Like cells dividing at a rapid pace, forming something from nothing, ten thousand pieces of a puzzle putting themselves together … I saw it.

All of it.

It wasn’t a coincidence that Rose was in Colorado. They’d been friends for years.

Friends.

That was why my dad was so quick to divorce Rory after she went to prison. So many things I never fully understood. They all started to come together.

“Reese!” Rory called just as I tore my gaze away from the nightmare in the shower and ran out of the house. As soon as I reached the driveway, Fisher pulled in on his motorcycle.

“Did you know?” I yelled.

He drove past me, parking his motorcycle in the garage.

I charged after him. “Did you know?” My hands balled at my sides.

Fisher pulled off his helmet. “What are you doing here?” He climbed off his bike and carried his helmet to the cabinet.

“Did. You. KNOW?”

“Jesus, Reese.” He turned, unzipping his jacket. “What the hell is going on?”

“Did you know that my mom is a lesbian? Gay. Homosexual. Are you understanding me now?” I shook my head over and over again, running my hands through my hair.

It wasn’t real. It wasn’t true.

I didn’t deserve that, not after everything I’d been through. What was God doing? He wasn’t supposed to give me more than I could handle. That was way more than I could handle.

Fisher slowed his movements, easing his arms out of his jacket and returning it to the cabinet next to his helmet. Fisher wasn’t tense like me. He wasn’t stunned, frozen in place.

No bugged-out eyes.

No jaw dropping to the ground.

Not a single sign that I was presenting him with new information.

“Did I know your mom and Rose are together? Yes.”

My anger kept my tears at bay, but just barely.

“How could you?”

“How could I what?” He rested his hands on his hips, staring me down like I had done something wrong.

“Not tell me!”

“Rory’s personal life is not mine to share.”

“Rory’s personal life? Are you kidding me? She’s my mom!”

“Your point?”

“I walked in on them. In the shower. My mom and her girlfriend. The friend who just happened to be in Colorado after having been a ‘client’ of hers in Nebraska. She cheated on my dad. That’s why he divorced her.”

“Is that why you’re losing your mind? Because you think your mom cheated on your dad? Or are you upset because Rory is a ‘lesbian, homosexual, gay?’ Because I’m not sure why you’re freaking the fuck out about this.”

“You should have told me.”