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Connor grabs our empty glasses and stands. “Aye. Agreed. As for us, we should get the kids.”
“Actually, no we shouldn’t, Connor. I talked to your mom. She’s keeping the twins tonight. We need to stay here with Fee until she’s ready for whatever the next step is.” Ronni loops her arms through his elbow.
I follow Alex out the door. We drive toward the hospital. I reach over and place my hand on her thigh. “Tell me the truth. How are you feeling?”
She shakes her head. “I’m numb, honestly. Today’s been a lot, but this revelation is shocking. Just shocking.”
“Doesn’t excuse how Ty reacted.”
She cocks her head. “Maybe not, but you and I are not an island, Jace. We’ve been living in a bubble for a while. I love our bubble, don’t get me wrong. But…everyone in the band and their significant others are our dear friends. They’re our family. I can’t—and won’t—give up on Zoey. Ever. No matter what. If she’s decided that Ty is worth all of this, then I’m not giving up on him either. Neither should you. Be mad. Call him out when the time is right. Don’t give up on him.”
“What if there’s too much water under the bridge, Poppy?” My voice hitches.
She covers my hand with hers. “Then we’ll all grab lifeboats and figure it out.”
Itake a huge gulp of air.
I’m standing outside Zoey’s room. I’m terrified of giving Zoey the envelope. As horrific as the day has been for everyone in the LTZ family, she’s the one who is married to the man who had a breakdown over paternity results.
I have absolutely no idea if she knew about Carter being Ty’s biological father. My guess is no. From what I’ve pieced together, Ty opened the results when he brought Zane and Carter into the dressing room after sound check. I don’t think anyone knew or was prepared for…
Gawd, I wish we could all wake up again and have a do-over of today. I’d give anything to go back in time.
I have to get it over with. Jace is waiting for me in the parking garage. His patience with the entire day is already hanging by a thread, I don’t want to push it further than I have already. Truth be told, all I want to do is curl up with him and Lena and be thankful that my family is intact.
And, God willing, growing.
I place my hand on my belly. Take another deep breath. Then move to the doorway. Mike and Olivia flank Zoey’s bed. I put on a cheery smile. “Hey, can I come in? The nurse told me you’re awake.”
Zoey’s face lights up. She waves me in.
“They’re releasing her tonight. We’re just waiting for the all-clear.” Olivia gives me a hug. “Mike has one of his friends working on getting Ty out. We still don’t have a great picture of what happened.”
I keep my mouth shut. I’m going to tell Zoey what I know when we’re alone and leave it up to her what she shares with her parents. After they leave, I sit on the side of the bed and grab her hand. Tears seep out of my eyes until I’m fully crying. She’s crying too. We weep as only best friends do until she finally speaks. Her voice glitches with each word. “No one will tell us anything. I don’t know what’s going on, Alex. Your phone went dead and the next thing I saw was Ty getting arrested. What did he do?”
“I didn’t see it. According to Jace, after they did their sound check, Ty asked Carter and Zane to meet in the dressing room to discuss something. They were in there a long time before the commotion. Everyone heard Ty yelling. Apparently, he exploded and beat the ever-loving shit out of Carter to the point of unconsciousness. Then Zane beat the shit out of Ty to get him off Carter. Jace and Connor kicked the door down and pulled Zane off Ty. Zane screamed horrible stuff at Ty on his way out the door. Ty said incredibly hurtful stuff to Jace and Connor.” I can’t help but wince. “He quit the band and told them to fuck off. Luckily, no one was there so it hasn’t hit the news. But it will, Z. You need to be prepared.”
Zoey shakes her head. Her shoulders slump. “None of that matters, Alex. The only thing that’s important to me is Ty’s well-being. He was so happy this morning. So excited to play. Something must have happened to set him off.”
That’s when it’s clear to me she doesn’t know about Carter. Fuck. I’m going to be the one who tells her. I squeeze my eyes shut and swallow the lump in my throat. I don’t want to hurt Zoey. It’s the last thing on earth I want.
“Tell me.” Zoey squeezes my hand. “Even if it’s hard. I need to know.”
I unzip my bag and grab the envelope. Squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath. Then rip the bandage off when I pull it out and hand it to her. “I’m pretty sure this has something to do with it. When the police were talking to the guys, Ronni and I tried to clean up the dressing room to help Fee out. It wasdee-stroyed. As you can imagine, Fiona is devastated. On so many levels. Anyway, I found this. I read it, Z.”
Zoey tilts her head. I’ve never seen her so vulnerable. Ever. I debate whether to tell her the entire truth, because what I’ve just given her is a lot. If she thinks everyone her husband loves knows his business, I’m sure it will severely damage our friendship. I make a decision. In the moment. I’m going through with a white lie.
Later, I’ll beg for forgiveness. I continue, “But, I haven’t showed it to anyone, including Jace. And I won’t. It’s none of our business, but I knew I had to keep it safe. Here.”
I hand her the paper.
“What is it?” Zoey takes the envelope. I see a million questions fly through her head when she takes the paper out and reads it. She gasps, her eyes wide. She flutters her hand in front of her face. “Oh. My. God. Help me up, Alex.”
I jump up and grab her hands, it’s an awkward to say the least. She squints at me and demands, “What is going on right now? Please tell me the truth.”
“Connor and Jace are incredibly pissed. Fiona too. I haven’t talked to Zane, although I tried when I came with you to the hospital earlier. I’m not going to lie, this might have been the last straw. Ty was completely belligerent. Out of control. Understandably, I suppose. But Zoey? Whatever all of this is about? Ty can’t continue to make the band absorb the brunt of his issues. I know he had a bad childhood. But what he did is not okay. It just isn’t. Carter coulddie. I’m not sure where LTZ goes from here.” I lay it all out for her. She needs to know what Ty did. How bad it was.
Her face sets with determination. I realize I might have gone too far. Pushed the boundaries of our sisterhood. Of course, she’ll take Ty’s side, as she should. If the situation were reversed, I’d take Jace’s side. In a fucking heartbeat.
