“They’re twins like us,” Suzie says.
“They’re twins too?” August whispers in Hugo’s ear.
“Yes.” Hugo confirms.
“Hi.” He waves looking down at their feet.
“These are my children, August,” Karlie says and August stops scratching his head. “This is Oliver and Suzanna. I call them Ollie and Suzie.”
“I prefer my nickname, but she wants to be called her full gross name,” Ollie says and I laugh a little as Karlie taps him on his head.
“I like your name, August,” Suzie says.
August smiles. “I like yours too. That was our mother’s name, right Hugo?”
Hugo smiles and rubs his shoulder. “Yes. Yes, it was.”
August has this big wide smile on his face and I think he understands the harder he takes quick glances at the twins. He understands everything now.
HUGO
August likes them. In fact he loves them. I can see it in the way he laughs when they laugh and like children they instantly like him. They laugh when he makes animal noises and he even lets them sit on his back as he crawls through the grass. Maya Angelou said she sustained herself with the love of family. I could never do that. I didn’t have enough love and with August it was me focused on sustaining him so much that I couldn’t accept when he did it, which was every day basically. But now watching him and Ollie and Suzie play together. Looking at Ms. Eleanor dance to her drums in her head. Watching Cody drool as he watches Anika. Ms. Dale laugh with Jordana at whatever Poppy said. Karlie as she watches this and realizes the same thing as me. And Juliet. I watch as Suzie tells her how pretty she is and asks to braid her hair and she lets her even though Suzie is doing a horrendous job, but you do lie to children at the right moments, right? I don’t know, but I think I would like to learn. This is my family. All of them.
“Are you my dad?” I didn’t notice Ollie sitting next to me and I am thrown off by his question. He is focused on my eyes even though they are covered by my sunglasses.
“No,” I answer and I see the disappointment in his face. The irony is that I am disappointed that I’m not too.
“I thought so. Mom said he died.”
“He did.” I don’t think I’m ever going to believe in sugarcoating with a kid. “August and I…”
“You’re twins.” His smile is back. “Like me and Suzie.”
“Yes… and you’re twins because it runs in our family. I may not be your father, but I’m your uncle. August and I are your uncles. Your father was my older brother.”
“I can get with that.” This kid is funny. He starts to breathe a little funny and holds his chest. He pulls out what looks to be a blue inhaler and calms down once using it.
“You have asthma?”
He nods. “Mommy said when I came out I wasn’t breathing. She said she was really scared.”
“When I was born I wasn’t breathing either.”
“Was my grandma scared too?”
His grandma.
“Yes, she was.”
“Good thing we made it.” He smiles again and sticks his inhaler back in his pocket.
“Let’s keep the truth about your dad between us, okay? Your mom wants to tell you herself, so until then it’s a secret, okay?”
“Okay.”
KARLIE
I was scared of this. Really scared to see my kids become invested in others. The more people, the more risk of heartache. But this is right. It’s oddly right.
“Your children are beautiful,” Juliet stands next to me.
“Thanks.”
“I hope you forgave Anika.”
“I did. Hugo deserved to know the truth.”
“Looks like he and Ollie are already getting along.”
We both watch as Ollie studied Hugo as he sits cool with his sunglasses on. Ollie tries to mimic him and Hugo takes notice. A hint of amusement sneaking up between his lips.
Juliet and I both laugh.
“Could you imagine Hugo being a father?” Juliet asks.
“Actually yeah. Given the right woman.” I look at Juliet and she tries not to blush.
“Listen, Karlie… I’m sorry. I should’ve minded my own business.”
“Yes, you should’ve… but I’m glad you didn’t.”
She gives a dramatic sigh. “Thank God because I’m actually not sorry.”
I can’t help but to laugh and shake my head at this girl. “Even though I’ve only known Hugo for a few weeks now… I approve of you… so far.”
She shrugs and bumps her shoulder against mine. “I’ll take what I can get.”
