The Dividing Line

by Victoria H. Smith

  “And you need her too, Drake,” my sister continued. “If you’re going to do this you need family by you. To support you.”

  I lifted my head to look at her. “I told you.”

  She rolled her eyes to the heavens, pushing her long braid off her shoulder. “That’s because you needed me. I mean, have you even told Lacey?”

  My jaw worked a bit, and her eyes widened, flashing the same green coloring in my father’s aging eyes.

  “You haven’t?” She threw her head back. “I can’t believe this. Why?”

  “I’m going to. I just— We’re going through something right now.”

  This seemed like a vast understatement, but I didn’t intend on unloading all my dirty laundry onto my sister like she was Dr. Phil. I hadn’t spoken to Lacey since our argument over the porn star, and needless to say, the details of my adoption hadn’t come up. I was handling one issue at a time these days, and right now, this was where my mind was.

  Where I was forcing my mind to be.

  I didn’t want to reveal how the mention of Lacey affected me so I stood stone-faced to leave. I pushed the folder underneath my arm. “Anyway, I have to go. Thanks for getting the records. I really appreciated it.”

  “But, Drake—”

  My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket. A text message from Natalia was on the screen.

  Hey! The group is going over to Club XO. Just wondering if you wanted to go. We’re meeting at ten.

  I checked my watch. Good, I had a bit of time to go home and look at these files. I texted Natalia back, “sure,” and that I would meet them there. I looked up at my sister. “Do you know where Club XO is?”

  She lived here longer, so I figured she might have heard of it. I needed to know where to tell my cab driver to go later.

  She got up, pushing her sparkling purse on her shoulder. “Yeah. It’s that new club at Navy Pier. They’ve got great mixed drinks—”

  I pushed a long current of air through my nose, trying not to think about the fact that my sixteen-year-old sister had not only snuck into a club, but was drinking alcohol. She no doubt had a fake ID. God, did I regret the shit I did when I was around her. She most likely got the idea from me. I had one I frequently used in high school.

  “I’ll forget you said that if you swing me by Derrick’s house before you head home.”

  “Okay, but why were you asking about Club XO?”

  “Because I’m going there tonight.”

  She narrowed her eyebrows. “By yourself?”

  “No.”

  “Then who are you going with?”

  “People. What’s with the third degree?”

  She looked uneasy. “Should you be going to clubs without Lacey? Dancing with other girls…”

  It was official. My sister was exhausting. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m allowed to go to clubs without my girlfriend, and no one said anything about dancing with other girls. Now, can we just go?”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Lacey

  “Oh my God, is my girl really here? Squee!” Margot threw her arms around me and I just about fell over. I dropped my bags, giggling.

  She pulled back, pressing her hands into my cheeks. “Are you really here? I mean, you said you were coming, but it’s still so crazy.”

  I laughed. “As far as I know, sweetie.”

  “Squee! Come in. Come in. Sit down.” She grabbed my bags from the floor in her apartment complex’s hallway and practically pushed me into her apartment from behind. “How are you here so quickly? You just called yesterday.”

  I slipped my velour hat off, tossing it on the coffee table in her large living room. Margot joined me on her cozy couch with a plop.

  “Let’s just say I know a friend.” If Jason hadn’t already done so much for me, he overwhelmed me even more by allowing me the use of his private jet. I had personal attendants and slept pretty much the whole way to Chicago. I couldn’t remember feeling so relaxed. In return for his services, he only asked one thing: to never allow myself to lose my spirit. He really was amazing.

  “So it’s really over? You’re back for good?” Margot asked, frowning. “Don’t get me wrong. I want you back, but I just want to make sure you made the right decision.”

  I told Margot nearly everything on the phone that happened in Paris. How I worked myself so hard I’d been diagnosed with exhaustion. About my new, incredibly good looking friend Jason (she was quite sad to hear he was batting for the other team), and how the two of us had been attacked by paparazzi. This brought me to Drake and how mad he was when he found out about my friendship with Jason. Margot response to that part was simple, yet direct. “He’s an idiot. A fuckin’ idiot,” she’d said.

