by J. S. Cooper
“I don’t know.” I bit my lip and looked at Katie to see how she was reacting.
“I want that as well, Nancy.” She looked into my eyes. “Brandon and I have our own tumultuous history, and there have been times that I have hated him, but he’s a good man. He’s the man I love. He’s the man I want to spend my life with. I know this is hard for you and this is your decision, but know that you are welcome into our family with open arms.”
“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.”
The room fell silent as she rambled on. “We could have been a happy family. We could have had a baby together. We could be parents right now.”
“I never knew.” Greyson’s face was white, and I could see that he had no idea what to say.
“Brandon ruined my life.” She pointed the gun at Brandon. “If he hadn’t slept with me that night, I would have known who the baby’s father was. I would have known it was yours. I would have kept it. We would have been together.”
“Patsy.” Greyson took a step towards her.
“Stop!” she screamed. “He ruined my life. I will never forgive him.”
“Please don’t shoot him, Patsy,” I begged then. “Please.”
“Oh,” she laughed evilly then. “I’m not going to shoot Brandon.” She looked at him with distaste then. “Shooting him would be too easy. I want him to feel the same pain he’s caused me. He won’t feel that if he’s dead in a casket.” She took a few steps and pointed the gun at Katie. “I’m going to shoot her.” She laughed. “I’m going to kill their baby.”
“No.” Brandon stepped forward.
“You’re a murderer, Brandon Hastings, and now you have to pay.” Patsy fired a shot, and all I could remember was screaming before I fell to the ground.
Chapter 16
Greyson
Everything happened so quickly that it all seemed like a blur. As soon as I saw that Patsy was about to pull the trigger, I ran. I didn’t care if I got shot, but I wasn’t going to let her kill someone else. As she had spoken, everything had finally clicked into place. I sprang forward as she pulled the trigger and pushed her to the ground. The gun went off and I heard screams. My heart thudded as I grabbed the gun from her hands.
“Is everyone okay?” I jumped up and looked around the room. I saw Nancy on the floor and froze.
“She’s okay.” Meg nodded from next to her. “She fainted.”
“Okay.” I thanked God that Meg hadn’t been hit and looked at Katie and Brandon. They were standing together with fear in their eyes, but they were both okay. “Get up.” I pointed at Patsy and frowned. “Brandon, call 911.”
“I wasn’t really going to shoot her,” Patsy muttered, and I could see the panic in her eyes.
“Yes. Yes you were.” I stared at her with hatred in my eyes. “You’d kill anyone you thought was getting in your way.”
She frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I know what you did,” I spoke quietly, and she froze.
“What are you talking about?”
“It didn’t click until today.” I shook my head. “I didn’t think you were capable of such violence, but I was wrong. You’ve always been slightly imbalanced. And I didn’t help, did I? You were infatuated with me. You did everything you could to help me. I always knew that. Saw the lies you told to protect me. You wer
e loyal to a fault.”
“I loved you.”
“You’d even kill for me, wouldn’t you?” I said the words slowly, and her eyes darted to mine. I could tell from the look she gave me that I was right.
“What are you talking about, Greyson?” Brandon asked, and I could see the confused look in his eyes.
“Patsy killed Maria.” I closed my eyes for a second, trying to stop the guilt from overwhelming me. “Maria wanted to go public about her relationship with you. She wanted to tell the world you’d made her give up your child. She wanted everyone to know that I was the one who had convinced you to do it. She wanted everyone to see what evil bastards we were. She was going to go public with Patsy.”
“I wasn’t going to do it,” Patsy choked out. “That bitch was so stupid. It was clear that Brandon never loved her. She was just trying to ruin everything.”
“You were jealous, weren’t you?” I stared at her again. “She had a baby and gave it away while you had nothing.”
“I wanted us to be together!” she cried. “I wanted you to be with me! I couldn’t let her ruin things!”
“So you killed her to stop her from going public?”
“I killed her because she was going to ruin everything and I wanted Brandon gone. That’s why I made her write the note.” She shrugged. “I wanted him to think it was all his fault. I wanted him to leave. He was the reason we weren’t together. I knew that once he left, you’d be able to forgive me and we could be together again.”
“I never loved you, Patsy,” I said softly. “I’m sorry.”
“The police are on the way.” Brandon spoke up then and he walked over to us. “For what it’s worth, Patsy, I’m sorry about that night as well. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
Patsy fell to the ground then and started crying. Brandon and I stood there in silence, and I watched as Meg and Katie took Nancy from the room.
I felt heartbroken that this is where it had all ended up. Brandon and I had wanted to rule the world. We’d run the club as if we were the only ones who mattered and we’d ruined lives. We’d ruined so many lives. I felt sick to my stomach.
“I’m so sorry,” I muttered again as we waited for the police to show up. I didn’t know what else to say. There were no words adequate enough to convey my guilt about what Patsy had turned into.
She was a monster. A monster I didn’t recognize. A person I hated with all of my heart. When I thought of everything she’d done and tried to do, I felt sick to my stomach.
“I’m so sorry, Brandon.” I looked at my best friend. “I’m sorry to have put Katie and the baby at risk.”
“Katie’s not pregnant, Greyson.” He took a deep breath. “The test I saw wasn’t hers.”
It was then that it hit me. I was going to be a father. My heart started thudding with joy and I couldn’t stop the wash of wonder and excitement that ran through my body. I looked down at Patsy and knew then that she also knew what Brandon’s words meant. She looked broken, and if looks could have killed, I would have fallen dead on the spot.