15
GABRIEL
I keep having the nightmare. I’m the one covering a passed out Karlie. I am the one hurting her. I am the one ruining her. I have ruined her. I have done what I hoped not to do. She’s called and texted. I have not answered. I have left her unanswered for days. She is confused. She doesn’t know what happened. When she woke up not feeling well, I had the driver take her home. She was so out of it she didn’t have the energy to react. Scarlett made sure to send Chad and Noel away. They haven’t been home since that night while she keeps the door of her room open and walks through this house like she is invincible because she is. She’s waiting for me to react. If I react then I will break; if I break then she will reap the benefits. That is what she wants. That is what she needs to feed her soul. The soul that is barely there. I knew what she was capable of. I always knew. I knew from the moment I met her because in that moment I laid eyes on the little girl through the window when my father dropped me off here, I was both frightened and enchanted by her. She reminded me of my mother. A strong woman with a bright smile. The opposite of her. The better her. That’s what I thought at thirteen. I was an idiot.
“Where have you been?” Karlie comes to me in a dark coat and light jeans. She’s made no effort to conceal her dried up tears. “Why haven’t you texted me back?”
I asked her to meet me on the steps of the Met. Our usual meeting spot. Her tone gets a little louder and the few people walking by on this cloudy day look at us. I stand up and lead her to the far left where no one is walking by.
I stuff my hands into my jacket pocket, avoiding eye contact. Should’ve worn my sunglasses. Maybe I didn’t so she would know how hard this truly is for me.
“I did text you.”
“Don’t fucking bullshit me, Gabriel.” She shoves me. “Don’t you dare do that! Not to me.”
I’m trying to keep the I-don’t-give-a-fuck face on, but it’s really hard and if I look into her eyes, I won’t be able to do it. “What happened that night? I passed out after a damn ginger ale. Then I wake up and I feel… I feel like…”
“Why did you go there? You know it wasn’t my birthday?”
“Because I wanted to show her that I wasn’t scared of her.”
“Congratulations, you succeeded… and so did she.”
“What did they do to me?” She grabs my collar. “Tell me!”
“You don’t need to know,” I calmly say. “You don’t need to know nothing but that you and I are through.”
I didn’t know eyes could open up more, but they do—to a point where they practically hang out of your skull. She lets go of my jacket and steps back as I clench my jaw and look her straight in the eyes. “We are over.”
“They did it, didn’t they? Say it. They… they raped me.”
“You can have Harvard too so you won’t have to see my face ever again. I’ll also be transferring schools.”
“Say it!”
Her scream hits my face along with her hand.
“Forget about me. Forget about everything.” I grab her hands and pull her close to me. Her tears stream down her face and so do mine. “Your life is going to be so much greater and more amazing and filled with nothing but love… without me in it.” I push her back and quickly head down the steps.
“Gabriel!” she cries out as I walk away from her.
KARLIE
�
�Can I say something without you getting angry?” Hugo asks me. I was in the middle of telling him how it all ended. The night I passed out and the last time I ever saw Gabriel.
“Go for it,” I permit him.
“My brother wasn’t worthy of you,” he says. “If anything like that ever happened to Juliet… I’d kill them. I’d kill her.”
“I think that’s the whole point. He wanted to kill her. He wanted to kill everyone and… I guess he saw that as the only other option. So he gave up and broke my heart.”
“Maybe he did kill someone?”
“Referring to what August heard? Yeah, maybe… but now the question is who?”
“I have no idea. I never even thought murder would end up in the mix really. And I guess the real question is who would he want to kill over her? Whoever it is, they must’ve did damage or… she fucked with his head.” He rubs his temple. “Just thinking about the way she could’ve done it fucks with my head.”
“Well, maybe you need to stop.”
“And maybe you should open up that envelope.”
