Page 16 of The Cinderella Secret
“You know, one of the first things Dominique told me was that you were disappearing. She needed me because you weren’t there.”
Aiden stopped, one arm still in the cooler, his fingers going numb. “I have stuff,” he said. There was no way he could tell Jackson about Number Nine or Cinderella. He would sound insane.
“Apparently,” said Jackson, inhaling from his cigarette. Aiden hated those cigarettes. They were matte black with gold filters.
Angrily, Aiden yanked out a bottle and discovered it was some sort of lemonade shit meant to make the girl guests happy. Aiden decided he didn’t care and opened it.
“But I think she also meant it in the metaphorical sense,” continued Jackson. “You’re not happy at your job. You’re not happy in your life. And you keep disappearing, one way or another.”
Aiden closed his eyes and stared at the sparks on the inside of his eyelids as he leaned against the tallest chimney stack. He took a drink and tasted the sugary sweet over the sour alcohol and lemon.
“I was never supposed to end up like this. I never wanted to be here.”
“I do,” said Jackson.
“Well, good for fucking you,” said Aiden. “But you can’t just come in here and be all, bam, mine. Dominique is my sister. I need her. I can’t be out here on my own. It’s always been her and me.”
“Yes,” said Jackson, “Evan noticed.”
“Fuck you. Evan is abusive.”
“Absolutely. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel shut out by the two of you. You know he used to live with Eleanor about half the year before he turned twelve. Then he went to boarding school and was with his father. Then your parents died and suddenly it was the perfect two of you hogging up his grandma’s time.”
Aiden blinked. “No. That’s not… It wasn’t like that. He used to target Dominique. He was the one who was always perfect. Never a hair out of place. Come when called. Smile at the right time. Fucking robot on parade.”
“Sure. Just the way his father made him. Didn’t you used to play with him when you came over to Eleanor’s? But then you moved in and it was just you and Dominique against the world. No room for three.”
“Stop,” said Aiden. “Stop trying to rewrite history.”
“I’m not. I’m saying there’s more than one history.”
“Evan is not my fault!”
“No, Owen, Randall, and Eleanor all had a hand in that mess.”
“And you think you can fix him?” asked Aiden sarcastically. “If you want a sibling so bad, go take him. Stop trying to steal mine. I may be the only one who notices, but I see it. You can just admit it. You’re trying to steal her.”
“Yes,” said Jackson. “I am.”
Aiden stared at him. “What?” he croaked.
“And Evan too. He’s a little more challenging in some ways, but I’ll worry about him after I worry about you.”
“What?” Aiden repeated.
“Well, it’s no good to just have a Dominique,” said Jackson, breathing smoke out of his nose and Aiden found his shoulder blades digging into the chimney bricks. It was the smoke. He finally saw the family resemblance. It was like Randall stared at him through the haze.
“I need an Aiden too,” said Jackson. “I want the complete set. But so far you’ve been very resistant.”
Aiden dropped the bottle of booze and stumbled forward to knock the cigarette out of Jackson’s hand.
Jackson looked surprised.
“It’s bad for you,” said Aiden. He couldn’t bring himself to say the truth.
“OK,” said Jackson.
Aiden fell onto the lawn chair next to him.
