Chapter 40

Renee’s POV

I stay crouched down behind the desk, trying to wrap my head around the words I just heard. I try to conceive of another possible explanation for why Jasper would refer to someone as their father. Eric has never talked about his family much and whenever I brought it up I was met with a chilling silence. Eventually, I just stopped asking. I assumed they both were dead, but it sounds like his father is alive.

I sit long enough that the cool tile begins to poke into my hips, but I ignore the throb. The more I think about Jasper and Eric being brothers, the crazier it seems. They’re nothing alike.

“You can come out from there,” I hear a voice say and it takes me a second to realize it’s directed at me. I startle and bang my head on the bottom of the desk as I stand up causing a stapler to fall to the floor.

I rub my head and wonder how many head injuries can one suffer a month before it becomes a problem. Jasper looks at me amused.

“Your brothers?” I blurt out still rubbing my head. Jasper doesn’t laugh at my question or immediately deny it. “How?” Jasper raises an eyebrow at me.

“Not like how, I mean I know how it happens, it’s just how?” I scramble over my words.

Jasper crosses his arms and cocks his head to the side and looks at me thoughtfully.

“Come to dinner with me and I’ll explain Eric’s and my relationship,” He offers. I’m surprised this kind of catch is coming from Jasper, may he’s more alike to Eric than I thought.

I look around the building. There is no sign of Eric, but others are standing by and openly watching us. Great, as if I didn’t give these people enough to talk about.

“Deal,” I agree. Jasper sticks out his hand and I take it.

“It’s a date,” He says with a smile and a warm sensation spreads across my chest.

“Maybe it is,” I say.

Later that evening Debbie helping me get ready for my dinner with Jasper. We stand in my tiny bedroom, me standing in front of the full-length mirror inspecting my outfit while Debbie lays back on the bed.

I haven’t noticed it before, but her skin is looking more plump- not as pale. Her hair looks shiner too, whereas before it always looked a little limp. Her health defiantly is improving and I have Jasper to thank for that.

“Hair down,” Debbie tells me. I turn halfway in the mirror to try and get a look at the updo I have. It’s wrapped up in a neat bun with a black silk ribbon. Debbie’s right. I pull the ribbon loose and my curls fall around my face down past my shoulders.

I pull half of it back and leave the rest down, this way my simple diamond earrings can be seen. I’m wearing a long-sleeved black fitted dress and thigh-high black boots.

All my skin is mostly covered, but the fabric highs my figure flatteringly.

“You’re so pretty, Mommy,” Debbie says. I smile at her through the mirror.

“You are too,” I say.

“Is Jasper going to be my daddy for real?” Debbie asks. My shoulders drop.

I turn to look at her. The king-size bed practically swallows her little body. “Let’s see how one dinner goes first, okay?” Debbie scrunches her face. The doorbell rings and instantly her demeanor changes. She springs from the bed and rushes downstairs.

I take one final look in the mirror and then follow Debbie.

When I get to the foyer, Jasper is already standing inside. He’s in sleek black dress pants and a fitted maroon dress shirt that matches the red-rose he’s handing. My heart skips a beat. He looks good.

When I finally peel my eyes off his body and up to his face, he’s smiling at me with a boyish grin, and my face floods with heat.

“You look lovely,” he tells me like a mature adult and here I am like a little school girl with a crush.

I regain my composure. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” I say and take the rose from his hand.

“I will go put this in some water,” Debbie says- also trying to be a mature adult. I laugh.

“And I will go get the vase,” I say. Debbie may be getting healthier, but she’s still only five and I don’t trust her handling glass yet.

A couple minutes later, Margaux arrives to watch Debbie and practically shoos us out the door. She’s excited that I’m ‘back in the game’ as she so staunchly claimed right before closing the door on us.

I have to admit, though this dinner is only happening as a way for me to learn more about Eric and I still don’t think I’m in a position to be dating, I am flooded with all the nerves that come with a first date.

Jasper is a complete gentleman. He opens the car door for me, drives safely, let’s me pick what to play on the radio, and pulls the chair out for me at the restaurant.

