“You and Trix had a surrogate and somethin’ happened, that woman would sure as fuck not be keepin’ my grandkid,” Casper said through his teeth.
“I’ve got no skin in the game,” I waded in cautiously. “But I’d give her a minute. Cecilia isn’t stupid. She always has a reason for the things she does.”
“She’s not stupid, but she’s selfish as fuck,” Cam muttered.
I waited a second for her parents to tell him to watch his mouth and my stomach soured when they didn’t.
“Keep your bullshit opinions to yourself,” I said, filling in the silence. “You say another word about your sister and you can get the fuck out of my house.”
“You fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” Cam asked, straightening.
“Enough,” Casper snapped, pointing at his son.
“I’m gonna check on her,” I announced. “Coffee’s about done. Mugs are in the cabinet to the left of the sink.”
I walked away before I said what I wanted to. Fucking Cameron. Their whole fucking family. I wanted to shake them. It was the same old shit that Cecilia had dealt with when we were young. It was like they thought she was inherently bad or something, like she was just selfish and mean and they just had to deal with it. Never, not once, had they tried to get to the root of the shit she said and did.
Cecilia could be a bitch. Hell, she could be the biggest bitch you’d ever meet—but there was always a reason, even if it didn’t make sense to anyone but her. She had never gone around trying to piss people off.
What was that saying? Hurt people hurt people.
And I’d never met someone who hurt as bad as Cecilia and managed to hide it so well.
She hadn’t gone into the guestroom. Instead, she was sitting in the center of my bed.
“You here to give me shit?” she asked, looking up from where she’d set the baby between her knees.
“You’re in my room,” I pointed out, closing the door behind me. “And I figured I’d put a shirt on before I started frying bacon.”
Cecilia sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said, watching me cross the room. “I swear to God, they turn me into someone even I can’t stand.”
“You let them get to you,” I said, pulling on a t-shirt. “And I’ve never understood why, because in the end, you do whatever the fuck you want anyway.”
“Because they’re my parents,” she said, staring at the baby. “And I still want their approval.”
“Not sure you’re gonna get it this time.”
“When have I ever?” she said, chuckling humorlessly. “Same shit, different day.”
“Cec.” I sat on the edge of the bed. “She’s not yours.”
“You know,” she snapped, looking up to meet my eyes, “I’m so fucking tired of everyone always assuming that I’m doing the wrong thing.”
“This seems pretty cut and dry to me.”
“Well, you have no fucking clue,” she said. “None.”
“Then why don’t you tell me?” I said softly.
“It won’t even matter.”
“Try me.”
“When I say Liv was scared of Cane’s son, I mean scared,” she said after a long pause. “She called me to pick her up once from their house. It was before they were married. When I got there, she was shaking. Cane had left for some work thing and his son had shown up. He told her that she’d never marry his dad. That he’d gut her first.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered.
“Yeah. And that wasn’t the only time. The guy’s a fucking nut job. It got to the point that he wasn’t allowed at the house.”
When someone knocked on the door, her mouth snapped shut.
“Come on in,” I called.
“Hiding out in here isn’t going to solve anything,” Farrah said tiredly as she swung open the door.
Cecilia stayed stubbornly silent.
“You can’t just keep a baby that isn’t yours.”
“Sit down,” I replied, pointing to the open space next to Cecilia. “I’m guessin’ you’ll want to hear this.”
“Mark,” Cecilia said in warning.
I glanced at her and then back at Farrah. “Let her talk.”
Farrah nodded and strode into the room. She sat down next to Cecilia and waited.
“After Cane found out that his son, Drake, had been threatening Liv, Cane banned him from the house. He wasn’t even allowed on the property. They maintained a relationship as far as I know, but Cane kept things separate. Liv was fucking terrified. She was always on guard. Eventually, after they were married, things settled down and she seemed like she wasn’t as worried anymore.” I frowned. “If she was, she didn’t say anything to me about it.”
“He kept seein’ his son?” I asked in disbelief.
Cecilia shrugged. “It was his kid.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Casper said from the doorway. “Any man that threatened your mother would answer to me.”
Cecilia nodded once at her dad. “When they asked me to be a surrogate, they were concerned. Liv wanted a baby more than anything, but they didn’t want Drake to find out and cause problems.”