Page 23 of Unraveled

“I’m here to support you. Both of you.” Uncle Blake looked between us as he took the seat on the other side of Mom. “But I’m only going to step in if I’m needed.”

My lips pressed together in a small smile, already feeling better with him here.

Mom rested a hand on his arm by his wrist. “Thank you. I’ll take the support. I wish you could’ve seen that file.”

Voices quickly approached the room, cutting off whatever my uncle was about to say, and Principal Hiller opened the door to usher Zane and his parents inside.

Zane’s dad entered first. He was around six feet and had a well-built body that wasn’t much smaller thanZane’s. His handsome, chiseled features spelled power, and his excellent posture oozed confidence as he complained about accusations and what he could do to the school if his son was expelled.

I accidentally caught Zane’s gaze as he sat down across from me, giving me a smirk and a shrug as if he had nothing to worry about. The nausea rolled in my stomach. With lawyers as parents, I wondered if he was right.

I looked over at his mom instead, curious what she was like. I’d never gotten the chance to meet Zane’s parents while we’d dated. He had kept his life and his demons so private, but one glance at the woman told me she could be just as vicious in the courtroom as her husband. They both looked power hungry in their suits.

But the woman looked nothing like her husband at the same time. She had a very slender, almost boney build, and her thin face was more angular, her Native American features easy to recognize. For a moment, I flashed back to the night in Zane’s car when I’d first seen his tattoo and how he’d told me about his grandpa. How it had felt so momentous at the time. One of the few things he’d ever opened up to me about. Now, it was a bitter memory I’d rather forget.

“Oh, my.” Zane’s mom sucked in a breath, some of her harsh characteristics fading as she stared at my arms. “Zane, is that what you did to this poor girl?”

Alarm shot over Zane’s face, and his dad barked, “Evelyn!”

“There were witnessesandcameras, Brian, and just look at her!”

He stopped protesting for a moment to finally look over at us, his eyes dismissing me as they passed, but when they landed on Mom, he fell speechless.

“Brian,” Mom greeted.

He quickly swallowed his surprise.

“Bridgette…Donovannow, is it?” He smiled.

My insides cringed at the familiarity of it. Zane had inherited that smile hands down.

“And Blake.” Brian glanced over at my uncle next. “It’s been a while.”

“It has.” Uncle Blake just stared, his expression unreadable but also cold. “I wish I could say it was good to see you right now, but under the circumstances…”

“Did you move precincts?” Brian seemed to ignore the implication.

“No. I’m just here to support my sister and my niece.” His gaze darkened as he sat back, taking himself out of the conversation.

Brian looked back at Mom. “I must say, I was not expecting to see you here.”

“Likewise.” Mom did not smile back.

Zane and I passed glances as we looked back and forth between our parents, but he seemed just as confused as I was. Our parentskneweach other?

“I’m sorry,” Evelyn cut in, her long, red fingernails stretching across the table. “Bridgette? And Blake?TheBridgette and Blake?”

Mom eyed her cautiously. “Unless Brian knows some other brother and sister named Bridgette and Blake, I guess so.”

“Oh, of course, it’s y’all.” Evelyn laughed. “I’m surprised I didn’t recognize either of you from the pictures. Ofcourse, it’s beenyearssince I’ve seen any of those old photos. Wow. To think our children dated and we didn’t even know.”

I watched Mom trying not to say something snippy, her lips pressing together to fight the urge. “Mmmm… Let’s just say that if I’d known whose son he was, I never would have allowed it.” She looked at Brian as she spoke.

His eyes were cold in return, and Evelyn seemed taken aback. “Yes, well, I guess it is a little awkward. Especially after today. Coincidences are still funny, though. Don’t you think so?”

Mom’s return smile was taut, slightly mocking. “I’m sorry, Evelyn? I think it was, but I’m not exactly in the mood to find anything funny about this.” Her eyes narrowed back in on Brian. “I wasn’t even aware you had moved into the area. I thought you hated the beach.”

Brian crossed his arms over his broad chest, leaning back. “My wife has family in the area that required us to move closer. I’d heard you’d moved to the coast. I never dreamed it was here, though.” He looked at me with a smile. “Although, if our son had bothered to introduce us to Izzy, I would have known who she was right off the bat. You look a lot like your mother.”

---