Страница 35 из 89
bite my lip. “If that’s really the way you feel …” He
looks away. “… then I’ll move out.”
Dad’s head snaps up.
“We’ll live together,” tell him, tears trickling down
my cheeks. “I’ll leave.”
“Holly!” He stares at me, dumbfounded.
“I don’t want to,” say, my voice cracking. “But if
you make me choose …”
He stares at me, then suddenly stands up.
back
away, but to my surprise, he moves over to the counter
and clicks button on the answering machine.
“Jack? Are you there? Jack?”
Dad turns to me. frown, confused, then glance at
Megan, who looks away.
“Jack? Jack, answer the goddamn phone! How dare
you send your daughter to me, Jack? We had an agreement.
She has nothing to do with me. Do you have any idea what
this could do to my career? To my relationship? My life?
knew this was mistake. should never have trusted you.
should never have had anything to do with you!”
The message clicks abruptly and there is silence.
204
Rosie
Oh, God!
can’t bear this. Can’t bear to hear that
awful message again—to stand here behind the half-open
kitchen door, watching what it’s doing to Jack—to Holly—
but
can’t move either, can’t go back in, can’t
speak
Andy’s hand finds mine.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that, sweetheart,” Jack
sighs. “But it’s for your own good.”
Holly stares at him. “What’s going on? Who was
that?”
He sighs again. “Holly …”
“What!”
“Holly, I’m not angry, just want to know the truth.”
“What truth, Dad? What are you talking about?”
He shakes his head. “We could’ve worked it out, we
could’ve handled this together, if you’d just come to me,
trusted me. We’ve always trusted each other, haven’t we?”
He looks at her, his eyes sad, tired. “It was for the best.
Everything
did,
thought it was all for the best.” He
squeezes her hand. “How did you find out, Holls?”
She stares at him. “About what?”
He presses his eyes shut, screws them so tight it
looks painful. “About Katharine.”
Oh, God
205
She looks at him blankly.
“I know Holly,” he sighs. “I know you went to New
York to find Katharine.” He opens his eyes, his features
strained. “To find your mother.”
Holly’s mouth drops open as she stares at him, her
face deathly pale.
The frustration in Jack’s eyes slowly melts into fear.
“Didn’t you?”
“Daddy …” She hesitates, her eyes wide. “My mother
is dead …”
Oh, God!
“But—but you went to New York—” Jack insists.
“You went to find her
you found her! …”
Holly shakes her head slowly, her lips trembling.
“My mother is dead,” she repeats faintly. “You told me,
Daddy. Mommy died. She died when was born …” She
stares at him, swallows. “Didn’t she?”
He just stares at her, horror-struck.
“Daddy?” Holly whispers. “Is my mom alive?”
close my eyes, praying the ground will just
swallow me up.
“But then how
why
don’t understand …” He
falters. “If you didn’t find her—if you didn’t go looking for
her …”
“It was me,”
tiny voice mumbles. I’m startled to
recognize it as my own. The door swings open and my
cheeks burn as everyone turns.
can’t breathe, can’t
believe just said that, but couldn’t watch any longer.
Jack stares at me. “I’m sorry—what?”
206
“I—I went to New York—I …” trail off, the words
stuck in my throat as my eyes lock on to Holly’s, so scared,
so confused. Oh, God
My heart races and start to panic.
can’t— can’t do this!
“Honey.” Megan smiles kindly. “Look, think you’re
bit confused—could you just give us minute?”
“Of course,”
breathe, flooded with relief. “Of
course, I’m sorry, I—”
“Actually,” Andy says gently, blocking my exit, “you
all need to hear this.” He meets my gaze evenly. “It’s really
important.”
stare at him desperately.
“Go on, Rose,” he whispers, squeezing my hand
encouragingly. “You can do this.”
swallow hard and force myself to turn back round.
“I—” begin, but the words die on my lips as meet
Jack’s gaze. He looks so sad, so lost. And I’m about to make
everything million times worse
Andy squeezes my hand again.
squeeze back—
hard—then take deep breath, my knees trembling.
“It was me,” tell them. “I went to New York and
found Katharine Sinclare …” hesitate, search Jack’s big
green eyes. “It’s me she’s talking about in her message.”
He frowns, rubs his brow. “I—I don’t understand.”
“I’m her daughter,”
say quickly, the words
tumbling out clumsily. His eyes widen, and look away,
burning beneath his gaze. “I’m—I’m your daughter.”
207
Holly
The silence is deafening. I’m not sure I’m even
breathing. stare at her, this strange girl standing in my
kitchen, wearing my clothes, hardly daring to move.
What?
glance at Dad, who’s just staring at her,
frozen to the spot. His daughter? My sister? have sister?
Dad runs
hand through his hair, and suddenly
see her there, in his black hair, his green eyes. His
daughter My mind frantically tries to co
dots
We share birthday—an eighteenth birthday—oh,
my God, we’re twins! Which means
we share mother—
mother who’s alive—she’s alive! My heart thumps
against my chest. After all these years, my mom’s alive—
she’s in New York
“Wow!”
gasp, breaking the silence, excitement
bubbling inside me like champagne. cross the room to
get
better look at her, take her hands in mine—my
sister—my twin! “Wow, wow, wow! This is
this is
amazing!”
beam at her but she just gazes at me uncertainly,
then glances at Dad. Why didn’t he tell me? So many
secrets—my mom, my twin sister It’s like The Parent Trap
208
“I don’t understand,” Dad mutters quietly, clearing
his throat. “How
how
Katharine is your mother …?”
She nods. “I was born at St. A
Maybridge, the night of January the fifth, eighteen years
ago,” she begins, speaking quickly but clearly—as though
she’s rehearsed this. “I was premature—”
“Daddy—we’re twins!” interrupt, laughing at his
apparent confusion.
Rosie stares at me then, faltering midflow. She lets
go of my hands and sinks into chair, her face draining of
color.
“I was born prematurely,” she continues, clearing
her throat and staring at the table. “To Katharine
Sinclare—”
“We were,”
correct her, smiling. She closes her
eyes.
“And rushed to the Special Care Baby Unit.”
cold chill shivers through me—oh, God, is she
sick? Did they think she’d died—is that how we were
separated? watch her intently, twirling my finger in my
hair.
“Then”—she takes
deep breath—“there was—
there was mix- up at the Unit,” she continues, glancing at me.
hardly dare breathe.
“I was brought back to
different mother. Not
Katharine.” She glances at Dad. “This other woman,
Trudie, she brought me up—I thought all my life she was