us can choose and marry the other, but not the three. Is that fair?”
“We don’t have to handle paternities. I want your kids to be mine and vice versa, Coop.” Matt takes a deep breath, tapping the right side of his chest. “We’ll figure that out as time goes.”
“Then let me continue figuring this out without the fucking pressure. I’m taking strides; you’re just not looking closely enough, Matthew.”
My biggest fear has always been to fall back into the past. Continue being the person who couldn’t control her life. Today that has shifted. My fear is that one day one of us will walk away, or the three of us will take separate roads and never look back.
“You two are the greatest thing that ever happened to my life,” I say, walking to Matt and holding his hand, then reaching for Tristan’s. “I love you both and in my heart I believe we belong together. If tomorrow comes and everything changes, always remember that no matter where I am or who you are, my heart will never stop being yours.”
“Where are you going, Butterfly?” Matt questions as I release their hands.
“Sleep; tomorrow I have a plane to catch. Don’t forget this weekend we have to talk about me.” I kiss them both, then look at Matt. “He’s not his family, and I’m not my family. Never forget that.”
It’s Tuesday, almost midnight, and I start getting my shit ready to head home. There’s no point staying here when the bar is only half-full and my manager has everything under control. I’d rather head home and spend the night with my boyfriend, where we can videoconference with Thea, who is most likely working on her jewelry. Some days I believe she likes to have a couple nights to herself, just to stay awake late and work with her art. My eyes divert to the picture I have on my desk of her building a snowman. Last Christmas we spent time with the entire Colthurst family and she played with the kids almost all week.
Kids.
The biggest uncertainty I have about our future. So many questions. Would we confuse the hell out of them? Would they get made fun of at school for having two dads? Matt gets angry when I doubt the relationship, but I swear he doesn’t think about the future like I do. Our babies. What kind of a life would a kid have? One look at Thea’s loving smile, and I have just one answer: They’d have the best mother any man could give to his children. But is that enough? I suppose they are the same doubts and concerns most relationships face, but in our case, they hurt our relationship. Because they draw on my many insecurities. But I only want the best for her. For us.
My phone rings as I turn off my computer. Mother. I let it go to voice mail. Her frantic voice mails since I told her that Matthew and I are dating drain me. She leaves me the numbers of several counselors who can help me with my “problem.” Promises that if I marry Victoria, God will forgive me. Father Andrew himself called urging me to straighten up my life, to obey my parents. Like I've done before, I let the calls go to voice mail. There’s nothing to say. Nothing in this world will take me away from Matt and Thea.
As I step out of my office and lock it, my phone buzzes. It’s Lucas, my brother.
Lucas: Call me, it’s an emergency.
“What’s going on?” I ask as he answers the phone.
“The hospital called. Father is in the ER,” he answers. “We need you, as according to the lawyers, you’re the only one allowed to handle his business.”
He’s not making sense. What do lawyers have to do with the hospital. “Lawyers? What business? What happened?”
“He had a heart attack. I’ll explain more when you arrive.”
“You’re the doctor, not me.” I remind him that he’s needed there. “Keep me informed until I can fly to Hartford, maybe tomorrow or . . . later.”
“We need you here, Tristan,” he repeats. “He’s filing for bankruptcy; the lawyer needs you while he’s indisposed—or if he doesn’t make it . . . Plus, this is your fault. He begged you to change and instead, you went public. We need you now.”
What the fuck is he talking about? Heart attack? Bankruptcy? I went public? I run a hand through my hair. Fuck. My father is in the hospital. The kid in me, that obedient boy who always did what was expected of him, calls Mason Bradley to make plans for Connecticut as soon as fucking possible. Maybe after this I’ll close that entire chapter and leave my family behind for good.
Tristan: Thea, Matt, I'm flying to Hartford. My father had a heart attack and my family didn’t give me too many details about it.
My phone rings immediately. “Sorry to hear that, babe. Do you want me to go with you?”
His voice loosens the knots of tension forming on my back. “No, I’ll call you as soon as I know what’s going on with him.” There’s a click sound on my phone. I check it and Thea is calling me too. I connect her call with ours. “Butterfly?”
“Coop, I just read your text. Do you want me to go with you?”
Matt laughs on the other line. “He said no. How are you, baby?”
“Worried,” she answers. “Are you sure you don’t want us to go with you? I don’t want you to face this alone.”
“Yes, I'm sure. I love you, baby. Once I find out what’s going on and make sure everything is under control, I’ll head back home.”
“Okay, but promise me that you'll call if you need us.” That sweetness is all I needed to head back home.
“I swear.”
“I love you too. Mattie, call me later.”
“You got it, Butterfly. Love you, Coop. Call us at any time. I’m heading to Seattle tomorrow morning. Thea and I can head to Hartford whenever you want.”
“Thank you. And I love you too, Matt.”
