Reality Check

Paul

Thru These Tears (by LANY)

"In the end I'm gonna be alright. But it might take a hundred sleepless nights, to make the memories of you disappear . . ."

____

Bethany's head was spinning as she tried to grasp her mother's words. She had a boyfriend. A boyfriend. Aka, someone who wasn't her dad. Someone she didn't know. A complete stranger, who Bethany had never met before, was her mom's boyfriend.

Was that why her mom sometimes didn't get back from work until almost midnight? Had she been going on dates with this guy, all without telling Bethany? And for how long? What could her mom possibly see in any man that wasn't her dad? And most of all, how could she do this to Bethany? How could she never tell her? How?

The idea of her mom dating someone made her sick to her stomach. Her dad was still out there. He just needed to be brought home, and what was her mom doing? Dating some other guy! As if she'd forgotten all about her missing husband, like he was gone forever or something. Which he wouldn't be, not if Bethany could do something about it.

But right now, she was so shocked she could barely speak. She looked back and forth from her mom and the man — who she still didn't know the name of, by the way — struggling to process what she'd heard. This had to be a joke.

If her dad was truly gone for good, Bethany wouldn't be against her mom dating other guys. She hated the thought, but if nothing else, her mom deserved happiness. Bethany had witnessed her mother crying in front of the fireplace far too many times to know that was true. Or if there happened to be a comic book commercial on TV, her mom's eyes would always be suspiciously wet.

Allergies, she'd said, when Bethany had asked her what was wrong. God, she'd been so oblivious. She should've known right then and there that her father was from the comic book world, because the signs were all there. If only she'd just asked her mom about him instead of keeping her mouth shut, things would be very different right now.

Different, like her dad being home. Like her dad being with her mom, with their family. That was how it was always supposed to be in Bethany's eyes. But maybe all this time never communicating and always keeping stuff from her mother, meant that her mom had her own share of secrets.

She must've inherited her addiction to secrets from her mom. It was pretty much the one thing they'd ever have in common. Even her looks had largely been inherited from her dad, who'd had the same red hair and eye color as Bethany. Her mom, on the other hand, had always looked very different from Bethany.

The only slight commonality were their personalities, but Bethany would never say she was similar to her mom. This was the woman who wanted to keep her from jumping into books, instead of letting her find her husband — Bethany's father. Had she just been looking out for Bethany's safety, or was there another reason? Another person, who Bethany's mom suddenly loved more?

For obvious reasons, she'd never considered it until now. Bethany had never questioned that her mom loved her dad more than anyone in the world, but maybe she should've. Maybe her mother had just believed he was never coming back, so she was trying to move on. That was still horrible.

If anyone was moving on, it was the way Bethany had told herself she'd move on from Kiel . . . which she was attempting very hard to do. But her mom loved her dad. How could she do this when he was still out there somewhere? When Bethany's father was her husband?

"Boyfriend?" Bethany finally said. The word tasted bitter in her mouth. "He's your boyfriend?"

"Beth—" her mother began, but Bethany wasn't even close to finished. She didn't normally fight with her mom. It was rare, in fact, because Bethany usually tried to avoid getting into trouble. But right now, she didn't care if she caused a scene, or if she got into trouble.