"Mom, do you have my phone?" Jordan inquires.
"You left it on your bed," Demi informs, handing Jordan her phone.
"I'm going to go change the case," Jordan hurries upstairs.
"I'm going to go make a phone call," Nick announces, walking out the front door.
I heave a sigh. During the car ride, I had time to think. Although I'm still extremely angry that I was lied to, Demi and Nick must have had a good reason as to why they didn't tell me, right? Demi mimics my sigh, turning to face me.
"You know, don't you?"
"Know what?" I innocently cock my head to the side.
She rolls her eyes.
"Oh, c'mon, Bailey, the box was on the ground and open."
"So?" I arch an eyebrow, dropping the innocent act and not liking how she just assumes that I had something to do with the box being opened.
I mean, I did, but that's not the point. The point is that I hate it when people accuse me of doing things, even if their accusations are correct.
"The first three letters were missing."
"Maybe you misplaced them."
"I know that you have them."
"Why the hell are you accusing me of shit, huh?" I yell, darting to my feet from my previous sitting position on the couch.
The force of me rising to my feet so quickly combined with the fact that the pockets on my jeans are super tiny explain why, as if on cue, the letters decide to flutter to the ground. I crane my neck downwards, peering at the sheets in disbelief.
"Dammit!" I squeak. "I thought we had something going for us?" I shake my head, obviously receiving no reply. "Yeah? Well, screw you, too."
I glance upwards at Demi, my eyes meeting hers. She lunges for the letters as I follow. To my dismay, she manages to get ahold of the letters first, quickly scooping them up and stepping away from me. I, however, trip over my own two feet and end up back on the couch.
"So, I misplaced them, huh?" She slaps the sheets onto the coffee table.
"Maybe you tried to frame me by placing them in my pocket?" I suggest with a straight face.
She runs the tip of her tongue along the inside of her cheek.
"You had no right to search through my stuff, Bailey," she calmly states.
I blink, gaping at her. Is she for real right now?
"No right?" I scoff. "You had no right to lie to me about who my own damn father is, Demi!"
"I was going to tell you-,"
"When?" I throw my hands up in exasperation. "When Hell freezes over? You had plenty of opportunities to tell me but you chose not to."
"I was going to tell you that day in Kevin's music room before Jordan interrupted us."
I bite my tongue, recalling that day.
"You had so many times after that day to tell me. I mean, yeah, I know a lot of shit has gone down, but that doesn't excuse your actions."
"You're right," she surprises me by agreeing. "But did you happen to think that for one moment I had a reason for keeping you in the dark."
"On our way here," I nod.
"And?"
"And what?"
"What do you think my reasoning is?"
"That you didn't want Wilmer to know that you cheated on him or that I was the result of your infidelity. I mean, he knew even before you brought me here. That's why he hated and, I believe, still does hate me."
"What makes you think that he knows?"
"He told me" I shrug. "Apparently you think that you're better at keeping secrets than you actually are. But I have no idea how long he has known nor do I know how he found out."
"You two seem to be having a serious conversation," Nick returns from outside. "It's not the sex talk, is it? If so, I'm going back outside until you two are finished."
I can't help but chuckle.
"No, we're not having," Demi pauses. "What do you mean you'll be outside?"
"Nick, I'll go get you a shovel. I'm not too sure whether you'll be digging yourself a bigger hole or not, but, regardless, you'll still need the shovel."
"I-I just meant, erm..." he points a finger at me. "Don't have sex until you're thirty. My job is done."
"Uh, no, your job is not done. You basically just told her to jump the next boy that she sees."
Or girl.
"Pretty sure I just told our daughter to do the opposite of that," he rolls his eyes.
Demi crosses her arms over her chest and looks at him with an awaiting expression.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Think about what you just said and who you said it in front of."
"What are you talking about?" He furrows his eyebrows. "I said that I'm pretty sure I just told our daughter..." he trails off, looking at me with slightly widened eyes. "Oh, hey, Bailey," he sheepishly mumbles.
I offer a wave of my hand.
"Hey, Pop," I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
He blinks at me.
"So, you know?"
"Yup," I nod, popping the "p".
"How long?"
I hum, as if thinking about the answer.
"Not long," I shrug.
"Oh, so you're angry with me, but not with him?" Demi pipes up.
"Don't be so egotistical," I roll my eyes. "I'm angry with both of you. Both of you could've told me.Instead, I had to find out courtesy of some old letters."
"Letters?" Nick arches a questioning eyebrow.
"Don't play dumb."
He opens his mouth to speak, but Demi cuts him off.
"He seriously doesn't know what you're talking about, Bailey."
"But the letters are addressed to him."
"I never sent them."
"Can somebody explain?" Nick asks.
Demi sighs and hands him the letters.
"When did you write these?"
"After I left."
His gaze flickers up to meet hers for a second before returning to the papers.
"Left?" I echo.
Demi sighs again, claiming a seat on the small loveseat.