  I didn’t disagree with her, but I did think her statement was a bit harsh. The conversation ended in my decision to let my life in Paris go, ultimately turning down the invitation to go on tour with the cast. Jason was right. Though production was disappointed to see me go, they got along just fine by offering my roll to my first understudy—Betsy. I only wished her well. She, Dara, and I ended my time in Paris the way it began. As friends. We all promised to keep in contact, and I was only pleased with the decision I made to come home.

  “I think so,” I said, smiling. “I think I need to do some major soul searching. I want to be home to do it.”

  My best friend gave me a hug then pushed off the couch, her rainbow-tipped braids swinging with her. “Well, you’re staying here tonight. We can call some of the girls to swing by and have a girls night in. We can do nails. Smoke weed…”

  I scrunched up my nose, eyeing her.

  She winked. “Just kidding on that last bit, Lacey girl. Come on.” She snatched up my bags. “We’ll get you settled and then party.”

  “I want to see Drake first.”

  She dropped her shoulders, scowling. “He’s a fucking idiot.”

  “He just misunderstood, and I need to make things right between us. He doesn’t even know I’m here and—”

  “It’s fine. I get it. I’m just going to put these in the spare room.”

  Giving myself a mental pep talk, I slipped my phone out to call him. I had an unread text, and oddly enough it was from Adele.

  Hey, Lacey. I hate to bother you with this. I know you’re probably incredibly busy and worrying about a million other things, but I don’t know what else to do. I’m really worried about Drake and think you should call him. Tonight, he asked me to help him with something I didn’t really feel comfortable being a part of. It had to do with his adoption. I can’t tell you any more than that because I think he should be the one to tell you about what he’s doing. Not only that, but I found out he was going to a new club at the Pier tonight when he was texting someone, and he was being really secretive about who he was meeting there. I dropped him off at Derrick’s after we met. He didn’t know, but I stayed around and waited so I could follow him and see who he was meeting tonight. Once his cab came, I tailed him to the club. He met a girl there, and he was hugging her outside of the building.

  Chapter Forty

  Drake

  “I come bearing gifts,” Kyle shouted over the mix the club’s DJ was spinning. He placed various drinks on our group’s back table. He had a combination of sodas and other non-alcoholic drinks. This was an over eighteen club, but we were all under drinking age. I still had to get used to that since I could drink legally in Paris.

  Luc had ordered bottled water before Kyle left, and Kyle had it positioned under his armpit. I was assuming so he could handle the other drinks he carried. He dropped it from under his arm and set it down in front of Luc.

  Luc twitched at it in disgust. His cloud of bleach blond hair flopped when he did, which looked kind of funny since it glowed under the club’s black lights. “Like I want this after it’s been under your armpit, hyung.” He pushed the water away.

  Luc called Kyle that quite a few times at Natalia’s place. I later found out the Korean word was one of f
riendship or brotherhood. It literally translated to ‘older brother’.

  The whole table laughed at Luc’s reaction. Kyle picked up his root beer. It was in a long necked bottle, and he tipped it toward Natalia.

  “Are you sure you don’t want anything?” he asked her, referring to her earlier denial of a beverage.

  She lifted her hands from the table, protesting. “No. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to stay. I’m afraid I’m with the kids tomorrow at the Y.”

  “Really? But it’s the weekend.” I took a sip of my own soda.

  “We’re doing a special thing with our adoptee group tomorrow. We’re having an indoor carnival for them, and a guest speaker is coming.”

  “Who?” Mina asked.

  Natalia made a show of zipping her lips with an invisible zipper. “Don’t want to jinx it. I won’t know officially until tomorrow morning if they’re coming. If they can’t make it I’ll have to do the closing speech.”

