Page 53 of The Masks We Wear

“Cool,” she geeks out on the other end. “How is Brody?”

I laugh at her question, “Why do I get the feeling you only called me to ask me about Brody and not to talk to me?”

She giggles on the other end, “Because I did.”

I shake my head even though she can’t see me, “You’re really something else.”

“Yeah, I know. How is she though? I saw on TikTok that she was attacked,” my sister’s voice is coated with worry. “Is it true?”

I clench my jaw at the reminder of what I walked into that night. Of him strangling her and her eyes rolling to the back of her head. “You should get off that app, Lucy. It’s all nonsense on there,” I change the subject. I’m not talking about Brody’s private business with anyone, not even Lucy.

“But did it actually happen?” She presses.

“I can’t talk about it, Luce. Just let it go, okay?”

She huffs, “Fine.”

“How was school?” I take a whole new route of conversation.

“Boring.”

“How’s Mom?”

She pauses before whispering into the phone, “She’s going out on a date tonight with some new guy.”

I roll my eyes, “Is she making you dinner before she goes out?”

“I dunno.”

I sigh, “You have my credit card so get yourself some food and use my card to pay, okay? And what about that class trip you’re supposed to go on? Did Mom give you the money for the ticket?”

“Not yet.”

If my mother didn’t give her money yet, she likely won’t ever be giving her any. I take a deep breath to force the anger at bay. I can get angry at my mother when I hang up but not while I’m still on the phone with Lucy. When I made my first million, I bought my mom and Lucy a huge house, put Lucy in the best private school the state had, and continued to buy them groceries and whatever it is my mom decided to put on my credit card foryears. She’s never been motivated to get a job and provide for herself, happy to be living off me and my hard work. Lucy on the other hand, I have no problem supporting or taking care of. My mom has access to a large sum of money, all mine, and she still hasn’t given Lucy what she needs to go on her fucking class trip. “I’ll send some cash over to the house and you can use some for your ticket, okay?”

“Okay, thank you.”

I want to hug her so bad right now. I miss her smiling face and the warmth that spreads through my chest when she’s near. I’ve only ever felt that way with Brody but with her it’s different. Is this what it feels like to be a parent? God, I’m a parent to a kidthat isn’t even mine. “Do you need anything else?”

“No,” her voice sounds grim on the other end. “When are you coming home? I miss you.”

A drop of dread plants itself in my stomach and sprouts leaves. “Soon, Luce. I’ll be back in Nevada in two and a half weeks and then you and I can go do something together okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you,” I say, rubbing the ache out of my chest with the heel of my palm.

“I love you, too,” she replies before hanging up.

I sigh, bumping my head against the wall behind me. I feel like I’m being pulled in two different directions. One way is Lucy and my home, tugging me strong and the other is Brody and the chaos she leaves in her wake, tugging me just as fiercely.

My phone rings again and thinking it could be Lucy again, I answer without reading the name on the screen. “Hey,” I greet her gently.

The voice on the other end isn’t the voice of my squeaky, energetic, thirteen-year-old sister. It’s the voice of Dallas Carter, my friend from the military. “Long time, no talk, Taylor. I was starting to think you’d forgotten me.” Dallas and I work in similar fields, or at least we did when I owned my security company, before I sold it to him. I was very protective over my company, but I knew Dallas was the best person to sell it to. The guy is an evil genius in a suit. He grew the company and expanded it to create a private investigating unit. We talk from time to time since he lives in California and I live in Nevada, but if he’s calling me now, it must be because there’s something wrong or because he needs something.

“You’re impossible to forget, Carter. Trust me, I’ve tried, you just keep calling and texting when you need something,” I retort.

We’re actually good friends and I like him a lot. I’m just beingsnappy because I want to get back inside the studio. The feeling of being away from Brody for this long is starting to cause little rockstar withdrawals. “Very funny. Your impatience wouldn’t have anything to do with the blond bombshell I’ve seen you with in the press, would it?” He sounds amused. “I heard you signed a contract to babysit her. Not a bad job, huh? Especially not when your client is that hot.”

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