"...I don't see rehab having any sort of effect on Elija at this point, if we're being rational. I say it's best you leave him out in the street." Bill says from across the table. Apparently he had been staying my my mother and father for a few days now, something about quitting his profession in London and moving back to New York.

My father shoots daggers across the table towards Bill with his eyes. "Bill." My father warns.

"Did I say anything wrong?" He feigns shock and I can't help but find this conversation amusing. "I mean, I don't mean to point out the obvious but we can clearly tell who the disappointment here is." Bill turns to look at me and I can't help but chuckle.

"Clearly." I mock. "How's economics class treating you now a days?"

"That's enough." My mother says, her voice firm. "You two don't have to like each other but when you're in my home, you've got to respect everyone else. This bickering has gone on way too long, you both need to grow the hell up." She stands up from her place at the table and walks off, her heels fading away.

My father leans across the table, an angry look on his face. "You need change that narrative in your head about this family, learn some damn manners and get a god dammed job." He grits whilst pointing at Bill.

"Sorry your new family is so screwed up. But that's probably karma, huh?" I couldn't agree more.

"I hope you have somewhere else to spend the night because you won't be spending it here after disrespecting my wife." My father grits, standing up and walking off probably to find out where my mother ran off to. Without another word, I stand up.

"You must be so pleased with yourself." This stops me and I turn around to watch Bill stand up, finishing off his wine. "You got the better end of the stick and you're not even related to the guy."

"Should this be a concern of mine?"

"You stole my fucking life!" Bill stalks towards me but I don't move. "Everything you are, I should've been. Shit, I'm better than both you and Elija combined!"

"Well then I guess that's your issue," I start. "You try way too hard." Already growing bored of this conversation, I begin to walk off again but I stop when Bill speaks again.

"No wonder you and Beau didn't work out."

He held a smug expression on his face when I turn. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like." How the fuck would he know? "She told me." It's almost like he read my mind.

"Told you what exactly?" Why am I entertaining this? He's obviously only saying this to piss me off. Beau and Bill haven't talked in three years, or so that's how it seemed to me.

Bill lets out a dry laugh, almost sounded forced. "Pretty much just everything," He shrugs, walking past me towards the front door and yet I follow behind until we're outside on the driveway. "But hey, she's talking about you. You know what that means?" He takes my silence as an answer. "Means she's done with you and is more than ready to move on."

"Funny, we hooked up almost immediately after you two broke up." I bite but Bill only laughs. He pats my arm and walks towards his car, opens the door but waits and looks at me.

"Lucky for me, Beau and I got years worth of history you know? Sooner or later, she's going to let me in and you'll be nothing but a memory. Just a bump on the road and then we'll act like nothing happened, like you never existed. I doubt she'd want to come to family reunions knowing you'd be there." Bill mocks.

I doubt any of this is true. Maybe Beau might've forgiven him for whatever reason, but I doubt she'd tell him our business just because she wanted to be spiteful. Sure, I might've hurt her but if this was true, this was a side of her I've never known.

"Don't feel so bad though, you've got the big company even though it isn't rightfully yours." Bill continues. "I'm sure you'll find some whore that accommodates your taste. But Beau was never that, you didn't deserve her and quite frankly, you never will."

Bill finally gets in his car and speeds off and for the first time I have nothing to say. I stood there, still finding it hard to believe everything he just said. Could Beau really be that angry with me that she'd run to her ex-boyfriend and complain about me?

No, she wouldn't. Bill is only trying to mess with me. Her pride is strong and running to him is something she wouldn't do.

However, the only thing I could do is call the only person that can seem to help me with this problem.

—

"...Now I know why Beau felt like you were stalking her, you just show up out of nowhere, huh?" Cami says as I take a seat on the chair. "How'd you even get my info? Was I not threatening enough?"

"No you were very clear," I dismiss her and she rolls her eyes as she takes a sip of her coffee and looks out the window. She was staring across the street towards a playground, keeping eyes on a black haired little girl and a man. More than likely Brooklyn and her father.

"Who am I kidding? I'm anything but threatening. I don't have a mean bone in me when I should and that's probably why my own daughter doesn't like me." I turn to her, a hint of sadness in her eyes and I don't know why she's telling me this.

Am I supposed to console her? What do I even say to that? What the hell was I here for again? She turns away and shakes her head. "What did you want to meet me for?"

