Welcome Home, Rose

Twenty-One

"Baby Girl, calm down." Randy put up his hands.

"Calm down? Calm down?!" I exclaimed, hands shaking. "I just saw pictures of my mom with Pietro Lexington and Ronan MacBride. I want some goddamn answers!"

"Sit your ass down, Heather Elizabeth Rose and take a few deep breaths. There is a reason why your daddy's side of the family chose to keep the past buried. I will explain everything, but not until you've calmed down, understood?"

My temper was already simmering, my mom always hated the Turner family philosophy. There were arguments about it, always at night when they didn't believe that Ty and I were listening. It was the reason why we hated our family name. We were not as perfect as everyone believed we were. AJ was the first to come down the stairs, Cerys next and Cassi bringing up the rear holding a stack of my brother's yearbooks. They took up their positions around me, the dogs took their place at my side their eyes locked onto my uncle.

"Delaney moved to Bennington Parque at the age of eleven from Saint James. The moment your daddy's eyes met hers, it was love at first sight. Laney was not so easily swayed, she played hard to get hanging around Juliette and the girls. High school hit, Pietro got tired of your dad dragging his feet. He asked Laney out and she said yes."

"Where's Saint James?" Cassi asked.

"About thirty minutes away, it's another small town like Bennington Parque. The locals didn't take too kindly to her family moving in. It took Elias showing an interest in her for folks to start warming up to her. After she started dating Pietro, the locals became equally divided. Laney and Pietro didn't date for very long, they were off and on during our freshman and sophomore years. During one of their off periods Pietro and Jasmine hit it off. Laney then set her sights on Ronan MacBride."

"Ronan MacBride, Cersei's old man, right?" Cerys perked at the mention of MacBride.

"The very same." Randy got himself comfortable again. "When Ronan and Laney started dating, strange things began happening around the town. Elias' old man who had been Sheriff at the time began getting calls. People we knew were beginning to die or be admitted to the hospital for drug overdoses. Kids and teenagers were disappearing from nearby towns. Ambrose, Elias' old man did his best to help out the detectives in the area, each case growing cold and collecting dust on the shelves.

Delaney was always intuitive, could smell bullshit a mile away. Some would say it was how she kept your daddy humble. She started to notice Ronan acting suspicious, his parents Tierney and Grady were rumored to own Bennington Parque, something Delaney would not tolerate.

There is one thing that is for certain with a MacBride, if you get them angry enough, or if they think they've won-"

"They'll tell you everything you want to know." I whispered, remembering the night of Val's accident. The way Shane had confessed everything right before Val went over the railing.

"Delaney had it all recorded on a tape recorder she hid within her bag. She handed it to Elias, who gave it to Ambrose. The next day she broke up with Ronan and Ambrose Turner exposed the MacBride's and the MacLellan's right at the end of Junior year.

We all thought it was over, we were all beginning to start new relationships. Hell, it was that summer your parents hooked up."

"Right in front of the Bennington Parque Dam. Dad surprised mom with a picnic lunch and a red rose with the question "Date Me?" written out on a M&M cookie." I recited the story from memory.

"That is absolutely romantic." Cassi gushed.

"What happened Senior Year?" Cerys opened the yearbook.

"Senior Year began, in Bennington Parque futures were already decided for you. Edgar and Pietro were already submerged in pre-med. Atreyu Bristol already training to be an EMT, Aiden Silver getting his photography career off the ground, Maxwell Bexter was taking over the family landscaping business. Laney never understood why no one broke the mold, she tried to get Elias to change his mind. He was stubborn and didn't want to leave Bennington Parque at the mercy of the MacBride's. Things went well in the beginning of the year until the rumors started."