Page 120 of Submission

“I own one pair.”

“Oh, really? Can I try them on? I think we may be the same size,” Lena says animatedly.

“They’re not here in LA. I had to leave them at my old house. I had to pack light when I moved out here.”

“Oh, okay,” Lena sounds disappointed, and I think of the conversation Hunter and I had last week.

“If you really want to try them or even buy a pair, you can, Lena. That’s why Hunter gave you the credit card,” I tell her.

“Oh, I wouldn’t waste his money on frivolous things like expensive shoes. It’s enough that I live in this building. My foster brother would shit his pants.”

Lena now lives with Naomi in my old apartment downstairs now that I’ve moved in with Hunter.

“You don’t feel guilty about your new life, do you, Lena?” Naomi probes. “It’s not like you stole it from someone else. This is supposed to be your life. You were always Hunter’s little sister.”

“Maybe if I grew up as his sister, I’d be a different person and enjoy all of this wealth, but I didn’t. It’s very new for me.”

“You’ll make the adjustment,” I tell her matter of factly because she’s going to have to. Hunter won’t rest until Lena accepts her place in his life. He just won’t. “It’ll just take some time.”

“And who’s this foster brother you’re talking about? You never mentioned him before.”

Lena offers up a small grin as she pops a small piece of bread spread with brie cheese in her mouth.

“He was in my last group home.”

“What’s the story with him?”

“No story–he was just the only kid in the house who ever looked out for me. I think I reminded him of someone from his old life.”

Naomi and I give each other a knowing glance. With everything that’s been going on around here, neither one of us has taken the time to talk to Lena about her past. We have no idea what she’s been through or any clue as to what scars she may be carrying around.

“Do you still keep in contact with him?” I ask, knowing that she’s been completely on her own for at least a year. “Does he know that you’ve found your biological brother?”

Her eyes flash open.

“Don’t tell Hunter,” she rushes to say.

“I won’t,” I quickly reassure her. “But why not?”

“Leo has his own life.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” I say.

“I get it,” Naomi interjects. “You don’t want Mr. Dark and Stormy all in your brother’s business.”

“Hunter is her brother,” I say firmly, reminding everybody.

“I haven’t talked to Leo in a while,” she continues. “And I probably won’t. There’s no need for them to ever know about each other. They probably will never meet.”

“So you’re never going to talk to your foster brother again?” I ask incredulously. “Why? What did he do, Lena?”

“He didn’t do anything. We just had a misunderstanding and I’m embarrassed about it.”

“Enough to cut off someone who cares about you?”

A strange look crosses her face. One that tells me that there are layers to Lena that none of us have yet to peel back.

“Yes,” she says resolutely. “Cutting off people comes easy to me.”

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