by Andi Bremner
“It’s nothing,” I told my mum, as I flexed my fingers. My knuckles were sore but it made me feel good. If I was sore then the other guy would be suffering today too. Good.
“Why are you fighting people? You’ve never been like that before.” I heard the unfinished sentence in my mother’s tone. I had never been like that before Trinity. And she was right. I hadn’t been the jealous or possessive type before. I mean sure, I hadn’t liked it when other guys flirted with Melissa but I had never reacted to it and I had certainly never punched anyone over it.
“Some guy was hitting on Trinity,” I told them tightly, “she didn’t like it and neither did I.”
“Oh that’s romantic!” Brooke gushed.
“That is not romantic,” my mother corrected, frowning at my sister, “and honestly Luke you can’t go around punching every guy that she flirts with. I’ve heard the performance she gives onstage is quite risqué. What would you expect?”
I glared at Brooke. “And where would you have heard that from I wonder?”
“I didn’t tell her!” Brooke protested, “I think Moonstone is awesome. Trinity is amazing!”
“How would you even know?” I demanded.
She shrugged. “I’ve watched them on YouTube. But I heard you broke the guy’s nose.”
I sighed. We were back to that again. “No, I didn’t break his nose,” I think. “It was just a punch. That’s all.”
“And you were at Tony Hurst’s house?”
“Tony Hurst?” my mother’s hand went to her throat. “Honestly Luke I barely recognize you these days.”
“How are your studies going?” my dad asked now, changing the conversation.
“Um, good yeah,” I told him, thankful that he had finally intervened even if he was about to berate me almost as much as my mother.
“You’ve got one semester left Luke,” he told me like I didn’t already know, “one semester to get your grades up and then graduate. Don’t let your future suffer because of some sexy piece of stuff.”
I fumed at his choice of words. “Trinity is not some sexy piece of stuff.”
“Are you bringing her to the Newtons’ next weekend?” Brooke asked now.
I shook my head. “No.” Definitely not. There was no way I would subject Trinity to that level of cruelty. Between Melissa and my mother she didn’t stand a chance.
“I don’t think that it’s the kind of event that Trinity would feel comfortable in,” my mother told Brooke, “and I doubt she would have the appropriate dress or the money to buy them.”
I glared at my mother. “Maybe I will bring her.”
“It’s too late now,” my mother replied. “The RSVPs were in weeks ago. And really, it would just upset Melissa. I think you do need to consider her feelings Luke. The poor girl is just devastated.”
“And she’s even more devastated,” Brooke stated, “after Trinity told her you were getting married.”
“What?” my mother screamed and looked like she was about to faint. I glared at Brooke.
“Seriously I have to know,” I demanded of my little sister, “where are you getting all your gossip from?”
She grinned mischievously at me. “That is what Trinity told Melissa right? Someone saw her trying wedding dresses on and she told Melissa that you and she were getting married.”
“Luke what is she talking about.”
I shook my head at Brooke before facing my mother. “Melissa and Trinity bumped into each other shopping and Melissa was a bitch to Trinity. In return Trinity suggested that we were getting married—but we aren’t.” Yet, I couldn’t help adding silently without thinking.
“Son,” my dad said now, “you don’t marry girls like Trinity. You marry girls like Melissa.”
I glared at him, “And what do you do with girls like Trinity?”
“You leave them where you found them.”
I glared at him and for a moment I wondered if he was the same as Trinity’s father. Did he have some woman, a mistress, on the side? Did he visit the other end of town regularly to indulge in girls that you “don’t marry”? I wondered if he knew about Trinity’s dad.
I shook my head. Now was not the time to talk about, not that it would ever be the right time. I hated that I knew who Trinity’s father was, and she didn’t. I hated that I was keeping that secret from her, but there was no way I could tell her, not without being prepared to lose her for good.
I looked around at my family and suddenly felt as if I was seeing them for the first time. My mother and her snobbery, my father and his black-and-white views, my sister and her gossip and bitchiness. Pushing back from the table I stood up.
“What are you doing?” my mother asked, her eyes going round. “Sit back down.”
“I have to go,” I muttered, “I’ve had enough.”
“Luke don’t be so rude,” my father growled, “your mother has prepared a lovely lunch for you and you will sit yourself back down and be polite.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’m leaving. I’ll come back when I can bring Trinity with me, and when I can trust that the two of you will be polite to the girl I love. Let me know when that is.”
I didn’t wait for them to say anything but walked out, not bothering even a glance backward as I climbed in the car and pulled away from the house. It was the first time I had ever walked out on them, the first time I had ever threatened them. If they couldn’t accept Trinity in my life then I didn’t exactly know what that meant. Was I prepared for that event? I wasn’t sure, but I knew that there was no way I was letting them get in the way of Trinity and I and what we had.
That also meant there was something else I needed to address. Someone else who was getting in between Trinity and me without her even realizing it.
