Page 47 of The Masks We Wear

I smile at her, “You can and you will because nobody is gonna know who you are when you’re dressed like that.”

I inevitably win our argument and usher a reluctant and hesitant Brody out of the hotel through the back entrance that is typically reserved for staff only. I bribed an employee with a large stack of bills to get him to help me out when I planned the night, but I don’t regret it one bit because it worked. I gotBrody into a blacked out car and drove off with her, parking on a nearby street.

We spent the night walking around the city that smells so foul, yet I couldn’t bring myself to notice, completely enamored by her the whole time. The way her nose scrunches at the odor and the way her eyes light up when people walk past her without recognizing her. The many personalities in the city, everything. Sometimes I forget her life isn’t normal and that these experiences aren’t realistic for her. It makes me even happier that I did this.

I took her to get dinner at a quiet little Japanese restaurant and then I took her to a local art gallery that was showcasing bonsai tree art. I knew she would love it and I was right. Her eyes were bright the entire time and she had the biggest smile on her face. I wish I could take a picture of her smile without her noticing, just so I could stare at it all day. The sight of Brody Drake alone is enough to send a man to his knees but even in glasses and some very unattractive clothes, she’s still the most stunning creature in the room every time she enters.

The night was special, even I could admit that. Now, we’re walking down the hall to our hotel rooms and I can tell from the wicked gleam in her eyes and the smirk on her lips that she wants something else from me, something I’m more than willing to give. She leads me to her room and I follow like some kind of puppy, another thing I would never be caught dead doing before Brody Drake. She slides the key into the door just as I smack her ass playfully, the devious look in her eye and the sirenic laugh that comes out of her mouth is enough to have me stripping her naked in this very hallway but I resist the urge, not wanting Selene or the girls to catch us together like this.

Brody opens the door to her room and I follow behind her. I’m about to kiss her and by the looks of it, she’s expecting me to, but I resist and take a step back when I realize we aren’talone. Inside her room, sitting on her bed are three people who look suspiciously like my little rockstar. There’s an older man, probably in his sixties, with no hair and a short gray beard. His eyes are the same shade as Brody’s sapphire blue gems, and he’s lean and muscular. He stands a couple of inches shorter than me. I take in the woman at his side. She’s tan with black hair that’s tied into a knot on the back of her head, not one hair out of place. Her eyes are a hazel color and she crosses her arms over her chest and scowls. I take in the last person, a man who appears to be about Brody’s age with the same shade of sunshine hair as hers and the very same eyes as hers too. He takes us in with a raised brow and an amused expression on his face. This must be Andrew, Brody’s younger brother.

Brody’s mother frowns, “Well, Brody, you must be completely fine if you’re bringing men back to your hotel room only days after being attacked.” Brody’s body immediately tenses. Her mother looks her over with a disgusted expression, “And what on God’s earth are you wearing?”

I watch as Brody retreats inside herself, the spunky and witty girl I know who doesn’t take shit from anyone, disappearing before my very eyes. She becomes a shell of her outgoing self and molds into someone who I don’t recognize. I immediately clench my jaw, angry at her parents for blowing out the candle that is Brody Drake. Her voice comes out shaky as she starts removing the wig and the fake glasses, “It’s a disguise so I could leave the hotel without paparazzi harassing me,” she explains as she looks down at her feet. “And he’s not just a random person I’m bringing back to my room, he’s my babysitter.”

Brody’s father raises a brow, “The one Selene told us would be coaching you?”

She nods and I speak up, reaching a hand out to Brody’s father, “I’m Harvey Taylor.”

He takes my hand in his tight grip and shakes. I proceed toshake Brody’s mother’s hand and Andrew’s. “And how has she been doing?” Brody’s father asks, curiously. I want to punch him in the jaw for speaking about her like she isn’t in this very room with us but I hold back out of respect for the girl at my side that looks extremely uncomfortable.

I raise my chin and force confidence into my tone, “She’s doing great. I’m very impressed with how far she’s come. You have a wonderful and very talented daughter, Sir.”

Her father responds, “Please, call me Robert and my wife’s name is Adriana.” He pauses as he recalls what I just said and snorts a laugh, “Well, she gets that from me of course. I just wish she would use her talents for a more acceptable career.”

Brody exhales and I lean closer to her to offer her support without making our current relationship too obvious to her family. “She has an amazing voice and tremendous talent. It would be a shame for the world not to hear it,” I say politely.

Brody looks up at me and I swear her eyes sparkle. I give her a grim smile and our moment gets interrupted by her mother’s plummy voice, “I agree with your father. You would’ve never gotten attacked if you lived a more appropriate lifestyle, Brody. And what’s this about you not calling us after it happened? We had to find out about it from the news and not from our own daughter and then Selene called us to talk to us about it before you did and that was days ago. You still never reached out. Do you have any idea how selfish you are?”

