Rocking a SECRET (18 page)

We’ve barely walked into the theater when
Vivian runs over to us. “Stella, I need to talk to you.”

“Alright,” I tell her.

“Is everything okay Mom? You look a little
frantic.”

“I just need a favor from your
girlfriend
.”

“I’ll help you if I can,” I say, ignoring
the way she almost sneered that last word. Bitch.

“Oh you can. And you will. We both know you
will.”

“Be nice, Mom. Stella’s not at your beck and
call.” He turns to me. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t
want to.”

“I know. You go get ready, and I’ll be there
soon to check on you.”

He kisses his mom on the cheek, and then
gives me a long, lingering one. “See you soon.”

I smile at him, and then turn to Vivian once
he’s gone. “What do you want?”

“It’s not what I want, it’s what
Chad
wants.”

“I could give two fucks about that little
bastard and what he wants.”

“He’s going to tell Kace if we don’t do
it.”

“He’s going to tell him, anyway. When are
you going to get that?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that
as long as he’s happy, he won’t tell?”

“You’re delusional, but what is it you want
me to do?”

“He wants us both. Together.”

This woman has lost her mind. “Fuck no. I am
not having sex with him. With or without you. And with you is just
disgusting. I mean, you’re my boyfriend’s mother.”

“You have to. It won’t be so bad.”

“Are you insane?”

“You know what I can do. You’re not going to
let that happen just because you’ve all of a sudden discovered your
morals?”

“I’ve always had morals, bitch. And you need
to tell your son the truth. I mean, seriously—if Chad wants this
now, what’s he going to ask for next?”

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, I’ll give
it to him.”

I make my voice softer because fighting with
her isn’t working. “Don’t do this to yourself. You’re a good
person. I know you are because Kace is a good man and you raised
him that way. He will be mad at you for keeping the secret from
him, but he’ll forgive you because he loves you. I’m not saying
this for me right now. You know my job. I’ve seen and helped
countless woman who thought using their body would get them what
they want. It never does, in any situation.”

She crumples, then, and I barely have time
to catch her and lower us both to the floor. “I know you’re right.
But I’m so scared.”

“I’m scared, too. I know I’m going to lose
him, and I’m powerless to stop it.”

“I should’ve told him when you begged me to.
I also shouldn’t have threatened you.”

“I wish you would’ve told him. It’s too late
for me now, though. I’ve known too long. Just promise me that
you’ll take care of him. And tell him I love him every day. Even
when he doesn’t want to hear it or believe it.”

“I will. I promise. I am so sorry,
Stella.”

“I know.”

I stand up and go into the bathroom to fix
my makeup the best I can. I need Kace to go out on stage and
perform without worrying about me crying. Chad is too much of a
fame-whore to tell him before the show, and I want my last couple
of hours with the man I love to be happy.

“There you are. I was afraid you wouldn’t
make it before I had to go out there,” Kace says as I walk into his
dressing room.

“Of course I’m here. I have to give you your
nightly good luck kiss, don’t I?”

“Always. And I need my good morning kiss
from you every day, too.”

“You’re so fucking sweet.”

“I try.”

“You’re really coming over tonight?”

“Of course I am,” he says with a confused
look on his face. “I told you I planned our date. Plus, I promised,
and I don’t break my promises.”

“I can’t wait.”

“I love you, Stella. Forever and always. No
matter what.”

“I love you, too. No matter what. Don’t
forget that.”

“I won’t.”

The lights flash and I give him that nightly
kiss before he runs out to drive the teenage girls crazy. Once the
door is closed, I sink down to the floor holding my head in my
hands. I hear the door open, and then Tegan’s sitting on the floor
next to me.

“Vivian called. She said you’re both pretty
sure that tonight’s the night Chad is going to tell all.”

“He wanted me to join in on sex with them,
and I said no. So yeah, we’re pretty sure.”

“Eww. I may throw up. He’s gross on his own,
but to do it with you boyfriend’s mother? That’s just nasty.”

“He’s definitely twisted.”

“Kace may not take it out on you.”

