31. The truth

**Jodie**

Doug is hiding something, I haven't known him personally for long but I can somehow tell. Tomorrow is my day off and tonight Doug invited me to spend the night at his. It has been a couple of days since the day Brain installed the CCTV and there hasn't been any further discussion about it. It's as if the mustache guy is just a figment of my imagination.

"So, how's the new phone working out for you? CCTV feeds coming through alright?" He asks checking in with me. I am still salty that he had made me take the new phone. Though Mom was happy that he did, telling him that she felt safer with me having a new phone. If I could roll my eyes harder, I would. Instead, I just nod and take the damn phone.

Luxury is a far concept, an unimportance when you can't afford it. Back then, when Dad was still around, having the latest phone was a necessity. Now, I'm just glad that it works. When I look at Miley, I hate that I can't give her the latest one. However, I did give her my old phone, telling her that she could borrow my new one to play games on my phone whenever I'm around. Her phone is so old that her favorite games barely run on it.

"It's doing great thank you. Miley still jokes that maybe we can finally see ghosts lurking at night, from the CCTV feeds."

Doug laughs but his eyes are telling me something else. So I decided to ask. "Anything you want to share? Did you find out anything about Mr. Mustache?"

"Okay, promise me you won't freak out?"

"Well, not well you told me not to...of course I'm going to freak out. Women do this kind of stuff." I huff and rest back on the sofa.

Doug doesn't seem to be bothered by my answer as he continues. "Jodie, what can you tell me about your father?"

"Um...why?"

"Well, let's put it this way. I talked to my Dad and the first day he met Jordan, he immediately recognized you. He's just that good with faces. So..."

"Crap, he knows about me?" Okay, it's getting hilarious that more people know about my true identity but I still need to be Jordan. Damn, Billy is going to be really pissed off with me when he's the last person to know about my situation, and we're talking the biblical kind of pissed off.

"Uh-huh..." 

"Damn, Doug. Why am I still hiding behind Jordan?"

"Well, according to my Dad..."

"Shit, did he know about Mustache guy?" It sounds like it, it feels like things are about to come to light. Whatever that means, my mind hadn't been right lately, not since the night my car broke down. Eh...I mean tampered with.

"Well, this is the part where I need you to calm down." Doug cautions me for the second time.

We are still in his office, everyone has gone home including Billy. We are about to head out when I confront him with the question. Uh hell, maybe I should ask it when we get to his place. But then, maybe this can be a good thing. He said I should calm down, so there's a chance I won't, whatever the hell it is that he's going to spill, he seems to be very cautious about it. 

"I am calm. Well, I'm trying to be calm, now if you can just get on with whatever it is you're going to tell me, my nerves might decide to calm down."

"Jodie, I need you to tell me what you know about your Dad, because turns out that my Dad knows him."

Oh fuck...this doesn't sounds good. 

"Um...it's bad isn't it?"

"Probably, I'm still not sure. This is why I need you to answer my question." Doug looks calm, the man looks like he can be the center of my inner peace. He waits for me, he patiently waits for me to answer his damn question. The question that I don't know the answer to. 

Because who is he kidding? I don't fucking know my Dad. Not the real him anyway, not the man who easily abandoned his family. So, that is exactly what I tell him.

"Honestly, I don't think I ever know the real him. All of my life he had been the perfect Dad. He fulfilled our needs, we...uh, we were rich back then. I never have to worry about money growing up. Mom was happy, he was good to her, and Miley had been spoiled rotten. But then one day, he just left, disappeared on us, and left us with debts. We sold everything to pay for them." I pause when he puts his arm around my shoulder. It feels good, so I lean back to take in his warmth. 

"I don't know what he does exactly. Growing up I just assumed he was in finance, just like my friends' dads were. I never thought to ask. Dad would invite people to the house for dinners, I just assumed they were his coworkers. Mom would hold these parties, and small gatherings every month. They seemed like a happy married couple. Mom always assumes that he will come back, she never thinks badly of him. Not even after all he had put us through."

"Jodie..." Doug tries to soothe me, but the moment he opens the floodgate, my feelings are far from calm. Suddenly, the anger that I thought had subsided, is bubbling up to the surface. I hate my dad, I hate how he left me to fend for my family. I am too tired, too goddamn tired. 

When my eyes are blurry from the sudden burst of emotions, tears roll down my cheeks and I wipe them furiously. I hate that after all this time the thought of my dad can still make me mad. "He's gone. He left. He abandoned us. That is all I know about my dad. So, now... will you fucking tell me what your dad thinks is going on with  my stalker?"

"Well, Mr. Mustache name is Lester and Dad was instructing him to follow you. He may not have been subtle enough to go unnoticed but he was also told to protect you from any danger and on that matter Dad told me that he's one of the best men for the job."

"Oh..." My brain stops working for a moment, I am surprised to hear that. It is not the explanation that I thought he might give. 

"Jodie, Dad knows your father had pissed off people he worked with and he was afraid that they might know about you or your family. Dad was worried that they might come looking for you."

"S-so...it's true? Your dad thinks that my dad is still out there?" Suddenly my anger bursts, the thought of my dad had left us and left me to deal with everything on my own pissed me off real bad. 

"Maybe, look I didn't get the chance to talk more about it with Dad, we didn't discuss it for long. He had another appointment, he just said that Lester is there for your protection and I honestly am glad that he's there knowing you'll be safer. After the thing with your car and the chance that it was tampered with by people that are more dangerous than the thugs Kirk was working with, I just need you to be safe." Doug kisses my temple and I lean closer to his side. 

"Ready to go back to mine? Do you still want to spend the night with me?" He asks softly. 

"Yes, I need this. I need to process everything before I ask Mom about Dad, see if she knows anything."

"Okay, come on...we should get going. You need to rest." He helps me up and takes my backpack with my overnight things in it. At least I have Doug now, the thought of going through this alone makes my head hurt.