Page 95 of Under Ground
“Hey, honey, I’m home.” Reece strolls in the door, Pania behind him. She rolls her eyes and grins as he walks up to Josh.
“I’m glad you guys are here. Alex’s mom arrived this afternoon,” Josh says.
Reece scans the room until his eyes settle on Mom. “You must be Alex’s mom. I’m Reece.”
He holds out his hand for her to shake, and she rises slowly from the couch, staring at him. It’s a little embarrassing, and he shoots me a reassuring glance to say it’s okay. He might be used to it, but this is my mother.
Her mouth falls open, and her eyes dart all over his face.
“Mom.” I raise my eyebrows at her, trying desperately to convey that the way she’s looking at him is not appropriate. What’s wrong with her?
“You look just like him,” she whispers.
What. The. Fuck.
Reece’s brows knit. “Who?”
“Your father.” She covers the distance between them faster than I can blink, raising her hand to his cheek. “You have his eyes.”
“You … you knew my father?” Reece’s brows knit.
I look between them. I’m not sure what the deal is, but there’s something broken in his tone. Something desperate.
“Not for long.”
He blinks rapidly. “When?”
Lana exchanges a glance with Pania. Their furrowed brows tell me they’re both wondering what’s going on too.
“Mom? What are you talking about?” I ask.
Mom drops her hand and turns toward me. “Reece is your half-brother. You have the same father.” She says it so quietly, Reece and I look at each other as if to work out what she just said. But we heard the same thing.
And then she says nothing else, as if she hasn’t just dropped the biggest bombshell on both of us.
I wave my hands in the air. “What? How?”
She fixes her gaze on me and raises her eyebrows. “Well, obviously I know how, but what the hell? Why didn’t you ever tell me?” My heart races. She never wanted to talk about him, even when I begged her for information. And now? Now she’s just exploded my world with a handful of words.
“I’m glad you’re as in the dark about this as I am,” Reece mumbles. His jaw sets, and confusion fills his eyes. If I was him, I’d be tearing down the walls right about now, demanding to know what’s going on.
“Your mother and father loved each other very much.” Mom shifts her gaze to Reece. “He didn’t have an affair. It was just … a thing.”
“A thing?” He draws in a deep breath and studies her closely.
“The weekend he … he …” Her voice trembles.
His expression tightens. “You were there when he died.”
She drops her gaze to the floor. “I was.”
“Wait. Can one of you tell me what’s going on?” I grasp Mom’s arm, but it’s Reece who speaks.
“My parents died when I was a kid. They went to a music festival one weekend and never came back. Bad drugs. I was raised by my grandmother.”
I blink rapidly. “I had no idea.”
“No one does. I only told Josh recently.”