Page 63 of The Master

“It doesn’t matter! Even if you didn’t tell me that first night, you’ve had years to come clean!”

“Isti and I weren’t raised together, and we don’t even like each other,” he said, his voice still calm despite the fact that I was practically yelling at him. “Our father cheated on her mother with mine. Isti blames me for ruining her happy family.”

If I’d been hearing any of this under different circumstances, I would’ve been indignant for him, asking how Isti could blame a child for a parent’s infidelity. But it was too late for that.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that? When I brought up the details of how I’d ended up on the streets, why didn’t you just tell me that you already knew?” I hated that I sounded more hurt than angry. Before today, I wouldn’t have really cared much about Finley hearing how vulnerable I was feeling, but I needed my guard up right now.

He sighed. “You’re not always the easiest person to talk to, Nate. I thought you’d blame me, and it’d ruin our friendship. Maybe even want us to quit working together. I didn’t want to see that happen to either of us.”

I wanted to tell him that none of that would’ve happened, that if he’d told me, I would’ve accepted it and it wouldn’t have been a big deal. I wanted to believe that I wasn’t as immature and petty as he made me sound. Except I knew better, and that just pissed me off even more.

Before I could figure out the best way to respond, my phone rang. Ashlee’s ringtone should’ve broken through my anger, making me realize that talking to her would give me time to calm down and really think about what I wanted to say. Instead, a new flash of betrayal went through me. Ashlee was Nate’s daughter. That meant she was Isti’s niece.

“Yes?” The word was curt, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“I’m still at Mom’s, but the cops called and said I could go back to my apartment if I wanted to. I didn’t want to make any plans without talking to you since I’d have to call Owen.”

I barely heard any of what she said. As soon as she paused, I asked, “Did you know that Isti is your aunt?”

Finley said my name, but I ignored him.

After a couple long seconds, “What?”

“Did you know that Isti Mollen is your father’s half-sister?”

Finley moved to stand in front of me, glaring. In my most mature response yet, I flipped him off.

“No. I had no idea. He never mentioned her to me. Are you sure?”

“Positive,” I said. I didn’t bother explaining that I’d heard it from Isti first, then confirmed it with Finley. She didn’t need to know the process.

A little voice in the back of my head wondered if hiding that from Ashlee wasn’t pretty much the same thing Finley had done to me. It wasn’t. I fully planned on telling Ashlee the full story once I’d gotten it all straight in my head. As fucked up as all this was, I didn’t want Ashlee to feel like she had to choose between her father and me.

Unless that was already how she felt. Was she lying about what she didn’t know? It made sense that she wouldn’t admit if he’d gotten her tangled up in this. She would want to protect herself as well as us. Maybe she thought the best way to do that was to say that she hadn’t known anything.

I didn’t want to believe that, but the one person I’d always thought I could count on had broken my trust. Shattered it, really. It made me question everything I’d thought I’d known.

“Are you with Finley right now?” she asked. “Do you want me to have Owen bring me there?”

“No. You should probably go back to your place. I need some time and space to work through this.”

“Oh. Well, okay.” A few more empty moments. “I’ll call Owen then. Talk to you later?”

“Sure.” I ended the call before she could say anything else. Before I could be guilted into apologizing for being abrupt. Before I could guilt myself into asking about how dinner with Mona went.

Not having her on the phone anymore didn’t stop me from feeling guilty about both of those things, especially since I knew how anxious she’d been about seeing Mona again. I should have put aside my own issues long enough to make sure she was okay, or at the very least tell her that I’d call her tonight so she could tell me how things went then. Instead, I’d let my own shit become more important than her.

“That was a real dick move, Nate.” Finley was still glaring at me. “If you want to be an asshole to me, fine. But that’s between the two of us. Leave Ashlee out of it.”

“She wouldn’t be in it at all if it wasn’t for you.”

“You’re right,” he agreed. “You wouldn’t have even met her if she hadn’t come to Manhattan Records looking for me. The two of you coming together was sheer coincidence. She could’ve ended up with anyone if the cards had played differently. Where would your life be then?”

I didn’t even want to think about that.

Forty-Two

Ashlee

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