Meant to Crash | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Poetry use to be something I did on any given day. I thought, for sure as an adult, I would be able to call myself a published poet. The title seemed only possible in the decades before my birth.

 People weren't creative in my mom's side of the family. My dad was the only one who really liked music that much among his siblings. They grew up to be teachers, engineers, and one politician. My parents related on the fact that they found no real thrill in going to the movies, reading a thrilling novel, or enjoying other things people did for leisure. Both were equally addicted to work.

Thankfully, that mindset skipped a generation with me.

I loved all those things they stayed away from.

That's why when Layla and Akin asked me to go see the new A24 horror movie, Talk to Me, I was all in. Without much convincing.

"You need to spill on the details about the party," Layla rushed to grab my hands, asking me to even describe the clothes people had on, the way they smelled, and the kind of food I ate. I told her everything she wanted to know – minus the moment of intimacy I shared with Sebastian. She didn't need to know how far I'd gone with him.

"Did you kiss him?"

"I did."

"Oh, wow, do you think you guys are going to go public with the relationship?"

"It's kind of early to do that. We only kissed." I lied. "I still work for the company."

"For now," Akin nudged me. "You should be thinking of your life, from now on, as the future new heiress of the Lockhart family."

I had to roll my eyes at that. "You guys are so extra."

Akin was driving us, so he agreed to go park the car. The Bay's parking situation was a joke – so you always had to find the perfect place, or you'd be screwed paying a high price. I'd been to LA once, though, and it was just as bad. 

Layla and I walked out of the car, and instantly someone started catcalling at us.

She flipped them off.

"Ugh," she groaned, "Why is it always bummy guys who do the cat calling? Why can't it be guys in suits?"

"Because let's be honest, no man with a well-paying job, and education, would waste his time screaming at a woman to get her attention across the street."

"I feel like Sebastian would."

"Sebastian isn't normal in any sense of the word."

"I concur," she giggled and we both went inside.

Later that day, I was feeling home sick so I ended up calling my dad up and he quickly asked if we could video call, saying that he missed seeing my face.

After picking up, I stated, smiling at the floor. "I'm sorry I don't call as much as I-"

"Stop," he interrupted, "I'm not here to pick on you for not calling every once and a while - though I could do just that."

"And you'd have every right to."

I heard his laughter, filling my ears up until a lump formed in my throat. It wasn't until then, while standing in my bed room, that it dawned on me how stupid I was to leave my old life. An anchor of regret rocked me to my core, holding on to the phone in my hands till my fingers felt numb.

"I miss you, dad."

"I miss you, too, Maddie. Why don't you come visit me some time? Stop working so hard and give yourself a break. I'm sure you can schedule something for a weekend getaway."

"I'm pretty busy this week...." My mind went in a frenzy, thinking of what I overheard at the yacht part. The conversation with Mrs. Lockhart and that stranger of a man couldn't be release from my attention. I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Dad," I burst out. Not realizing that I had cut into what he was saying about what we'd do once I got down to Arkansas, I apologized for being rude. "You and mom...you guys were each other's first marriage, right?"

"I...I don't know where this is coming from." He stammered for a moment, coughing as though he had swallowed a bug. "Your mother was married before she met me, she had a son, too."

"I never knew about her having a son." I managed to say. My eyes focused on the sight of a chair outside my room and in the living room. I made a bee-line for it and collapsed into as I asked the only question rattling in my head. "What ever happened to her first kid? I never knew about him. Is he alive still?"

"No," he said grimly, and I was relieved.

In the back of my mind, I wondered if there was a slight possibility that my mother was the first wife Mr. Lockhart had married. I only knew a brief summary of the timeline of Mr. Lockhart's multiple marriages. However, I was not under the impression that he would be dumb enough to hire his ex-wife to cater an event for his current family. It didn't add up to me. The more I tried to wrap my head around everything I knew, and everything I could potentially not know, I decided that it was best that I stayed low for a while and kept a discrete profile.

That was the only way I could start this investigation.

I had to get to the bottom of this. Sebastian was hiding something.

Everyone was.

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