Secret Bay High Lies (Secret Bay High - Book #4)

by Blair Young

  “What are you doing?” I asked. His head jerked up. Clearly, he hadn’t heard me walk through the door, and he was startled. I knew by the way he was acting he wasn’t supposed to be going through that mail. He was behaving much the same way he had when I caught him snooping around Susan’s office weeks before.

  But, he was also good at lying, and it didn’t take long for him to quickly recover with a smirk on his face. Immediately, the warning alarm started to rise inside me, and I wondered if I should leave. I held my ground, however, staring at him with a cold gaze.

  “Just going through the household bills,” he said with a smile. “It makes it easier for Susan if I go through them for her. Then she just knows what she has to pay, and I can sift out the crap.”

  Though some of the envelopes he was holding did look like bills, I had to admit, not all of them did. There was one in particular that clearly had bank information on the front. I didn’t know if they shared accounts, but I had a feeling they didn’t. After all, Dean had been kicked out of the house completely only weeks before. I couldn’t imagine Susan would kick him out if he was on her bank account.

  Or, if he was, I’d imagine she would have taken him off as soon as possible, and not put him back on as soon as he moved back in. No, he was likely going through something he shouldn’t be. But, once again, I wasn’t entirely sure. Maybe they did go through the household bills together, maybe Susan did give him permission to do that.

  I couldn’t know unless I talked to her directly, and I didn’t want to be the one to cause more drama between them. With the way she had reacted when I asked Dean about my parents, I could only imagine she was on edge when it came to the interactions Dean and I shared.

  “Is there anything else?” Dean asked.

  “No,” I said dryly. I didn’t stop to explain why I was asking him what he was doing, and I didn’t give him anymore comments. I just turned and headed straight for my room, closing the door tightly behind me. I wished there were locks on the bedroom doors, but I didn’t hear Dean come up the stairs.

  I changed into dry clothes quickly before settling in on my bed. I wanted to ignore Dean and anything he was doing downstairs, but I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hoped he wasn’t snooping around, and I hoped I wasn’t holding back information I should be sharing if he was.

  There was so much about the man that made me feel entirely uncomfortable, that was for dang sure. I didn’t like being the only one in the house with him. And I really didn’t like feeling like he was watching me, threatening me even with what he was doing.

  Needless to say, I was more than a little relieved when Damon finally got home, too.

  Chapter 25

  Sutton

  Damon went straight to his room when he got home, but I couldn’t help but notice I didn’t hear him say anything to Dean on his way through the kitchen. Dean might not have still been in the kitchen when Damon got back, but I hadn’t heard him leave the house, or come up the stairs for that matter.

  Still, Dean’s footsteps were the only thing I heard walking through the entryway then up the stairs, followed by the sound of him closing his door behind him. I sighed. I was glad the two of them didn’t get into another argument, but I almost hoped Damon would catch him going through the mail.

  At least then I wouldn’t be the only one to know Dean was doing stuff like that. Damon would know better whether we should tell Susan about it. He knew them both better than I did, and I knew I would feel better if I just had someone else on my side.

  And Damon was always on my side.

  But, he didn’t know about what Dean was doing, and I still wasn’t sure if I should be the one to bring it up to him without a real reason anyway. I went back and forth with myself for a while, trying to decide what to do. I felt Damon should know at least, but, I wasn’t sure if I should just blurt it out, or let it come out when it did.

  Then again, I wasn’t sure how it would just come out, either. It seemed like the sort of thing I was going to have to just bring up out of the blue, and I was trying to figure out a way to do that naturally. I didn’t want it to seem like I was just trying to cause more problems with Dean, but then, I wasn’t sure if there was anything I could say against him that wouldn’t come off that way.

  I’d all but made up my mind not to tell him, when suddenly, the perfect opportunity presented itself. I didn’t see it unfolding that way, but it wasn’t long after Damon got home that Susan also arrived. I heard her walk in through the door, and it was very shortly after that another argument erupted downstairs.

  It seemed to start civil enough at first, but it was only a matter of minutes before the two of them were shouting at each other all over again. It was hard to make out anything either one of them were saying. There was a lot of shouting, and I thought I heard something crash downstairs. As though someone had thrown a vase or something.

  Damon slipped into my room, startling me.

  “There they go again,” he said with a shake of his head. “This is what I’m talking about. I thought they were doing so well, but they seem to fight all the time about anything and everything. I mean, dang. I’m getting sick of it. I don’t even know what they’re fighting about.”

  “Maybe Susan found out Dean’s opening her mail,” I said quietly.