Brody snaps, “I’m selfish for not callingyouaboutmyattack? Do you even hear yourself? Maybe I didn’t call because you find a way to make every single thing about yourself.” There she is, my little spitfire. I knew she was still in there.

Andrew sucks in a sharp breath and exhales, muttering, “Oh, here we fucking go.”

Adriana’s nose scrunches with anger and her overly made up face barely moves, most likely from copious amounts of botoxtreatments. “How dare you?” She snaps at Brody and I watch Brody’s defense crumble. “You’re a selfish little brat and your fame and fortune have gotten to your head. You forget that respectable people once earned the things they had and worked normal jobs rather than revealing too much of their bodies and abusing substances.”

Andrew seems to not like the words coming out of his mother’s mouth that are directed at his sister as he argues, “Really, Mom? You’re gonna lecture her on working when you’ve never had a job in your life? Dad has done everything for you so you have no business lecturing my sister on working a ‘normal’ job when you don’t have one.”

I really like her brother. Adriana gives Robert a threatening glare and he sighs before getting worked up and raising his voice at his son. “Don’t speak to your mother that way,” Is all he says. It seems Robert wants no part in the argument but that Adriana is his puppet master. It seems the whole family can’t really stand her and that doesn’t surprise me one bit after I’ve gotten the displeasure of meeting the woman.

Andrew rolls his eyes. “This is bullshit. We came here because she was attacked and instead of offering support, you’re making this about you,” he gives his mother a death glare.

Adriana stomps her foot on the ground like an angry child and shrieks, “Shut your mouth, Andrew.” She turns on Brody, “Whatever biases you’ve placed within your brother, make quick work of removing them or your life will become difficult.”

Did she just threaten Brody? Fuck. No. This is where I draw the line. “Was that a threat? It seems to me like it was one but I’m not understanding how you could actually think Brody turned him against you when you’ve done that all on your own.” Adriana’s eyes widen, not expecting me to intervene but I continue before she can speak, “And your daughter was viciously attacked and could’ve been killed. All you care aboutis yourself and your image and you actually have the audacity to blame her for her own attack. Your daughter is the most talented person I’ve ever met and she was intelligent enough to make her talent her career, and she’s happy with what she’s doing so why isn’t that enough for you?” I snap, my voice raising as my anger rises.

Robert’s eyes darken. He isn’t pleased with me cornering his wife like that but maybe not from loyalty but rather from the fact that she’ll yap into his ear if he doesn’t. Andrew gives me a nod of appreciation and Brody’s jaw hangs wide open with surprise. Adriana seethes, “You are not involved in our family and therefore, have no business forming any opinions or sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Why don’t you see yourself out?”

Brody interjects, “He’s not going anywhere becauseIwant him here. I feel more comfortable with him here because you constantly victimize yourself and make me miserable every time I’m near you.”

“Brody Drake, shut your mouth.” Adriana points a finger in Brody’s face.

Brody looks up at me and inhales a deep breath. She reluctantly looks back at her parents but I see a split in the mask she wears, the Brody I know creeping through. “You’ve gone out of your way to make me miserable since I was a kid. You’ve never been happy with anything I’ve done, you’ve never told me you were proud of me, hell, you’ve never even hugged me,Mom. So get this, I’m done. You can all see yourself out and fuck off back to LA because I’m not doing this anymore. I let you treat me like shit my whole life but I won’t let it go on any further.” She turns and looks at her brother, “You are my best friend and I’m sorry if this drives a wedge in our relationship, but I need to start doing what’s best for me because none of this is healthy, Andrew. I don’t want this to affect our relationshipbut I understand if it does.” She glances at her father next, “And you’re too scared to leave her because you were stupid enough to not have her sign a prenup. You’re her bitch because you’d rather keep her happy and quiet than deal with her wrath. Grow the fuck up, Dad.” There she is. She’s all the way out of that mask now, and the little rockstar I know is back.

They all stare at her wide eyed, Andrew full on smiling. “I’ve been waiting so long for that,” he admits. He looks between Brody and her parents but inevitably walks over to his sister and drapes an arm across her shoulders. I realize then that he’s closer to my height, still a few inches shorter, but his frame is about three times bigger than hers. Is that how I look next to her? “Sorry Parentals, but Brody and I are adults and we don’t have to take your shit anymore.”

Robert rubs the spot between his eyes, “You two are being overly dramatic. We came here to bring the family together.”

Brody snaps, “Maybe that’s whyyoucame here, butshe,” she points at her mother, “Only came here to make me feel like shit and I’m not gonna let it fly. I’ve let this go on for too long, pretending to be someone I’m not for you, to please all of you, but I’m not doing it anymore. This is who I am and if you don’t like it, we don’t have to talk.” She hooks a thumb over her shoulder, “The door is right there so kindly see yourselves the fuck out.”

---