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Remi gasps beside me, like she’s just discovered something, but I don’t turn to ask. I need to hear what my uncle has to say first.
Chapter Fifteen
Remi
Ace is tense beside me as James slowly unravels the story.
“I’m almost two years older than Charlie, but I was only in the grade above. He was always a loose cannon, causing trouble, and I was always cleaning up his mess. Maria was from the Heights. She didn’t go to our school, but Charlie met her on a field trip and they hit it off. He was in tenth grade and I was a junior. She was like a breath of fresh air. Sweet and funny and not at all like I thought she would be.” Sadness washes over him as he stares out at nothing, lost in his memories.
“Our parents weren’t happy about their fledgling relationship. They told Charlie he wasn’t to see her anymore. Of course, he didn’t listen. I’d drive him to the edge of the Heights to meet her but, more often than not, we’d all hang out.”
Ace lets out a shuddering breath, and I run my hand over his, offering him a reassuring smile.
“The more Charlie was around Maria and her friends, the more he changed. By the time I left for college, I barely recognized him. But Maria was smitten and the two of them were inseparable.
“The first time it happened, I was home over the holidays. Charlie turned up drunk with Maria in tow. Dad lost his shit, and they had a big fight. I tried to intervene, but Charlie turned on me as well. He said some things and Maria... well, she got upset. I drove her back to the Heights and when we pulled up outside her house, she kissed me goodnight. It was innocent enough, at first. But something changed between us... something I think we’d both been ignoring for a long time.”
“What the fuck are you saying?” Ace’s tone is chilling.
“It was only supposed to be one time. Maria was Charlie’s. She wasn’t mine.”
“You had an affair...” Ace chokes out. “With my mom?”
But there’s something else in James’ eyes; a secret he’s been keeping. I don’t know when I realized it, but I’m hardly surprised when the next words fly out of his mouth.
“You asked me yesterday why I had photographs of you and the twins in my office—”
“No.” Ace leaps up, the missing pieces of his life finally connecting. “Don’t say it. Don’t you dare fucking say it.”
James stands, his expression full of regret. “I wanted to tell you, so many times, I wanted to…”
“It’s you. You’re our...” Ace’s voice cracks, pain and anger rolling off him. “No. There’s no way. You left us...”
I shoot up, wrapping my hand around his arm. “It’s okay,” I say.
I’m waiting for the blow up. For him to punch something or break something... or worse.
But it never comes.
Anger vibrates through him, his eyes pinning James to the spot. “It’s really true?” Disbelief coats his words.
“There’s still so much you don’t know, Ace. Charlie wasn’t a good man. He hurt your mom, he used to—”
“Stop, just stop.” Ace rips his arms from me and starts pacing the plush carpet.
“Ace. Son...” James’ eyes widen as he realizes his slip.
Ace freezes, glaring at his father. “You don’t ever get to call me that. You left us. And now you’re trying to tell me that all along you were our father? YOU FUCKING LEFT US THERE.” His roar echoes off the walls, making my heart splinter.
“Ace...” I approach him, but he’s lost to his anger. I see it swirling around him like a dark vortex.
“I can’t do this.” He lets out a shaky breath. “I need to get the fuck out of here.” Ace storms out of the room, taking the air with him.
“I, uh... I should go after him,” I say to James. Devastation is etched in the lines of his face. I want to comfort him, to say something—anything—to make it better.
But I can’t get past the fact that he left Ace and his brothers in that trailer park with a mom who couldn’t keep it together long enough to do the right thing.
“Of course. But Remi, please, I never meant for this to happen. I thought... Fuck,” he breathes, scrubbing a hand down his face. “I’ve made a real mess of things.”
