Page 55 of Collateral Damage
Cooper
Past - Age 22
“Hey, I could play some video games right about now,” I say to Hayes. “Can you guys get it started? Maybe GTA? I’ll be up in a minute.”
Hayes twists his mouth in frustration before agreeing, leading Chandler away. I set my plate of unfinished appetizers on the coffee table and stride from the living room.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sybil says to my brother. She turns to her father. “Say it isn’t true.”
If horrified and heartbroken at the same time had a look, it would be the expression on Sybil’s face. This is worse than when Ethan broke up with her. This is worse than I’ve ever seen.
The silence she’s met with is damning.
My father appears behind them, his anger palpable. “This is not the time nor the place to have this conversation.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, and they all turn on me, then look away. Damn it, I’m tired of feeling an inch tall around them.
“Daddy, tell them it’s not true,” Sybil presses, her pretty eyes filling with tears.
Gregory Laurence, a man I have viewed as a second father, looks like he’s a rat caught in a trap. His mouth is grim, and his eyes shift. Then he leans on his heels and lets out a resolved breath. “I’m sorry. It’s true. I… I loved her, and she?—”
“Don’t,” Ethan growls at Gregory, pure venom in his gaze.
“And she loved me,” he finishes.
He loved who? Who loves him? What is he?—?
Realization hits like a slap to the face.
He loved her, and she loved him.
“How dare you.” My father’s voice is low and guttural. I’ve never heard this tone directed at his best friend. The two face off like they’re about to start throwing punches, their shoulders tense and faces purple.
Sybil turns away, catching my expression.
“Is this about my mother?” I ask, pleading with her to confirm.
Her voice is soft and shattering. “They were having an affair.”
My stomach curdles, and I don’t want to believe it. “They… as in my mom and your dad?”
Nobody answers, and the world stops turning. I turn to Gregory. He’s the one with the answers now. “Were you having an affair with my mother?”
He finally gives me the time of day, looking at me like he’s never looked at me before—like I’m some idiot kid bothering him and not someone who grew up with him as a second father figure. This is not the man I know. This is an adulterer, and one who doesn’t even regret his actions.
“Like I said, I loved her, and she loved me. Is that what you want to hear, Cooper? Then hear it. It’s true. Your mother and I had something special.”
Acid builds on the back of my tongue, my stomach roiling with upset. I whip toward Ethan. “You knew and didn’t tell me?”
“I barely found out myself. I overhead him talking to Vale about it at the viewing last night. I didn’t want to believe it, but Dad told me to drop it, that we needed to honor Mom’s memory and deal with this later.”
I look over at my father, who is standing there, his mind who knows where.Shit.
“You need to leave.” Ethan turns on Gregory.
He laughs. “This is my house.”
“I don’t fucking care. Be somewhere else.”