"I thought about what you said the other day and trust me, I don't mean to bring it up but I've sort of got a problem."

Cami nods along. "Okay, what does that have to do with me?"

"Absolutely nothing, but I wanted to come to you for—" I trail off. Help? Advice?

"Insight? You want me to tell you where Beau is, what she's doing, where she lives and all that?"

"Not exactly," I say. "You see, my step-brother Bill—William, said something to me that really made me question a few things."

"Oh that's right, William. You know what's still crazy to me? The fact that her boyfriend ended up being related to her ex." She says with a hint of a laugh. "Such a big city and yet, what a small world." I wanted to correct her on her wrong statement but I let it go.

"Clearly she tells you everything," I point out and she shrugs with a nod of her head. "Which leads me to question whether she's telling someone else?"

"Who? William?" There's a small hint of a smirk. "Harry, did you call me here to discuss your jealousy?" It appears I have come to the wrong person. "Look, Beau doesn't have any friends in the city. At least not after...everything that happened to her. If you ask me, I don't understand what the hell she's still doing here. But I doubt she'd be going around telling people her business, let alone her ex-boyfriend."

"Surely you must know if she's in contact with him again?"

Cami nods her head while taking a drink of her coffee. "It's not exactly in my best interest to know who my sister is dating or talking to. I don't know exactly what happened between her and William or how they left things, but I don't think she'd date him again after knowing you share the same father." Again, incorrect.

I knew I would have to take Cami's word on this, I wasn't about to go pestering into Beau's life once again just to ask if she was seeing William. "Mom, did you see how high up on the swing I went?" Brooklyn's voice drags me out of my thoughts as she joins Cami's side. She then turns in my direction when Cami ignores her. "Oh, hi Harry." She waves at me.

"Hello." I reply back as I stand from my seat. "Thanks for...whatever this was." I say to Cami who stands up as well.

"Yeah, this was weird. Let's definitely not do this again." The man from earlier joins us and turns to Cami.

"I need to know that you'll be bringing her down next week, I've got a thing at work that she needs to attend with me." He says to her.

"Ask me again next week, your time with her is over today." When I look down, Brooklyn is standing off to the side looking at another father holding his kid, all while her parents bickered behind her.

"So...how's school?" I ask, standing next to her. She shrugs, not looking at me.

"I wouldn't know, I'm home schooled." She responds. They never even gave her a chance. She seems to continue to be distracted by the father and his child.

"What are you looking at?" I ask.

She finally looks away and turns to me. "Nothing." She shrugs.

I don't know why, but I felt some type of sadness for this kid. It could be the way I completely relate to her in the sense of having shit parents at such a young age, or the fact that it reminded me of Beau and how she told me how she went through the same thing when she was younger. Brooklyn really was a tiny version of Beau and I can't imagine the way she must've felt then.

"You know, my parents weren't that great either." I say as she tilts her head back to look at me.

"No?"

I hum. "They weren't that nice to each other." That's an understatement.

"Oh."

"It probably seems like a lifetime away for you right now, but you won't always have to deal with this. No ones parents are born knowing how to take care of a kid but you do learn along the way." I say and her brown eyes feel like they're burning holes in mine. "Your parents are probably going to make a lot of mistakes before they get it right, but the only thing that matters is that they try."

"Do you have kids?" She asks.

I shake my head. "No."

"Do you want them?"

A sudden sensation of tightening surrounds my throat and I clear it as I think of what to say. "I think to want is selfish. Having a kid is a selfless act that you should only go after when you're prepared to give your everything to them."

"That makes sense." She nods her tiny head. "Do you think you'll ever be selfless enough?"

"I don't think so."

Brooklyn nods. "Oh."

"I can't."

"Well that's okay, at least you're honest."

Cami finally walks over to us and adjusts her purse on her shoulder. "Please tell me you've got it settled." She asks me and I nod, retrieving a business card from my pocket.

"It's done, you're top priority."

"Thank you. I don't know how much more of that I can take."

"It's no problem. I don't know how long I'll be here but if you need anything else, you know where to reach me." Just as I was about to walk away, Brooklyn walks towards me and wraps her arms around my waist in a hug. I don't know how to react as she pulls away, all I can do is nod at them both and walk away.