Legacy by M.A. Foster

August

_____________________________

Three years ago

Dylan

Jay was coming home. Marcus, Emerson, and Bass, decided to fly down to St. Thomas to pick her up. They’d asked us to come along, but Alex and Eva had grown attached at the lips—among other places. They were currently locked in the second spare bedroom and taking advantage of the empty house.

I decided to FaceTime Jade, needing to ask her something.

“I was thinking—”

“Uh-oh,” Jade teased before shoveling a spoonful of chocolate pudding into her mouth.

“Smartass.” I rolled my eyes. “How many of those things have you had today?”

“Don’t you dare judge me,” she chided playfully. “I’m carrying a tiny person in my belly, and she wants chocolate pudding. Now tell me what you were thinking.”

Oh yeah.“Do you have everything you need for Willow? She’s gonna be here before we know it. I have money, so if there’s anything you need…”

“I have what I need for now. My coworkers threw me a little baby shower at work. Thank you for asking. I love you for caring about my baby girl.”

“She’s a part of you, Jade, so I love her, too.”

She pushed out her bottom lip in a fake pout. “How much longer before I get to see you?”

“I’ll be home next weekend, so try not to go into labor until then.”

“You’re cutting it close, but as of my last doctor appointment, I’m not even dilated.”

“Good. Keep her in there. Love you.”

“I love you, too, and I’ll do my best,” she said with a laugh. “I gotta get back to work. Call me later.”

* * *

Something was wrong. I felt it deep in my gut. It didn’t escape my notice that Emerson was always leaving the room to talk on the phone or the looks she gave Marcus after those calls. I wondered if it was something to do with his medical condition, or if it was something else entirely. Dread sat heavily at the bottom of my stomach as I waited for whatever bomb was about to be dropped.

I hadn’t talked to Jade in a few days, and I was getting a little worried. I’d called her a several times, but my calls went straight to voice mail. I wondered if maybe she’d misplaced her phone and it died—she was notorious for doing that back when we were a couple. Or maybe it was worse. Had she gone into labor and wasn’t able to call me?

My only distraction was Alex and Jay. Alex was fascinated with her from the moment I introduced them. She bought the story that Alex was my friend—which he was—and she didn’t seem to mind the flirtation between him and her best friend. Marcus and Emerson hovered a little at first, and couldn’t say I blamed them, but everything was just how it should be. Marcus was dying, and for just a short while, he had both of his children under his roof. He even managed to wrangle Jay back into the studio a few times. And that was how Alex bonded with his little sister.

* * *

Afew days later, that gut feeling something was wrong was confirmed when Emerson walked into my room and sat down on the edge of my bed as dawn’s early morning light pierced through the windows.

“Hey,” she whispered. “There’s some stuff going on at home, and your dad needs us.”

“What’s going on?” I threw the covers back, hopped out of bed, and moved over to the dresser. “Is everyone okay?”

“Dylan, I need you to listen to me.” She spoke calmly, and I stopped to meet her gaze. “Everyone is fine,” she continued, “but something happened. Your dad will explain everything when we get there.”

After packing up my things, I headed downstairs with Alex trailing behind me. Marcus, Emerson, and Bass were waiting in the foyer.

“Where’s Jay?”

“She’s not coming,” Emerson replied, shooting a pointed look at Marcus. “She’ll be fine here with Grace. Liam and Cam will be over later.”

A car service drove us to the airport, and we all boarded Marcus’s private plane. We had a five-hour flight ahead of us, but there was no way I was going to be able to sleep. Before takeoff, I pulled out my phone and texted Jade: I’m on my way home. See you soon.

* * *

On the way to my parents’, I had them drop me off so I could drive my truck over. I pulled into the driveway behind the rental Bass had picked up at the airport. My dad was on the porch leaning against one of the pillars.

I climbed out of my truck and stopped in front of him. “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you what happened,” he yelled so loud that I stumbled back a few steps, my eyes wide in surprise. I’d never in my life seen my dad this mad. “Nine months ago, you took your fifteen-year-old brother and his friend to one of your college parties.”

My brows pinched in confusion. That was what he was pissed about? This wasn’t making any sense.

“Dad, that was last year. Why—”

“I know exactly when it was, Dylan. While you were off drinking with your friends, do you know what your brother was doing?”

