Chapter 21
Shea
I trudged upstairs, walked past Brynn's room, and stopped outside Chloe's.
The door was open a half-dozen inches, but I knocked and waited anyway.
“Come in,” Chloe sniffled at last.
I entered. “How'd I do that time? I knocked and then I waited. See, you can teach an old Dad new tricks.”
She laughed, but it was a mad-laugh—mad that I had the gall to make her laugh when she was clearly upset. “Dad, c'mon. I'm not in a good mood.”
She was on her bed, curled up in a ball under the sheets. I sat on the mattress next to her. “So hey, what happened tonight?”
She hesitated, the only sound her sniffling.
“I can't tell you, Dad,” she said at last.
“Why not?”
“Because I promised I wouldn't.”
“Promised who? Your mom?”
“God, no, not her.”
“Nick? Cam? Who else could it be?”
“Stop trying to guess. Even if you get it right, I'm not going to tell you.”
“Okay.” I gave a shrug. “Your mom said you two were fighting all night. She said she couldn't get any sleep. What were you arguing about?”
“She couldn't get any sleep because she wouldn't leave me alone. I just wanted to be left alone, but she kept wanting to argue and dig, dig, dig for information.”
“Dig for what information?”
“I can't tell you!”
“Chloe.” I lowered my voice. “Was your fight about Brynn?”
She hesitated before she answered. “No.”
Almost convincing, but given Cynthia's strange comments and what Brynn told me earlier, I didn't quite believe my daughter.
Chloe could sense that I didn't believe her, and she went into damage control mode.
“Okay, yes, sort of. Mom was picking fights with me ever since she asked me why I wasn't going to the gala with you this year.”
“And what did you tell her?”
“I told her the truth! That I didn't want to go because I'm too old for it and I think it's lame! But then she asked me who you were taking instead, and I said I didn't know, that you were probably going by yourself, but she could tell I was lying … so she followed me around all night, badgering me non-stop, until I finally told her—not because I wanted to tell her, but because I just wanted to get her off my back.”
“And?”
“It didn't work! It just made her go more crazy! She started asking all these questions about you and Brynn, and …” Chloe bit her tongue. “And I don't know. She went even more nuts from there.”
I slapped my forehead. “Ugh.”
“How was the gala, anyway?” Chloe asked with a sudden optimism in her weary voice. “Did you two have fun together?”
The red-hot sensation of Brynn's plump pink lips against mine flashed through my memory, and I looked away guiltily.
“We did,” I said with a husky knot in my throat.
“Good,” she sniffled. “I really like Brynn.”
My shoulders sagged under all that guilt. “I know you do, Chloe. But Brynn and I went to the gala just as friends, understand?”
“Of course, Dad. What, did you think that I thought you guys were going as lovers? I'm not stupid. Why would you even say something like that?”
I stared at her. Should I let this go? If it weren't for Cynthia's comments, I probably would have let it go. But clearly, Chloe told her mom something, and I thought I needed to know.
I tried a different approach, though.
“Chloe, you know that you had nothing to do with the divorce, right?”
“Yeah. Sure, I know that.” She tutted, but behind her eyes, I could see that she was only placating me and giving me the answer I wanted.
“Chloe, really. It wasn't your fault. You didn't put your mom in that situation—she put you in that situation. You only did what you thought was right. Which is very admirable. You're an amazing girl, with an honest soul. You're not to blame for our divorce, and I just want you to know that you don't have anything at all to make up for—”
But Chloe's expression hardened with anger. “Wait, did Brynn say something to you?”
I took a deep breath. “Earlier, at the gala, Brynn might have told me that you said a few things that had her a little worried.”
“And what did Brynn tell you?”
“She was just worried that you might get the wrong idea about us.” I squeezed Chloe's shoulder. “I know how much you like Brynn, Chloe. But I don't want you to get the wrong idea. She's our nanny, that's all. I hope that she stays with us for a very long time to come—but Brynn and I aren't anything more than that.”
My stomach flipped and flopped around in my gut—it was my body's way of telling me that I'd just told a bad lie and it hated me for being dishonest. It was the reason Cynthia knew I was such a bad liar; she could see it happening to me in real time. Thing is, this time, the reaction took me by surprise—I guess I wasn't even aware that I was being dishonest.
But of course Brynn wasn't just the nanny.
Not anymore. Not after tonight. She couldn't be. Even if we managed to have a healthy working relationship from this day forward, she'd always be the nanny that I fooled around with one night and very nearly slept with.
But I couldn't tell Chloe any of that—besides being a completely inappropriate thing to tell your teenage daughter, the truth would only mess with her head.
Chloe stewed with her arms folded. “I can't believe she told you that. It's like I can't trust anyone anymore. Jesus, I can't believe you people!”
“Chloe, sweetie, she's only watching out for you. She has your best interests at heart. I know it doesn't feel like it now, but you'll see that when you're older.”
She grunted with disgust. “Wow. Yeah. Gee, thanks. Once again, I'll have to be older to understand. As if I'm not already 'old' and 'mature' enough to see through everyone's bullshit. It's seriously annoying.”
Angry teen rant #1,337, I figured.
But then a devilish smirk appeared on Chloe's lips. “Since Brynn was being so honest with you, did she happen to tell you about her poster?”
“Huh? What poster?”
“Ha. She didn't. I knew it … that just figures.”
“What are you talking about, Chloe?”
She grabbed her iPad and tapped away at the screen. A few seconds later, she thrust the screen into my face.
What the hell?
It was a picture of a young Brynn. Pasted on the wall behind her was a poster of me in my rookie year. The damn thing was covered with lipstick kisses.
I was both flattered and creeped out all at once. Most of all, I wondered why Brynn had never mentioned this before.
And then Cynthia's remarks began to make sense.
Number one fan. Gold digger.
“So you showed this to your mom?” I asked.
“I didn't want to, but like I said, she wouldn't leave me alone until I told her more and more about Brynn! And once I showed her this she freaked the hell out and said I had to tell you, and that's why she drove me back here.”
“Unbelievable,” I muttered. “I'm sorry you had to go through all that with your mom. Chloe, what would you think about going to therapy?”
“Therapy! What! No,” she blurted out. “That's a waste of time and money, and besides, I'm not crazy.”
“I know you're not crazy. But you've been stuck in the middle of something ugly for a long time, and it's not right to expect you to deal with it all on your own. Don't you think it'd be nice to have someone to talk to abou—”
“No. I can talk to my friends when I want to tell people about my crazy ass family. I don't need therapy. If you make me go, I won't say a word to them. I'll just sit in silence and waste your money.”
I frowned. I knew my daughter well enough to know that I wasn't about to change her mind tonight.
“I just want you to think about it, okay?”
She made a harrumph.
“I'll leave you alone. You should get some sleep, alright sweetie? It's late and you've had a tough night. Thanks for telling me everything.”
Regret filled Chloe's eyes. “You're not going to fire Brynn now, are you?”
“No. Chloe, I'm not going to fire her. Goodnight, sweetheart.”
“Goodnight, Dad.”
***
I left Chloe's room, shut the door, and went to Brynn's room.
I stood outside. I didn't know what to do, what to think. My hand went to my pocket. Brynn's thong brought a pained smile to my face. I squeezed her panties into a tight ball in my fist. They were still damp …
I sighed.
What am I supposed to do now?