Oh she knew about him alright. Zoe was well aware of her muddled bloodline. As was the majority of Blue Skies.
Her mother couldn't help but brag about how she never had to work again now that she had a rich baby daddy. Not that she spent the money wisely. If her mother ever decided to get a job then they would have been fine, but she was determined to stretch out her 'free ride' as long as she could, and the occasional shitty boyfriend never had much to contribute either. When she was younger she remembers her mother affectionately calling her 'her little money maker'.
Around that age Zoe was still bright eyed and full of hope. She used to dream about her rich father coming down to reclaim her and her mom, saving them from the trailer park and magically transporting them into the lap of luxury. She imagined big fancy dinners, a huge Christmas tree every year with lots of presents, and her parents coming in every night to tuck her in. She took inspiration from every princess-based book she could find.
Unfortunately Blue Skies was never a nurturing place for the hopeful. Everyone things that they're going to be the one to get out. Even her mother once had big plans, judging from the books holding up the coffee table she wanted to be a doctor, or a nurse, or some other medical shit once. Not that she'll ever talk about it. No one talks about their dead dreams here, and no one brings them up. That's too cruel. Even for Bullworth.
Even so she believed. The most generous thing her mother ever did for her was give her her fathers last name. Hoping that it might be that little extra pull to finally get somebody out of the vortex of shit which was their lives. The other kids used to tease her for it, but after she made Duncan eat a cockroach they stopped only using it in a playful manor then on.
Zoe was a smart girl. She did well enough in school, hoping to one day please the father who was never come back for her. It wasn't until she was eleven that her hopes were shattered completely. She rode her bike up to Old Bullworth Vale in her cleanest clothes to avoid drawing too much attention. It took a while to figure out his address, and even after she never planned to actually knock. She just liked to ride by and catch glimpses of the man her mother was so fond of if she was lucky, but today was different.
It was a warm mid-summers day. She was exhausted and sweating slightly, but she couldn't help herself. The Taylor household seemed to have been empty all month and she was starting to wonder if he moved out. Just as she was about to reach the gate a stretch limousine passed her, turning into the driveway. She stopped and peeked from behind their garden wall as the car stopped. First a servant came out and began to unpack the car, from where she could see it looked like vacation supplies. Then the driver stepped out to open the back side door. First stepped out her dad. She smiled as she saw him. She had his hair and his eyes. She always figured she looked like her dad, considering she looked almost nothing like her mom.
Then the other two stepped out. An older woman with pretty brunette hair. His wife or his girlfriend? Well, that was fine. Her mom probably wouldn't fit in at all the balls she had read about, and what lady didn't want a daughter? It wasn't until he stepped out that her smile dropped. He had stolen her fathers looks! Her looks! It was like looking into another reality. The boy smiled at the woman before all three went inside. Zoe just turned and slid her back down the wall. She wasn't sure for how long she sat there, but she knew it was colder when she left and the next day she had a pretty bad sunburn.
She asked around about him. The boy. She learned his name, that he got boxing lessons, everything she could. This boy had taken her place. It suddenly all made sense why she lived here. She wasn't needed. Her father had her opposite, the mirror version of herself. Of course he was never going to come for her! He had him. The son of a rich lady. She cried for about three days.
By the time Zoe got to high school she had simply stopped caring. She was numb to her lineage. Lots of kids in Blue Skies weren't wanted. It was something they learn to deal with. She had accepted that her chances of leaving Blue Skies were slim to none, but all she knew if that she at least wasn't going to be like her mom. She was going to get her high school degree and a job, make a life for herself. If the stars aligned then maybe college would be on the table, but she doubted it. She just knew that she wasn't going to get pregnant solely to siphon some rich bastards money away. She was going to stand on her own and if she had kids she was going to give them more than just a name to help get them out to this godforsaken town.