  “What?” Damon asked as he looked at me with raised eyebrows. I explained to him what happened that afternoon, and he shook his head. “I didn’t know he was doing that. Yeah, I can see how that might make her mad. But then, maybe it’s something they do. They’re pretty serious, and I would think household stuff is shared.”

  “Yeah, I would, too,” I agreed. “But he wasn’t just going through the household stuff. I mean, there was banking stuff and other things I couldn’t quite make out in there, too.”

  Damon shook his head but said nothing. I wondered what was going through his mind, but before I had the chance to ask, Dean came storming up the stairs. I was glad Damon had closed my door behind him when he came in. I didn’t want to deal with Dean when he was angry, even if Damon was in there.

  We heard him stomp up the hall and close Susan’s bedroom door forcefully, causing the walls to shake throughout the entire upstairs part of the house. Then, everything was silent for a moment. Damon and I looked at each other, both trying to decide what to do.

  “Do you think we should go see if Susan’s okay?” I asked.

  He held up his hand to quiet me, and we both sat in silence for a moment. It almost sounded as though Susan was crying downstairs, but it was hard to know for sure. If she was, she was clearly doing her best to keep it as quiet as possible, probably not wanting to let us hear her.

  “I’m going to make sure she’s okay,” I announced. I wasn’t sure what had come over me, but I felt bad for her. And, I hated Dean. I wasn’t going to hide in my bedroom if she was upset downstairs. After all, I was nearly an adult, and I wasn’t going to let him just push her around like that.

  Damon followed me, reluctantly at first, but walking with more confidence as we headed down to the living room. Susan was on the couch. There was a wine glass in front of her on the table with just a little wine left, and half a bottle on the floor next to her. Her eyes were red, and it was clear she had been crying.

  She quickly wiped her face when we appeared.

  “Are you alright?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what to say to her, so I just said the first thing that came to mind. Susan started to nod with that fake smile on her face, but then, it was as though something new came over her. She fought tears from running down her cheeks once more before she shook her head.

  “No, Sutton,” she said at last. “I’m not alright. I’m as far from alright as you can get.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. I knew she wasn’t going to tell me anything personal about her and Dean, but I hoped she would open up to me at least a little bit.

  “You can talk to us, Mom,” Damon said. “We’re here for you, really.”r />
  Susan took a deep breath, fighting sobs that were threatening to take over. But she let out a big breath of air. “I’m a terrible person.”

  “What!” I gasped. Damon did the same.

  “You are not! You are one of the most generous, loving people in the whole world!” Damon said. “Look at what you’ve done for us!”

  “No, you don’t understand,” Susan said as she shook her head. “I’m a really bad person, and I’ve done some really bad things.”

  “We’ve all made mistakes,” I tried. “I’ve done some bad things in my life, too.”

  “And you know I’ve done some bad things, you have to admit, you’ve been there for most of the things I’ve done, and they’re not great,” Damon said with a smile, clearly trying to lighten the mood as best as he could. But, it didn’t seem like there was anything we could do to make Susan feel any better.

  “No,” she said. “I’ve done things that are far worse than either of you have ever done.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked with a gentle smile. I wasn’t sure what she thought was so bad that it made her such a terrible person, and I hoped she would open up to me and tell me the truth. I might not always get along with her, but I was grateful for Susan for all that she had done for me, and I wanted to make her feel better if there was any way that I could.

  She sighed. “Sutton, I’ve got something I need to tell you.”

  “What?” I asked. “You can tell me anything.”

  She hesitated, and I waited with a patient smile on my face. “Really.”

  “You asked me a while back why your parents wanted you to come live with me when they passed,” she said with a shaking voice. “And I wasn’t entirely honest with you.”

  I looked at her, trying to keep my smile steady, though my heart pounded and my stomach dropped.

  “The real reason they wanted you to come live with me when they passed was because” – she fought to keep her voice steady.

  “Why?” I pressed.

  “Because I’m your biological mother,” Susan announced at last.

  “What!” Damon and I spoke at the same time.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” she said. “But baby, I’m your real mother.”

  I was shocked. My mind went blank and I had no idea what to say. I felt dizzy and sick to my stomach and for a brief moment was afraid I was going to pass out.

  I couldn’t believe it, and by the look on Damon’s face, I could see he was in shock, too.

  But then, a thought formed in the back of my mind, and though I tried to ignore it – though I didn’t want to even give it a moment of my time, I knew I couldn’t. If Susan was my biological mother and the only reason she couldn’t have custody of me was because of my adoptive parents, that pointed to one glaring thing:

  Susan had a good reason to commit murder.

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