  Mina blew a raspberry with her tongue. “Fun.”

  “You know what does sound like fun?” Kyle maneuvered out of the booth, slipping his hand into Mina’s to do the same. “You pressed against me on that dance floor.”

  He spun her in a circle, which she ended by touching a kiss to his cheek. I was never one for taking notice of another couples ‘cuteness’, but in that moment of their connection, I was reminded of Lacey.

  How much I missed her…

  I lifted my soda, taking a long draw of the bubbly liquid. I couldn’t help but wish I had something harder at the moment.

  Before the couple left, Mina spoke to Natalia in Korean. Natalia smiled and turned at the waist my way. “Do you want to head to the floor with them, Drake?”

  I put my soda down. “Nah. That’s okay. You guys can all have fun.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Luc leaped from the booth. He spotted a tall girl with olive toned skin and flowing black hair and guided her to him by the hand.

  “Jagiya,” he said to her, kissing her hand. She flashed him a pair of hooded eyes before moving with him into the crowd.

  “You don’t dance, Drake?” Kyle asked, taking back my attention.

  “Ah, it’s not that. Um, it’s just you know. Girlfriend and all.”

  Mina and Kyle nodded in understanding.

  “All right. We’ll be out there.” Kyle escorted Mina away, and Natalia and I were left at the table. The beat changed, and the music thumped louder. Natalia looked my way, moving her lips but I couldn’t hear her. I pointed to my ear.

  She scooted over, and I bent to give her my ear.

  “I said sorry I didn’t think about that. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.” Her eyes read worry when she pulled back.

  I leaned in to her this time. “You didn’t. It’s fine. It’s just… you know with that thing with Lacey and that article… It’s probably the last thing I should be doing at this point.”

  “I get it. You don’t have to explain.”

  Grasping my soda, I lifted the corner of my lips in thanks.

  She chewed her lip before she spoke again. “Are things okay with you guys?”

  I read her lips more than I heard her that time. “We’ll work it out. We always do.”

  This made her smile.

  I got closer to her since the music managed to get even louder. “I got the records,” I told her.

  Her eyes twitched wide in interest. “What did you find out?”

  Shaking my head, I thought about what I didn’t find out. I was so anxious to open the folder the minute my sister handed it to me, and the feeling didn’t leave the entire car ride over to Derrick’s house nor did it go when I finally arrived. But as soon as I got into my bedroom, sitting on my bed with the folder on my lap, I froze. I couldn’t make myself do anything next. It was my life in those records. My life, and I was sitting there with it in my hands. It was in that moment, I had to admit something to myself.

  I was scared.

  I was nervous about the whole thing. The entire process. What if I started this whole thing and I came up with nothing? I never found her. One better, what would happen if I did? How would my life change? These were things I had to consider. Things I had to think through.

  Knowing I still had time to make a decision, I ended up putting the records under my bed and calling my cab to come and take me to the club. Things would change once I looked into my past, and I needed a few more moments to make sure I was ready for that.

  I looked at Natalia. “I didn’t find out anything. I honestly couldn’t bring myself to open them just yet. In a way, it makes this whole thing I’m doing real I guess.”

  She touched my arm. “You should only do it when you’re ready.”

  I was constantly astounded by Natalia’s giving nature, her ability to genuinely want to help others. That trait I noticed that day I missed the bus, when her mom helped me. I guess that was where she got it.

  “Do you need a refill, sir?”

  “No, thanks. I’m—” I turned to face who I thought was a waitress, but the girl ahead of me was far from.

  In front of the table stood a glaring, rainbow-haired Margot, and she held an upset Lacey by her arm. Like she was holding her against her will.

  Natalia and I shot apart.

  “Lacey—”

  She released herself from Margot’s hold before I could finish, fading into the dancing bodies. Margot crossed her arms, shaking her head at me.

