Page 65 of The Puck Decoy

I open my mouth to tell him this is a family matter and to mind his own business, but before I can get the words out, another voice hits my ear. “Josh, Hallie!” Penelope squeals, coming from the direction of the bathroom, and my entire world shifts.

When I lock eyes with the little girl I instantly see it. I mean, it’s so obvious I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier. Hallie even said after she first met her that she reminded her of Maddie asa kid, and she’s right. The blond hair, the blue eyes, the perfect amount of sass and shyness, they are so alike that I can’t believe I missed it. I’ve always liked her, but when I look at her now I don’t just see my favorite kid in my class, I see my sister. She’s a part of me, and always will be, and right then the anger just seems to slip away.

“Hey, Pen,” I manage to choke out before clearing my throat, and I can practically feel Callia’s panic from across the counter. “How are you doing? Your mom said you’ve been sick.”

Penelope doesn’t stop until she climbs onto the stool I am standing next to, and it’s only then I notice the discarded book and milkshake. “I’m feeling better, but I’m sad I had to miss class yesterday,” she tells me with a smile, and all I can do is stare at her in disbelief.

She’s my little sister.

It’s only then that Hallie squeezes my hand three times.Are you okay?

And I don’t know if I am, but instead of answering her, I keep my focus on Penelope. “Well I have the keys to the center, so maybe one day this week we could have an extra lesson since you missed out,” I tell her, and her eyes widen in excitement, and when I flick my gaze to her mom, she is watching us with a soft smile.

“Oh my god are you serious?” she gasps, looking to her mom for approval. “Can I Mom, please?” she pleads, and Callia nods.

“Of course you can, sweetheart,” she sighs, and I know she must be struggling to keep her emotions in check the same way I am.

“Yay, you’re the best,” Pen tells her, and as if Hallie can feel the tension between us, she quickly steps in.

“What are you reading this week?” she asks, as I nod my head towards the other end of the counter, gesturing to Callia for us to speak alone.

We both move in unison until we can’t be heard by the little girl, and when we come to a stop she is the first to speak. “Josh, I’m sorry that you had to find out this way, but Penelope and I have basically always been on our own, and I planned to keep it like that. When a friend told me about the class your name wasn’t even mentioned, it was only when we arrived that first night that I realized, and by that point she was already too excited and I didn’t want to ruin it for her.” I can hear the desperate plea in her voice for me to believe her, and I can’t help but feel bad for how I came blazing in here. “I’m sure you’ve seen by now what a shy kid she is and you guys just clicked, and well, I wanted her to have her family, even if she didn’t realize it.”

It’s only then I take a step back and truly think about what happened. She got pregnant when she was sixteen, and all my father did was try and erase his mistake. She has raised Penelope alone ever since, and I have seen how amazing she is at that and she’s barely older than I am. The last thing she needs is me making her life more complicated, especially after what my father has already done to her.

“No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come in here the way I did, the whole thing just took me by surprise and I lost my cool, like father like son I guess,” I huff, taking a seat at the counter in front of her, and just taking a second to let myself absorb all of this.

I’m surprised when her hand comes out to rest on top of mine as she replies softly, “Josh, you are nothing like your father, trust me.” Her tone is firm, and I see the truth and pain behind her eyes and it kills me.

What happened between them? Did he rape her? Take advantage of her? There are a hundred awful scenarios floating around in my head, and I can’t leave here without knowing the truth.

“How bad was it?” I let myself ask. Her knowing smile is sad as she pulls back her hand, flicking her eyes to the side towards the man who interfered in our conversation, who is still watching us silently.

“Not as bad as you’re thinking,” she tells me firmly, offering me little relief. “I had a shitty childhood and your dad took a chance on me. He made me feel special, and I was young, stupid, and smitten. It took me giving birth to realize what a dumb kid I had been and well, by that point I wasn’t on my own anymore, so I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself.”

This time when I look at her I feel no sorrow, because the only thing staring back at me is a strong woman who did what she could to survive the hand she was dealt. Do I wish I would have known about Penelope earlier, so I could have helped her more than I already have? Of course, and going forward I will do whatever I can to make their life better, and that starts with erasing the stain of my father.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry you had to deal with all that alone.” I slide off the stool, ready to head back to the girls, but once again Callia places her hand on top of mine, halting me in my tracks.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad she has you as her brother, even if she doesn’t know it yet.” Emotion clogs my throat at her words, and all I can do is nod in response.

Yet.

When I move back to Hallie and Penelope they are deep in conversation about the book, and Callia laughs at how animated they are both being, telling us she will bring us our usual. Which is how I find myself having yet another dinner with my favorite student, only this time it’s with my sister too. We make plans to have an extra lesson during the week, and I tell her I will invite Maddie along too, she is going to hit the roof when she finds out about this, but Penelope is ecstatic at the news. Callia is morerelaxed than I have ever seen her as we say goodbye, and it’s already harder than normal to say goodbye to Pen too.

It’s why I can’t help but pull out the burner phone from Lincoln and shoot off a text to him.

Josh: Take him down whatever means necessary but the girl remains untouched and off limits.

His reply is instant.

Unknown : I wouldn’t do it any other way

By the time we make it back to the house I can tell Hallie is worried, and though my shock has dissipated, my anger is still palpable. Not towards Callia or her situation, but at the whole way my father dealt with it and kept it hidden. He knew, he knew Penelope existed, and instead of letting us get to know her as a sister, his only interest was marrying her off to the highest bidder.

“How are you feeling?” Hallie asks softly, as we push into my room and I close the door, and honestly, I’m not even sure how to answer her.

“I don’t know,” I tell her truthfully, knowing she will value my honesty over anything else, and she smiles softly, as I take a seat on the end of my bed and drop my head into my hands.

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