Caleb pulls his phone out and begins to text the family.
Family meeting, today, 6pm. Brynna’s house. Mandatory.
***
“Hey, thanks for coming.” I kiss Stacy’s cheek as she and Isaac come inside my home. They are the last to arrive. “Do Luke’s parents have all the kids?”
Stacy nods as Isaac leads us into the living room.
My house is bursting at the seams.
Isaac and Stacy’s parents are all sitting at the dining room table, while all of the siblings are gathered in the living room. Luke and Natalie are sharing a chair while Jules and Nate and Mark and Sam are on the couch.
Will, Meg, Isaac and Stacy claim the remaining seats, and all eyes are on Caleb, Matt and myself.
Why do I suddenly feel so fucking guilty?
“So what’s up?” Will asks. “Where are Bryn’s parents and the girls?”
“My parents have the girls at home. It’s best if they don’t hear this.” The last few words are said with a whisper, and everyone exchanges curious looks.
“Are you okay?” Steven Montgomery asks, and I have to blink furiously to keep tears at bay.
Geez, this conversation is just starting. Cut it out with the water works already.
I nod and look to Matt and Caleb for guidance.
“You all know,” Matt begins and sighs, “that Brynna came home about a year ago rather abruptly.”
Isaac scrubs his hands over his face and swears under his breath. He knows the story, and has kept my secret for all this time.
“You knew?” Stacy asks him, her voice full of hurt. He sighs deeply and wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him, and kisses her head while whispering to her.
“It’s time you all know why,” I announce and offer a wobbly smile to Caleb and Matt. “And you should hear it from me.”
I swallow hard and look around the room at this beautiful group of people who have become my family and best friends.
“On Thanksgiving Day, just over a year ago, I was taking the girls to their father’s to spend a few days with him. Just before we got there, Jeff was murdered by members of the drug cartel that he was working undercover with, and as I pulled up to his house, they were leaving.”
There are mixed emotions from everyone in the room. Some gasp. Eyes widen. Mouths gape.
Nate’s hands ball into fists.
“I couldn’t identify any of them,” I continue and wring my hands together. “But, they don’t know that. I can’t testify against them in court, so I don’t qualify for the witness protection program, but they don’t know that either.”
“She was advised to leave town, and as long as she remained quiet and out of sight and out of mind, she should be safe,” Matt announces.
“And I have been,” I quickly assure them all. “The police in Chicago have kept their eyes and ears open, and for all I know, I’ve been forgotten.”
“So what’s going on now?” Luke asks, his voice hard.
“A few things have happened over the past few months to raise flags for us,” Caleb begins, speaking for the first time. “First, Matt received a call from a P.I. at the station, asking all kinds of nosy questions about the family.”
Matt nods and picks up where Caleb left off. “Then there was an employee at Isaac’s company who seemed…”
“Creepy as hell,” I finish for him. “He made comments about me being tied to a cop, and kept finding reasons to hit on me. Turns out he was just a creepy guy with a crush, but…”
“But I didn’t like it,” Caleb adds. “Then, the girls noticed someone poking around the house, looking in the mailbox up by the road after they got off the school bus one day.”
“Why are you telling us this now?” Jules asks. “We’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on with Brynna for months. So why now?”
“I’m sorry, guys,” I begin and close my eyes with a sigh. “I just didn’t want you all to worry and I figured the less you knew the less likely you could be a target, especially given how high profile some of you are.”
“But, our baby brother decided to grow a romantic side, and proposed to his girlfriend in a very public way last night,” Matt mutters and rubs his forehead with his hand. “It was on the news this morning, and I got a call from Chicago.”
“I was in the photos,” I add, and light bulbs go off above everyone’s heads.
“Are you in danger again?” Gail asks.
“We don’t know,” Caleb answers her. “But it’s only a matter of days before the images spread to papers and rag magazines, and as time progresses, chances improve that the wrong people will notice where Brynna is, and who she’s with.”
“Fuck,” Will mutters. “I’m sorry, guys.”
“You didn’t know,” I rush to assure him. “This is not your fault, Will.”
“We want you all to know so you can pay attention,” Matt informs everyone. “Keep your eyes open to anything that seems off. Someone’s already been asking around about the family, and we want to make sure that you all know what’s happening so you are sure to set your alarms and watch your backs. Whether we like it or not, we’re a high profile family.”
Suddenly, we notice that Gail is whispering feverishly at Steven, who is adamantly shaking his head.
“You have to tell them,” she insists, louder now. “They have the right to know. You can set their minds at ease, at least about this.”
“Mom?” Jules asks with a frown. “What’s going on?”
Steven stares at his wife for several long seconds and the tension is so thick in the room you could cut it with a knife.
“Dad.”
Isaac’s voice is calm but firm and Steven turns his gaze to him, and then to each of his children, one by one. His face is completely sober as he moves his eyes about the room and back to his wife who nods reassuringly.
Finally, he stands and moves next to Matt.
“I don’t really know how to say this,” he mutters, his eyes never leaving his wife. Finally, she stands and joins him, linking her hand with his and tilts her head to kiss his shoulder.
“You’re scaring me,” Jules whispers with wide eyes.
“Right after Caleb was born,” Gail begins and rubs her free hand up and down Steven’s arm, as though he’s cold. “Your father and I split.”
“What?” Matt exclaims.