Rachel Dyken - Toxic

She ran to the back of the room and plugged in her iPod then turned up the volume.

I chuckled. The room was way too big for us. I mean, it was huge and there were going to be five of us, but still it was nice. To not have to worry about anyone recognizing the walking miracle and famous duo that were Wes and Kiersten — or worse, recognizing me.

Not that it had happened in the last four years.

But I could never be too careful.

I self-consciously rubbed my hair, my dark-as-sin hair, and hated myself all over again as Saylor’s words replayed in my mind.

She’d said I’d be hotter as a blond.

Well, damn, if that didn’t make me want to chop off the Captain Jack Sparrow thing I had going on and go all natural.

Kiersten and Saylor were busy talking about something while Wes watched me.

“Creepy, dude.” I shook my head.

He shrugged.

And then the music changed.

My entire body seized up. As if someone had just told me to stop breathing at once and turn into a zombie.

“Oh my gosh! I used to love this song!” Kiersten all but shouted as she and Saylor started singing along.

“When you take my heart, I give you my soul, but baby, you screwed up and let me go! Whoa, Whoa, Whoa.” Kiersten belted it louder. “You let me go, go, go, baby, no no, whoa. I should have known things would get sticky when I wanted you to be with me and only me, but no, no, no.”

Wes’s eyebrows shot up as he sent me a knowing look.

Yeah, yeah, bastard. Thanks, caught that.

Saylor fell against Kiersten laughing when Kiersten started doing the exact choreography from the music video. I was almost tempted to join. But pretty sure that would give me away.

No man should know that choreography.

Well, that, and Wes would shit his pants. That was so not the way to tell people the truth. Just bust a move like a white guy who actually knew how to dance and break out into song.

Dark hair or light. It wouldn’t matter. They’d see right through my disguise. It always amazed me how much people only saw what they wanted. They saw tattoos and thought bad ass. They saw muscles and dark long hair and thought I was a total loser.

They had no flipping clue that I’d had straight A’s my entire life.

That until a starlet seduced me — I’d promised myself for marriage.

That at night I used to cry when my parents wouldn’t let me stay up late and write music.

Beer. Hell, I needed beer or something stronger than bottled water. But the joke was on me — because this was not the type of place to flash my ID.

Dark gritty bars with bartenders who didn’t even know their own names? Couldn’t care less.

Nice restaurants with a peppy college student as your waitress? Yeah. Not smart.

“She’s coming!” Kiersten hushed everyone and turned down the lights.

The door clicked open. High heels clamored against the floor as a figure was silhouetted in the doorway.

In perfect timing, we all jumped up and screamed in unison. “Surprise!”

The lights flared to life.

And I knew, in that moment, my life was officially over.

“Hi, son.” My dad had his arm wrapped around Lisa. Her cheeks were stained with a mixture of tears and black mascara. “I don’t know why I never thought to locate your ex-girlfriend first and track you that way. Oh…” He turned to Lisa and kissed her on her cheek. She tried to jerk away from his touch but he held her firm. “Happy Birthday, Mel.”

You can tell a lot just by reading the expression in a person’s eyes — and Gabe’s… it was the same expression a trapped animal gets before it’s shot in the head. His dad was the hunter — and Gabe was the deer. His time was up. And I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to feel sorry for him or horrified at the revelation. He was a stranger to me. A complete and total stranger. —Saylor

Gabe

“Let her go.” My nostrils flared as I stalked toward my dad, a man that, if I had it my way, was about to get thrown into Puget Sound and held under the dark murky water until he stopped fighting back. “Now.”

“What?” Dad’s face was indifferent. It always was. It was part of the reason I hated him. Because I got my talent to act — directly from him. One minute he was the happiest man in the world, the next, you’d think he was working for the mafia or high on drugs. “No hug?”

“Hell, no.” I spat. “Let her go.”

With a cruel smile, he pushed Lisa away into Kiersten’s waiting arms. Wes strode over and stood in front of the girls. At least I knew if there was a fight we’d win. My dad didn’t stand a chance.

Then again, he’d just sue the shit out of us if he survived and I wasn’t about to let my best friend go to prison for murder, so yeah. We were screwed.

