Page 35 of Wrong Car, Wright Guy
“Such as?” Her big brown eyes look at me expectantly, and before I know what I’m doing, I’m spilling my guts.
“Special needs.”
She frowns. “Someone you care about has special needs?”
I nod. “My sister.”
“You have asister?”
I nod again. “She’s the redhead. I was actually seeing her that night you decorated my hood. She drowned when she was small and was left severely brain damaged. Sometimes she has episodes, outbursts, and when the staff in the facility she lives in can’t settle her, they call me in to calm her down.”
“Oh, my god. And then you came out to find a drunk me scratching a dick into your car. I feel awful.” She covers her mouth. “I didn’t realize. Your suit and hair were rumpled, and I thought— Geez, I really misjudged you that night.”
“It’s OK. I didn’t exactly correct any of your assumptions. I tend to perpetuate the allusion of being in some sort of relationship to keep people like Rayleigh at bay. I’m from money, and ever since I won that stupid Internet poll...”
“Ah, yes. The internet’s sexiest man alive.”
“Yes, well, it made things worse. It’s hard to know who’s here for me and who’s here looking for a handout or a leg up in life.”
“I guess we regular people don’t think about being rich like that. We see money as a ticket to comfort and a life without worry.”
“If only that were true. Money brings responsibility and pressure and…” I shake my head and let out a breath. “Enough about me. You’re the one who had the tough show. We should be focused on you.” I place a hand on her back and rub in soothing circles.
“I just want to forget that ever happened. I was naïve to think people wouldn’t call in and beactualbigots. I hated that. I thought things had changed.”
“They have. And they’ll keep changing too. You just can’t expect the entire world to get on the same page at once. It might not feel like it a lot of the time, but the things we discuss on air, talking about both sides of an argumentdoeshelp affect change. You can’t always see it, but it’s there, little seeds planted until they grow into a fully developed idea or a new belief. Your voice makes a difference.”
She dabs at her eyes and nods. “What happened when you talked about special needs?”
“Well, I gave a caller a rather scathing piece of my mind and got fired for it.”
She gasps. “I don’t believe it. You’re unshakable.”
“Now I am. It was my first radio job, so I was cocky, thought my opinion mattered. Turns out it doesn’t.” I sit back and place my arm along the back of the couch. “And why are we talking about me again?”
“Because we never talk about you. I want to know about your sister. What’s her name?”
“Camille. She’s five years older than me.”
“Were you close growing up?”
I lean forward and scrub a hand over my face. “I didn’t learn she existed until I was in my late teens. Her mother came to the house asking my father for help. Seems he’d gotten her pregnant and paid her off to stay away. But Camille needs around the clock care. Her medical bills and ongoing care costs had wiped them out. My father had an obligation to pay for his daughter, but he denied even knowing the woman. Which is how I got involved.”
“You pay for her care, don’t you?”
I nod. “I use my access to family money. It’s my way of forcing my father to do the right thing whether he realizes or not.”
“You don’t get along with your father?”
I shake my head. “Not at all. He’s an uncaring narcissist.”
“I’m sorry. One thing Theo and I are lucky to have, it’s good parents. They went out of their way to take care of us.”
“The man controls the narrative of a nation. He doesn’t need to care.”
“Well,” she says, sliding her hand on top of mine. “I care. And I think what you’re doing for your sister is incredibly honorable. I think you should expose your father for being the deadbeat dad he is. It’s ridiculous that he has all that money and power and won’t use it to help his daughter. He helped make her, he’s responsible for her.”
“If there wasn’t a consequence, I’d happily out the man. But if my father realized what I was doing with his money, he’d cut me off in a second and send Camille somewhere I couldn’t find her as punishment.”
