Welcome to the Masquerade

"Unsteady" by X Ambassadors

AN: Holy wow. I cannot believe my little plot bunny has come this far. Over 7.5K views and 700+ votes. I am so thrilled y'all are enjoying this. Once again I must thank my lovely beta topy0848 for helping make sure it's in good shape. I sincerely hope you continue to enjoy it and appreciate you continuing with me even through the infrequent updates. 

You should expect what's coming now! --> Standard disclaimer! I only own Lory. Everything else is the property of C.L.Stone. Constructive criticism is welcome and even requested, but flames will be used to make s'mores. I love votes and views. Please let me know your favorite lines and moments. Happy Reading.

Lory stood in front of the office door trying not to hyperventilate. She had been greeted by Luke and Gabe who were working. Kota was down the street watching Jess. She could practically feel North's brown eyes burning a hole in her back as she stood staring at the door gearing up to talk to her father.

Her. Father.

Her father.

God, how many times has she wondered and imagined... And he wanted her. The thing she's known all of her life-- her father hadn't wanted her--was wrong. Talk about a mindfuck. She'd not reacted well when she'd been told. God, she'd not reacted well. She owed him a huge apology for that. She owed everyone in that room and apology. Ugh.....Maybe she could put this off....She turned to leave and saw Luke calmly leaning against the wall in the hallway just watching her. North was standing where the hall met the kitchen. They looked so wrong with their usual expressions missing. They weren't forcing the meeting. They were just waiting.

They needed a chance, all four of them. So taking what little courage she had at the moment into her hands and a deep breath, she tapped softly on the door. A voice called for her to come in. She opened the door with slightly shaking fingers The wiry man behind the desk should not have intimidated her so much.

But he did.

Marcus Taylor looked up from the picture in his hands and surprise was only the first of many emotions that flickered briefly across his dark eyes. Grief. Regret. Hope. Fear. Joy. Pain. The storm of emotions in his expressive eyes was almost heartbreaking

"Hi" Lory said nervously. She was both gratified and worried when he swallowed hard before answering.

"Hi. I...I didn't expect to see you." Then rubbed his bandana covered head and chuckled ruefully, "I didn't expect to be this nervous either."

"I'm scared to death, if that helps?"

"Not really," he said with a pained look. "I don't want you to be scared of me."

"I know." She was twisting her fingers viciously in her nervous state. "I'm more afraid that I'm gonna upset you. There's....a lot, we should probably talk about and the boys were kinda...tweaked about some of it."

"Now I'm worried."

"Sorry. I just don't know where to start."

"How about the beginning?"

"Ok, the beginning of what though? The beginning of my life? 'I record that I was born'? The beginning of the Academy career I thought I had? The beginning of my relationship with Sean and Owen? The beginning of my freak out yesterday?"

"All of it. I saw your birth certificate," he said handing her his copy. "So, I know when and where you were born. But that won't tell me anything about you."

"I've never seen the real one." Lory took the paper with a blank face, "I thought i had, but I always saw the one that said I was Marcella Taylor Anderson. I hate the name Marcella. Mar-CHELLA. How pretentious. I always went by Taylor. And then it became Lory."