  “You’re a fucking idiot,” she said. Whipping around on her heel, she went after Lacey.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Drake

  “Did you really have your bitch,” Margot stretched the final word through gritted teeth, “drive you to my place to see my best friend. I’d say your girlfriend, but that title is currently questionable at the moment.”

  I stood outside of Margot’s apartment door, not really sure which statement she’d said to address first. I decided on the ‘bitch’ part. Mostly because the possibility of the last bit scared the shit out of me. “What are you talking about, Margot?”

  She stepped outside of her apartment, slamming the door shut behind her. She pointed over my shoulder. “Natalia Johnson. She drove you here. Don’t try to deny it. Lacey and I saw you from my bedroom window.

  This whole thing had to be a nightmare. Shit like this just didn’t happen in real life where my girlfriend—who was supposed to be Paris—just happened to stumble upon me at a club with another girl. I drew in a long breath. “For one thing, Natalia is not my bitch. She didn’t do anything wrong so don’t call her that.”

  Her lip went up in a snarl. “You really are a fucking idiot.” She turned to go back into her apartment.

  “Wait. Margot.” I attempted to grab her arm, but she moved away from me.

  “Seriously, Drake. You better back up. I’m not against using violence.”

  I raised my hands in surrender, not wanting her to make on the threat. “Look. I had Natalia drive me here because she’s a friend. A friend who happened to have a car.”

  “Yeah, you two looked really friendly all over each other in the club.”

  “We weren’t all over each other. We were just talking. It was loud in there, and we had to speak over the music.”

  “What were you doing at a club with her anyway, Drake?”

  I bit back a smart remark. I didn’t really feel I had to explain anything to anyone but Lacey, but since Margot had dubbed herself as best friend/gatekeeper, I didn’t have much of a choice. “She and her friends invited me. They were out on the dance floor. They asked me out there, but I didn’t feel comfortable because I’m with Lacey. Now, would you let me in so I can talk to her? How was she at the club? Why is she here and not in Paris?”

  She stepped in front of the door handle, crossing her arms. “She had a source that informed her you were at the club. You were seen hugging a girl that wasn’t your girlfriend.”

  My mind flashed back to her reference. I recalled greeting everyone
that way when I arrived. I looked up at her. “Yeah, I hugged Natalia, but I also hugged Mina and greeted the guys in a shake and hug as well. And who is your source?”

  “Your sister. She tailed your ass to the club after you were being fishy on the details when she met you earlier.”

  I rubbed my hand over my face. My sister. I doubt she meant any harm, but goddamn did she get me in a shitload of trouble tonight.

  “As far as Lacey being here, you’d know if you paid a shred of attention to anyone but yourself. God.” She smirked, shaking her head. “The bullshit she’s been through, and you don’t know jack shit about it. You were too busy accusing her of shit. Couldn’t see past your own goddamn ego.”

  I narrowed my eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

  “Lacey left her show.”

  I twitched.

  “Exactly. She wasn’t happy there and decided to come home, and I think a lot of that has to do with you. I still have no idea why.”

  I forced myself not to roll my eyes about that. “She came back because of me?”

  “That, and she was attacked by paparazzi. Something you did know about but couldn’t get over yourself enough to see the truth behind it. That guy she was in the photos with is gay by the way. Not that she needed to explain that to you.”

  I closed my eyes, feeling incredibly stupid. God…

  “Oh, and it gets better. Did you know she worked herself so damn hard during rehearsals that she collapsed? Collapsed! Right in the middle of rehearsal and was diagnosed with exhaustion. No, you didn’t know. Why? Because you were too busy being so fucking jealous over her friendship with a gay man.”

  I couldn’t think. I couldn’t catch my breath. I turned my back to her, taking a few steps into the hall. Squatting, I pushed my hand into my hair. “God, I fucked this up, didn’t I?

  “Ya think?”

  After taking a moment, I stood and came back to her. “Let me talk to her.”

  She cocked her head. “Why should I?”