Page 160 of Rules

Deciding I could use a breather, I sneak out through the kitchen door and get on the terrace. The air feels good on my skin, cool and refreshing. The house is buzzing with so many people, half of which I’m not even sure go to Greyford.

Tilting my head back, I take one deep breath, a sense of longing washing over me. I pull my phone out of my back pocket, looking at my empty inbox. Opening Brook’s message, I start typing but hushed voices draw my attention.

“We have to tell him!”

“We will, but give him today.”

Slowly, I follow the voices around the side of the house and to the back.

“I’ve already been hiding it for far too long, Andrew!”Andrew?“He needs to know.”

Coming to the back terrace, I find Andrew and Jeanette standing close by. I can see the irritation on my sister’s face as she glares at her boyfriend.

“He needs to know what?” I ask, breaking their little staring game.

They both turn around abruptly, surprised to see me. The panic on Jeanette’s face is evident, but she reins it in fairly quickly.

“Max! What are you doing sneaking up on people?”

“I came out to get some fresh air. It’s worse than the pits of hell inside. But that’s beside the point.” I look between the two of them, the fine hairs at the nape of my neck rising with every second of silence that stretches between our little group. “Who are you keeping secrets from? And what secrets are you keeping?”

“Max, I…” Jeanette starts, but Andrew stops her. He stands in front of her, lifting his hands in the air.

“It was my idea. I know we should have told you, but I’m not sorry we didn’t. Had you known, you would have flipped out, and the team needed you. Today showed that.”

I stare at him, waiting for more. “As far as apologies go, this is a shitty one, Hill. What the fuck is going on?”

His throat bobs as he swallows, but he doesn’t look away. “A few weeks ago, Brook’s mom came to my house.”

“Brook’s mom?” My brows furrow. What the hell is he talking about? What does Brook’s mom have to do with anything?

“Long story short.” He runs his hand over his face. “She and my dad screwed around in the past, and now she’s blackmailing him.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Brook is the result of their affair,” Andrew explains. “Brook is my half-sister.”

I feel my mouth fall open in surprise. It feels like I’ve walked into another universe. Brook is… Andrew’s sister?

“I… I still don’t see how that has anything to do with me.”

“Apparently, my dad helped Brook leave. He gave her the money, which is why her mom was pissed. Without Brook, she can’t blackmail him for more.”

“But that’s not the only thing.” This comes from Jeanette. She steps around Andrew, her hand gripping his.

They exchange a long, worried look before they turn their attention back to me. And I know, I simply know whatever they’re about to say will change everything.

“Brook is pregnant, Max.”

All the air leaves my lungs. “That’s impossible,” I say, shaking my head. “She would have told me. I asked her, after the accident, and she would have told me.”

Jeanette comes closer, sorrow and worry written on her face. “When she came to Andrew’s house, Josephine brought a test. It was positive.”

I stumble back, my head shaking as I gasp for air.

I asked her, and she said no. I asked her, and she… Brookliedto me.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

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