My stomach drops to the floor the moment I step outside the plane and step foot outside the gate. Mason stands only a few feet away with his usual I am going to kill you glare. My brother-in-law and I are best friends. We have a lot of interests in common and we like to spend our time playing video games. We don’t have heart-to-heart conversations, but we know each other pretty well. Well enough to know that if he’s here, there’s some shitty emergency going on.
“Oh goodie, I have a welcome committee,” I say, lightening up the punch that is coming. My parents? Fuck, Grandma Janine. No, please don’t. “Where are the flowers and the banners? Something like MJ, you’re my hero would’ve worked.”
“You done?” he groans.
“As long as you don’t give me some shitty news, yes.”
Mason pulls his phone out and shoves it into my chest while starting to walk. He’s in a shitty mood.
A grainy picture of some teenager lying on
the ground appears on the screen. Not sure what this means, but I scroll down.
Sophie Doesn’t Know It All
By Christine Tovey
Aggie Levitz, sixteen, found unconscious on floor of L.A. nightclub early yesterday morning. Rumors of potential drug overdose have been reported from within Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center where the former child actor is currently a patient. Other scandals involving Levitz this year include driving under the influence, misdemeanor cocaine use, and petty theft.
Aggie Levitz? Who the fuck is Aggie Levitz and why do I have to care about this shit?
“It gets worse. Look at the next screen.”
A picture of a young Thea holding her shirt up to expose her censored boobs with a headline that knocks me down. Metal icon?
Daughter of Metal Icon Locked In Rehab
By Christine Tovey
Seventeen-year-old Aggie Levitz, of Sophie Knows It All, seems to have carved a new image for herself. The actress and former model has been self-admitted to The Dunes East Hampton rehab center. Her father, Martin Levitz, held a press conference this morning to disclose details behind her decision.
Thea is a Levitz. She’s Martin fucking Levitz’s spawn. No. No, that can’t be true. Not her. I let a string of curses leave my mouth.
“Yep, get all that out of your system before you read the shit about the bad boy of the Decker triplets double-timing Hollywood’s tramp with an unknown man.”
I hand over his phone and turn mine on. Alerts pop. My name is trending all over the net. MJ is at the moment being dragged through the media world because he decided to fuck a . . . I can’t say it, because my girlfriend is anything but all the shit they’re plastering on the screen.
“I’m not my family,” she said yesterday.
“Why are you here, Bradley?”
“I’m your security detail for the day,” he says, pulling me to the opposite side of the exit. “The media vampires are thirsty for your blood. Plus, we need your people to help us wipe all the shit. Dad’s taking care of Thea.”
My sister is on full-bitch mode while everyone is working to control the scandal. I’d lie if I said that the crap she’s saying isn’t affecting my decision toward what I’ll do with Thea. Martin Levitz is considered enemy number one in this household. My parents haven’t said much. Gabe’s taking care of Gracie, and Pops is here helping to control the chaos. He’s answering some questions for Pria while she prepares a communication that includes that there’s no feud between Martin and him.
It doesn’t fail that as usual, his ex-best-friend and former bandmate is already using the spotlight to spin his own reality. A reality show. He’s inviting Thea to go back to rehab, that this time she’ll have the full support of her family.
“She’s Martin fucking Levitz’s daughter, father,” AJ spits. “I mean, why couldn’t she say that? We’re best friends, aren’t we? You tell your besty everything.”
“I don’t know, AJ, why couldn’t she?” Pria stops typing and stares at my sister. “It’s so easy to say, “By the way, my parents are famous” to your best friend. Isn’t it?”
AJ’s eyes narrow on Pria. “This is different.”
“No, it’s not, AJ. This is a thousand times worse.” Pria stands up, and gets closer to her. “Did you read all the crap she was involved in? That in itself makes you want to hide your past. Add that this family has a grudge against her father and there’s no way she can win. Still, she was going to do it soon.” Pria turns her gaze to me and I nod.
“You knew?” AJ asks. Jacob and I stare at Pria.
“Yeah, and I made the mistake of telling her that you’d be pretty understanding.” Pria goes back to the table, takes a seat, and starts typing. “Take your time, I said. The Decker family is pretty supportive. They’d never judge you for that shit, Thea. Yep, that’s what I said. And I was wrong.”
I gaze at my brother who lifts his hands shrugging his shoulders, confirming that he had no idea about Thea, or that his wife knew. Also a stern, don’t fuck it up warning.
Don’t fuck it up?
“There’re secrets that we just can’t share because they aren’t ours to share.” Pops walks to the middle of the room. “It doesn’t matter what each one of us knew. Best friend, son, we all are loyal and have to keep quiet. What matters right now is that we stay together as a family.” He directs his gaze at Pria. “We’re supportive, and we don’t care who her father is. Now, everyone back to work before my own shit comes back to bite me.”
