Page 43 of Forbidden

Chapter Fifteen

Shane

“I have a brother?”Noah asked, looking confused. He shook his head as he continued looking at me. “I barely had a father and now I have a brother. I shouldn’t be so surprised based on what I’ve heard about him.”

I couldn’t keep up with all the thoughts swimming through my head. Did Abuela know? If she did, why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t my dad tell me? How can I have a brother? Who is Noah Craven?

“Wait,” I said, “if we have the same father, then why don’t we have the same last name?”

His face grew dark briefly before he answered.

“I changed my last name on my eighteenth birthday. Craven is my grandmother’s name, my mother’s mother. She raised me. I never knew my father… our father.”

“You didn’t miss much,” I said.

I thought about what my life could have been like without my father in it. Would it have been better? Where would I have gone? My eyes met Noah’s, and he seemed so familiar to me that the next thing I knew I started telling him about my life.

“I spent years in and out of jails and foster homes because my dad couldn’t get his shit together. I remember plenty of times overhearing my grandmother telling him to leave me with her, but he never listened. Each of those times, my dad and I ended up in trouble. Things would’ve been much worse without her. I have no doubt of that.” I sat down in the empty chair next to where Noah was still standing. “My grandmother gave me the closest thing I had to a stable childhood,” I said. “It wasn’t the best, and it certainly wasn’t ordinary, but I’m grateful for her. I guess what I’m saying is I understand why you’d change your name.” The shine of his leather loafers caught my eye. I didn’t know anything about clothing or shoes, but everything about Noah screamed money. “By the looks of you, I think our dad not being around was a good thing.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Noah muttered as he took his seat again.

Tom tapped the estate folder noisily on the top of his desk.

“I know there’s a lot for you to discuss, but if you give me a few minutes, I can explain why you’re here,” Tom said.

He opened the folder, and his eyes stopped on something before he closed the folder again and looked up at us. His brow knitted as he considered his options. He let out a heavy sigh before he started talking again.

“I guess the best thing to do is to just get to the point.” He looked from Noah, to me, and then back to his folder. “When your grandmother passed away, she had a considerable amount of assets. As you know, she only had one child, your father, but she didn’t want to leave anything to him while he was still using. Because she was concerned your father would sue if he didn’t get her home or anything else when she passed away, she had all her assets moved into trust.”

“And that way she avoided probate, and kept her assets private,” Noah said.

Tom nodded while I sat there trying to follow what they were saying.

“Ultimately it didn’t matter,” Tom said. “After Shane’s last prison release, your father was nowhere to be found. He went completely off the grid until two weeks ago.” He cleared his throat, and his brow wrinkled as he rubbed his chin briefly, then sighed. “Your father is dead.”

Noah let out a breath as if he had been punched in the gut. My gut felt that punch.

“Our private investigator tracked him down to an abandoned building in Camden. We told him he could move into your grandmother’s home while he got himself clean, and he asked if he could have a day to say goodbye to some people. When we came back the next day, all his things were in a box, but he was dead. He overdosed.”

I looked down, trying to hide my tears. It didn’t surprise me how it happened, or that it happened. I knew it was only a matter of time. He wasn’t the best father, but he was my dad. I always hoped things would change and we would have a father-son relationship. Now I’d never get that chance.

A warm hand clasped my shoulder and I looked up to see Noah with a pained look in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice full of sadness.

I looked away, unable to say anything back.

“I’ll give you two some time to talk,” Tom said as he rose from his seat. “There’s a cafe a few doors down if you want to grab a coffee or something. We need to go over the trust, which was left to both of you equally, but that doesn’t need to be done right now. I know this has been a lot on both of you.”

Noah rose and patted my back. “Hey, he’s right, let’s get out of here and get some fresh air.”

I got up and nodded, then followed Noah out the door. Some fresh air sounded good. Anything had to be better than sitting in that office. I needed to clear my mind. Between having a brother and losing my father, and everything that happened with Rosalie, I needed to go somewhere and figure things out.

The midday sun blinded me as I stepped onto the sidewalk. Noah and I walked silently towards the cafe on the corner, but before we got there, he stopped and motioned to the building across the street. It was a one-story building with a white painted facade that looked European. Most of the front was a large window that was made up of smaller rectangular window panes. Hanging over the heavy door was a faded wooden sign with a green shamrock and script lettering that said ‘Murray’s Pub.’

Between the slope of the sidewalk and the tall office buildings it was sandwiched between, Murray’s Pub looked like it was crooked. And that off-balanced look made it the perfect place. Without a word, Noah and I crossed the street and entered the bar.

It wasn’t even noon yet, but there were people seated at the long bar and at several of the tables. We sat on two stools and the bartender, a man with fluffy white hair and round glasses, handed us a thick lunch menu. Noah pushed his aside and raised two fingers into the air.

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