I drove a few streets away and pulled up outside the familiar house. I stared up at the dark red bricked building with the white shingles and the perfectly manicured gardens. God, how many times had I been here over the years? It was almost like a second home to me. Drawing in a deep breath I made my way up the front porch and rang the doorbell.
Melissa answered, her eyes going round with shock when she saw it was me.
“Luke!”
I managed a tight smile careful not to offer too much her way. I wished we could be friends but I wanted to let her know that it was all we would ever be. “Hi.”
She blinked for a moment before she gathered herself and stepped backwards, letting me in. “What are you doing here? I mean, it’s great to see you, but I’m just surprised that’s all.”
I followed her in, keeping my hands pushed deep into my pockets. “I um, actually came to speak to your dad.”
“My dad?” she asked, “Um okay—he’s in his office.”
I nodded and made my way over to the familiar closed door. Her dad was a workaholic, and was regularly away for work, although I now realized that he hadn’t gone as far as he let his family believe. Probably most of his interstate business trips were simply conducted across town and there was little business involved. My stomach churned with disgust for the man that I had once considered like a second father.
I knocked tentatively on the door before pushing it open and stepping inside. When I closed it I caught a glimpse of Melissa watching me curiously.
Mr. Newton looked up from where he sat. When he saw it was me he sighed and leaned back in his seat watching me carefully. “Luke. I’ve been expecting to see you.”
I didn’t reply just kept my gaze locked on him.
“I thought I would’ve heard from you before now, or at least heard from that girl of yours.”
My hands curled into fists at the way he talked about Trinity, as if she was nothing at all, when in fact she was everything.
“Do you even know?” I whispered eventually.
“That she’s my daughter?” He shrugged. “Sure. Or at least that is what her mother has always told me although without a paternity test I can’t be a hundred percent sure.”
“You t
hink she’s not actually yours?” Maybe that was why he had never done the right thing, because her mother had suggested that she wasn’t.
“Oh I’m pretty sure she is.” He shrugged and then regarded me carefully. “You haven’t told her have you?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Are you going to?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well,” Mr. Newton stood up behind his desk and moved around the front to lean back against it. “Let me see if I can help you make the decision that works best for everyone.”
“Everyone?” I cocked an eyebrow. I knew what he really meant and I was pretty sure that when he said everyone he was pretty much just talking about himself.
“Well look at it this way,” he continued, “by telling Trinity that I am her father what will you be achieving? Think about for one, what will happen here to my family.” He gestured around the office and to the family photos of his wife and his kids that sat on his desk. “My wife will be devastated and you know how fragile she is. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a complete breakdown this time. And what about Melissa? Can you imagine what it would do to her to find out that I have another daughter about her age? A girl who has managed to steal her boyfriend away from her, a girl she already thinks has ruined her life.” He shook his head. “And your own family. Imagine how they will feel … it would make them feel as if they had to take sides. Choose between your girl and my family. Whose side do you think they will choose?”
I stared at him as he talked, my hands curled into fists. I wanted to hit him, I wanted to slam my fist into his sick, selfish face and wipe the smirk off his mouth.
“And then what about Trinity’s family.” He snickered. “You think Maureen will be pleased that after keeping my secret all these years for me you have gone and shared it? You think she won’t blame Trinity for it? And Trinity? I know how your parents feel about her and I know how she feels about Melissa. Oh yes, I heard about her vindictive little snipe at Melissa yesterday. You think she is going to be happy to have a half-sister—a half-sister that is your ex-girlfriend?”
“You know Maureen was abusing Trinity and you never did anything?” I said eventually, grasping the one bit of information that actually made me feel sick.
“What could I do?” he said simply. “I suspected but since I never actually saw the girl I couldn’t be sure. But if I alerted authorities I would have to explain my involvement and I couldn’t have done that could I?”
“So you just left her there,” I clarified, “to protect your own self interests. You left your own daughter with a woman who beat the crap out of her.”
“Like I said,” he repeated, “I couldn’t be sure.”
I shook my head. “I don’t get it. Why have you been doing this? If you loved Maureen why didn’t you just leave, years ago, and be with her?”
Mr. Newton stared at me like I was mad. “You are still young Luke, you don’t understand how the world works just yet. You think you are in love with that girl but once you realize what you have to give up in order to be with her you’ll realize you don’t love her enough.” He stared down at the floor, deep in thought before he lifted his eyes again to meet mine. “I did love Maureen, once, long ago. She was beautiful and she would do anything to keep me interested in her. Amazing in bed, incredible in bed, and always willing. Girls like her always are. I bet her daughter’s the same.”
I glared at him and felt my fists twitch but kept steady as he continued.
“But Valerie’s parents were friends with mine. And Valerie was the girl I was supposed to marry and have a future with. I explained the situation to Maureen, she always knew I would never leave Valerie. You understand. You think you can leave your family, you can avoid marrying and having a future with Melissa but you are just as caught as I am. You can’t avoid your future, Luke.”
“I am nothing like you are.”
