Chapter 69: Daughter

As I had predicted, the question about Madeline's mother came up as quickly as I had wanted to exit the room. And to make matters worse, M'gann was the one to ask. And to have someone as curious as her be able to read minds and to have someone like Patrick becoming weak under the pressure of his brother and his brother's team mates... well, it just wasn't a good fit. For me.

"She's... dead..." Patrick replied. His voice was strained, enough to cause at least a little suspicion from the more than curious ones. But he played it more safe that I had thought he would, not even glancing at me once as he answered the ongoing questions about Madeline and her existence.

"You know something," Artemis deadpanned from beside me as I grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen.

"Am I supposed to know what that means?"

"More than the rest of us, yeah."

"Then what do you know? And are you completely sure that I know what you claim me to know?"

"Don't try to mess up my brain, Sarah. And I'm talking about what's up with Madeline's mom; Patrick's former lover, at the looks of it."

"Who says that I know anything about her. As he said, she's dead."

"You have that look," Artemis raised an eyebrow. "The one that tells all. So. Who is she?"

"How am I supposed to know? It wasn't like I was there when they were going at it."

"No need to talk details, just tell me who she is, and if she's really dead. He doesn't exactly sound convincing, does he?" I sighed as Artemis kept poking at the subject.

"Why don't you ask him yourself. Maybe in private. Maybe he'll be more comfortable in a less crowded situation. And then maybe when, and if, he tells you, you can go ask the Goddamn woman herself, rather than asking me something I know nothing about. Are you that oblivious to my confusion that you suddenly think I know all?"

"You know, you may be a damn good liar, but I know exactly how they work. And don't you think for one second that I don't see through you. You know something, and that's all I need to know for right now. Until then... I'm keeping tabs on you." I physically froze at Artemis' arctic tone. I had never heard her use a tone like that, let alone on me. It was horrible to think that that was what suddenly reminded me of my poor sister, minus the terrible death. And then to my father, one of the most ruthless men I had ever met. Artemis was nothing like them, but damn did she give me the same chills I had gotten when I thought of them.

"So, now what? We can't even talk to each other in front of people. They know nothing, Sarah, so why the hell are you so... dead-set on hiding our relationship from everyone?"

"One, this isn't a relationship. Two, talking to each other like this raises more that just suspicion..." I whispered.

"'Raises more than suspicion?' What's being raised again? The dead?" Patrick joked and I could help but roll my eyes.

"Well, if we're talking about Madeline's dead mother and how she'll be revealed if you don't shut your mouth, then yeah, raising the dead works."

"Why are we talking in the middle of the kitchen, anyway? Why not your room? That would be much more convenient, not to mention quieter."

"Convenient? Maybe... Quieter? All on you."

"Fine. So what did you want to talk about, again? How I stuttered when answering the 'what happened to Madeline's mother' question? Or was it how Artemis decided to attack you when you ran away from the main conversation? Or maybe it was how embarrassed you are to think that someone like you could have this big of a secret."

"How should I feel about it? Proud? Happy? Overjoyed? Because how I feel about this is nothing even remotely close to those words and feelings..." I wanted to glare so bad, to just show Patrick that I was tough, that I could handle this, but somehow, my glare turned into tears and I broke down. "Haven't you thought that the reason that I wouldn't want anyone to know of this is because I'm more than just embarrassed and shameful of it. I was sixteen, Patrick. Sixteen when this happened. And nothing could've ever prepared me for that. The looks I got, the comments, they were nothing compared to what I had to say to myself. That is why I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to tell everyone the truth. In some parts, I just want to run away and never come back. I know it's terrible to say, but-"

Patrick's kiss cut me off with both ease and practice. Whatever had gotten into me made me become submissive to him as I was pushed into the counter. I felt Patrick fumble with the hem of my shirt, barely grazing the skin underneath to be sure not to take it too far. But in my mind, it wasn't far enough.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he lifted me onto the counter. His hand grazed my thigh through the jeans I had yet to replace with sweats as he kissed me harder and with more need. My lungs burned from lack of oxygen, but at that moment, nothing could break us apart. Nothing, except...

"Mommy?" I jumped at the more than familiar voice and broke away from Patrick. I barely caught sight of his startled look as I whipped my head around to see Madeline, staring right at me, my old stuffed animal in one hand as she rubbed her eye tiredly. But the sight of Madeline was nothing to me as I met the wide eyes of M'gann as she stood next to her.

Oh... She said. That makes a lot more sense... Though, why did you say that she was dead when Sarah's right there?

Patrick took my hand in his and laced our fingers together as I stared, wide-eyed, at M'gann. Great... I sighed, not caring whether Patrick and M'gann could hear me or not. Is everyone in the team going to find out about my daughter now? Or are we going to broadcast my teenage stupidity to the world?