“She wasn’t doing anything. She was with me,” I said and Mike jumped off his chair. He was leaning over his desk, and trying to glare into my eyes.
“She was with you? All night? Why? What the fuck is going on here?” He was barking at us.
“Dad! Please, just calm down. Let us explain,” Virginia said, but Mike only had eyes for me. No matter what happened between Virginia and me, I knew that it was always going to be my fault. I was the older one in the relationship. I was the one who should have known better.
“Explain what? What was my daughter doing in your house last night, Carl?” Mike barked and I looked up at him and met his eyes.
“She was in my house because we wanted to spend some time together,” I said and he narrowed his eyes at me like he was trying to understand. This was the most difficult conversation I’d had with anybody, and I just couldn’t get the words out of my system.
“You wanted to spend some time together because you’ve grown close over the trip? Why didn’t you go for a meal? Or come over to our house?” Mike was jerking his face from mine to Virginia’s and back to mine again.
“Dad, we’ve grown close over the trip, yes, but we wanted privacy,” Virginia tried explaining.
“Privacy for what? Tell me what the fuck is going on!” Mike was screaming again and I could sense Virginia shuddering beside me.
“Mike, you need to calm down. There is no need to scream at her. I will explain everything to you,” I said. Mike clenched his jaw at us and then sat back down on his chair with a thump.
“Explain it then, Carl. Explain to me what exactly my daughter was doing in your house last night and why you didn’t bother telling me about it,” he snarled.
“Mike, I will understand if after hearing this, you never want to see me again. I want you to know that I am prepared for that to happen,” I said.
Both Virginia and her dad were staring at me as I spoke. I knew she was nervous. She had been nervous the whole journey here. She was happy that I had decided to speak to her father about it and that I wasn’t pushing her away from anymore, but she was also afraid of the rift that this was going to cause in our friendship and in her own relationship with her father.
“Just tell me, Carl!” Mike growled and banged his fist down on the table. I sensed Virginia flinch beside me.
“I’m in love with your daughter and I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner,” I said.
There was a deathly silence in the room. Mike’s face had turned red and he was glaring at me like he had just been slapped. When a few more moments of silence had passed between us, I knew I had to say something more.
“This isn’t just a casual fling, Mike. I am in love with Virginia and as absurd as it sounds to you, she wants to be with me too,” I said. Mike glared at me and then at his daughter again.
“Dad, I am in love with Carl. I always have been since I was a teenager. I haven’t had any boyfriends because of my feelings for him,” Virginia spoke up and I could see Mike’s mind whirling. He didn’t know how to comprehend this information; he didn’t even know whether to believe it or not.
“Take a shot at me now, Mike, if you have to. Or else I’m going to leave and we never have to pretend to be friends again,” I said and stuck my hands into the pockets of my jeans.
“Daddy . . . ” Virginia cried and Mike gulped. It was like he had lost the power of speech.
“I’m going to go,” I said when I realized that there was no point in just standing there and glaring at each other.
“Carl, wait!” Mike thundered and he had jumped out of his chair again. I was in the middle of turning from him and I stopped in my tracks. I was fully prepared for a punch. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to hit me. I had fucked his daughter and now I was claiming to be in love with her.
“I don’t want to hit you,” Mike said, and I noticed that his voice had turned somber.
“I deserve it,” I said and faced him again.
“No, you don’t. You are a man and I know that my daughter is amazing,” Mike said and looked over at Virginia. There was a weak smile grazing his lips now, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“If this isn’t a casual thing like you are claiming, what do I have to complain about?” Mike said and Virginia clamped a hand over her mouth. I could sense that she was happy to hear her father say it. All her nervousness had washed away. I still couldn’t get over how well Mike was taking it.
“I mean it, Mike. I’m in love with her,” I said.
I watched as my best friend stepped away from his chair, walked around the table, and approached me.
“If she loves you, too, then I couldn’t have hoped for a better man for my daughter than you, Carl. I’ve known you all my life. I know what kind of man you are. I know that you will keep her safe and you will do your best to make her happy,” he said and then I watched in disbelief as Mike stuck a hand out to me.
I shook his hand while Virginia squealed with joy beside us.
“Dad! I can’t believe this. You just made me so happy, Dad,” she screeched and threw her arms around her father. I watched as the father and daughter hugged, after which she pulled herself away from him and came over to me.
“Carl, you don’t have to be guilty anymore,” she said and there was a wide satisfied smile spreading on her face.
I nodded my head and stretched a hand towards her. She took it and I pulled her into my arms. Mike was watching us, and even he had a smile on his face.
I kissed the top of Virginia’s head as she hugged me tightly. I caught Mike’s eye and I tipped my head to him. He did the same. We both knew what that was about—we were acknowledging each other’s good decisions. Virginia was right, I didn’t have anything more to worry about. Mike had given us his approval and now as I held the woman I loved, I didn’t feel like I was doing so while betraying my best friend. She wasn’t just Mike’s daughter anymore, she was my woman.
Virginia looked up at me with a bright, shiny face.
“I love you, Carl,” she said and I kissed her lightly on her lips.