“New tattoo?” Dad motioned to my neck.

Damn, but I felt every muscle strain in my body. Begging for a fight.

“Your mom misses you.”

I laughed and crossed my arms. “I’m sure she’s fine. After all, she has all the money she needs to be happy, right?”

His cold blue eyes narrowed in on me. He looked dirty, like he hadn’t slept in days. He smelled like he hadn’t seen a shower in weeks.

“Been camping in your car?” I mocked him. “Or did you have to sell that in order to pay your debts?”

“You think—” He smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets. “—that you’re in any position to toss insults around, son?”

“Don’t call me son,” I all but yelled.

“Oh but, why deny it? Especially since we’re going to be spending so much time together. I have everything worked out — long lost son finally comes home to family after four years of solitude!” His eyes pooled with tears.

Son of a bitch!

“Oh, yes, Miss Walters, it was such a happy reunion, having our little Ashton back.”

I reared back and punched him in the face.

He fell to the ground, cursing.

Wes came up behind me and grabbed my arms. I pulled against him trying to lunge for my dad.

Dad looked up at me through watery eyes, as blood dripped from his nose. “You’re stronger than you used to be.”

“I’ll kill you.”

“Do it.” He smirked. “I’ll still be smiling from the pit of hell.”

I lunged again, but Wes held me firm.

“After all…” Dad stood. “All I’ve ever wanted is the truth Isn’t that what they say? It sets you free?” He sniffed. “Isn’t that what you want, to be free? Finally free?”

“You’re insane,” I ground out, injecting as much hatred as I could into those two words.

“Tomorrow.” Dad handed me a piece of paper with his phone number on it. “We’ll talk about your return.”

“I’d rather die.”

Dad made his way toward the door then paused and turned. “Oh, I know that. You would never do it for me, son. But for Mel?” His eyes fell on Lisa. “Or how about Kimmy?”

With everything in me, I fought the arms banded around me like a vise. “I’ll kill you for this!” I screamed.

“Tomorrow,” Dad repeated and left.

I thrashed against Wes — until Lisa walked up and stood in front of me. “Just you and me, okay? It will be okay. I promise.” Her eyes pooled with tears. “Screw him, let them find out about me, I don’t care, just—” Wes released me into her arms as she hugged me. “I’m so sorry.”

“Me too, Mel.” I sighed. “Me too.”

We hugged for a few brief minutes before Wes cleared his throat behind us.

“Gabe?” Saylor spoke so softly I wanted to cry. “What’s going on?”

Without looking at her I answered, “My names not Gabe. It’s Ashton Parker Hyde.”

And I finally understood the expression of hearing a pin drop in a room. I might have just said I was Spiderman.

The truth really does set you free — but what they don’t tell you is the process hurts like hell. —Wes M.

Saylor

I felt my mouth drop open as the mask fell completely away from Gabe — or rather, Ashton’s — face. His eyes, those blue eyes, and his dark hair. Mortified, I wanted to cover my face with my hands. I’d told him he’d look better blond — because his natural color? A honey blond, that for years, people swore couldn’t even be copied… He was my generation’s version of the perfect Ken Doll. Everything about him was worshipped, revered as though he was some sort of god. It had been devastating when he abandoned the industry and fell off the face of the planet.

Girls full on wept for months.

There were reports that he’d died of a drug overdose, or worse yet, committed suicide after his famous girlfriend was killed in a tragic skiing accident.

All lies.

Every last one.

Princess.

My knees buckled beneath me as the lies swarmed around the room, stealing the oxygen my body so desperately needed.

“Hey.” Kiersten knelt down by my side and pulled me into her arms. I’d met her what? Three times? And I clung to her like she was my mom. Like she would protect me.

“Y-you aren’t cousins?” I pointed between him and Lisa, my stomach getting sicker. Funny, how I’d thought he and Kiersten had a thing. So was it Lisa all along?

Not only was he engaged to a fiancée who — surprise! — wasn’t dead. But the girl he’d been introducing as his cousin was—

“Holy crap!” Kiersten yelled in my left ear. “Lisa, you could have told me. I would have… understood.”

“I know.” Lisa shrugged. “I did it for Ashton, not me.”

Who was she?