Page 56 of Revealing Mark

“Everyone makes mistakes. He tried to do the right thing.”

I gave a hollowed laugh. “The right thing. I find it difficult to believe that keeping this from me was the right thing.”

He fell silent. “We won’t always understand the decisions of others but I know the only way he would have walked away from you is if he believed it was the best thing for you.”

Swallowing my emotions, I handed back the frame, unable to deal with the rising panic that I was going to burst into tears at any moment.

“Please, think about contacting Sebastian,” he added, and I nodded as I shoved the paper into my pocket even though I wasn’t sure I could go through with it.

I hadn’t even had a chance to confront my parents about it. And I didn’t know how I was going to do that.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I felt so lost. I wandered around the park for a while, sitting on the bench, watching the ducks like I usually did, but it gave me no peace. The paper burned in my pocket but I refused to take it out and contact the older brother I’d never met.

My phone started to ring. It was Sophie. I couldn’t bring myself to answer it so I held it in my hands. She had called once before already, but I hadn’t called her back.

A voicemail pinged. I listened to it.

“It’s me. Why haven’t you called me back? Are you okay? Please, call me back.”

I wanted to call her but I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it together. I let out a heavy emotional breath before I dialed my sister. It rang once and she answered it.

“Where have you been? You started to worry me when you didn’t return my phone call.”

My throat was thick with emotion and I was finding it difficult to answer her.

“Tracy?”

The concern in her voice brought all the emotions I had pent up to the surface and I took a shaky breath.

“Tracy, is everything okay?”

I tilted my face to the sky to try and rein in my tears so I could at least answer her.

“Tracy?”

“I’m okay,” I managed.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, taking note of the distress in my voice.

I let out a deep breath, barely keeping a handle on my emotional state. “I have some…stuff…I’m dealing with.”

It was the only explanation she was going to get at the moment.

“Tell me what’s happening.”

Usually she was the person I told everything to, but this time I couldn’t.

“I can’t. I need time to figure things…out.”

There were a few moments of silence.

“I’m going to come over and we can talk,” she insisted, but I shook my head. She was moving too fast and I wasn’t ready.

“I can’t.” My eyes burned and I could barely swallow.

“Tracy.”