My alcoholic fog instantly dissipates. “Margaret, are you scared of James Brennan? Is that why you are in LA?” I ask.
More silence… and unfortunately the silence is speaking to me more than words at the moment. Adrian frowns at me as he overhears my conversation
“Give me your hotel address. I am coming to see you,” I reply.
“No, please Natasha, don’t tell anyone I am here. I’m alright,” she whispers.
“I am not with Joshua. He is out with the boys. I will come alone. Actually I’m with Adrian. We are coming over, so give me the address.”
She thinks for a moment. “I will text you the address. Please don’t say anything,” she begs.
“You have my word,” I reply.
Joshua
I sit in the restaurant surrounded by my family-the men in my family. We are eating before we make our way to the Lakers game. There’s an elephant in the room and its name is paternity. Wilson and I have not spoken at all about the news that we are not Stantons. If we acknowledge it… then we have to believe it. What does that mean for the only family we know? Wilson and I are on either side of our father and Scott and Cameron are seated opposite us at the round table.
“Boys, I want to talk to you about this news that has just come to light,” my father replies.
My eyes drop-I don’t.
“I do too,” Cameron adds.
Both my eyes and Wilson’s meet across the table and he instantly tears up. My father grabs our hands. “This doesn’t change anything between us. The four of you are all my sons and you will stay my sons. We have been dealt a situation that is… not ideal… but it will only hurt us if you let it.” My eyes rise to meet Cameron’s across the table.
“Fatherhood is not semen… or sex. I think it is raising a son who is a good person, a son I love.”
I drop my head again as I listen.
“Can we just try to forget this news and carry on as if we don’t know it?” he asks. “It doesn’t change anything so why acknowledge it?”
Cameron and Scott nod their heads.
“I’m choosing to ignore this news. I have four sons and nothing at all has changed and I want to know if anything has changed for any of you?” he asks. “And if it has, how can I help you?”
Cameron shakes his head. “Definitely nothing’s changed,” he replies. “It could have been any of us. In fact I wish it was me instead of you two because I think I could have handled it more easily.”
My eyes meet Cameron’s over the table and I smile softly. He would definitely have handled this better than me.
Scott shakes his head. “Of course it doesn’t change anything. You two are still fucking annoying.” He smirks.
We all smile.
I nod. “I would like that,” I reply softly.
“Me too,” Wilson replies.
My father raises his glass in the air. “To the unbreakable Stantons,” he toasts.
I feel my eyes well up as I raise my glass.
“To the unbreakable Stantons,” we all reply.
Natasha
We drive up the street, way off the main strip, and I frown at Adrian.
“Are you sure it’s down here?” Adrian asks the two guards in the front seat.
Max shrugs as he turns to look at us. “That’s the address Tash gave me.”
“Huh,” I mutter as he pulls over to the side of the road.
“It’s there.” He points to a dodgy-looking hotel on the right.
The four of us all frown as we peer out the window at the uninviting premises.
“This is where she’s staying?” I frown.
“Looks like it.” Max sighs as he gets out of the car. We tentatively follow and Adrian grabs my hand in a reassuring gesture. A car of two more guards pulls up behind us and I turn and give them a soft smile. Max’s phone rings.
“Yes,” he answers.
My eyes flick to the car behind us and I see the driver on the phone. He’s ringing to check what the hell we are doing. What are we frigging doing?
“Yes, into the hotel on the right, level 4, room 62,” he replies into the phone as his eyes flick to the car with the person in it who is on the phone.
As we approach the door Adrian takes out a tissue to open it so he doesn’t have to touch the handle and I shake my head at him.
“You’re such a princess,” I scoff, and the guards snicker.
“I can see the germs from here-it’s like a lab experiment,” he whispers.
We walk into the unattended foyer and the elevator isn’t working so we walk over to the stairs at the side of the foyer.
“I don’t like this,” Max whispers to the other guard. “This could be a trap.”
I screw up my face. “Oh for Pete’s sake, this is Margaret you wimps! Stop watching too many horror films.” I shake my head in disgust at my three yellow companions. “You boys are snobs,” I whisper.
Adrian smiles broadly. “Oh and you’re so gangster.”
I giggle. “Well somebody around here has to be,” I whisper.
Max shakes his head at me and puts his hand on his gun under his jacket and I roll my eyes. Now I’ve seen it all. We continue up the darkened stairs until we get to the fourth floor and find the room we are after, and I frown at Adrian.
“This is weird,” he whispers.
I nod. “I know, right.” And I knock gently on the door.
“Come in,” Margaret’s sad voice calls. Adrian and I exchange looks and frown. Shit, she’s really here. I was hoping I had the address wrong. Max steps in front of me and opens the door and nods at Margaret.
“I just need to check the room, Ma’am,” he says sternly.
She drops her head and nods.
Oh my god, my heart drops. I have never seen her like this. She is in a tracksuit with no makeup. Her hair is undone and she is deathly pale. She sits alone and broken on the small single bed.