Falling Apart

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The truth.

What in God's name did my father when he said that he needed to tell me the truth?

My heart was beating erratically as I clutched onto my cell phone tighter than I was previously. Thoughts were running across my mind as to why my father had been lying this entire time about leaving home to stay at Uncle Rodney's. If he had planned to move to a big city this entire time, why hadn't he told me from the second he stepped out of our house? My father was never one to lie.

"D-Dad," I stammered, "you're scaring me. Why aren't you in Nebraska?"

"Honey, I think I should start off by telling you that I'm in Los Angeles. Before I found your mother in a compromising position with George Collins, I was offered a job by my company. The pay was too high to refuse but at the same time, I thought about you and your mother. I thought about all of the memories we've created at our home and how you've practically grown up there. I didn't want to take your childhood away from you, Everly." Dad paused, taking in a deep breath. I felt liquid on my cheeks and that was when I first noticed that I'd been crying this entire time. I wiped away the tears with the sleeve of my sweater, waiting for my dad to continue his explanation. "I was going to refuse the job offer, but I walked in on your mother beforehand. I was angry- angry that she'd thrown away our entire twenty years of marriage to sleep with her boss. I needed to get away from her- from that house. I needed to get away from everything that reminded me of your mother. The job coincidentally was located across the country, so I took the offer while I still could. I escaped."

My lips were trembling and my shoulders were shaking uncontrollably. I understood my father's position, but at the same time, I felt abandoned by him.

"Why didn't you take me with you?" I asked finally, after what seemed like hours of silence between us.

I heard my father laughing weakly on the other end. I could almost picture him laughing- the corners of his eyes creasing just slightly like they always did. "You're graduating this year, Everly. Trust me, I wanted to take with me to Los Angeles my most prized possession but that would've been selfish of me."

My father always knew of how soothe me. With his gentle words, he could make me feel better, like nothing was wrong from the beginning. "Dad, I miss you." I finally calmed down, tears no longer streaming down my face. "Please visit soon."

"Trust me when I say I wish I could." My dad said. "Spring break is coming up, isn't it? Why don't I fly you out here so I could show you Los Angeles myself?"

For the first time since my dad left, a smile, a real smile, etched its way onto my face. "Dad, I'd love that."

*

"You're awfully happy today for someone who is spending her Saturday afternoon in the waiting room of a therapy office." Reina commented as she flipped through the pages of an outdated fashion magazine. She smacked her bubble gum as she gave me a wicked smile. "Did you and Jace finally make up?"

My eyes widened as my head snapped towards her direction. Reina released a fit of laughter as she closed her magazine, tossing it back onto the coffee table of the waiting room. Once I relaxed, I slouched back in my seat, glancing over at the clock. The time read 1:30, which meant there was another fifteen minutes until Reina was done with her meeting. "God, how does everyone know about that?" I muttered under my breath.

Reina shrugged. "Well, I didn't hear it from Jace directly but it's quite obvious judging by his behavior lately."

I frowned, suddenly feeling worry overcome me. "What do you mean?" I asked, unintentionally sounding too interested. "Is he okay?"