Page 18 of Broken Secrets
“Because Mr. Henderson specifically said he didn’t have it. Because the main office didn’t have it. Because it mysteriously appeared today after you spent all day ‘fixing’ the problem.”
“Olivia.”
“Did you forget to turn it in and then spend today making phone calls to cover it up?”
The silence stretches too long. Mom opens her mouth, closes it, then looks down at her hands.
“I had a lot on my mind yesterday,” she says finally. “With the client meetings and the studio rent increase and…yes. I forgot to turn it in. But I fixed it.”
The admission should make me feel better. At least she’s finally telling the truth about something. But instead, it makes me angrier.
“You lied to me. You said you definitely turned it in, and it must be the school’s mistake.”
“I was embarrassed.” She doesn’t look at me when she says it. Her chin dip as he fumbles thumb at a chip in her nail polish.
“You were covering your ass.” The words come out harsher than I intended, but I don’t take them back. “Do you have any idea how it felt to sit in Mr. Henderson’s office while he told me I couldn’t go on the trip because my own mother couldn’t be bothered to remember one simple thing?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like?” I stand up, needing the height advantage. “Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you’ve been so busy keeping secrets about my father that you can’t even handle basic parenting responsibilities.”
Mom’s face goes pale. “That’s not fair.”
“Fair?” I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “You want to talk about fair? Is it fair that I’m eighteen years old and I don’t know anything about half my genetic makeup? Is it fair that I found out my father’s name by accidentally seeing my birth certificate? Is it fair that you’ve been lying to me my entire life about where I come from?”
“I was protecting you.”
“From what?” I’m fully yelling now, all the frustration and anger from the last few days pouring out at once. “From knowing that my father is apparently a successful businessman who runs an electrical company? From knowing that he’s not some deadbeat who abandoned us but someone who might actually want to know me?”
Mom stands up abruptly, her face flushed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Because you won’t tell me!” I grab my laptop and open it, pulling up Jeremy’s website. “Here. Jeremy Cole Kline, Kline Electric. Family owned and operated. Glowing customer reviews. Looks like a pretty decent guy to me.”
Her eyes widen as she sees the screen. “Where did you—how did you?—”
“I looked him up. Because I’m eighteen years old and I have the right to know who my father is.” I click on the family photo, and her face crumbles when she sees it. “And apparently, I have the right to know about my half sister too.”
The laptop slips from her hands, and she sinks back onto the bed like her legs won’t hold her anymore.
“Emma,” she whispers.
“You knew.” It’s not a question. “You knew about her, and you still kept it from me.”
Her hands are shaking now, and when she looks up at me, tears fill her eyes. “Liv, there are things about that situation, about your father, that you don’t understand.”
“Then explain them to me.”
“I can’t.”
“You mean you won’t.”
“I mean I can’t.” Her voice breaks on the words. “Some stories…some stories are too painful to tell.”
For a moment, seeing her so broken, I almost back down. Almost apologize for pushing too hard and let her keep her secrets. But then I think about Derek’s words from earlier: You’re allowed to be pissed off that the people who are supposed to take care of you keep letting you down.
“I need to know,” I say quietly. “About him. About Emma. About why you’ve spent eighteen years lying to me about my own family.”
Mom wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “It’s not lying. It’s protecting.”