We’re at a new Italian place and even though it’s a Thursday night, it’s packed- but the volume of the restaurant is kept at a low hum. The lighting is dim, the tables are covered in white cloth placed with a candle, and the drinks menu.

A piano is being played softly in the background and light chimes of glass clinking.

“Well, this is a fancy birthday,” I say scooting into my seat. Jasper laughs.

“It’s not my usual preferred place to eat. I’m more of a burger joint kind of guy, but I thought you deserved somewhere nicer than that,” Jasper says and I smile.

“Well, truth be told I’m more of a hotdogs at an amusement park kind of girl,” I say. Jasper joking brings his palm to his forehead.

“And to think I could have saved my wallet some serious spending,” He jokes and I shake my head and jokingly tsk my tongue at him.

“Next time,” I tell him before realizing what I said.

“All right,” Jasper says. “Next time,” I blush.

“But first, you have to tell me how you and Eric are related,” I say moving the conversation along.

“Getting right down to business,” Jasper says and I nod in confirmation.

“That’s right, play time is over,” I say.

Just then the waiter comes up and presents the specials. Jasper orders us an appetizer and place our drink orders.

The drinks come quickly and Jasper takes his time holding off on answering my question. He swrils his wine in his cup and takes a whiff.

“You’re not going to tell me,” I say squinting my eyes at him. Jasper takes a tasting sip of his wine, pulls the glass back holding it by the stem and inspects the contents.

“I intend to tell you,” He says still looking at the glass.

I lean back in my seat, “I’ll just wait then,” feigning patience.

Jasper sets the wine down and looks at me. “It’s kind of a messed up story,” I’m not sure how to respond to that. I figured the fact that Eric never talked about his parents while wer were together meant that something messed up must have happened.

“My entire life is messed up,” I remind Jasper. “I think I can handle it,”

“Touche” Jasper says with a shrug. He takes a deep breath. “Essentially, we have the same father but different mothers. We are half-brothers,” Jasper says and I nod slowly.

“Okay,” I say, waiting for him to continue.

“Eric’s mom died when he was young. Around Debbie’s age, maybe a bit older. I was already three,”

“So, Eric’s father had an affair?” I piece it together.

“Yes,” Jasper says regretfully. “With my mom. Who is alive and well,”

The waiter comes and asks for our food order. I randomly pick something on the menu because I’m too distracted by what Jasper just said there. Alive and . . . well? When the waiter leaves, Jasper waits a moment before continuing. I take a sip of my wine.

“Eric believes that our father had something to do with the death of his mother,” Jasper says quietly.

“Why would he think that?” I say, I never met the man but it’s hard to think anyone is just capable of murder. Jasper looks uneasy as he finds his words.

“The night his mom died, Eric recalls his father being covered in blood. Unfortunately, no one else saw him like this so no one can corroborate his story. Not to mention he was only six. Not many people believe a six year old,” Jaspe says.

I take a minute to process the information. “Being covered in blood doesn’t mean he killed her. Maybe he was just holding her dead body,” I offer in defense of Eric’s father.

Jasper shrugs. “Maybe, but apparently whenever Eric would confront his father about this, his father denied it and called Eric a liar.”

I lean look down at the appetizer, suddenly not having an apetite anymore. This at least explains the estranged relationship between Eric and his father and his trust issues.

“What do you think?” I ask Jasper. Jasper’s exhales and he begins to look very tired, like the weight of this family secret has become apparent.

“I don’t know, I was only three. I don’t think our father is a killer. I mean as far as I remember the death was ruled a suicide. That she jumped out of a building,”

Even as Jaspe speaks, his words aren’t much of a comfort. We both know it’s very likely that their father could have just as easily bribed the right people to rule the death an accident.

“Because I never fully took Eric’s side, he basically dubbed e as someone against him, which is why our relationship really only goes as far as me being his doctor”

My heart breaks for Eric. He may be selfish and egotistical, but he’s not a liar.

Now it makes sense why Eric never lets anyone get too close. No one’s believed him about something so tragic, he’s had to look out for himself his whole life. Though as bad for him as I feel, I’m not even sure if I believe him.