\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla's voice was barely above a whisper.<\/p>\n
Eric did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cEric.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found something about your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla's face drained of color.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe contacted me before we broke up.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Kayla.<\/p>\n
Her father had died four years earlier.<\/p>\n
She had not mentioned him much since his funeral.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted to know whether I intended to marry you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn't to me either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he ask you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla gripped the back of the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric's voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he didn't think you were ready to know the truth about your childhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to shrink.<\/p>\n
Kayla looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat truth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said he told you something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me enough to make me uncomfortable, but not enough to understand everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said your mother had been keeping something from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does her mother have to do with this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla's eyes opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou've had years to tell me this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't get to decide that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I saw what happened between you and your sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me about Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you were testing him.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard from someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric did not answer.<\/p>\n
Kayla's face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we're done.\u201d<\/p>\n
She reached for the phone.<\/p>\n
Eric spoke quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to understand something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren't wrong to question people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was absolutely wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you know I humiliated myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were trying to find proof that people leave because they aren't trustworthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't make it right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric's voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it explains why you were desperate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended shortly afterward.<\/p>\n
Kayla sat silently.<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
Finally, she looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember Dad ever saying anything strange before he died?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to call her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our mother lived two hours away.<\/p>\n
Kayla called.<\/p>\n
There was no answer.<\/p>\n
She called again.<\/p>\n
Still nothing.<\/p>\n
Then she left a message.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, it's me. Call me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She paced the living room.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy isn't she answering?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe could be working.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn't work on Sundays.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't know what to say.<\/p>\n
An hour later, Mom returned the call.<\/p>\n
Kayla put it on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat's wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, did Dad ever talk to Eric?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
The silence was too long.<\/p>\n
Kayla's face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Eric tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Dad told him something about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Dad tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't want to discuss this over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen discuss it with me now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAmanda is there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't think this is something you should\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom's voice became quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father was worried about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he thought you were living your life according to what everyone expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't explain anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what are you hiding?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom did not answer.<\/p>\n
Kayla's voice rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found letters.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat letters?\u201d Kayla asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you give them to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfraid of what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you would misunderstand them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently everyone is afraid I'll misunderstand everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's what everyone keeps saying.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ended the call.<\/p>\n
Neither of us spoke for a long time.<\/p>\n
Andrew came home later that evening.<\/p>\n
We told him everything.<\/p>\n
He listened carefully.<\/p>\n
Then he asked, \u201cDo you know where the letters are?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom had told Kayla that she would bring them the following weekend.<\/p>\n
Until then, there was nothing to do but wait.<\/p>\n
Kayla hated waiting.<\/p>\n
She also hated uncertainty.<\/p>\n
For once, however, she did not try to force an answer.<\/p>\n
She went to work.<\/p>\n
She kept her appointments.<\/p>\n
She continued saving money.<\/p>\n
And she stopped checking Eric's social media.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
A week later, Mom arrived carrying a cardboard box.<\/p>\n
She placed it on our dining table.<\/p>\n
Kayla stared at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are all Dad's?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you keep them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I didn't know what else to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla opened the box.<\/p>\n
Inside were old receipts, photographs, envelopes, and several handwritten pages folded into thirds.<\/p>\n
She picked up the first letter.<\/p>\n
The handwriting was unmistakably our father's.<\/p>\n
She began reading.<\/p>\n
Her expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She handed it to me.<\/p>\n
The letter was addressed to Mom.<\/p>\n
The first few lines were ordinary.<\/p>\n
Then came a sentence that made my stomach turn.<\/p>\n
If Kayla ever asks why we treated her differently, you have to tell her the truth.*<\/p>\n
Kayla took the page back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wrote that letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what truth?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom looked at the box.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was another letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pulled out a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n
Kayla reached for it.<\/p>\n
Mom stopped her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore you open that, you need to know something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom's eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father was not your biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d Kayla's voice was barely above a whisper. Eric did not answer immediately. \u201cEric.\u201d \u201cI found something about your father.\u201d Kayla's face drained of color. \u201cMy father?\u201d … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3746,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3734\/revisions\/3746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}