Page 62 of Selfie

“That bad?”

“My dad comes from money and his family loves to show it off. Everybody walks into Christmas dinner wearing about a pound of jewelry. They purposely leave their new Bentleys parked right in front of the house so they’re seen. My mom came from humble beginnings. Her parents had a family cleaning business that barely put enough food on the table. She got one small gift on Christmas morning, and the rest of the day was about staying in pajamas, movie marathons, and simply enjoying a day off work. My parents are divorced, and I think that’s why they didn’t last. They were too fundamentally different. Mom never loved being rich. She didn’t like what money brought out in people.”

Spencer pokes me in the arm with two fingers. “I get it. That’s similar to what went wrong with me and Jesse. He’s notrich or anything, but he craved it in his bones, you know? I look at Charlie and see this innocent little girl who is almost clueless about how much baggage she’s carrying around. I see someone who deserves everything, yet has had so much taken away from her. But Jesse…he looks at my little sister and sees an opportunity.”

“Because of her voice?” I intuit.

Spencer nods sullenly. “Jesse tried to talk me into seeking out talent agents and even reaching out to record labels. I am not deaf. I know Charlie has a unique gift, but I’ve become an internet sleuth when it comes to child stars in the entertainment industry. Far too many of them end up the same way—as addicts, mentally unwell, depressed from the vicious public bullying. And those are the straightforward cases, the children who were coerced, threatened, overworked, or sexually abused. Those aren’t scars you can erase. It shapes the rest of their lives. I always ask myself when I hear these tragic stories—how did this happen? Where were the parents? I promised myself that won’t be us. Nobody will ever ask where I was. I’m here, right by her side.”

“And Jesse wanted to sell Charlie off for a big advance?”

“Pretty much. Charlie…well, she doesn’t know this part.” Spencer holds up her pinky. “Promise not to say anything?”

I can’t remember the last time someone asked me to make a pinky promise. I chuckle at the sentiment, even though Spencer’s face is dead serious. Looping my pinky finger around hers, I clamp it tightly until she feels secure enough to continue sharing. “Promise.”

“Charlie is the product of an affair that my mom did not know about. Mom was pregnant by the time she found out he had a wife and children. She was devastated, but she wasn’t thinking about herself. She was thinking about his family and how much she unintentionally hurt them. I don’t know if it wasthe right call or wrong call, but she told him to forget about her and the baby and to just do better by his family.”

“Oh shit. And so that was that? He just walked away?”

“Yeah. Maybe it was just to absolve his guilt, but he left Charlie a quarter million dollars for whatever she needed. When my mom passed away, I became Charlie’s legal guardian, meaning I could withdraw from the fund for Charlie. I…” Spencer trails off, wetting her top, then bottom lip. It takes me a moment to see she’s trying to compose herself because she breaks out into tears.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m so embarrassed. I haven’t admitted this to anyone really.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.” I successfully keep so many of my own, it’ll be no problem to keep a Spencer secret buried, too.

Her eyes stay straight ahead. “I don’t know much about investments. Jesse told me if I pulled out some of Charlie’s savings, he could triple her money, and we’d be able to give her a nicer life. He’s a lawyer. I thought he understood this stuff. I didn’t ask questions when we moved to a nicer apartment, Jesse got a new car and new clothes. I kept making withdrawal after withdrawal, draining every penny, believing him when he told me?—”

“That he was doing exactly what he said he was going to do?” I roll my eyes, almost growling under my breath. I’m not agitated at Spencer. I want to strangle the asshole who took advantage of a woman who quite clearly thinks of everyone before herself. “Spencer, you’re not to blame. If I were in your position, I would’ve thought the same.”

She finally looks at me, shaking her head. “No you wouldn’t have. You’re a smart man, Nate. You would’ve asked for receipts. You would never have been dumb enough to take a greedy man’s word at face value. I was a fool. That’s why I moved out herein such a hurry. I just wanted to fix my mistake as quickly as I could.”

“Why didn’t you demand he give the money back, or sue him?”

Spencer scoffs. “Yeah, the only lawyer I could afford is Jesse—as in, for free. And not only is he pretty mediocre, but I doubt he’d take himself to court.” Laughing it off, she shrugs. “It was my fault for trusting him. It’s my job to repair what I broke.”

No. Enough. “Spencer, look at me.” She pivots, her knee pressing against the back of the couch as she faces me head-on. “You need to change the narrative, because you’re a victim, shaming yourself. You didn’tallowJesse to trick you. He chose to be selfish and mislead you. It’s unfortunate, and he left a mess of a situation behind him, but trusting someone you love is nothing to be ashamed of. You shouldn’t be embarrassed because you weren’t aware of his true colors. You should be very proud you had the strength to leave once you found out.”

The way her eyes latch on to mine, I know she’s hearing me. Hanging on every single word. Spencer said her mom died five years ago. That means she was only eighteen when she had the weight of the world dropped on her shoulders. Eighteen is still a baby. She needed her mom. Instead, she had to become one. Not to mention her only companion was a snake.

Spencer wraps her arms around me and buries her face in my neck. “Thank you.Really, thank you.Because I didn’t know how badly I needed to hear that. I’ve felt so guilty.”

This time as I’m hugging her, there’s nothing sexual going through my mind. I brace her against my body just trying to be something solid she can melt against. I’m patient as she holds on to me as long as she likes. Mentally, I’m making plans I know I shouldn’t.

Call my accountant and set Charlie up with a savings account. Get them out of this apartment and into a home witha backyard…maybe they can release that rodent back into the wild. Plan a Disney World trip for three next time I can steal away from the office.I’m inserting myself into something I have no business to, but I’m powerless to control it.

“Do you want to stay?” Spencer sniffles and pulls away. It’s only when she wipes the side of my neck that I realize my skin is damp from her tears.

“For sex?” I ask point-blank.

A touch of pink highlights her cheeks. “Well, I don’t exactly take you for a cuddling type of guy. I’ll settle for what I can get.”

It’s the admission she didn’t mean to make. Spencer doesn’t necessarily want to have sex right now. Not like this, after cheap Chinese food she barely touched, in this shitty apartment. She just doesn’t want to be alone.

“You know what they say about assuming.”

She smirks. “Are you saying I’m an ass?”

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