I jerked a shoulder. “He had a few drinks, Dad, but he and Zach were fine. I—”

My dad grabbed me by the collar of my T-shirt and yanked me to his chest, hooking the other arm around my back, pressing his forehead to mine as his body shook. It was like he didn’t know whether to hit me or hug me. But either way, he was furious with me. “I expected better from you.”

My jaw clenched, and I closed my eyes. I hated the way he was looking at me. Angry. Disgusted.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He released his grip on my shirt, and I took a step back. My dad locked his hands behind his head, then lifted his chin to the sky and blew out a breath. “Do you know a girl named Jaden Price?”

My brows pinched in confusion, and dread settled over me like a heavy blanket. I wanted to tell him yes. That it was complicated. That she was the woman who had my stomach twisted in knots. That even with all her half-truths, I still loved her. But I couldn’t speak over the ball of anxiety lodged in my throat. Because the real question was how did he know Jaden Price?

When I didn’t answer, he continued. “Cole had sex with her at your party.”

Time stopped. Everything I thought I knew came to an abrupt halt, yet the world around me kept spinning completely out of control. My heart thundered in my chest, and my pulse pounded in my ears.

He lowered his gaze back to me.

“She got pregnant.”

No.The world suddenly stopped spinning and tilted on its side. This isn’t happening.Cole is the father of Jade’s baby? All this time, my sixteen-year-old brother?

Jade had said she didn’t remember what he looked like, but Cole was my brother. We looked just alike, for fuck’s sake. How did she not see the resemblance? Had she known all along? Was that why she didn’t want to meet my family? Was that what she wanted to tell me?

The overwhelming pressure in my chest felt like I’d been pinned under a mountain of cinderblocks. My throat was so tight I could barely draw a breath.

“I’m sorry,” I wheezed.

I didn’t know who I was apologizing to. My dad. Cole. Jade.

I couldn’t breathe.

“I wanted to kick his ass into next year for being so goddamn irresponsible.” My dad heaved a deep sigh and shook his head. “He’s just a kid.” His voice broke, and tears spilled down the sides of his face.

I swiped a hand over my face, feeling the tears. I hadn’t realized I was crying.

“He’s just a kid and…” His voice faded in and out as I fought my emotions. “…raise this baby without her mother.”

I blinked. “What?” I choked out.

“She died, Dylan,” he cried. “Jaden died.”

* * *

Stretched out on the air mattress, I stared into the darkness. My furniture had been delivered while I was gone, but the air mattress was the last place I held Jade in my arms. The last place I made love to her. The tears had stopped hours ago. My throat was raw, and now I had a pounding headache.

When my dad told me Jade died, everything inside me shut down. I moved on autopilot as he led me inside the house and introduced me to my niece, Willow. Cole’s baby. Jade’s baby.

I went through the motions, but it was like I wasn’t really present. I was in shock. I didn’t see Cole. My mom said he’d locked himself in his room. My head was a mess, and my heart couldn’t take any more.

There was a tiny flicker of hope that maybe this whole fucked-up situation was just a coincidence and my Jade was still alive. Hope. It was all I had, and I clung to it as I drove to Jade’s apartment and knocked on her door. Hope had my heart slamming in my chest as I waited with bated breath for someone—anyone—to open the door.

But no one did.

She was gone.

Thunder rolled angrily through the sky, and flashes of lightning lit up the inside of my dark apartment. The rain was coming down in sheets. Why is there always a thunderstorm after someone dies?

I rolled to my side, sinking my face into the pillow and inhaling deeply, catching the faint smell of Jade’s strawberry shampoo. I blinked into the darkness. My eyes were strained and swollen.

The sound of the buzzer from the front door echoed through my apartment. The apartment across the hall was vacant, so I knew whoever it was out there was here for me.

Rolling off the mattress, I dragged myself to the door and pressed the button. “Yeah?”

“Let me in, Dylan,” Marcus called out through the intercom.

What the hell is he doing here?

I pressed the button to let him in. Flicking the locks, I opened the door and stuck my head out into the hall to see Marcus charging toward me.

“It’s just me,” he called as he closed the distance until he was standing in my doorway.

He was soaked, and his face was pale and etched with worry. His eyes moved over my face, and he shook his head. “Your dad called me the day of the accident. He asked me not to say anything until they had everything sorted out. When he mentioned her name today, I knew it sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Emerson wanted to fly home tonight, but something wasn’t sitting right with me, so we went to your grandparents’. I couldn’t sleep. And then it hit me. I promised I’d always be here for you.” He reached out, wrapping his arms around me, and I broke. “I’m so sorry, Dylan.”