“We both know better than that Teeg. He’s
going to be angry at his mom, but she’s his
mom
. I’m
just…well, me.”

“’Well, you’ is pretty damn awesome. Don’t
you dare forget that, bestie.”

“Thanks, Teeg.”

I manage to smile and kiss Kace through his
wardrobe changes. Tegan stays with me, which makes Wayne happy. He
really likes her. And I like him. He’s still a little too forward,
but I know he’s not a bad guy when you get past all that.

When the guys come off stage, Kace pushes me
against the wall and kisses me senseless. “All I could think about
out there was getting back here and taking you home,” he whispers
in my ear.

“Can we go now?”

“I wish. I have to do two interviews. But
that’s it. I told Marv that I’m not hanging around after those are
over.”

It doesn’t work out like that of course. The
hotel owner brings some people backstage again. They’re not high
rollers this time. The guests are people from Opportunity Village.
It’s a local organization that supports those with special needs
and even gives them jobs to do so they can feel like they’re part
of society. It’s a beautiful organization and when Kace looks over
at me, I immediately nod and smile at him. I’d never ask him to
leave, or rush them. Even when I know that the longer we stay, the
better the chance is that we won’t be going back to my place
together. Because I’m pretty sure that’s a promise he won’t keep
when Chad tells all.

* * *

Kace

I am without a doubt the luckiest guy on the
planet. Probably the whole universe, too. Stella has patiently
waited while I spent time with all the guests who are here, even
though I said we’d leave a couple of hours ago. When I’ve glanced
over at her, though, I’ve noticed that she’s getting a little more
freaked out as time passes. Tegan’s even holding her hand now.

As everyone files out, I make my way over to
her, sitting on the arm of her chair and kissing her lightly.
“Thanks for letting me spend time with everyone.”

“Of course. I’d never take you away from any
fans.”

“Even if they were kissing me?”

“You wouldn’t let that happen.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“I would,” Wayne says as he walks over.
“Would you stop that, Tegan?”

“No. I have no claim on you.”

“We had fun.”

“Yes, we did. I’ll give you that.”

“And I’ll take it.”

“I hate to break this up, but it’s time to
go Stella,” Chad says.

What? “She’s not going anywhere with
you.”

“Vivian, you didn’t convince her?”

“No, Chad. She won’t do it.”

“You know what that means?”

“Yes. I do.”

Stella is practically breaking my hand,
she’s holding it so hard. “What the fuck is going on?”

“There was more on that tape I saw than just
sex, Kace. Your mom’s been giving me some good fucks in order to
keep me quiet, but since she couldn’t deliver your girlfriend to
me, I’m afraid it’s time for me to tell all.”

“You’ve been sleeping with him, Viv?” Marv
asks her.

“I had to keep the secret.”

“You slept with him to keep some damn
secret?” I’m squeezing Stella’s hand hard now.

“It’s not just one secret, my friend. It’s
two. And they’re so big you’ll never recover from them. Just like
my sister has never recovered from you.”

“I’m not your friend. So go ahead and spill
what you know. I can handle anything.”

“I love you, Kace,” Stella says as she looks
up with me with tears in her eyes. Why is she crying?

“Marv’s your dad.”

Chad says it like it’s nothing, breaking me
away from my thoughts. I pull away from Stella to stalk over to
Marv. “How long have you known?”

“Your mother told me when I found you,
Wayne, and Chad in that talent show.”

“And you didn’t think I should know. Neither
of you thought I should know?”

“We hadn’t seen each other in years, and I
thought Marv was happily married. You and I have always been good
with it just being the two of us.”

“You had no right to keep this from me.”

I look down at my mom and see the tears
running down her face. I’m angry, really angry. But she’s right.
We’ve always been good on our own. She made sure of that. I can’t
forget what she’s done for me. I pull her into my arms and hold her
tight.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I know, Mom. It’s okay. I mean, it’s not.
But I understand. And hey, now I get to have every kid’s dream—my
parents together.”

“That’s not going to happen, Son.”

“What do you mean? You said you were
divorcing your wife because you’re in love with my mom.”

“Did you not hear that she’s been sleeping
with Chad?
And
me. All to keep you from finding out, even
though we all knew he was going to tell you eventually.”

