Page 101 of Learning Curve

There’s so much to process.

I scramble off the futon and over to my bed, digging through my messy comforter until I find my phone. I turned it off hours ago when it all became too much again.

I hold the button to power it on, and it only takes a few seconds to connect to the cell network. Notifications flood in once again.

Social media notifications. Texts from my mom and Kayla and Ace and Blake. A million calls and almost as many voice mails.

I don’t dare click on any of them.

The whole world might as well be crashing in on me all over again. I turn my phone back off and toss it back onto my bed, and Julia watches with concern as I dart back into my half bathroom to throw up again.

The porcelain of the toilet feels cold against my hot, clammy skin, and I rest my forehead on the seat as soon as I’m done. Julia crouches beside me, rubbing at my back in soft, concentric circles. “It’s going to be okay, Scottie. I promise.”

I hear her. I do. But I’m having a hard time believing that anything will ever be okay again.

Finn

“Dad had a whole other family,” Willow says, but it’s more for herself than for anyone else. A musing of wonderment after the absolute whirlwind of the last twelve hours.

It’s a little after nine in the evening, and I’m sitting in my dorm on FaceTime with all four of my siblings. Willow, Trav, and Jack are on one screen, and Reece is on the other. After everything that’s happened today, I knew a face-to-face discussion was necessary, and because of Ty’s request that I stay in my room tonight to ensure no more trouble with Dane while he packed his shit, this is as close as I could get to that.

“I can’t believe he abandoned his wife and five kids,” Travis says and shakes his head. “That is so messed up.”

“Yeah, and then years later, he changes his name and starts a whole other family,” Jack adds on a sigh. “He’s a bigger dick than I thought. Which is saying a lot, given the guy broke my finger in three places.”

“Could you imagine being his other kids?” Willow questions, and a disgusted expression forms on her face. “To find out that not only did your father abandon you when you were little, but he just went off and had a whole other five kids. It’s gross.”

“I think we can all agree that his other kids got the better end of the bargain,” I interject. “I mean, they got a life without him. We got a life with him.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t change the fact that their father left them when they were little,” Willow counters. “I can’t even imagine the kind of trauma that causes.”

“Low is right,” Jack agrees. “It’s a miracle his other kids even want to help us. I mean, if my dad abandoned me and started a whole other family, I don’t know that I’d be rolling out the red carpet for the kids who actually got a father.”

I’m floored over my siblings’ reaction to this. It’s quite literally the opposite of mine and full of perspective and grace. Shame eats at me.

“How long did you know about this, Finn?” Reece questions, but Jack is quick to chime in right on top of him.

“What are the damn odds that one of your professors ends up being our brother from another mother?” His face gets this comical expression, and a laugh jumps from his lungs. “That has to be the biggest coincidence in history.”

“Yeah,” I say and avoid Reece’s eyes. “Definitely a huge coincidence.”

My eldest brother’s spidey senses are engaged, but I refuse to get into the dirty details of how long I’ve known about our father’s other family. It feels unnecessary at this point and, more than that, absolutely fucking stupid in a group setting such as this.

“How’s Mom?” I question, and Willow shrugs.

“She’s doing okay. I’m sure it’s a lot to wrap her head around, her husband having a whole other family and all. She’s also worried about missing shifts at the factory, but Remy told her she has nothing to worry about.”

“Not to mention, this lake house is sick,” Jack adds. “I feel like I’m in a damn Hallmark movie, bro. The Winslow siblings hooked us up.”

After the state trooper that Remy called in a favor with picked up my brothers and sister from the park down the street from our house in Westchester, he took them to a lake house that’s owned by their uncle Brad and aunt Paula. Ty was there to meet them. Apparently, Brad and Paula decided to spend the winter months in a rental in Florida, and they were more than happy to open their doors to Hayes strays. Then, Remy waited for my mom outside of work this afternoon and drove her up there to be with them after convincing her to come with him.

“The view here is unreal,” Low says with a smile, even turning the camera to face the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the water. “I can’t believe we get to spend Christmas here.”

“Ty even took Jack and me to this Christmas tree stand up the street to get a tree. I can’t remember the last time we actually had a tree up,” Trav comments. “You should’ve seen the look on Mom’s face when we brought it in. I don’t think I’ve seen her smile that big in years. Hell, probably my whole damn life.”

“Damn,” Reece muses. “I don’t know how we’re ever going to repay them for what they’re doing for us.”

“Dude. You’re preaching to the choir,” Trav agrees with a sarcastic grin. “I think I might like my new siblings better than I like you guys.”

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