Melanie?

I was still reeling from everything Jake had told me. I guess it was easy to judge someone through your own experiences. I, for one, knew firsthand how that felt. People judged me all the time. They had their own perceptions, their own ideas of how I felt and lived my life, but none of them really knew me. But Melanie? We had a history. Our relationship was messy and calculated, and our reasons even worse. We thrived on hurting people, especially each other. I’d never really sat back and wondered why she was the way she was. What made her so hateful and angry at the world? I’d known her for years, purely on an intimate level, but still, I couldn’t even come up with a plausible reason as to why she behaved the way she did. Jake wasn’t like the rest of us. He was a good kid. I guess I just didn’t understand how he could feel something for someone so vile and manipulative.

After Jake’s revelation, I wanted nothing more than to get straight back to Lola. I hadn’t heard from the hospital about Mum, which put my mind at ease. Knowing she was being looked after was all I ever wanted for her. Who knew what the future would bring? There was a chance I might even get my mum back again.

I shot a text to Lola telling her I would be back later than intended. My Uncle Colin had called after I’d left Jake, saying that he needed to see me up at the house. I hadn’t spoken to him since I’d left home and went back to live with Mum. He hadn’t even bothered to check on us; not even a phone call. I had pissed me off, although it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The only one who had really stayed in contact was Jake, with the exception of a late night drunken phone call from Riley who had, yet again, pissed his girlfriend off. I hadn’t let it get to me too much. I had been so busy with Mum that I’d rarely had time to worry about anyone else. Besides, I wouldn’t have wanted them to show up at the flat anyway. It wasn’t something anyone needed to see, especially someone who wasn’t used to those living conditions.

I shoved my phone back into my pocket and turned the handle on the door. I called out as I walked right in.

“In here,” Aunt Helen called back. They were in the living room.

Odd

“I can’t stay long. I’ve got somewhere I need to be,” I told them. I didn’t greet them, nor did I pretend to care. They hadn’t bothered with either of us, even knowing how bad things were with Mum.

“Sit down, son. There’s something I need to speak to you about,” Colin said.

My eyes shifted away from my uncle and onto Aunt Helen. “Is it about Mum? Is she okay?” I hadn’t spoken to her that day. Surely I’d have heard if something was wrong.

There was a sadness in Helen’s eyes. It looked as though she’d been crying, which only made me more anxious.

“Your Mum’s fine, Taylor,” Colin said, his eyes darting around the room as if he wanted to run.

“Then what’s going on?” I was feeling more and more frustrated as the seconds ticked by. It was rare that the three of us were in the same room together. I’d always felt as though they tried to avoid that happening. Mostly they weren’t around, so it wasn’t so hard then. The sudden change was making me nervous. “It’s not Jake, is it? I just saw him this morn—”

“Jake’s fine, Taylor. Please, sit down,” Helen said. This time I didn’t miss the break in her voice. Whatever was going on, it couldn’t be good.

“No, I think I’ll stand, thanks.”

Uncle Colin cleared his throat and sat in the chair farthest away from me. At least one thing hadn’t changed, I thought to myself.

“You have to understand that I wanted to tell you. Your mother… She wouldn’t allow us to. She thought—”

“Wouldn’t let you what?” I cut in. “I don’t understand?”

I watched as my aunt and uncle exchanged glances before Helen gave him a firm nod, encouraging him to go on.

“There’s no easy way to tell you this, son, but… I’m your father.”

“You’re what?” I said, smirking at him while I waited for him to tell me he was joking. “You’re kidding, right? This has to be some kind of wind up?” I continued to watch them, waiting for one of them to prove me right, but they didn’t.

The floor caved away beneath me, forcing me to fall back onto the sofa. He was wrong. He wasn’t my father. He was Jake’s. Not mine. I didn’t have one.

Helen placed a hand to my knee. It looked small and fragile as it shook. I pushed it away.

“We really did want to tell you, Taylor. Your mum was adamant she wanted you to have no part in Colin’s life.”

I glanced up through furrowed brows, my throat constricting as I pushed the words out through my teeth. “You? You’re my father?”

He nodded, and when he did, I wanted to throw up.

“All this time and you didn’t think to tell me? You were there when my dad was sent to prison and you did nothing. I lost everything that day. My dad, my home, my friends. I even lost my damn mother and all the while you guys were here, playing happy families as if I didn’t exist?”

“No, it wasn’t like that. We wanted to tell you. More than anything we wanted you in our lives. In Jake’s life. For you both to be together, to have the relationship I never had with my brother.”

“Save me the sob story, Dad. If I meant a single damn thing to you then you wouldn’t have let this go on for so long.”

“Why do you think you’re here? I didn’t know what was going on with your mother, but the moment I knew how bad things were, I came for you straight away.”

“Why just me? Why didn’t you help her?” It was a question I’d always asked myself—one that, up until now, hadn’t made much sense. I knew there was a rift between them. Even before Dad was sent to prison there was always something not quite right.

“Taylor, your aunt had already been through so much because of what we did. I couldn’t put that on her, too. It wouldn’t be fair of me to ask that of her.”

Turning to Helen, I narrowed my eyes. “She’s your sister.”

“Oh, honey. Certain things happen in life that just can’t be forgiven. I tried to, believe me I tried. It just became too hard. I love her. Of course I do, she’s my sister. I read her bedtime stories to help her sleep. I washed her hair because she hated your gran doing it. She said she always got it in her ears whenever she tried. Did she tell you I pretty much raised her on my own? I was only a kid myself but your gran, see, she was always out at a friend’s house doing God knows what and your gramps was a grafter, always working ‘til all hours of the night. We rarely sat down for a family meal together. Your mum meant everything to me. I loved her as my own but that kind of betrayal is hard to get over.”