He’s referring to the white envelope on the table addressed to me from the lab that tested the DNA of me, my kids, Hugo, Noel, and Chad. The envelope has been sitting there for about three hours. When I got it, I called Hugo and he came straight here. I sent the kids with ma, Anika, and Cody to the Shedd Aquarium. I also think Juliet’s friend Jaz and Poppy went with them. Hopefully my kids won’t come back asking why they kiss a lot.
“Karlie,” Hugo’s hand covers mine and I look at him. “We know what the answer is.”
I sit back and put my hands on my forehead. “No, we don’t. Anything could happen. What if Scarlett messed with the test? The damn girl’s like the government.”
“True, but I have it on clear confirmation that Scarlett or anyone she knows has not been involved in this.”
“I do too. I mean it’s very possible, but predictable of her. She’s not predictable.”
“No, but these results are, so open them.”
I don’t know that I’m ripping open the envelope until the results are in my hand facing me and I don’t even read any of the words except the blue one. The big blue and bold letters.
“Positive match,” I can barely get it out and Hugo leans his ear in smirking. “Positive match in... between your DNA and the kids,” I read further. “It explains all this scientific shit that basically says you are biologically their uncle and therefore your brother Gabriel Mandrake is the father of…” I bite my bottom lip in agony as the tears fall down and my hands begin to shake. “Oliver and Suzanna Fairchild.”
“You could always change it to Mandrake.”
I laugh. “If they want to, yeah, and to tell you the truth, Oliver would probably like that. He’ll feel like Oliver Mandrake is more of a resemblance to Bruce Wayne than Oliver Fairchild.”
He laughs a little. “Gabriel liked Batman too.”
“He did?”
“Yes...” Hugo realizes that even he remembers things about Gabriel that were once forgotten. “He liked lions too. He was the lion in a Wizard of Oz play… and he liked um,” he snaps his fingers, “What’s that candy? It’s chocolate and the name has to do with money.”
“A hundred grand.”
“Yeah.”
“He ate those all the time.”
“I didn’t know that,” he sadly says. “Thought he outgrew everything.”
“You know… I not only loved him but… I hated him. I hated him for not being there for me when it all happened.”
“And if he did kill himself… you will hate him even more, won’t you?”
That thing inside of me. That hurt little girl screams again at his doubt.
“He didn’t kill himself.”
“But what if he did?”
“She was there.”
“It doesn’t mean he wasn’t the one to pull the trigger. That is Scarlett. Sometimes she doesn’t have to lift a finger to get someone to hurt themselves.”
“Hugo, just… be with me on this. Okay?” I beg him and he doesn’t push further. He nods and says, “Okay.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m gonna go and meet Juliet then…” He rolls his eyes and groans.
“You have to do this. It’ll help.”
“Then to grandma’s house we go.”
JULIET
“I didn’t know you had a car,” I say looking around the leather black interior of his jet-black Lamborghini.
He gives me a look. “This is not a car. This is a privilege. It is not meant for the city where pollution and envious fools with clumsy hands can see or touch it. And we’ve been in here for about forty minutes and now you say this.”
“My mind was on other things like the time of my birth and the time I wanted a pink Malibu Barbie beach house. You know why I wanted it?”
“I’m sure you are about to tell me.”
“I wanted to set it on fire. I always wanted to set something on fire and I found Barbie and her dream materials so annoying that I dubbed them the perfect firewood.”
He smiles. “I must say even though it is not shocking, you do still surprise me.”
“Good.”
He grabs my hand and kisses it. My head lies back on the seat and I look at him. I love the way he wears everything. From his clothes to the confidence. His swagger has a shine of its own and that’s one of the reasons I love him. I never want to see it deteriorate.
“I’m glad you asked me to come with you,” I say to him.
“I’m glad you wanted to.”
We pull up to the estate of Georgette Voncliff. It is the largest in Scarsdale. All stone. Dark green shutters. A woman who looks to be in her thirties comes out in a white kimono and pants once we get out the car.