“I love you, Virginia,” I told her.
It was Mike’s humorous voice that interrupted us.
“Now get out of here before you two make me sick!” he said with a laugh. Virginia and I both looked at him with smiles on our faces. Today was the day that was going to mark the beginning of the rest of our lives.
Epilogue – Virginia
It was graduation day, and it was made even more special by the fact that I had everyone I loved around me. My parents and Carl were all there to see me receive my scroll onstage and nobody clapped harder than the man I had been in a relationship with for the past year and a half.
Afterwards, we had taken photographs of each other and Carl declared that he wanted to take us all out for a family dinner.
We were sitting together at the table in a fancy Italian restaurant. Dad and Carl were deep in conversation as usual, and as I looked at them. I knew that I couldn’t have asked for a better relationship. The fact that my boyfriend and my father were friends – were still best friends – was a gift. It almost felt like Carl had brought our family even closer together.
Even though it had taken Mom a few weeks to get accustomed to the fact that I was in a relationship with a much older man, she trusted my decision. She had seen how happy Carl made me and just like my dad, she couldn’t complain.
“I am so happy for you, honey,” Mom said to me and I turned to her and she placed a hand on mine.
“Are you going to apply for your Masters in sociology like you planned?” she asked and I nodded my head and tore myself another piece of garlic bread.
“I want to stay in academia,” I told her and she patted my hand like a proud mother.
My relationship with Carl had been a smooth, effortlessly happy one, even though it was my first serious one. It felt like I had been in a relationship for years, especially since I had been in love with him forever.
It was amazing how easily we had fallen in sync with each other and how happy it made me wake up in bed beside him. He made me more confident in myself. He made me feel beautiful and cherished every day, and it wasn’t until we got stares from people when we walked together hand in hand that I remembered he was much older than me. I couldn’t imagine myself being with anybody else – he was the man for me.
Carl stood up from his chair abruptly in the middle of his conversation with my dad. We all turned to him to find him crouching down beside my chair on one knee.
“I’m sorry, beautiful, I was going to wait until dessert but I can’t concentrate on anything else,” he said and I stared at him with my mouth hanging open.
I didn’t want my mind to go there. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I saw him pulling out a small blue velvet box from the pocket of his pants.
“Virginia, I have a question to ask you and I hope you say yes,” he began and I clamped a hand on my mouth. I could feel my hands shaking as I stared at him opening the box. There was a beautiful solitaire diamond ring in the center of the box and it blinked at me while he remained kneeling on the floor.
“I am in love with you, and this past year and a half has been the happiest of my life. I want this to go on forever, and the only way I know how to make that happen is by asking you to be my wife,” Carl continued and I could feel my breath caught in my throat.
I hadn’t seen this coming. We hadn’t even moved in together yet, even though we had talked about it. We had decided a couple of months ago that we would seriously think about moving in together after my graduation; after I had decided what I was going to do with my life after school. Carl didn’t want to discourage me from the idea that I might have to move to a different city for graduate school, even though I had already decided that I wasn’t going anywhere.
“I’ve already spoken to your parents, Virginia, and they had graciously given me their blessings. All you have to do now is say yes,” Carl said and I stared at his handsome, happy face. This was the same man who my mom used to joke about being a confirmed bachelor when I was a kid. This was the same man who had awakened the woman in me when I was a thirteen-year-old gangly teen.
I had always fantasized about being in a relationship with him, about sleeping with him, but never even in my wildest dreams had I imagined that we could be married.
“Virginia . . . ” he began to say and I jumped out of my chair and hurled myself at him.
“Yes, Carl, yes, a thousand times yes! There is no other man I would rather marry than you!” I was laughing and crying at the same time. It felt surreal to be proposed to by him; to see him on a bended knee asking for my hand.
Carl kissed me, even though he usually shied from kissing me in front of my parents. How did it matter anymore? He was going to be their son-in-law soon!
I kissed him back fiercely, and I could hear cheers and claps around us. It wasn’t just my parents who were cheering for us, it was the whole restaurant.
When we broke away from our kiss, Carl was still holding me, and with his free hand, he was slipping the ring onto my finger. It was a perfect fit, exactly the way he was for me. The diamond sparkled on my finger as I wrapped my arms around him again.
“You have no idea how happy you just made me, Virginia,” he whispered into my ear as we hugged each other again. I was smiling, my soul was soaring, all my dreams were coming true, and then some!
“You have no idea how I wish I could go back to my teenage self and tell her that everything is going to be all right,” I said, just as Carl leaned in to kiss me again.
*****
THE END
Shattered Daddy
Description
He’s back in town.
My best friend in high school. Biggest crush I ever had.
We made a deal when we were kids.
We’d marry each other if we were still single at 30.
Guess what.
We’re both turning 30.
But there are things he doesn’t know.
Like a dead body in my closet.
Will the truth set me free?
Or will it haunt me forever?