All? Oh my God. That’s when I know. This
isn’t just my mom’s secret. This is the secret Stella’s been
keeping from me. The one that’s been eating away at her the past
couple of weeks. Ainsley would’ve looked at the whole tape before
destroying it, and she told her what was on there.

“Stella?”

She closes her eyes when I look at her, and
I can see that she’s shaking with the force of the sobs that are
wracking her body. “Yes. I knew.”

“You kept this from me?”

“It wasn’t my secret to tell.”

“It wasn’t your secret to tell? Are you
fucking kidding me?” I ask her as I push my mom aside and go for
her.

I pull her to her feet and shake her. “You
could’ve told me. You should’ve told me.”

“I couldn’t.”

“There’s more,” Chad says.

I look over and he looks like the cat who
swallowed the fucking canary. What more could there be? I let
Stella go, and turn to him with my arms crossed, waiting.

“You were born a twin.”

“No I wasn’t.”

“Oh, you were. Why do you think Brett sounds
so similar to you?”

Brett? Our eyes meet, and I see the horror I
feel reflected on his face. We do sound the same, and now that I
know, I can see it. I can see how we look different, but the
same.

“You put me in an orphanage, while you kept
Kace? You raised him, while leaving me behind to fend for myself,”
he says to my mom. Our mom. “How could you do that to me?”

“I could only take care of one of you. I was
barely able to keep Kace fed.”

“So you just threw me away? Why me? What was
it about me that was so bad?”

“There was nothing wrong with you. I had to
choose and so I just closed my eyes and picked. I thought you’d get
adopted right away. You were so beautiful. Both of you were.”

“I wasn’t adopted, though. No one wants a
baby who fusses all the time. Or a genius kid who can’t sit still
because of all the thoughts running through his head.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I swear I
thought you’d be fine. Marv found you as soon as he could. And then
it all worked out.”

“Except we didn’t know we were brothers. How
the hell is that working out for you, Brett?” I ask.

“I don’t even know. I’m glad you’re my
brother, but I’m pissed that no one thought we needed to know.”

“Yeah. Me too. I mean, you and I are cool.
But our dear sweet parents might as well be dead to me at the
moment.”

“You don’t mean that, Kace.”

“But I do, Mom. I really do.”

I’ll calm down, I know I will. I love my mom
too much to stay mad at her forever. Marv—I don’t know about. I’ve
never been too close to him, and I don’t all of a sudden have
feelings of love towards him just because he’s my sperm donor.

The other person who knew—I’m definitely
done with her, though. I turn to find Stella curled up on the
couch, with Tegan rubbing her back. “You said you loved me.”

“I do. I love you so much,” she says as she
stands on wobbly legs.

She still crying and shaking, and I almost
go to her. I want to pull her into my arms and tell her that it’s
okay. That we’re okay. But we’re not.

“If you loved me, you would’ve told me. This
isn’t a matter of national security and no one would’ve been hurt
by you telling me. So there was no reason for you to keep this from
me. None.”

“I swear to you that I would’ve told you if
I could have. I
wanted
to tell you. You know I’ve been upset
these past couple of weeks.”

“And I’ve done everything I could think of
to cheer you up and make you feel better. All while you were lying
to me.”

“I didn’t lie.”

“You just kept important things for me.
That’s just what should happen in a relationship, right? Was it
even real to you, or was this just one of your games?”

“You know it was real, Kace.”

“Bullshit. I know nothing when it comes to
you.
Nothing
. You’re a complete stranger, and I can honestly
say that I hate you right now, you selfish bitch.”

She gasps and collapses as Tegan catches
her. Nate’s on me before I even see him coming. He grabs my neck
and raises me off the ground. “I have no problem ending you, little
boy. Call her a name—any name—again, and I’ll do it right here in
front of your new-found family.”

“Let him go, Nate. Please.”

He does as Stella asks. I rub my neck while
I watch him pick her up, carrying her from the room. Tegan gives me
a hard look, letting me know that I’m not safe from her, either. I
don’t have it in me to give a fuck.