A Hundred Weddings [PUBLISHED]

Chapter Nineteen: Screwed Up Guys

CHAPTER NINETEEN: SCREWED UP GUYS

I couldn't even swallow my own saliva. "Killed, how?"

"He crashed his car with someone else's" He looks down on his coffee and sighs heavily. "My dad was put behind bars while my mom and I immediately flew off to her hometown in London to hide from the press. But seeing as my dad's family is quite well-off here in America, he was only sentenced in jail for three years then he followed us in London to live a quiet life. He never married my mom but he still stayed with us."

Lance was five years old when the accident happened. His dad was only put to jail for three years because of their powerful family.

I can't move a muscle. My heart pounds on my chest as if shouting at me to tell Lance what I know but my mouth feels like a desert.

Lance takes my silence as a hint to continue. "Then last month, my dad got a call from his brother that my cousin is getting married soon so we fly back here to help prepare for the wedding."

I find my voice to say, "And this cousin of yours is...?"

"I haven't met him yet. I think I did when I was younger. But he's older than me so we didn't hang out much," He explains. "He's not on social media either so I don't really know for sure what he looks like today. My dad is the only one who visits their place since we got here but maybe on my cousin's wedding I'll finally get to meet him."

Should I tell him? But I don't know where to start, so instead I say, "So, your family is staying here for good?"

"Boys On Fire is more popular here" He shrugs. "Maybe. I don't know. My dad also said it's probably time for us to forget what happened in the past. It's been thirteen years anyway. But I still feel uncomfortable here."

I look at him directly and ask, "Why?"

His eyes are full of guilt, searing with so much regret and self-loathing. "My dad killed a pregnant woman, Kim, and I might only be ten years old when I found out about what he did to free himself but I already know that what he did is not fair to that woman's family. And now we're back here in America and he's strolling around here like he did nothing wrong while all I've been wondering is, what if I meet that woman's bereaved family here? What would I tell them? Should I apologize for what my dad did?"

"What your dad did isn't your fault," I tell him.

"It kind of is," He argues. "When my dad proposed to my mom, it was because I asked him to. If I didn't pressure him to marry her, his ex-wife wouldn't have gone crazy and killed her son, and my dad wouldn't be drunk and crash into that woman's car. Every month I sent letters to my dad in jail, saying I hope he comes home soon because I miss him. And he did. He damn did."

My chest hurts so bad. I want to comfort him yet I also need comforting myself.

This date has gone from friendly to dramatic real quick.

"You shouldn't blame yourself for that. You were only five."

He closes his eyes and takes a lungful of air. It takes several seconds before he opens them again, showing a boyish smile, as if he didn't just tell me a very disheartening and appalling story. "So, that's my life. Pretty screwed up, right?"

I manage to force a smile. "It would've sufficed if you just said you're in America because of your cousin's wedding. That gloomy story only made me sad." He has no idea how much that information cracked me inside and opened a dam of indefinite emotions.

He takes another drink from his coffee. "Sorry, but I also wanted to just let all those frustrations out. The guilt and shame has been feeding on me since I got here. Now I feel like that heavy load is a little lighter."

"Then I'm glad you told me" Sort of.

"And pretty girls fall for screwed up guys because they want to fix them." He winks at me and I scoff humorously at his attempt of humor.

I play with the straw on my cup before taking a sip. "What about your other sibling? You said your dad's ex-wife only killed your brother."

Lance remains quiet for a while. He then looks outside through the glass windows. "I heard the ex-wife had been abusing her kids since my dad left them. Fortunately for my sister, the ex-wife's friend stole her away from her before all hell happened, seeing as my sister is smaller and easier to sneak out."

I still can't believe their mother would that do that to them.

"So, your sister is still out there? Alive and well?"

He returns his attention to me. "Hopefully. My dad decided that it would be better to just forget his past family and just let my sister's aunt take care of her. I've never heard from my sister since the accident."

"But you've met her before?"

He nods. "We met once when we were about four. I don't remember her face much but I can never forget how uniquely beautiful her eyes were. She had this condition where her eyes differ in color. One eye is mauve while the other one is gray. She was also really sweet and bubbly"

"What about her name? Did you even try to search her online?"

"Her name's Aiah. Aiah Lincoln. But her aunt probably changed it already." His face lightens up a bit. "But I recently hired a private investigator just to know where she is. That's also the reason why I'm enrolled in Weatherford High. The one who adopted Aiah, Jeanne Bricks, recently donated a large amount of money to our school."

"Okay" I say, prolonging the sound of 'O'. Because just hearing him say that his sister's surname is Lincoln just solidifies my theory. "So, this Aiah, any suspicions who she is?"

He shakes his head in dismay. "I think I already have a feeling who she is. I just don't know for sure."

"Who?"

"I don't want to say anything yet because I might be disappointed."

"Oh c'mon! Just tell me already." I press.

He seems reluctant but eventually answers "You."