Free Forever Starts Tomorrow by Ellen Wolf Page A

reaction.
    ‘She mentioned your stepbrother.’ There, she'd said it. The image of the boy in the photograph had haunted her through a sleepless night until she decided to confront Scott. The issue deserved her attention, however hard it might be to talk to Scott.
    ‘She is lying, Mel.’ That was the type of reaction she expected the least—the icy detachment, and four short words cutting the silence like the blade of a knife. Scott had already made up his mind about the boy.
    ‘How do you know?’ she pressed, aware that she might well be adding a nail to the coffin of their relationship in doing so. Still, she had to try.
    ‘How do you know it’s a lie?’ Melanie repeated, as he watched her, his dark eyes thunderous. ‘She didn’t strike me as a nice person; I will definitely give you that. And yes, I think she wants to extort money from you. But I have seen the photograph and he does look a lot like you!’ Scott had shown her numerous photographs from his adolescence, mostly cheerful snapshots of biking, shooting hoops, and roughhousing with his uncle.
    ‘You shouldn’t have even looked at this piece of garbage, Mel.’ Finally, his façade shattered, and he rose to his feet, agitated. ‘That is exactly what she’s praying for. Probably went through a ton of pictures searching for a kid that would look like me. Can’t be that difficult, for God’s sake!’
    ‘Are you serious?’ She blinked, taken aback by his explosive reaction. ‘Did you even look at it at all? There are similarities, and then there are real similarities, Scott. The boy could be your carbon copy.’
    ‘I didn’t waste my time.’ He walked over to the patio door, glancing outside, somber. He seemed like a stranger, and she asked herself if it was a wise decision to come and meddle in his private affairs. Was it going to ruin any chances of reconciliation?
    But she didn’t regret it, even if it meant he’d cut her off for good. Would she really want to be with a man who could coldheartedly dismiss a boy whose only fault was to be his half brother? The answer was a definite no.
    ‘Well, you should have.’ Melanie reached in her bag and pulled out the photograph. She got to her feet and walked over to Scott, demanding to be noticed. ‘Here, take a look now. Or is it really too much to ask for, Scott?’
    Challenge was good. She knew Scott well enough to know that he’d rise to it, if only to prove he wasn’t weak.
    He took it, his fingers careful not to brush her skin. She watched him look at it for a second. She didn’t dare to guess what he must have been thinking.
    ‘Here, take it back.’ He handed it back to her, his voice brusque. ‘Happy now? He does look like me, which doesn’t mean anything. Could be photoshopped. Have you thought about that, Melanie?’
    ‘It could.’ There was no doubt about that. It could well be that the whole story was fabricated and that Dolores wanted money, giving nothing in return. But somehow, she didn’t think so. The important thing was to convince Scott to give it a try.
    ‘It’s very easy to check.’ She shrugged, the nonchalant gesture her defense. ‘Dolores gave me the address of the boy’s family. All it takes is to go there and see for yourself. Then you’ll have your answer.’
    ‘What makes you think that I even want to have an answer?’ He didn’t even attempt to hide his anger. ‘Maybe I don’t want to hear any of that, Mel. Did you ever think about it like that? Maybe I'm not interested in my father’s kid, after he dropped us like hot potatoes and never looked back. Would it be so unreasonable of me?’
    He was hurting. Melanie could feel it in the heat radiating from his frame, the tenseness of his jaw and fire in his eyes a testament to the turmoil inside him. The knowledge of his hurt gave her courage she otherwise wouldn’t have.
    ‘No, it wouldn’t.’ She walked up to him, stopping only inches in front of his folded arms. ‘You have every right to be