Page 5 of My Favorite Secret
Tyler is most definitely telling the truth about his dad. I see Josh Blackwood in the papers a lot, a Manhattan socialite and always with a new woman. Ladies flock to him because he’s ahotel tycoon.
My parents tell me sex should only happen between two married people. It’s the path they followed and is how I want to live my life too. They tell me sex should always be meaningful and with someone I love, that my body is sacred and I shouldn’t pass it around. Clearly the Blackwoods don’t feel the same way, Tyler being the exception. I know he would never act the way his father and Felix do.
“At least my dad doesn’t bring the women home. Hearing them through the walls would be worse.” Tyler jabs my ribs.
“I don’t want to think about how your dad sounds in bed either!”
Still laughing, I lay back, resting my head on Tyler’s lap. He strokes a hand through my hair. I’ve grown it long and he’s able to twirl the length around his finger a dozen times. It’s always so relaxing when he plays with my hair.
“You told me Felix wouldn’t be home tonight,” I say.
My parents are attending a Broadway show this evening. Felix’s supposed absence is the only reason they dropped me off at the Blackwood penthouse instead of leaving me at home. They won’t be pleased when they pick me up in an hour and see I’m surrounded by drugs and alcohol. Maybe that’s why Felix is throwing this party, as afuck youto my parents for keeping me away from him.
I sigh at the thought, knowing I’m flattering myself. Felix doesn’t want to be near me as much as I don’t want to be near him. He’s blocked my parents from his life too, which Mom has a lot of grief over. Although Mom doesn’t like me being around Felix, she still wants to be a parental figure to him and insists she’ll never give up on him for his mother’s sake.
“Felix wasn’t supposed to be home,” Tyler says. “Until I told him you were visiting.”
Heat spreads through me. Is it from frustration? Excitement? I can’t tell. “So, Felix is here to annoy me?”
“I don’t try to understand his logic. What’s the bet this nanny gets fired? Poor woman.”
The nanny will definitely be fired for not stopping Felix from throwing this party. Like so many others before her, she tried to show a dominant hand over Felix and got nowhere. She’s probably off in Killian and Dan’s bedroom, attempting to protect them from the chaos in the living room. I’m sure she’s having a hard time controlling them too.
Killian is eleven. Dan is one year younger. Without much of a father figure, they look up to Felix as their oldest brother, and he’s setting the worst example. They too have started refusing to spend time with my family. I hear they get in trouble a lot at school. Tyler is the only Blackwood brother who is responsible and hasn’t been influenced by Felix.
As Tyler continues stroking my hair, I take his free hand in mine, tracing my fingertip back and forth along his scar. “Please don’t ever turn out like Felix.”
“Not going to happen.”
“It might.”
It’s my biggest fear, that I’ll lose Tyler too. I see the way he interacts with Felix. They’re as close as they’ve ever been. I won’t admit it aloud, but I’m jealous Tyler still has Felix in his life and nothing has changed between them. Tyler is constantly trying to bring the three of us back together, but it’s no use.
“I won’t turn out like Felix because then I’d lose this,” Tyler says.
“Lose what?”
“You.” He tugs my hair. I’m still looking at his scar, butthere’s a teasing sound to his voice which tells me he’s grinning. “I’ve already lost you five days a week to ballet school. I’m suffering from withdrawals, Princess.”
It sucks not seeing Tyler every day, but my parents and I have decided ballet is my future. I got accepted into an elite ballet academy that trains five days a week. My mornings are now spent with Mom homeschooling me. In the afternoons, I’m at the academy. If I stay focused and train hard, I have a real shot at making it into an esteemed ballet company one day and being a principal dancer.
I look up at Tyler from where I lie in his lap. Sure enough, the smile I envisioned is there.
“Promise me you won’t turn out like Felix.”
“Harp, it’s you and me, always. Remember?”
He’s started saying that phrase recently—you and me, always. It feels like our saying, and I love hearing it. I hope the words will always remain true.
I smile back at him. “You’re perfect?—”
The music blasts, drowning out my words. I groan and climb off Tyler’s bed.
He grabs my hand, holding me back. “Harp, where are you going?”
“To talk some sense into Felix. His music is so loud I can’t hear.”
“Don’t. You’ll only make things worse between you two.”
