Page 69
“Yeah, well, I have a lot on my plate with school and all.”
“Always an overachiever.”
“Someone has to be,” she says as her eyes flick to me.
I rub the back of my neck, unsure of how to approach this. “I’m Hawk.” I stick out my hand, hoping that she takes it, but the gasp that comes from her mouth, and the look of uncertainty on her face, tells me that she’s not happy I’m here.
Loa’s gaze bounces between Rose and me. I know that I look like my mother, more so now that I’m an adult than when I was a child. “How did you find her?” she asks me. “I don’t understand what you’re doing here.”
“I take it you don’t talk to our sister?”
“My sister? No. Rhea and I aren’t close.”
“Loa—”
“Well, I’ve been here for months,” I interrupt my mother. “If you would visit our mother more often, you would’ve known that.” I’m not going to take anyone’s crap, especially not from an entitled little brat.
“Listen here you–”
“I see you’ve met our brother?”
Rhea’s voice has both Loa and I turning our heads towards the door. She’s leaning up against the doorframe with a smirk on her face. She’s freshly showered with her hair still wet, and her typical club-looking clothes are replaced with a simple pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt.
“Why didn’t you tell me that he was here?” Loa barks.
“And miss this treat?”
“You knew he would be here this morning when I texted you that I was coming to see her. You could have told me.”
“No way. When he told me that he was coming this morning right before you did, I thought it was perfect timing.” She pushes off the frame. “You deserved to find out the same way I did.”
“Why are you always such a bitch?” Loa snaps.
“Girls.” Rose stands from her chair. “Stop arguing. That’s not the best first impression to give your brother.”
“He’s not our brother,” Loa argues.
“He may not be yours, but he’s mine,” Rhea defends, but I see it more as trying to get under Loa’s skin than her finally being open to the fact that she has an older brother.
“Daddy isn’t going to like this,” Loa hisses. “He’s not going to like your past stirring up trouble between us, not at all.” She shakes her head as she pulls out her cell phone.
“He’s not my past, Loa. He’s my son.”
“Since when?” She lowers the phone.
“Since always,” Rose responds.
“Ah, yeah, since always. Then why have we never met him? Why did Daddy forbid us to mention him?”
“It has nothing to do with you, Loa. Let it stay in the past. The reason why doesn’t matter anymore. The important thing is that he’s here now, and he’s not going anywhere.”
That’s not true–I’m not going to always be here. Loa stands at her full height, one that’s close to mine. She’s taller than Rhea, which means that she must take after her father. “Is that true?” She lifts her chin and places her hands on her hips. She has a strong backbone, and she’s independent, another thing that differs so blatantly between the two girls. Rhea is defiant, but she’s lost. Loa knows who she is.
“If you’re asking if I’m going to disappear and pretend as though I was never here, no.”
“You’re sticking around?” Loa crosses her arms over her chest. She has a smug look on her face like she knows what I’m going to say, and that truth is going to hurt Rose. She enjoys causing our mother pain.
“Hawk,” Rhea, interrupts, “why don’t we let Loa and mom spend some time together. I’m sure there’s plenty of time for the three of us to get to know each other. We wouldn’t want to overwhelm Mom, not when she’s doing so well.”
