Free Drowning to Breathe by A. L. Jackson

lives.”
    Both of us desperate to feel something good.
    I’d thought all I wanted was for that gorgeous girl to make me forget…just for a little while.
    Little did we know how our lives were getting ready to be ripped up and reshaped.
    “She and I have both been keeping enough secrets to sink a ship. This lands on both of us. She only just found out who I really am the night before I ran back to California the week before last…”
    We all knew how that ended.
    When I remembered the blow I’d received last night, my throat grew thick. “It was only last night I found out she was Delaney Rhoads.”
    My brow twisted with all the restraint it took to admit this aloud. “Found out Jennings was Kallie’s father in the same damn second.”
    “God,” he swore below his breath, rubbing his index finger back and forth over his top lip.
    “You can’t put any blame on Shea for this, Anthony. She did it because she was protecting her little girl. Trying to survive and live a normal life. I promise you, there was zero malicious intent behind it.”
    Questions took hold of the silence.
    Another shock of realization slammed my mind, and I finally muttered, “All of this can’t be a coincidence.”
    A heavy sigh blew from him, and he raked a flustered hand through his hair. “No, Baz, you’re right. It’s not a fucking coincidence.”
    My stomach churned with nausea, and I clenched my fists on the counter.
    Waiting.
    Feeling it coming—the need to tear something or someone apart.
    He looked me square in the face. “I had no idea who your girl was, Baz. But yesterday morning when we got the pics, I couldn’t shake the feeling she looked familiar. About halfway through the day, it finally dawned on me she was Delaney Rhoads. I was tied up in knots wondering if she was playing you…stringing you along as a way to get back into the business, wondering how in the hell I was going to break it to you because I knew how messed up you were over her.”
    “What?” I gripped my hair. “Fuck…no, Anthony. It’s not anything like that. She doesn’t want anyone to know who she is.”
    Relief slid across his features, but his words were filled with speculation. “Are you sure you really know this girl? You really trust her?”
    Anger surged at the insinuation, but I curbed it. Anthony was only looking out for the band. Looking out for me. I knew that well enough. Just like I knew Shea.
    “Yes,” I said without an ounce of hesitation.
    Anthony chewed at his lip.
    “Tell me.” I’d known him long enough to know when he was holding back.
    Regret radiated from him as he began to speak. “I first stumbled upon Charlie’s years ago, back when Angie and I first bought this house . Charlie was a cool guy, plus I was still looking for clients back then, so I made it a habit of going whenever I knew there would be a new band playing.”
    Clearly uncomfortable, he cleared his throat, sending a round of agitation curling through me.
    “This woman…she was always hanging out there with the bands. Gorgeous, but she gave off the vibe she was looking for someone to sink her claws into. At first I thought she was some kind of groupie. You know the type, desperate for any kind of attention, any kind of fame, even if it meant she was getting it from the small, unknown bands playing there. I think it was probably the third time I saw her when Charlie finally introduced her as his sister.”
    Shit.
    I rubbed my hand across my mouth as if it could wipe away the bitter taste.
    Shea’s mom.
    Someone I knew absolutely nothing about.
    Shea never talked about her. The mystery surrounding her another fucking secret.
    All I had were the hints and innuendos Shea had alluded to last night, and this story didn’t do anything to quell the flickers of hate igniting for a woman I’d never even met.
    Anthony continued, “There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of love lost between her and Charlie, but still, she and I chatted over the next couple times