CHAPTER TWENTY - CAROLINE
I didn’t sleep that night. My head was spinning after what Teresa told us. From the look on Dean’s face, he had no idea about any of this. When Teresa left, he and I tried to talk about it but we couldn’t. Things were so confusing, that I didn’t know what to think.
Teresa was a drunk and she had been for years. Dean told me all about her alcoholic tendencies, so I wouldn’t have been surprised to find out she was lying. Still, there was something in her eyes that made me believe her. I didn’t want to think my own father could cheat on his wife, my mom, but I knew him well enough to know he wasn’t perfect. It wouldn’t have been a stretch to believe him capable of having an affair, especially with an employee.
As I laid in bed that night, I thought back to all the time my parents demanded I stay away from Dean. I always thought it was just because he was poor, that they felt he was beneath me. Now, I wondered if that was truly the reason. Or, were they simply trying to protect themselves from the truth? Were they afraid Teresa would tell me what happened between her and my father all those years ago? Did they try to keep me from Dean for my own good, or for theirs?
When the sun rose the next morning, I knew what I had to do. I threw on some clothes and drove straight to my parent’s house. My resolve was set as I walked slowly through the backdoor. They were already in the kitchen, just as I knew they would be, eating breakfast together. When I walked inside, they barely looked up from their respective papers.
“Caroline,” my dad said. “Are you here to apologize?”
“Oh, I don’t think I’m the one who needs to apologize for anything. I had an interesting conversation with Teresa Evans last night.”
My words were simple. Harmless. But the second they left my lips, my parents froze. Dad slowly lowered his newspaper, his eyes wide with horror. My mom, on the other hand, didn’t move for several seconds. She stared at her newspaper, her hands trembling slightly. When she finally set the paper down and met my gaze, her own eyes were set with a determination I knew all too well.
“It was years ago,” she said simply. “You were only three.”
“So, it’s true?” I demanded.
My eyes turned to my father who was still looking at me with fear in his eyes. As I stared at him, waiting for his explanation, I watched that fear turn to anger and then back again.
“Why would she tell you about that?” he asked, his voice low.
“Why are you still married to him?” I asked my mom, ignoring my father’s question.
“What do you mean?” she asked with a frown.
“He cheated on you!” I cried. “He had an affair! How could you stay with him after that?”
Mom scoffed. “A divorce was never an option. Can you imagine the scandal that would have followed? Your father and I get a divorce? That could never happen.”
“The scandal?” I asked in disbelief.
“Your father’s company is very high profile,” my mother explained. “If we divorced, it would have been all over the tabloids and the financial pages. Your father would have been ruined. This family would have been ruined. And me? God, I can’t even imagine what the social scene would have done to me. I would be nothing, Caroline. Nothing.”
“What does that matter?” I shrieked. “Are you really so superficial that you would stay with a man just for money?”
“No,” Mom said. “Not just money. Social standing”
I gaped at her in shock. My entire life, my mother had been a selfish, insensitive person. I spent most of my adolescence hating her very existence, but I never imagined she would be capable of this. As I stared at her, I felt more ashamed than I’d ever felt in my life. I was ashamed to be related to her, to be her daughter.
“And what about you?” I spat, rounding on my father. “What’s your excuse?”
“I don’t have to give an excuse,” he said simply. “I am your father. I don’t own you an explanation.”
“Fine!” I said. “Fine! You don’t me anything but you might owe your son something.”
“My son?” His face shifted in an instant. He looked at me with confusion.
“Teresa has a son,” I said simply. “Dean’s younger brother, Daniel. He was born after your affair. Now, he’s sick. He has diabetes and his kidneys have shut down. Neither Teresa nor Dean is a match for him. If he doesn’t get a transplant, then he’ll die.”
“And what do you expect me to do about that?” Dad asked.
“Get tested!” I screamed. “Go to the hospital and get tested. See if you can save his life!”
Dad frowned at me, then turned slowly to face my mother. They communicated silently, both of them impassive in their expressions. As I watched them, I felt a white-hot rage burn inside my stomach. How could they act like this was nothing? Daniel, Dean’s brother, possibly my brother, was dying. He was literally lying on his death bed and my father could barely bat an eye.
“What is wrong with you people?” I hissed. Tears were burning at the back of my eyes. “Daniel is dying. How can you even hesitate to help him?”
“I want a DNA test first,” my dad said, turning back to me. “Before I do anything else, I want proof that he’s my child.”
“Are you kidding?” I asked, my voice flat.
“No,” Dad said, shaking his head. “I won’t get tested until I know he’s mine.”
“The test will need to take place out of town,” Mom said quickly. “Somewhere no one will recognize you. Otherwise, the consequences could be dire.”
“You’re unbelievable,” I said.
“She’s right,” Dad said. “No one can know about this. That is my condition.”
“And Daniel might die.” My voice was flat and emotionless but the glare I shot my father was not. In that moment, I longed to lunge across the table and ring his neck. I’d never felt so much anger in my entire life. I hated him. I hated my father and I hated my mother. I wished they would both disappear, leave my life and never return to it.
When my father met my eyes again, I saw the faintest flicker of doubt cross his face. For a second, he looked worried. Scared. But as fast as it came, it was gone again. I searched his face, frantically trying to find it again, desperate to hold on to something good inside of him.
“Those are my terms,” he said again. “If they want me to get tested, I insist upon a DNA test first.”
“Fine,” I said. “Just get it done.”
With that, I turned to leave. I couldn’t stand to be in that kitchen for another second. My parents didn’t even seem human to me anymore. They were both ruled by money and class. They had no regard for anyone other than themselves and that knowledge shattered my soul.
As I climbed in my car, my hands gripped the steering wheel. I dug my nails into it, trying to hold myself together. I felt like the entire world was crumbling around me and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it. My heart ached for Daniel and Dean and even Teresa. I hated that Daniel might die and there wasn’t anything I could do to help him. My father might hold the key to Daniel’s life and he was hemming and hawing, refusing to help until proof of paternity was given.
It was disgusting. Sickening.
I could barely breathe as I drove through town. I didn’t know what I was going to do until I pulled up outside of Stephanie’s house. I ran toward the front door and let myself inside like I always did. Her parents were never around and Stephanie liked to leave the place open. Without thinking, I flew up the stairs, not slowing down until I reached Stephanie’s bedroom.
“Caroline,” she said as I barreled through the door. “What are you doing here?”
Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I collapsed on her bed. She held me tightly, smoothing down my hair and silently comforting me while I cried myself out.
When I could finally speak, I told her everything. I explained what Dean and I found out about our parents. I told her everything I knew about the affair and how my parents chose to sweep it under the rug instead of risk their social standing. My heart ached while I told her that Daniel might be my brother.
“And now Dad won’t take the test until he gets a DNA test first,” I said, my voice cracking.
“Shh,” Stephanie said. She grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Fuck him.”
“What?” I asked, looking at her in shock.
“Your dad,” she said simply. “If he is so heartless that he can’t even bring himself to help a dying man, then fuck him. You don’t need him and Daniel sure as hell doesn’t need him.”
“He does, though,” I said. “Without a transplant, he’ll die. His kidneys are failing, Stephanie.”
“I know,” Stephanie said sadly.
“I don’t even know if he’s my brother,” I said. “But I know he’s Dean’s. Dean loves Daniel more than anything. God, he went to prison for him!”
“I know,” Stephanie said. “I know.”
“I can’t just sit back and let him die!” I said. “What if he is my brother?”
“What are you going to do then?” Stephanie asked.
“I’m going to get tested to see if I can save Daniel.”