"After I found out that I was pregnant with you, I told Nick, finished my Neon Lights Tour, canceled my world tour, and ran. I fled the country."
My jaw drops as my eyes widen.
"What do you think we're in? Some James Bond movie? A fanfiction? Do you realize how crazy that sounds?"
"Couldn't have put it better myself," Nick mutters, causing Demi to roll her eyes.
"I thought that I was doing what was best for you at the time," Demi defends.
"Oh, yes, because giving your daughter to strangers and having no contact with her for fourteen years is totally what's best for her," I sarcastically agree. "You could've just handed me off to Nick."
"Then everybody would have been wondering the identity of your mom," she points out.
Won't they just be doing the same now?
"I wouldn't have cared, Demi," Nick speaks up. "And you know it. I didn't want you to give her up. I wanted to be apart of her life from the very beginning, but you insisted that you were doing the right thing."
"I thought I was at the time!" she shrieks. "Looking back, I realize that I was being stupid. I was running on pure panic. I didn't stop to consider the fact that I had plenty of people who would have been more than willing to help me and support me. Why do you think I hardly even talk to anybody anymore, including my family? I'm ashamed, Nick. I beat myself up everyday over the fact that I gave her up, but there's nothing that I can do about it. I can't change the past, Nick."
The silence that follows her rant is slightly awkward. Nobody knows what to say.
"So, let me see if I'm understanding this correctly," I slowly break the silence.
Demi gives me an encouraging nod.
"You slept with Nick while on your Neon Lights Tour. You found out that you were pregnant. You told Nick. You wrapped up the tour and canceled your following tour. You ran because you didn't want Wilmer to know that you had cheated on him. You-,"
"No," Nick interrupts.
"No?"
"Nick," Demi hisses.
"Demi, exactly how many skeletons do you have in your closet?"
She narrows her eyes at me. I flash an innocent grin.
"Your mom-,"
"I'm not calling her that."
"Your mom," he rolls his eyes. "didn't cheat on Wilmer."
Wait, what?
"Yes, I did," she insists.
"No, you didn't, Demi."
"Either you did or you didn't," I feel like a referee. "Which is it?"
Demi pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Technically speaking, I didn't."
"What the hell is 'technically speaking' supposed to mean?"
"I don't know how to explain it to you."
"Demi, I'm a teenager, not some six-year-old that you have to walk on eggshells with whenever you speak. Just spit it out, and tell me the truth for once."
"I..." she hesitates, a contemplating expression on her face. "When you were researching me, how much did you learn about my relationship with Wilmer?"
"Well, I didn't know that you two have a daughter, and I didn't know that he beats the shit out of you," she rolls her eyes at that one. "So, what does that tell you?"
"That your researching skills suck," she snorts.
"And you two still don't think you're similar?" Nick quirks an eyebrow.
"Not in any way," we reply in unison.
"Uh-huh, sure."
"Anyways," she toys with her thumbs. "Wilmer and I...our relationship has always been very-,"
"You two have had a lot of breaks," I state, noticing her inability to voice her thoughts. "Then you two reconcile, then the cycle repeats itself over and over and over again. What's your point?"
"Those breaks were often one-sided."
"As in you didn't want the breaks to happen?"
"As in I wanted to initiate the breaks but never was allowed to. As in I-,"
"Wait. Never was allowed to?" I furrow my eyebrows, pondering over the words. "He was possessive?"
She nods, biting her lower lip.
"Was, is, same difference," Nick mutters.
"He would always initiate the breaks, and he would always be the one to choose when we reconciled. During those breaks, though, he was the only one could actually act as if we were on a break."
I can practically hear the gears in my brain turning.
"So...." I pull my thinking face that, although I hate to admit it, resembles Demi's. "He would be allowed to, like, sleep with other people or whatever, but you had to wait around for him like a lost puppy? Demi, I hate to break it to you, but you're an idiot," I pause. "So, if Wilmer was so possessive, why did you sleep with Nick? And, please, because I don't fancy puking all over Nick's floor, keep it PG. No, actually keep it G or Y7."
"I've always loved your dad."
I feign a gag.
"This is weird," I comment. "This is beyond weird. I regret asking."
Demi softly chuckles.
"So, you're not mad?"
I shake my head.
"I mean, I hate that you two lied to me, but I understand why you did it. You both were just trying to protect me."
"Exactly," Demi nods.
"And we'll always be here to protect you, Bailey," Nick adds.
I try to keep a smile from forming on my lips. For once in my life, I can say that I'm starting to feel genuinely loved. It's a foreign feeling that I hope I get use to, but I also know that everyone leaves eventually and that people can lie and manipulate without batting an eyelash. You can't trust anybody nowadays. How can I be sure that I can trust Nick and Demi, even if they are the two people who gave me life?
A sudden scream shatters my train of thought.
"Jordan," I whisper to myself before sprinting up the stairs behind Demi and Nick.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