Mason and I look at each other and stay quiet. The old articles are already out. Martin hasn’t missed the opportunity to highlight that I’m just a party animal like my father. Not only that, he mentioned that my fathers used to have threesomes in the tour bus every night.
“Hey, Matthew, I received an email asking for the name of your male companion. Any comment?”
I bang my head against my keyboard. “No, I think a sex tape of us is enough to send my male companion over the edge. Releasing his name might give him a heart attack.”
Pria flinches. AJ and Jacob gag. A part of me wants to die. My entire family watched me fuck my boyfriend. I’ve no idea how and who filmed Coop and I having sex. It’s only a three-minute tape but that’s enough to send a closet guy to a bunker for the rest of his life.
“What if Thea did this?” AJ springs into Sherlock Holmes mode. “To . . .”
“Really? She was the one filming herself in the pool with . . . motherfucker.” Lightning strikes me. Coop’s sister breaking into his house and catching them while fooling around in the pool. “That bitch. Mason, Tristan’s sister. Look into it. I bet she’s the snitch.”
He nods and continues typing. “If so, you saved me a lot of man-hours. We just have to get Thea and bring her home.”
How about Tristan? I’ve no fucking idea how his father is. He hasn’t answered one of my calls or texts.
Something is wrong. I brush my teeth for the sixth time in the past four hours. Maybe I should ask Chris to help me with my next appointments. Should I just take the rest of the day off? That sounds better than asking each patient if they don’t mind if I leave . . . while I rush out of the office and puke my brains out—unprofessional.
I pull out my phone to call Matt, but I hesitate. He hasn’t called or texted since he boarded his plane in Santa Barbara. I’m doomed. In conclusion, the sensible thing to do is cancel my appointments and head home. I only have three patients left for the day. Before stepping out of the bathroom, I run through my calendar. If I have to skip the rest of the week I have to . . . I check the month of February and one thing is clear. I’m a week and two days late.
A week.
And two days.
“No, no, no.” The words bounce from wall to wall. “No. I’m not ready.”
This can’t be happening. We’re not ready to take any more steps. Coop isn’t sure about Matt and me . . .
I leave the office and head to the receptionist. “Hey, Laura, can you cancel the rest of my appointments?”
She places a hand on top of mine. “You look green, go home. And don’t worry. If you need tomorrow off, call me early; keep those germs away from the office.”
I nod, head back to my office, and pick up my purse. My patient is no longer in there. It makes me wonder why he left but at this point I don’t care. I only have so much time before I have to search for another restroom. The nerves of sharing my soul this weekend are why I’m tied in knots. I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about the outcome. There’s no baby on the horizon.
When I reach the main floor, there’s a crowd outside the glass doors. Instead of going through there, I take the back entrance and jump into a cab. My phone rings; the caller ID reads Unknown. I decline. The car ride is yet another bad idea, as another wave of nausea hits me and I barely make it down before puking one more time. Joy. As I’m about to open the door of the building, a brilliant idea sparks. An at-home test. If anything, I can just find out exactly if I’m just freaki
ng out about speaking up about my past, or . . . a baby? I can’t think of any other reason why I’m puking my brains out. When I reach the pharmacy my only thought is going in and out with several boxes of proof that I’m in no way pregnant.
Buzz, buzz, another ring tone. Damn.
Unknown: Thea where are you, I need to find you, sweetheart.
Unknown: Thea, pick up that phone. This is urgent.
I ignore the urgency of the call and focus on the display where thousands if not millions of brands promise they’ll give me an accurate result. Next to them, condoms and lubricants. The irony. My only solution is to grab three different types of tests, three boxes of each. I place the boxes on top of the register, add a pack of gum, swipe my debit card, and wait for my receipt. The young woman at the counter hands me my receipt and the bag with the tests. Her eyes meet mine and she smirks. “You’re that girl in the magazines.” She points at the stand next to the candy and the gum.
Aggie Levitz Back In Action.
By Christine Tovey
I scoop up the first magazine and flip through the pages until I see old pictures, recent pictures, and headlines in bold words.
Wild Child Doesn’t Fall Far From Rocker Tree
By Christine Tovey
Actress Aggie Levitz arrested for possession of cocaine late Thursday night. This is the second arrest for the Sophie Knows It All-star this year alone. Levitz’s publicist refused to comment on the matter . . .
My heart thunders. This can’t be happening.
She’s not back. I haven’t done anything.
I rush outside of the pharmacy, running through the couple of blocks that separate me from my shelter. Everyone’s eyes are on me. After all this time . . . how? Who found me? Why would people even care about me anymore? I haven’t worked in years, or done anything stupid. Have I? My phone rings again, I pick it up this time.
“Thea, where are you?” a rough voice with a desperate tone asks. “Sweetheart, I have to find you. This is Arthur Bradley.”
Uncut (Unexpected Book 4) Page 30
