Obsession Falls(96)

Max didn’t take it. He whined and shifted on his feet.

Hayden tossed the treat to the ground. “Your loss.” His eyes lifted to meet mine. “Walk.”

He turned and led Max down the bank. I had no choice but to follow.

“Where are we going?”

Hayden didn’t answer. Max walked beside him, glancing back at me. I wanted to reassure him that he’d be okay. But I had no idea what Hayden was planning to do.

The noise of the waterfall grew. I could see where the cliff began up ahead, the crumbling drop-off I’d seen from below on my first date with Josiah. I tried not to think about how high the waterfall had looked or what Hayden leading me and Max to the edge probably meant.

“Did you hit Marigold’s car today?” I wasn’t sure why I was asking that question, when I had so many others, but I just hoped he’d stop before he got to the drop-off.

He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“To get her out of the way. But is that really what you want to know?”

“Maybe this is a stupid question at this point, but has it been you all along?”

“That is a stupid question.”

“But why?”

He turned to face me. Max looked back and forth between the two of us. “You really don’t know, do you? You’re that self-centered, you don’t even know who I am.”

He’d always looked slightly familiar, but so did a lot of people in Tilikum.

“My first name is Jeffrey. Jeffrey Hayden Silva. I started going by my middle name after high school. Specifically, after I found out the sperm donor picked my first name.”

“You’re Jeffrey Silva?”

Max tried to come to me and he jerked the leash, making Max whimper. “I wasn’t allowed to use the Young name. Not that I ever wanted to.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Obviously.”

“No, I mean I didn’t know you existed. They never told me, so if you’re mad at me for not acknowledging you, it’s not my fault. I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t.”

“So this is all a big misunderstanding.”

“I haven’t misunderstood anything.”

“But why?” I wrapped my arms around myself, my stomach churning with fear. “Why do you hate me so much?”

“Another stupid question.”

“Is it because of Dad? That’s not—”

“Dad?” He practically spat the word. “In case you hadn’t noticed, he’s not my dad. Sperm donor at best, but never Dad.”

“Okay, so hate him. What do I have to do with it?”

His hands tightened on the leash. “Everything.”

“Why? What did I ever do to you?”

“Nothing!” He took a deep breath and smoothed his expression. “You did nothing. So of course nothing is your fault. After all, you’re the golden child.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You have no idea what it was like, growing up in the shadow of the perfect older sister. You didn’t even know I’d been born, that’s how insignificant I was. Your fucking father couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge my existence. Instead, he paraded you around town like a princess, right in front of me.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I waited to see if he’d keep talking. Maybe if he got everything out, he’d change his mind about whatever he’d brought us out here to do.

“Audrey Young, teenage superstar. Smiling at everyone in that goddamn cheerleading uniform, waving your pom poms. Standing on the stage with your piece of shit parents at every parade. You won every award, every ribbon, every trophy. The morons in that town worshiped you like royalty.”

“It didn’t mean anything.”

“You’re right about that. It didn’t mean shit. You were a big fish in a very tiny pond. Didn’t fare so well on your own, did you? Couldn’t hack it without Daddy’s influence smoothing the way for you.”

The truth in his words cut deep. I had been a big fish in a tiny pond and once I’d swam out to the ocean, I’d basically drowned.

“Growing up, I was so jealous,” he continued. “I’d ride my bike past your house, that fucking mansion you got to live in, and throw rocks at it. What made you so special that you got to live there?”

“It wasn’t all it seemed.”

“No? You weren’t living across town in a shack because your mom spent all her money on liquor.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“You were everywhere in that fucking town. Mocking me. Always in the newspaper for your pointless accomplishments. More popular than the athletes who actually played the games, and all you did was shake your ass on the sidelines. Even when you were in college, I couldn’t get away from you. The high school had your fucking picture on the wall next to your student of the year award. I had to walk by that fake smile every goddamn day.”

Max whined and tried to circle around him. He jerked on the leash and Max sat.

I clenched my teeth. Anger mixed with fear.

“But you know what? It was fine. Because eventually, you did leave. And people forgot. You wouldn’t believe how quickly they forgot you, Audrey. Because you were never special. It was all bullshit.”