Despite his hatred for me. Despite his fear and disgust for me, I still wish for him to be mine.
Forever.
Chapter Twenty
Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them. – Bruce Lee
Drew
When your phone rings at two in the morning and wakes you from a deep sleep, you know it’s never good.
The ringing startles me and I reach for my cell where it rests on my bedside table, my heart thumping wildly. Fable moves away from me in her sleep, rolling over on her side, her naked back to me. I’m immediately cold without having her close and I glance at the phone, see that it’s my dad calling. Again.
Reluctantly I answer, keeping my voice a whisper. “Hello.”
“Drew. My God.” He’s breathing heavily and I restrain myself from blowing out an exasperated breath. I’m so over his drama I can hardly take another anguished phone call, another crying plea. “Is it true?”
It’s like all the blood drains from my body. You tell yourself you’re prepared for a particular moment, a certain revelation, but when it happens, you’re still knocked on your ass. “Is what true?”
“Adele told me what happened between you two.” His voice lowers to an almost inaudible whisper. “Tell me, is it true?”
I don’t know what he wants me to say. Yes, it’s true or no, it’s not? Fuck, I’m confused. “What did she tell you?”
“That the two of you had an affair going on for years? Tell me, son. I need to know. Is she lying to me? Please say she’s lying.”
He doesn’t want to deal. Well, that’s just great because neither do I. “Dad…”
“Don’t beat around the bush. Just confirm it. Say yes or say no.”
I exhale heavily, my heart aching, my stomach turning. “I…”
“Say it! Yes or no. It’s as simple as that.”
Right. It’s so simple, admitting my deepest, darkest secret. “Yes,” I say, my voice harsh.
Dad is silent for so long, I wonder if he’s hung up on me. But then a burst of sound fills my ears, so ragged and pitiful, I almost don’t recognize it for what it is.
He’s…crying.
“I hate her,” he sobs, his voice broken. “She’s destroyed everything. My marriage, my son, my daughter. Oh God, I hate her so much.”
“What?” I climb out of bed, never looking in Fable’s direction. She might be awake by now, I don’t know, but I need to concentrate on what Dad is saying.
At the moment he’s sort of blowing my mind.
“I can’t believe that she had an…affair with you. An affair.” He laughs but it’s hollow sounding. “She molested you. God, she’s sick. I never want to see her again.”
“You don’t blame me?” I fall onto the couch, my head spinning. All these years, I believed if he discovered the truth, he would hate my guts.
“Blame you? How could I blame you? She said this started when you were still fifteen. Fucking fifteen!” He’s crying harder. “I’m sorry, Drew. I brought her into our lives and I’m so goddamned sorry. I had no idea. No f**king clue she was doing that to you. How could I be so stupid, so selfish? So blind?”
“It’s not your fault, Dad…”
“Stop right there, just…stop. It’s all my fault. I should’ve paid better attention. I should’ve been there for you but I wasn’t. I hate that. I’ve let you down.” He takes a deep shuddering breath. “It’s over, son. My marriage is over. You don’t have to worry about her being a part of our lives any longer. She’s no longer welcome in my home, in my heart, in my life.”
I’m crying too. The tears are falling and I sniff, trying to gain some control over my emotions. That tight feeling I’ve been carrying in my chest for months—hell, years—is slowly but surely easing. My dad knows the truth.
And he doesn’t hate me for it.
“When did she tell you?”
“She called me hours ago. I have no idea where she is. Did you see her? Did she come there? God, she’s twisted. I swear she’s obsessed with you.”
“I saw her. Fable tried to beat her up when she found out Adele had met her younger brother.”’
“You’re still with Fable? I thought you two broke up.” He pauses for a moment. “Wait a minute, does she know what happened between you and Adele?”
“Yeah.” My voice is a raspy whisper.
He’s silent for a while, as if he needs time to process that bit of information. “Things must be quite serious between you two.”
“She—she figured it out when I brought her home.” Adele had been less than subtle. That my father couldn’t recognize her crazy, possessive behavior showed how oblivious he really was to her.
When Adele always complained about how Dad ignored her, I believed her.
“I’m an idiot. I hope someday you can forgive me.”
His words take my breath away. “I—I feel the same way.”
“There’s nothing for me to forgive. You were innocent in all of this.” A little sob escapes him again. “I’m so sorry, son. For everything.”
We talk a little bit more and I promise to come see him soon. Hopefully going there without Adele present will remove the ghosts that haunt me in my old house. My dad needs me right now. I need to forget all those ghosts once and for all.
I end the call and go back into the bedroom to find Fable sitting up, leaning against the pillows, the bedside table lamp on its lowest setting. She has the sheet tucked around her, her shoulders bare and gleaming in the soft light, and she’s twirling a strand of long blonde hair around her finger, staring at the ends so hard she almost looks cross-eyed.