Chapter One - Brooke
It’s hot and sticky in the car, and the lukewarm air blowing out of my air conditioner only makes it feel hotter. I need to pick up some fluid, but I’ve been trying to wait until my paycheck lands this Friday. I roll down my windows and sigh. The air is muggy with thick clouds in the sky and doesn’t do much to cool me down. At least it’s only a short drive from work to my apartment. I try to block out the heat, thinking of what I’ll make for dinner and what I’ll wear to work tomorrow, when I notice a terrible and familiar sight.
I’m being followed. Again. I know who it is without having to look at the driver.
I speed home as fast as I can, that awful motorcycle behind me the whole time. I grab my purse and run inside when I get home, hoping he doesn’t call out after me. He doesn’t. He parks his bike across the street and stares at me. I swear I can feel his eyes on me even after I close the door. He’s relentless, and it’s been getting worse. I know he wants me to be nervous and to take his threats seriously. I hate to say it, but it’s working. I am nervous. I’m honestly and truly terrified – really.
Leave it to Jeff to make what was already the worst night of my life even worse. Leave it to him to turn a tragedy into a sick plan for his own gain. He didn’t even know the whole story, but ever since he’d seen me with that gun, Jeff had made my life a living hell. If I hadn’t hated him already for how he treated me when we were dating, I would have hated him for this.
I shudder, not wanting to turn and look out the window to see if he’s still there, but knowing he probably is. My phone rings and I answer right away when I see that it’s my sister, Autumn.
“I think there is a police officer following me,” Autumn says instead of saying hello. She sounds like she’s been crying. I sit down on the couch and shake my head.
“No one is following you, I promise,” I say. Autumn’s been crying a lot lately, breaking down with the intense panic that’s followed her since that night.
“They are, and they’re going to find out. They’re going to find out what I did, and I’m going to go to jail. We’re both going to go to jail!” Autumn says. She sounds slightly hysterical. I take a long breath, wondering if Jeff is still across the street.
“They’re not going to find out, and we’re not going to jail,” I say. I don’t blame her for being scared. It scares me too. I’m not going to let anything happen to Autumn, though. And since right now the only person who knows we have any connection that night and to the dead body from it is Jeff, I intend to keep it that way.
“I don’t know what to do,” Autumn says. She’s hardly left the house since it happened, only going to work, not seeing friends. There was a time when Autumn was so much brighter and bolder than me – looking to go back to college, filled with dreams and ambitions. She’s a shell of that girl now. I think that maybe if I can get Jeff to stop, she’ll feel better and get back to being herself. I just don’t know how I’m going to do that.
“This isn’t your fault, and nothing is going to happen. I’m going to take care of it,” I tell her.
“It is my fault! I shot him, Brooke!” Autumn says, whispering even though I know she’s home alone.
“You had to. It was self-defense,” I say firmly. I can still picture the night in my mind, my sister with a man twice her size on top of her, me attempting to fight him off. I can still feel the way his hand felt when his fist made contact with my jaw. I can feel the terror of watching his hands slide around Autumn’s neck, choking her. I can hear the gunshot ringing out and Autumn’s panicked whisper. I can see Jeff walking in, seeing me holding the gun I’d taken out of Autumn’s hand.
“I thought I was going to die,” Autumn says. Jeff thinks I killed that guy since he walked in on me holding the gun. I don’t want him to know the truth. I don’t want anyone to know. Autum
n is my younger sister and she’s been through a lot I couldn’t protect her from. I’m not going to let this destroy her. I can’t.
“I know you did. You did what you had to do,” I say firmly.
“But if someone finds out,” Autumn says. I think she’s crying again. Her voice sounds raw – like her throat is irritated from choking on tears and terror.
“No one is going to find out,” I say. “I swear.”
“You can’t be sure of that,” Autumn says.
“I am sure,” I say. I think that if I say it enough, maybe it will be true. Maybe I really can keep this from hurting Autumn even more than it already has.
“I hate going out. I always feel watched,” Autumn says.
“You’re not being watched,” I say. She’s not only because I am, but I don’t say that. “And you can’t stay in all the time.”
“I wish I could,” Autumn says, sniffling a little. “I did hear something very interesting today, though.”
“Oh yeah?” I say. I doubt I’ll be interested in whatever gossip she heard, but I ask anyway, hoping the subject change will make her feel better.
“You know that huge house on Hart Lane?” she asks. I nod, thinking of the grand mansion with its sprawling yard. It’s the biggest house in town, beautiful and rich in history, but no one has lived there for years.
“What about it?” I ask. I heard a rumor a few months back that the house was up for sale again, but I didn’t think anything had come from it.
“Someone bought it. Someone you know very well,” Autumn says. I frown, not sure who she could mean.
“Someone I know?” I ask, confused.
“Anthony. Your friend Anthony? I heard he’ll back in town within the week,” Autumn says. “Did know he was rich these days?”
“I did know that,” I say slowly, feeling surprised.
Anthony was my best friend growing up and all through high school. We’d lost touch over the years, but I knew he’d made really good money in New York and that he had a son with a woman who had died tragically a few years back. I’ve always regretted that we hadn’t stayed close. There had been a time when Anthony and I knew everything about each other – when he was the first person I thought to call when anything, good or bad, happened. I wondered if we could still be friends as adults.
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