Page 45 of My Turn

“So, if I wanted to talk to Alicia’s father…”

“I’d recommend going through the courts. In the state of New York, some records are sealed, but you could always try.”

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“Marriage records, on the other hand…”

I snapped my fingers and got to my feet. “You’re right. Thank you, Mr. Moore.”

“Was that the only purpose for your visit, Mr. Weste?”

“It’s one of them. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

I left his office without another word and made a beeline for the exit. Luna said something to me as I left, but I was on a mission. As soon as I was in my car, I pulled out my phone and started typing in information. I knew who Alicia’s mom was, otherwise I’d be shit out of luck. We’d gone to high school with her and judging by how old the kid was, Jake and Hailey had their fling junior year, not too long after she and Alana had their falling out.

Fucking asshole. Who could blame me for killing the bastard?

Finally, I found the record of filing. They got married when she was eighteen, which meant he was the only dad Alicia ever knew. I wondered if she was aware of the truth or not. I tried to remember if Hailey had been dating anyone during high school, but I hadn’t seen her since Alana stopped talking to her. As far as we knew, she ended up moving.

They didn’t even become enemies. They just completely went their separate ways. Hailey had issues and she was sort of anattention-seeking bitch, willing to do anything for a moment of fame, even at Alana’s expense. I was surprised she’d even kept the baby a secret when she could’ve rubbed it in her face instead.

I looked at the names and stroked my jaw. Interesting. It turned out I wouldn’t be spying on my girl tonight. There was something else I needed to explore.

Chapter 18

Alana

“Did I tell you that you look nice today?”

I looked at Mike over my sandwich, trying not to scowl. Nice? I rolled out of bed, considered quitting my job, felt sick with shame all over again when I thought about what happened Saturday, and threw my hair in a bun before I trudged into this place. One of my students asked me if I was sick, so that was cool.

“Thanks,” I muttered dryly.

“You’ve seemed sort of down. Did something happen?”

With a sigh, I dropped my sandwich. I didn’t have an appetite when I started and I sure as fuck hadn’t found one along the way.

“Just some things I’ve had to deal with since Jake passed.”

“Oh. I know a bit about tying up loose ends like that.”

I considered whether I should confide in him. He’d been through something similar, apparently, but I was sure the situation was much different.

“Unless your wife has a secret baby out there and you’re expected to suddenly be in charge of its financial future, I don’t think you can really help me.”

His eyes widened a little. “I was expecting something more along the lines of, ‘I found his stash of ecstasy under the floorboards and don’t know if I should sell them, flush them, or take them.’”

When I laughed, he looked a little less horrified by my situation. I was surprised the guy hadn’t run off yet. Not only had Jayce punched him at the party, but I then proceeded to run out in the middle of our date, and I’d since sort of friend zoned him. Now, I was oversharing some fucked up personal shit. Maybe nice guys did exist.

“Thanksgiving is in a couple of weeks,” I noted. “Do you have family that you spend it with?”

“Yeah, but not this time. They’re in Florida and I usually fly out for the weekend, but things are tight this year. Losing my wife’s income has made things hard.”

“I understand that and so does my shitty one-bedroom apartment. I can’t imagine being responsible for a whole other human on top of it all.”

“It’s a good thing she’s likable. Do you have plans?”

“I’ll spend it with Jayce’s family.”

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