Page 72 of The Black Trilogy

Luke nodded.

“I didn’t know that.”

“Well, you do now.”

Luke had tried to shield her as she grew up, convinced he was doing the right thing. I wasn’t so sure—the world might be full of darkness, but living in a bubble was no better.

“I always knew he was an idiot,” Tia muttered.

“Tia, don’t call him that. He was still our father.”

“Some father. Did you know he cheated on Mum with the girl from the florist?”

Luke slammed the brakes on. “He what? What makes you think that?”

“Because I saw them when I was little. I was supposed to be asleep, but I woke up and saw them in one of the spare bedrooms, doing…” She closed her eyes and shuddered. “It.”

“That… That...” Luke walloped his palm against the dashboard, words deserting him. “I don’t believe this.”

Wow. This family was almost as dysfunctional as my own.

Luke’s mother was reading a novel in the lounge when we arrived. When he’d called earlier to tell her Tia would be staying with us for a while, the news was met with a vague comment of, “I hope you both have a good time, darling,” and that was that, almost as if Tia was popping over for a brief visit rather than moving out for weeks.

Even now, Mrs. Halston-Cain made the effort of raising her eyes from the book seem like a chore. When she saw me standing behind Luke, a slight look of puzzlement came over her face. I say slight because most of her facial features had been frozen in place by Botox.

“Who are you? Do I know you?”

“I’m Ashlyn. You saw me yesterday at the hospital.” And ignored me completely.

“Ash is my girlfriend,” Luke said.

“Oh. What happened to Caroline?”

“I broke up with Caroline three months ago.”

“Such a shame. Caroline was a lovely girl. It would have been a wonderful family for you to marry into, what with her father being a banker and her mother being such an active member of the hospital fundraising committee. Girls like Caroline don’t grow on trees, you know. Are you sure there’s no chance of you getting back together?”

Hey, don’t mind me, lady. I’m only standing right next to your son.

“Mother! Show some tact and don’t be so rude to Ash.”

“Sorry, darling,” she said, when in reality she was anything but. “So, Ashlyn, what do your parents do?”

“My dad’s an accountant, and my mum’s a teacher.”

Nice, normal professions, I thought, but still her face fell. I was tempted to tell her the truth, that my mother was a drugged-out hooker and my father was a sperm donor, just to see her reaction. But I couldn’t do that to Luke.

“Never mind, dear, I’m sure you’ll find a nice man to marry one day, in spite of that.” The words, “Just not my son,” remained unspoken at the end of her sentence.

Her attitude didn’t go unnoticed by Luke. “That’s it. We’re getting Tia’s things, and we’re leaving,” he snapped.

Tia rolled her eyes at me and mouthed, “See.”

Yes, I did indeed see.

When we arrived back home, Luke supported Tia while she hobbled up the steps into the house. Her ankle may not have been broken, but it was still the size of a grapefruit, and her newly pinned arm prevented her from using crutches. The hospital had given her a cane instead.

“It makes me feel a hundred years old,” she said as she shuffled through the hallway.

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