“I was a kid. You couldn’t have put your feelings aside for me? I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“Taylor,” Colin said in warning, but I ignored him.

Helen waved his comment aside. “No, he’s right. I should’ve. I know that now, but at the time, I had Jake to think about. He’d always looked up to you, even though you were the same age. And boy did he idolise you. Still does. Not that he’d ever admit it. But he was just a kid himself. I needed to protect him. He’s my son and I’ll always do what I think is best for my boy. Can you imagine what that kind of news would have done to him?”

“So why now? Surely you know how completely fucked up this is, right? More so now than before. He’s not a kid anymore.”

“Your father and I have—”

I glanced across at him from the corners of my eyes. “He is not my father,” I said, forcing the words out through my teeth.

There was a slight pause before Helen continued. “Colin and I have discussed this a lot and we think it’s time Jake knew the truth. It’s time you both knew the truth.”

“This is bullshit,” I yelled, pushing up from the couch. I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration and continued to look between the two of them. How was this even happening?

I pointed between them, everything starting to finally make sense. “It’s why you guys were always away and stopped coming to watch us play. Because you couldn’t stand to be around me.”

“No, it’s nothing like that, honey. I won’t say that it hasn’t been hard, though. Seeing you grow up, turning into a man. It was tough. I stopped coming because it was becoming hard to ignore the truth. People talk. I knew what they said, what they whispered about behind my back. They saw what I saw, but no one knew for sure. They only had to look at you both, though, to know the truth.”

I frowned. “What? What does that even mean?”

Helen sighed and pushed up from the couch before vanishing into the hallway. I let my eyes follow her. I couldn’t look at Colin. The rage that burned inside of me was tearing away at any resolve I had left. When Helen came back moments later with a picture frame in her hand, I frowned. “See for yourself,” she whispered as she held it out for me to take.

I snatched it up and glanced down at the photo that was tucked away neatly inside a black frame. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was meant to be seeing. It was a picture of Jake and me, but that wasn’t uncommon. There were lots of pictures us, especially with the team, floating around on social media and at college, so why was this one so important?

I sat back down and examined the picture more closely and that’s when it hit me. I remembered the day the picture had been taken. We had just won our first game together as a team. I had scored the winning goal, which was to be the first of many.

As I continued to stare down at one of the fondest memories I had, I felt a pang of guilt hit me right in the chest. Not for me, but for Jake. Knowing he had no clue of the shit storm that was currently brewing back home left me feeling guilty. He didn’t deserve this. He’d always done everything right and been the greatest son that any parent could wish for. He was polite, courteous, and loyal. There’s was nothing he wouldn’t do for you. I wasn’t sure how he would feel once the news broke out.

I ran my finger across the glass and inhaled a breath, closing my eyes against the tightness that had clawed its way inside of me.

I had just found my way in the world again in that picture. After Dad going to prison and Mum’s alcohol abuse, I hadn’t been so sure of my future, or if I even had one waiting for me in the distance. There were just seconds left on the clock and the sweat had continued to work its way from my body, forcing me to swipe away at my eyes to regain some form of sight. Anything, just something… Somehow, out of nowhere, I managed to get a footing on the ball as Jake knocked it into my line of sight. It was a fluke. It had to have been. That was my first thought as the ball was sent through the defenders, quickly finding its way into the back of the net for the win.

Up until that moment, the team hadn’t been doing so well. I’d gone AWOL, showing up for college as and when I felt like it. I’d missed practice more often than I attended and it wasn’t long before Coach Thorn stripped me of my captaincy and my spot on the team, which I’d worked so damn hard to get. My days revolved around having sex and getting high. With those two key necessities, I was able to forget about the hell that was my life and seek enjoyment in everything that was bad for me. By this point, my friends had given up on me. Even the lads on the team had given up on me, and I couldn’t blame them. There was, however, one person who hadn’t. Through all the pain and the frustration I had thrown upon him, Jake never once gave up on me. My life was spiralling out of control and I remembered feeling like there was no one in the world that I could turn to. No one that could possibly understand the pain and anger I felt. I was wrong, though. Jake saved me. He had always saved me.

It took a lot of work and more persuading than I bargained for, but eventually I had gained the trust of those I’d let down and found my way back onto the team. The moment I scored that goal and Jake came barrelling towards me, knocking us both on our arses, I knew that no matter what I had to face in life, Jake would always be there, right by my side…

Just like a brother.

I promised myself that day that I wouldn’t let him down again. I would confront the demons that plagued my thoughts head on. As long as I had him, I could do anything—be anything.

My brother.

I smiled down at the image that stared up at me. I wasn’t just seeing two teammates celebrating a moment. I was seeing two brothers—brothers who had always had each other’s backs.

Brothers who, even before the truth came to light, had always been just that.

I sucked in a sharp breath as reality hit me, my eyes darting between the two as if not quite believing what I was seeing.

Finally, I was able to see what the rest of them could see back then.

Two of the same men. Brothers.

We both had dark brown hair, that, although Jake’s was a shade lighter than my own, was almost identical. Deep brown eyes, both bright with pure, unwavering happiness, carried that same hint of golden yellow, just like our father’s.

How had I not seen this before?