Over time Zoe realized that the stars must fucking hate her. That there just had to be some overbearing force of evil whose job it is to specifically fuck over Blue Skies kids. Her childhood companions each dropped out for their own reasons, too lazy, too stupid, too weak, to mentally unstable, but she was going to make it. Until that asshole Burton had to lay his eyes on her. She could handle the staring. Bullworth was full of creeps. The slight touches grossed her out, but she figured his real targets would be the cheerleaders he was always with. It wasn't until Burton cornered her in the locker room that she snapped. They were alone and she just finished changing when he made himself known. She started to shout at him to get the fuck out when he cornered her. All he ended up doing was massage her breasts, but his full intentions were clear. She managed to knee him in his crotch and run out, but it was enough to shake her. She was so out of it she actually expected Bullworth to deal out justice. Once conversation turned screaming match with the principal. Apparently she had no support to her claims and the only thing they had any proof of was her 'assaulting' a teacher. She was out on her ass that night.
She didn't even try the police after that. She felt numb, empty. She took what little shit she had and headed home. She tuned out whatever her mother said. For the first time in forever she had no fight left in her. There wasn't anything to hold back because there was nothing. She tried too hard and the universe knocked her back even harder. In a weird way, that night as her mom called her a slut, she never felt closer to her. There was a sense of understanding that washed over her. For a second she thought she saw him outside the window, but was never sure.
She didn't leave her bed for the next few weeks, except to pee and eat some stale off brand frootloops from the 'family sized' box she kept in her room. After a month Edgar finally visited. It was just a matter of time, he was the pack leader around here. His goal was never to leave Bullworth, but to make sure the rest of the Blue Skies kids got decent jobs and didn't become drunks or meth heads. That in mind Zoe considered that he was more of a dad than Mr. Taylor ever was.
"Hey Taylor. You enjoying your mansion too much to come speak to us commoners?"
"Suck a dick Ed." His smile fell as he went to sit on her mattress. Zoe just buried her head farther into the sheets.
"Listen, you did good kid. You got farther than the rest of us slackers ever did. I can get you a job at the factory considering everything. You just have to come out of this room first."
"You heard what happened." It wasn't a question. Edgar knew everything in this town. In a way he was worse than Christy.
"Yeah, I did, but I also heard you put up a good fight. No harm no foul, right? Just come down to the factory. Where your family can protect you." He patted her leg getting up. Those words would have ignited a spark in her a week ago. She would have been in his face about how she didn't need anyones protection and how there was a HUGE foul, but it just wasn't in her anymore.
"If it makes you feel any better I hear Burton won't be around for a little while. Someone knocked him around pretty bad. I think it might have been one of those preppy kids 'cause the bucktooth one was moaning about how the prep and jock alliance went down the drain while picking up some eggs at Yum Yum market."
That perked her ears. "He's not going to be around?"
"Yeah must have been pretty bad. Heard he was sent to the hospital."
"I hope the bastard dies."
"Don't we all. Now I got you an interview on Monday at the factory. I say interview, but the job's a sure thing. Just come to at least check it out ok? If Clint or Henry or whatever he's calling himself now can keep getting hired I'm sure you can take a little time. Just get out and do something ok? It's not good to just lay there and dwell in your own shit."
"Yeah yeah, I know. I'll think about it."
"You better." He left after that. Leaving her with her thoughts and this new information. For the past couple years all she thought about was how useless family was. How it was over-romanticized bullshit. You needed to stand on your own two feet and walk if you wanted to get anywhere. There was no point in helping anyone else up or expecting anyone to help you up.
She still believed that to a degree, but somewhere in her head a voice was telling her that for once her mothers gift of her fathers name actually paid off for something. She still didn't need a brother, a mother, or a father, but laying here wasn't going to prove anything. Burton was in the hospital, but he had to know why, and if she was wrong then he was probably there for a different reason. Still he had to know that you do not mess with Taylors. Even bastard daughters. He wasn't going to get away with what he did, or what he probably will continue doing to others. Most importantly though she was going to prove something she wanted to ever since she first saw him.
Her brother wasn't the only one with a future.