“Hello, Mr. Mandrake.” She shakes his hand and mine once he introduces me. “Madam Voncliff will be so delighted you’re here.”
“That makes two of us.” I nudge a sarcastic Hugo.
We follow the woman, who I think is his grandmother’s home nurse. She leads us to a screened in porch where glasses of lemonade and finger sandwiches are already set out. Hugo and I take a place on the white couch. I help myself to probably the best damn lemonade I’ve ever tasted and nervously wait with Hugo until his grandmother comes down. She is as I expected. Gorgeous woman in her seventies with beautiful, long white hair. Her eyes are blue. Her lips are thin and she’s heading her way to us with the help of a cane and the nurse. She sits comfortably in a wicker chair.
For a woman who hasn’t seen her grandson for a very long time, she sure is calm and unbothered. A smile creeps up as the nurse leaves us.
“Hugo,” she says. “It is very lovely to finally meet.”
“I suppose it is.”
“It’s a shame August couldn’t come with you.”
“He could’ve, but I thought it would be best I come first. I’m very cautious about the people he meets.”
“I heard he’s very accomplished with art. Mazes in fact.”
“How?”
“Your father.”
Hugo and I look at each other. “You still talk to my father?”
“Yes. I do. I ask for updates on you boys. His updates are vague but still valuable. Also I am still in contact with certain people. I’ve heard of your very scandalous background… and your girlfriend, is it? Juliet Spears. You are very beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I say surprised and not surprised by what she knows.
“I assume my reputation did not please you,” Hugo said.
“No, it did not,” she says harshly. “But your father was never a man of good stature when it came to control over his things. Like your mother, for instance.”
I feel cut by her words and I know Hugo does too.
“Speaking of my mother, why did you two part on bad terms?”
“I don’t like to look back on the past. In fact it was such a long time ago that I hardly remember our little dispute. I think we just didn’t see
eye to eye on how to handle problems in the family.”
“Interesting. Well Gabriel has children. A son and daughter.”
“Yes, I heard of his bastard children with the African American girl who somehow managed to get hands on the Fairchild fortune.”
“I see you are very up to date.”
“From what I heard, Gabriel was always a very fragile and lost boy. More like your mother, I suppose. Anyone could hardly blame you for all of your deviant behavior with parents with problems themselves.”
“Yes and who could blame any of them with their parents and grandparents. It’s all just a cycle, isn’t it?”
She smirks and takes a sip of her lemonade.
“It’s funny. My mother barely spoke of you. When she did she talked about the loss of love and protection from a parent. Something she did not want for us.” The old hag’s smile tightens and Hugo shrugs in satisfaction. “Then again my mother was crazy. Maybe the whole Voncliff side is crazy. How was Uncle Stewart’s state of mind?” He struck a nerve with the mention of his uncle. She frowns and comes to his defense.
“Stewart was a good boy.”
“Only a drunk who fell off a balcony, right?”
“He had his problems but never as harsh as your mother’s. She was always so dramatic.”
“Damn those kids. Always prone to fall off balconies.”
“How did you cope after his uncle’s disappearance?” I ask wondering.
I notice her hands tremble a little and she sets the glass of lemonade down.
“Stewart’s disappearance still haunts me.”
“It is interesting a man who can’t walk could just disappear like that.”
“Well, Stewart was always full of surprises. I believe that he is fine and well wherever he is.”
“Must be comforting… Uncle Stewart was well known for his wonderful endeavors, especially for the Black Card Club.” Something sparks in her eyes. “Do you know anything about that club?”
“You are never to speak of that club to me again.”
“By that response I assume you know more than anyone.”
“I only know that club is forever buried in the ground along with the rest of the demons of this family and, Hugo my dear, you do not want to dig it up. As your grandmother I give you that advice. I suggest you accept it.”
Reckless Karma (Sinners & Saints #2) Page 16