Page 64 of When Stars Fall

“Stay here,” I say. “They’ll have to work to find your house. Go to Mom and Dad’s if you have to, okay? At least the gates and security there will keep them away, and I can handle the chaos at mine.” I open the front door. “If it gets intense or scary, call me. I’ll have Freddie or Jerome come here—both, if needed.”

Nikki nods, and worry overflows between us.

I get to the hotel in record time, but as I drive up to the spacious entrance, I realize I’ve dropped the ball in a big way. There are reporters everywhere. I slip into a side lot and drive around to the rear of the building. No one seems to be hovering around here yet. Reluctantly, I dial Calshae’s number. She answers on the fourth ring. “Sorry to wake you,” I say. “I’m at the back of the hotel. The front is flooded with reporters.”

“Oh, Ellie,” she breathes. “I’m so sorry. You haven’t told him yet? He didn’t know?”

“No, he didn’t.” My voice is thick with tears, and I close my eyes. When I found out I was pregnant, Calshae was adamant I tell Wyatt. Like my sister, she didn’t understand all the ins and outs of the life Wyatt and I led in LA. She thought love would be enough for Wyatt to overcome his addictions. I’m not sure what she thinks now or whether anything’s changed in the years that have passed in between. We stopped talking.

She whistles. “We disagreed about whether he should know, but I never wanted the truth to come out like this. Never. Never said a word this week.”

“I know. The time he spent with you didn’t bother me. I—I should have told him already, probably.” She’s moving around, doing something on her end. The back door swings open and she’s standing at the entrance, peering out into the darkness, looking for me. “I see you,” I say. In a rush, I exit my vehicle and squeeze into the hallway. “Didn’t realize you’d be here.”

“When the reporters started showing up late tonight, I came to help field questions. Then I stayed. I was worried. Just a bad feeling, and I tried to call you, but I couldn’t get you. I was suresomethingwas coming. Hoped it wasn’t this, though.”

“What room is Wyatt in?” My legs wobble, and I brace a hand against the wall.

“Top floor. Number 56. Are you going to be okay? Should I have security on standby? I’ve heard he sometimes has a temper.”

“You might need a cleanup crew, but I doubt it,” I say with more confidence than I have. Wyatt’s reaction is an unknown. “He’d never hurt me. Never. No matter how mad he is.” She scans my face, but I don’t waver. “Stairs?” I glance down the hall.

Calshae points to the left. “Good luck.”

I hurry up the stairs. My choice is gone, just like my mother had warned. I have to talk about Haven. Tomorrow, the truth will be all over the news. Hell, Haven’s parentage might already be on TMZ’s newsfeed. If that’s how Wyatt found out, I’m in even more trouble. At the door to his room, I wipe my hands on my shorts and take a deep breath. My heart beats erratically. With one hand pressed to my chest to contain it, I knock on the door.

Almost immediately, the door flies open. Wyatt’s expression is beaten, bewildered. He searches my face. I can’t look away, even though he’ll recognize what I haven’t said in words.

“So it’s true.” He rocks back as though I’ve hit him. “Haven’s mine?” His voice cracks.

“Yes,” I whisper and close my eyes. “Yes.”

He leaves the door ajar and heads into the room. The balcony doors that face the ocean are open. The reporters don’t appear to be on this side of the hotel. But mere eyesight can be deceptive. Powerful camera lenses can get impossible shots.

“Can you shut the curtains or the door?” There’s only a bedside lamp on. The TV is switched toTMZ. I swallow.Shit.TMZ.

“Why? Why does it even matter? The whole fucking world knows I’m Haven’s father. TMZ knew before me. Christ, I’ve been sitting here thinking about the things people have said over the last few days, and I’m a complete idiot. She looks so much like your mother, Ellie, so much. But you know what’s not you? Her eyes. That blue comes from my family, doesn’t it? Now that I see it, I don’t understand how I didn’t see the truth before.”

I’m silent, clutching my middle, watching him pace around the room. There’s nothing I can possibly say. Sorry isn’t enough. It’ll never be enough.

“Does Haven know? She does, doesn’t she? Some of the things she said to me . . .” He chuckles, humorless, and shakes his head. “Even she knew. Anine-year-old.” His expression is filled with disgust. He’s never leveled that in my direction before. “Were you going to tell me?” He stops pacing to stare at me.

I can’t make eye contact. The expression I glimpsed on his face is enough. He hates me. But I’ve never thought of myself as a coward, and I’m not going to start tonight—one of the most important moments in my life.

“While you were here? I’m not sure.” I flinch at the anger in his eyes. “I was going to tonight until you mentioned your drug-addicted, violent sister lives with you.”

He winces. “That’s a low blow, Ellie. I’m not the one who lied to you for ten years.”

“I told you back then.”

“When?” He puts his hands on his hips. The word is an accusation.

I scoff. “Why do you think I flew home out of the blue ten years ago? Why do you think I came back to you with the information on rehab? Why do you think I pushed so damn hard? Wyatt, why do you think I left?”

“But you didn’t tell me. You didn’t.” Wyatt steps toward me. “When I asked you where the rehab shit was coming from, you never said anything about being pregnant. Not one word about a baby.”

“Would it have mattered?” My voice is quiet, barely louder than a whisper. This question has haunted me. Before he talked about Jamal, I was confident of the answer. Ten years ago, the last thing Wyatt wanted was a kid. He was too consumed by his grief and guilt over Isaac.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Of course my daughter would have mattered to me.”

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