The Rush

Chapter 28

"Holy shit." My bio-dad showing up was one thing, he was at least in my life till I was 9, Will's bio-mom dumped him on dad's doorstep after giving birth to him and was never seen again. "What the fuck brought her out of the woodwork?"

"Apparently you." He sighed, "She saw a story about you being the niece of Aunt Red and they used a picture of the extended family as the header. She wanted to find me and so she reached out to a few people who know Dad. She showed up without warning a few hours ago. Dad told her I was out of the country so she left her number so I could call her if I want."

"Shit, I'm sorry. If I had known that I would bring her out-"

"Don't." He stopped me, "You were meant to be a performer and you should be one. I don't give a shit if you were the reason my birth mom finally decided to show her face after all these years. Performing makes you happy and it makes Hillary happy which are two of the most important things to me. Part of me thinks that her deciding to show up now after she realized my sister was famous is because she's looking for money. She knew people who knew Dad, she could have found me at any time and she waited until now."

I reached over and squeezed his hand. I couldn't imagine what he must be going through. Knowing that his birth mom abandoned him has been a sore spot for Will. How couldn't it be? That shit is trauma even if you don't remember it. "Whatever you need to do, I'll be right by your side and so will Hillary, our friends, and you know the entire family is going to be there. I wouldn't be surprised if Aunt Red decks her for what she did to you and Dad. Fuck, she might have competition 'cause I know I would love to get in there."

Will chuckled, "Maybe let's save the fist fight until after we figure out what she wants."

"So you're thinking of doing it? Meeting her?"

"I think I need to. Like, I don't even know what she looks like. Dad never really took any pictures and she didn't go to any family things. I've tried looking her up on social media every once in a while, but there are a lot of Emma Smiths out there. I need to know where I come from, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Just be prepared that you might not like what you find out."

"I will. I'm going to see if I can catch a flight back home tomorrow. I hate to ask this, but is there any chance you can come with me? I know that you have a ton of work shit to do but I could really use my sister with me."

"I'll talk to Anise when we get back to the hotel." I answered. I didn't give a shit about work or any of that. Family comes first, and if my brother needs me, I'm there.

*****

That was how I ended up on a plane leaving LA with my brother and Hillary that night. Anise got us the first flight out while everyone else would be joining us tomorrow. She was working through cancelling all our engagements and telling everyone there was a family emergency that needed to be attended to but that everyone was healthy. It was working, judging from all the well wishes I got in my DMs. I was more focused on Will than my DMs or any other social media messages I got. My phone was stored away and out of mind, I was focused on my family.

When we got back to our house Will and Dad went off to have a private talk leaving me alone with everyone else. My leg was bouncing and I couldn't be more nervous for what came next. Would Will end up with two moms? Would bio-mom be like my dad? Was she worse? Why did she give Will up? Why now? Is she dying of cancer? Need a liver or kidney transplant? There was so much that was up in the air.

"What was she like? Will's bio-mom. I don't know why I clarified that because who else would I be asking about? Sorry, I'm freaking out a bit."

Mamma moved to sit next to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder squeezing me tight. "She seemed nice, a bit sad, but she seemed like she was a nice person. She didn't tell us why she left Will, saying she wanted to tell him in person, but she did apologize to Reid for all she put him through. She said she was happy that Reid met me and I could step in to be a mom to Will when she couldn't. I just hope she isn't going to do anything to upset Will or Reid."