Page 184 of Straight to Me

And then the penny drops.

The tattoo on his arm, the woman who looked so familiar and yet not, holding a red rose. I open my mouth in shock. “Mum?”

My mum smiles, crying as they walk to meet each other. They stop, their faces so close to one another, then Rocco rests his forehead against hers, holding her head in his hands.

"Jainey," I hear him whisper her name.

My heart beats like a bird trying to leave the ground, irregularly thrumming to find its rhythm.

The tattoo of the rose, the roses I get every birthday from mum, the roses at the hospital… Rocco must have sent them or had Ronnie deliver them. Then there’s mum’s story of her past lover… “Madison,Rose, Reed,” I say to myself as comprehension dawns.

Rocco isn’t Dean’s father like I thought.

He’s,myfather?

Conflict within tugs to-and-fro, the palms of my hands growing clammy. A misty red heat pulls me to the edge of anger. I try to look at everything Rocco has ever said to me with this new knowledge.

We fought because he wouldn’t let me go to save Dean. Because he was trying to protect me?

When we left for Australia, he tried scaring me, not because he thought I was any threat or distraction, because he wasprotectingme. This whole time I’ve been frightened of a man who just had a roundabout way of looking out for me?

“Mads?” VP places his hand on the small of my back as I stand watching my mum and Rocco. “What’s going on?”

I wipe my eyes dry. “I don’t know,” I say, swallowing a lump caught in my throat.

He kisses my hair, taking my hand in his. “They know each other?” he asks just as confused. I can only nod in reply. “We’ll let them have a moment, but we need to go.”

Turning my head, Lauren stands by the brick wall staring wide-eyed at Alex’s body. I forget my mum and Rocco and run towards her, sheltering her from the violence at the hands of adults she should trust.

She buries her head in my shoulder as I smooth her hair, hugging her tight in my arms.

“Shh, I’ve got you—”

“Look out!” Lauren shrieks, pulling away from me.

Her scream is so loud in my ear, my eyes close in horror at what might be happening. The ringing in my head so loud, it rattles my brain as my body coils like a snapped piece of elastic.

I spin around, dazed, to find Alex wearily holding the gun at me, his hand unsteady just off the ground as he tries to find his aim.

Standing in front of Lauren, I push her behind my body. All I can do is close my eyes. If I move, Lauren’s exposed to a bullet, and I’ll be damned if she’s taking one for me today.

BANG!

Waiting for the pain to emanate from some part of me, I’m confused when it doesn’t immediately come.

Shock maybe?

I pull my eyelids open, only to see Rocco standing in front of me. He raises the smallest of smiles and when his lips part slightly, dark blood trickles from his bottom lip.

“NO!” My mum screams, running towards us.

Rocco’s body sways. I grab for him, holding onto his arms as he slumps forwards, the weight of him too much for me to carry on my own. “Rocco?” I say.

He tries to steady himself on me, but we collapse to the floor, hitting the concrete with a thud. He coughs, splattering blood to the ground.

“What’ve you done?”

“Madison,” he gurgles, rolling to his back.

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