Knock, knock, knock!
Wherever I was in my dream state, I registered that someone was knocking on the door, but couldn't bring myself to open my eyes.
Knock, knock, knock!
There was a moment of silence and then Shay's mother's voice came from the other side of the door, "Shay, honey! Jack will be here any minute for your tutoring. Would you like me to send him away?"
"Mom, come in," I said, finally finding my voice.
"I'm sorry to wake you, honey," Mom said, opening the blinds when she came in, sending streams of sunshine into the room to assault my eyes.
I quickly closed my eyes, holding my hand up. "Mom! For heaven's sake! Close them, please! I'm getting up."
Mom frowned and then snapped the blinds shut. "Shay, you've been sleeping for ten hours or more... maybe twelve!" Eying the dirty dishes on my table, she scoffed and then headed over to it and started stacking the dishes back onto the tray, and then covered them with the cloche. "I know you need your rest, but you can't let your studies go either. One thing your father and I will insist upon is that you finish high school." She let out an exaggerated sigh. "I'd like for you to go to college, too, but one step at a time."
I sat on the edge of the bed, feeling like a truck had just ran me over. "Mom, I plan to finish high school and I'm going to be one of the best brokers in New York one day," I blurted out without thinking. But it was true. Shay had become one of the best brokers in New York City.
Mom's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Well, if you're planning to do that, then you'll definitely need your high school diploma." Then she thought of something. "How is your stomach feeling today, dear?"
I sighed. "It's too early to tell, but so far, I'm okay." I stood and stretched, my muscles sore from inactivity. "I think I'll feel better after I take a shower."
Mom nodded, heading toward the door carrying the tray. "You will. If you need me, let me know."
"Mom?"
She stopped and looked back at me, raising her eyebrows. "Yes, dear?"
"Thanks for bringing dinner in to me last night."
She smiled and nodded. "It was my pleasure. Now, get ready and we'll talk later. Jack will be here in a minute."
"Mom," I said, stopping her again.
She sighed but kept her perfect composure with a smile on her face as she turned, raising her eyebrows expectantly.
"Would it be okay if I invite Jack over for dinner with the family this Saturday?" I didn't tell her that I had already invited him, but he hadn't said whether he was coming or not anyway. But I thought it would be good to give her a heads up.
Mom scoffed. "You know, he's not... like us, right?"
A crease formed between my eyes as I tilted my head sideways. "How?"
Mom scoffed and then stepped closer, keeping her voice low. "He's not from the same social class as us."
"You're unbelievable," I blurted out. "Social class shouldn't matter. It's what's inside a person that counts."
"If only that were true." Mom shook her head. "Dear, I'd rather you not," she said, her voice low. "Jack is a nice young man, but he's not for you."
I scoffed as I headed to the closet and slipped on a robe. I tied it up and then turned to face her. "Mom, I think it's not up for you to decide who is 'for me'." I took a step closer, narrowing my eyes. "Jack is a nice guy and—I'm not saying I am—but if I want to date him, then there's nothing you can do to stop me."
Mom raised an eyebrow and then glanced toward my stomach. "And it's that kind of attitude that got you into this mess in the first place."
"Mom, I can't believe you just said that," I said, headed toward the door. "I'll take a shower. We can discuss this later but know this: we don't have to disown each other. We are family and we need to support each other as one."
Mom huffed as she stepped closer, her eyes cold and her put-on, cool exterior and control were gone. "Shay Marie Clark. You listen and you listen well. You now have a baby to think about, you're still in high school, and you have no prospects for a job or a man. Which means, your only hope is to marry well so you can maintain the lifestyle that you're accustomed to. Is that clear?"
I looked directly at her, my eyes never wavering. "No, it is not 'clear'. And I have you know that I am a responsible, good person who is more than capable of caring for myself. but if you want to continue to be a part of mine and Renn's lives, then you'll need to stop trying to mold us in your image and accept us for who we are. Yes, we're going to make mistakes, but that's part of life."
"Yes, Shay," Mom replied, her voice filled with sarcasm. "And you know all about 'mistakes', don't you?"
