Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 124451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124451 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
“I’m … I’m his wife. We’ve been married for five years. I just had his babies.”
I cringe. “Well shit, hey! This is awkward,” I say. “I suppose you better check the legality of that wedding certificate, but in the meantime, could you let him know he has a wife and daughter back home who’ve been desperate for his return?”
“Uhhh …”
I close my eyes, the weight of my father’s infidelity weighing down on my shoulders. How the fuck am I supposed to tell Mom and Addie about this? I suppose I could simply do it without tact like I just did to this woman. I don’t even know her name and I just blew up her world in the space of two seconds, just as her three-year-old daughter did to me. I mean sure, I probably owe her an apology, but she’s not going to get it today.
There’s nothing but the soft cries of the woman’s babies in the background and then just like that, the call goes dead, and I realize there’s a good chance I will never get the answers to the millions of questions flashing through my head. Who the hell is she? When did my father’s affair start? Will my half-siblings ever be a part of my life? And will that little girl ever truly know who I am to her? Because even though I’ve never met her, never even laid eyes on her, I feel this strange need to protect her, exactly how I feel about needing to keep Addison safe from the ugliness and horrors of this world.
The phone falls from my fingers, crashing to the ground and cracking the screen as my hands come up and slowly drag down my face. “Fuck, Tanner,” Riley says, his voice thick with hesitation, trying to find the right words. “You good?”
I shrug my shoulders, the overwhelming need to have Bri in my arms plaguing me. “I don’t know, man,” I say. “It’s not me who’s going to be hurt by this.”
“I know,” he says, knowing just how much Addison idolizes my father, and how my mom longs for him when he’s away on his so-called business trips. “Are you going to tell them?”
“What kind of prick would it make me if I didn’t?” I ask him, hating this position I’ve somehow put myself in. I stand, needing to get this over and done with quickly, starting with Mom. I’ll let her decide how she wants to break the news to Addie, but I won’t hide this from them. I won’t stoop to his level and betray their trust like he does, and I sure as fuck won’t protect his secret, no matter if he’s been doing the same for me about that night with the Hardin brothers. I don’t care what it costs me; I won’t hide from this.
Grabbing my water bottle, I’m just about to tell Riley I think it best if he jets out of here when I turn and find Mom sitting just outside our home gym in the adjoining living room, her hand over her mouth as tears stream down her face, doing everything in her power not to fall apart. “Fuck,” I whisper, coming to a stop.
Riley glances up and swallows hard, seeing the broken woman before us and sighs, heartbreak flashing in his eyes. “I’ll leave you to it, man,” he says, grabbing his shit, and without another word, he walks out of the gym and crosses to my mom. He doesn’t say anything, just simply leans down and wraps his arms around her, giving a gentle squeeze before pulling away and giving her space.
Riley vanishes out the side door, leaving me with my mom.
I join her on the couch and take her hand, holding it in my lap and trying to figure out how to talk about this, despite it being crystal clear she heard more than enough of my conversation. “I don’t know what to tell you,” I say, my voice breaking with pain, the lump in my throat making it hard to breathe.
Mom pulls her hand free from mine before hastily wiping her eyes and standing up. She makes a show of straightening her outfit before giving me a fake smile while trying to appear encouraging. “You don’t need to tell me anything,” she says. “I’m your mom. I should be the one consoling you, but I know how you hate to be coddled.”
I stand in front of her and pull her into a tight hug, hating the broken sob that tears from her throat as she curls into me. “It’s okay to be sad and hurt,” I tell her. “You don’t need to be strong for me. I got you.”
Mom cries for a moment, her tears staining my shirt and then finally, she pulls herself together and wipes her eyes again. She gives herself a moment to breathe before giving me another smile, though this time, there’s a little more warmth to it. “I’ll have to break this to your sister,” she tells me. “It’s going to break her heart.”