Page 53 of Keep My Secrets
“Twenty-two years ago.” Aria smiles. These girls really do like talking about relationship drama; no wonder those reality dating shows are so popular.
“Garret?”
“I did not know, promise.” He smiles. “This is all news to me, too.”
“And how old are you?” Parker asks from beside us. Not him, too.
“Twenty-two. I graduated last year.”
“I thought you looked familiar. Great speech, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Her smile widens.
“Hey, can we get back to why we are having an emergency meeting?” I try to change the topic.
“Sure,” Sara says before returning her attention to Aria. “We will have to chat later.” Aria smiles as she nods.
Everyone refocuses on Garret.
“Your mom is making a lot of noise; we don't want to deal with it. If you have already tried to get her to stop and it hasn't worked, it really only leaves us with a few options. We can try an intimidation tactic, scare her a little.”
“That won't work,” Aria interrupts. “She spins everything so she is the victim, so actually making her a victim will just lend her credibility, and she will just talk more.”
“With that, we are down to one option. We need to eliminate the threat.” No one reacts, not even Aria. She either has already figured this out and has come to terms with it, or she is hiding her true feelings about it.
“Aria, if you would like to be excused from the next part of the conversation, I can have an initiate take you somewhere else. You don't have to be here for the details,” Tatum offers.
I am ready to walk her out of the room, but she replies, “No, it's fine.”
“Are you sure, baby?” I whisper. “She is your mom.”
“Like I said to her, I have no mom.” She either has fully detached or she is hiding behind a mask. I won't make her leave; she gets to decide how involved she is in this.
“At any point if it becomes too much, you can leave,” I reassure her.
“Parker, Grayson, you will be on acquisition." They nod. “We have been tracking her location, and she still seems to be in the city, which should make it easy.”
Aris raises her hand slightly, and Garret nods at her. “How are you going to spin this for the people back home? They talk, and they know she is out here looking for me. This would be prime gossip; people are paying attention.”
“And this is why you're here.” Garret smiles. “Tatum, do you think you can hack her social media?”
“Easily.”
“May I suggest getting one of the daughters of The Court on this job? You guys are great at the technical side of this, but having Tatum post as a forty-year-old woman will not be believable,” Sara interjects. She is exactly what The Court needed.
“Do you have someone in mind?” Sara, Tatum, and Aria immediately look at Parker. They obviously know something I don't. Aria being in the know already has my chest flutter. I do not need to worry about her fitting into my life. There is no forcing; she has slid right in perfectly. My missing puzzle piece.
Parker smiles. “Addie isn't a daughter of The Court, but will be a Queen after graduation, and is pretty good with social media.” The way he is discussing his girl just shows how proud of her he is.
“I mean, considering what her first video did, she is better than “pretty good”.” Aria and Sara laugh and share a glance. She is definitely going to need to explain what is happening to me later.
“Perfect. Have her come in tonight after class, and we will get her up to date.”
“Once Alana is at The Court, I will take over,” Sara states, and no one questions it. “I have a soft spot for shitty parents.”
“Will you need assistance?" Garret asks with a sly smile. He may be asking if she needs help, but knowing him, this is just foreplay. He will be in the room where it happens.
The two begin discussing supplies they would need, and Aria squeezes my hand.