“Yeah you are, Luke,” he told me smoothly. “Think about it. And let me give you some advice.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice, “You can actually have it all too. You can marry Melissa, you can keep your family happy and be the man you are supposed to be and you can keep your piece of ass on the side. Get Trinity a house, hell I will buy the house for you, and set her up in there. Keep her for as long as you like.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
He shrugged. “One piece of advice though. Don’t make the mistake of knocking her up like I did the mother.”
I couldn’t contain my rage anymore and my fist landed square on his jaw. Fuck, I’d used the same hand as I’d used on the guy last night and my knuckles throbbed like hell. Mr. Newton rubbed a hand over his chin and glared at me.
“Do you feel better now?”
“No,” I seethed, “you need more than one fucking punch. You need one for every false promise you ever offered her mother, for every time that woman hurt Trinity, you need a punch for every lie you’ve told your family, told Melissa, and you need a fucking beating for talking about Trinity like that and suggesting that I am anything like you are.”
He glared at me. “You done?”
“No!” I roared, “I am just getting fucking started you piece of shit. You hear me, I am not a part of your world, I am not marrying your daughter and I am not going to lie for you.”
He met my steady gaze. “You are going to tell Trinity.”
“Fucking oath I am going to tell Trinity,” I spat at him, “she deserves to know the truth.”
“And what do you think that will get you Luke? I am sure you have already had her in bed with you, you think that by telling her the truth she will spread her legs any wider?”
I slammed my fist into his face again and this time he fell back on the ground. Blood trickled out the side of his mouth. Good. Seeing him bleed made me feel better.
“You will not talk about her like that. You will not talk about her period. You don’t deserve to be her father, you piece of fucking shit.”
I shook my hand which was throbbing now and turned to go.
“Luke,” Mr. Newton called from the floor just as I reached for the handle, “if you care about this girl so much you should stop and think about what will happen if you tell her. What will happen to her and what she will think of you having kept this secret from her for how long? Weeks now.”
I shook my head. I knew what Trinity and I had and I knew that I had no right keeping secrets from her.
Opening the door I started as Melissa jumped back. Her pale face and trembling lips told me everything I suspected.
“Melissa,” I said quietly, “you heard all that?”
She blinked at me and her eyes filled with tears. My gut twisted. I hated that she had heard all of that. I hadn’t wanted that.
“Is it true?” she whispered.
I nodded. “Yeah,” I ran a hand through my hair and cursed myself for being so thoughtless as to confront him at his house. I should have known Melissa would be sneaky enough to eavesdrop on our confrontation. “I’m sorry.” I didn’t have anything more to say.
She stared past me to where her father still sat, slumped on the floor. “Dad?”
“Oh my god!” Suddenly Mrs. Newton appeared, emerging from the kitchen. Her eyes went from me to Melissa and then to her husband. “Luke! What have you done?”
She hurried past me into the office. “Honestly! What has come over you, ever since that damned girl came along and turned your head—”
I didn’t wait to hear anymore but turned and left the house. From behind me I heard Melissa start to cry and I think I even heard her cry my name but I didn’t turn around. This was his mess and this was something he needed to start cleaning up after all these years.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Trinity
I stretched out languidly in bed and stretched my arms over my head. Morning sunlight streamed in through the window and my body tingled with warmth and the post sex vibrations that always continued to thrum through me even hours after Luke
and I had…
Rolling to my side I snuggled down under the bedsheets as I let the images from last night wash over me. Luke above me, behind me, below me. Inside me. Luke’s hands moving over me, touching every inch of me, his mouth following suit. Last night he had made love to me in a kind of desperate way as if he couldn’t get enough of me, and whilst it terrified me a little it had also made everything more intense and alive.
I’d responded. I couldn’t get enough of him either. I didn’t think I ever would.
My phone vibrated beside my bed and I pulled it up frowning when I saw it was a message from my mother. I hadn’t heard from her at all since that day Luke had pulled her off me. My hands went to my throat feeling her fingers close around me again, a strange burning sensation choking me as if she was doing it again, right now.
I read the message. She wanted me to come over. Fuck. I threw my phone against the wall and curled tighter into a ball. Why couldn’t she just leave me alone? I was happy to walk away, it was what she wanted from me, gone from her life. So why did she keep pulling me back in just when I thought we were done for good. Why couldn’t she just let me go?
Getting up I pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt as I went out to get some breakfast. At the same time Luke came in through the front door. He was dressed in short shorts and a t-shirt that was drenched with sweat. Earphones dangled from his ears and when he saw me a lazy grin stretched across his face.
“Good run?” I asked, letting my gaze wander the length of him.
He stretched both arms over his head. “Yep. Good sleep in?”
I giggled. “Yes.” And then I remembered the text message from my mom.
“What is it that is making that little frown pucker your eyes together?” he teased.
“My mom,” I said and heard him suck in a breath. “She texted me asking me to come see her today.”
“You aren’t going.” He said it like a statement not a question as he made his way over to the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice, drinking straight from the carton.