“So I guess I got it all wrong once again,” she muttered. “I should have killed her at the club.” She shook her head. “I had my opportunity when you guys were in the pool. I should have killed her then.”
I stared at her for a second and all guilt was gone from my soul. I hadn’t broken Patsy. I’d never promised her anything. She was just an evil bitch, and I hoped she got a life sentence for everything she’d done.
***
I walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed next to Meg. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She looked up at me with tired eyes. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. The police have taken her into custody. We’ll all have to go down tomorrow to give statements.”
“Okay.”
“I know about the baby.”
“I see.” She nodded and looked down. “Sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“I understand why.” I sighed. “Do you hate me?”
She looked up and shook her head. “No.”
“Do you trust me?”
“I trust you.”
“Are you going to leave me?” My breath caught and I grabbed her hands as she shrugged. “I don’t blame you for hating me. I waited too long to tell you about everything.”
“I understand why you wanted to keep it to yourself.” She sighed. “It was Brandon’s secret to tell. I just wish you’d told me.”
“I didn’t know what to say. I was ashamed of myself for persuading him to give the baby up.”
“He’s the one who made the decision.”
“But he looked up to me. I was like his big brother. I’m the one who got him on this path. He was a good guy when I met him. I corrupted him.”
“I hate to break this to you, Greyson, but Brandon is his own man. He made his own decisions and he made plenty of mistakes after you guys stopped being friends as well.”
“I know, but—”
“But nothing.” She shook her head. “You are responsible for you and he is responsible for him. That’s it.”
“You know how much I love you, right?”
“I’m glad you told me.” She kissed me softly. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to tell me before today.”
“I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I needed you to know. I didn’t want you to think I was keeping secrets from you. I wanted you to know that I love you and I need you in my life. Forever. I want us to be forever. Your loving and trusting and believing in me was more important to me than keeping it in anymore.”
“You’re a good friend.” She rested her head on my shoulder. “I know why you wanted to be loyal to your friend.”
“He really does love Nancy,” I sighed. “I hope Katie will forgive him.”
“She loves him.” She smiled at me softly. “She’s always loved him. She said a lot of things make sense now. Things she didn’t understand when they first dated.”
“I’m glad.” I looked into her eyes. “Do you love me, Meg?”
“Are you keeping any more secrets from me?” She looked up at me with wide eyes, and I pulled away from her.
“Yes,” I sighed and took a deep breath. “I am keeping one more secret from you.”
“Oh, God.” Her face paled, and I could feel my heart beating fast. “What is it now, Greyson?”
“Meg, I never thought I’d see this day. I never even dreamed about a time when this day would be possible.” I took a deep breath. “I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. I was in a dark, dark place for so many years. I never believed in love. Never wanted it. I was fine being the man who screwed and made money.”
“I see.” She looked away from me, and I fell to the ground and grabbed her hands.
“No. No you don’t. When I met you, I felt like something in the earth shifted. It was like my whole life had been building up to that moment. You were like the catalyst to something good. I fought it so hard, but I couldn’t stay away. I needed you. I craved you. I wanted your smile, your body, your wit. I wanted to be around you, needed to see you. I couldn’t function without you. You came into my life and brought sunshine that had long been gone from my world. Quite simply, you put the beat back into my heart. Meg, I do have one more secret from you. It’s the biggest secret I’ve ever had to keep. It’s one I want to tell you about now. I’m done keeping it a secret. I don’t care about the timing or the circumstances.”
“What is it, Greyson?” Her eyes were wide with unshed tears.
“I bought this for you.” I pulled a small box out of my pocket. I’d been carrying it around with me for the last week, scared that if I put it anywhere else, I’d lose it. “I was going to wait until the right time. I wanted the moment to be perfect, but I don’t want to keep anything from you. I love you, Meg. I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?”
“Oh, Greyson!” she gasped and sat up, staring at the ring. “Oh my God.”
“I wanted to do it now.” I stared into her eyes. “I want you to k
now that I want to marry you because I love you, not just because you’re pregnant with my baby.”
“You’re sure it’s yours?” She laughed and then groaned. “Sorry. Bad joke.”
“Will you marry me, Meg?” I ran my fingers down her face, and she started laughing.
“Oh my gosh, of course.” She sat up and kissed me hard. “Of course I’ll marry you, Greyson. I love you more than life itself. I want to spend my life with you. I love you so much.”
I slipped the ring onto her finger and held her to me tightly. I could barely believe that I’d gotten so lucky. I could barely believe that I was going to have a family. A real family.
“I’m so sorry for the nightmare, Meg. I’m sorry about all the craziness.”
“That’s okay,” she whispered against my lips. “We have each other now and that’s the most important thing.”
Chapter 17
Brandon
Two Weeks Later
“I can’t believe I’m going to be a bridesmaid.” Nancy giggled and twirled around in her dress.
“You look pretty.” Harry giggled as well as he twirled with her. “You look as pretty as Mommy.”
“Thank you, Harry.” She stopped twirling, picked him up, and hugged him.
“Ugh, stop it.” He giggled and pushed away from her. “No more kisses.”
“You don’t like getting kisses from your big sister?” She laughed and let him down.
“You kiss me more than mommy does.” He made a face, and I laughed.
“Harry, let your sister enjoy her kisses.” I grinned at him and rubbed the top of his head. “She’ll be off to college soon and you’ll be wishing she were here to play you.”
“I don’t want her to go to college,” he pouted and grabbed on to her leg. “Don’t leave me, Nancy.”
“You know I won’t leave you.” She kissed the top of his head, and I felt my heart swell with happiness. It felt so wonderful to see my two children together, loving each other so warmly already.
