Splicing of Changes (Editing)

Chapter 20

"I told him that I am gay and I will not date a guy ever. He just slapped me again and would have beat me more had you not shown up. When he saw you, he turned and left. For two days he was gone. When he came back he was drunk and I was the unfortunate soul to greet him at the door. He umm... said not-so-nice things to me, and made me break down completely. The next morning he sobered up enough to ask me to leave." Tori is now crying fully. I hug her tightly.

"I don't remember it. I remember seeing Dad scolding you one night and then I remember he was drunk as I used to say he used to smell then."

"Yeah, well he smelt cause he drank and bathed in alcohol. And his orders for me to leave meant instantly." I frown.

"But... I remember you packed your suitcase."

"Yeah, that's cause for some unknown reason Mom showed emotions for the first and only time. She let me play with you, go to the park and be with you while Dad was away on another business trip. Then I suppose her time for showing emotion was up too as she asked me to come to the house one day and pack everything I could before leaving. That's the day you remember. The day I packed up my life as my little sister watched and my mother waited to get rid of me. She, uh...she just told me to leave and never come back as I was not welcome there ever. Right before leaving, she hugged me to say that I should never contact them ever again because if I chose to remain gay, I couldn't be their daughter anymore. Mother of the year, right?" Tori chuckles, wiping her tears and snot.

"Little did they know their second daughter is Bi too." This time Tori laughs.

"Yeah imagine them finding out." I frown.

"They knew. I told them." Tori now looks at me with wide eyes.

"And?"

"Nothing well Dad just asked me if I liked someone then, I did not. Not anymore and then I started dating Aaron, whom I met at one of Dad's boring business parties, I was forced to attend. So he never said anything to me regarding my sexuality. Not that we ever discussed it either. We didn't used to talk, not really."

"He...what?" Tori seems shocked. Then she smiles. "Ah, you did not like anyone and then you started dating a guy anyway. So why would he care? He probably just dismissed it."

"Full possibility." I nod. "So after you left, you...where did you stay?"

"With Liz's family. I finished my high school from there and then for college, I applied for scholarships and with help from my teachers at school who knew of my situation helped me get them. That's how I went to college. I was staying near the college alone then before Liz moved in with me. Since she was going to college nearby too. Right after the second year, her family decided to move to Florida and both Liz and I applied to the University of Florida to shift. Somehow, by the grace of whoever was up there, we both got in. I got a scholarship too, not a full ride but I got a job. Somehow I finished college and did some temporary jobs before getting a good job with decent money. Then I went back to school to get my master's and after that, Liz and I started the company."

"Woah so you did study, graduate everything."

"Yeah even though I was kicked out, I did not want to not go to college. I knew once I made a name for myself, I would be able to get you. So, going to college and struggling was the only way. I am just glad Liz's family was so supportive of me, of us. They attended my graduation ceremony as if they were my family. They truly accepted me as their daughter so when we announced the engagement they were extremely happy to officially call me their daughter."

"I am happy for you. I really am. What I do not understand is Tori, why would you not want to tell me this?"

"What do you mean Kris?"