I scoffed, my mouth opening. "Is that what you think? That this baby is a mistake?" I shook my head in disbelief. "This baby was not a mistake. No matter how it got here, it's still my child."
"Sit down," Mom ordered, looking over at the bed.
"I'd rather stand."
"I said sit!" Mom yelled.
I narrowed my eyes at her but then slowly sank down onto the bed.
She set the tray down on the table and then headed over to the door. And to my surprise, she locked it. Then she grabbed a chair and set it down across from me. "Now. You listen to me and you listen well. What I'm going to say to you stays here. Is that clear?"
I smirked. "Crystal."
Mom folded her hands properly on her lap and then looked into my eyes "I was pregnant with Renn when I married your father."
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. "You what?"
"Ssshhh!!!" Mom held a finger to her lips and then looked toward the door to make sure no one had heard. Satisfied, she turned back to me. "I fell madly in love with a boy my age, but he wasn't of the same social class as I was. My parents nearly hit the roof when they found out." She sighed as she looked down at her lap and then back into my eyes. "My father knew your father and he was 'acceptable'. But even though he was of our same social class, he was older than me, and was well on his way to being the C.E.O of his own company."
"But he is the C.E.O. now," I blurted out, more from shock than anything else.
Mom nodded. "Yes. Now he is." Mom sighed. "My father found out and forbade me from seeing the man I loved. Then he forced me to marry your father so me and the baby would be cared for."
I nodded, understanding that Renn's father was a different man than Shay's. "Did Father know that you were pregnant with another man's child when you married him?"
Tears came to her eyes as she shook her head. "No, he didn't. I wasn't that far along, and my father forbade me from speaking of it to anyone."
"And being the dutiful daughter, you obeyed," I replied.
She swiped a hand over her cheeks and straightened her back, sitting on the edge of the chair. "I knew it was what was best for my child. My father wanted me to go away to have Renn and give him away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wanted him, just like you want your baby."
I nodded. "Does Father know that Renn isn't his?"
She shook her head. "No. I wanted to tell him so many times over the years but could never bring myself to do it."
"And you've carried it with you all these years."
Shay's mother nodded. "Yes. I did what I had to do for my child, and it all worked out. And now you must do what is best for your child, too."
"Well, I'm not marrying a man I don't love just to give my baby a name or for status or money," I blurted out.
"That's enough of that," Mom said. "I don't care who you are, don't you ever speak to me that way again. Understood?"
I nodded, clenching my jaw.
"And who's to say that I don't love your father now?" she asked. "I love him very much now."
"But you didn't love him when you married him, correct?"
Mom shook her head. "No. But years ago, people married for wealth and to maintain social status all the time. Love was irrelevant. But over the years, I've come to love your father very much."
I sighed. "What about the other guy? Don't you ever think of him?"
Mom nodded. "I used to think of him all the time. In fact, after your father and I were first married, I would sometimes cry myself to sleep over him and your father never knew."
I nodded. "Who was he?"
Mom rose to her feet. "I'd rather not say."
But I caught her hand, forcing her to look at me. "Mom, I want to know."
Mom shook her head. "Not today."
"Do you know what became of him?"
Shay's mom nodded as she smirked. "Believe it or not, he eventually became a doctor and moved to Tennessee." She shook her head in disbelief. "Here my father wouldn't let me marry him because he was from a different social class and he ended up becoming a self-made man."
My heart froze. My father was a doctor and we lived in Tennessee. But what would be the chances of it being the same man? "What was his name?"
Shay's mom smiled, shaking her head. "You don't know him. From what I heard, he married another woman while he was in medical school and had a daughter. I believe she was their only child." She let out a deep breath. "From what I understand, he married his wife shortly after we broke up, probably on the rebound. But she had to have been a good woman, because she must have helped him through medical school."
"You have got to be kidding me!" I yelled, grabbing her arm. "Mom, please! I have to know!"
Mom scoffed, recoiling. "Shay, what is wrong with you?"
I let out a deep, calming breath. "Please, tell me. I'm begging you."
"Ryan Kelly."
My head reeled as the world around me seemed to stop spinning, freezing in time. Renn was both mine and Shay's half-brother... and I never knew.