After the Rain- Josh Kiszka

Chapter 18- Betrayal of Brotherhood

"My daughter! Our daughter! Fuck, don't you think I deserved to know?" I asked, growing more and more frustrated with him.

"Yes! Of course I think you deserved to know, and I wanted to tell you immediately, but she promised me she'd tell you as soon as possible. If she hadn't after this weekend you spent together, I was going to tell you regardless of whether or not she wanted me to. At least it seems like she was honest with you," He said, trying to create a bright-side for these rather unnerving circumstances.

"It took me seeing her tattoo and connecting the dots for the truth to finally be revealed. She didn't even have to courage to tell me until then." I shot back, still agitated with him.

"Oh, Josh, I'm so sorry." He said, not really knowing how to respond.

"I just, I don't know what to do." I confessed.

It was no use holding a grudge, I needed him on my side.

"Well, what do you want to do?" He asked.

"I don't know."

"You don't have to know right away." Jake offered, but it lacked the comfort he had intended to provide me with.

"I'm just so mad at Celine for keeping this from me for so long, at this time I don't know if I'll be able to forgive her."

"I understand that. W-what about Lina?" Jake asked, broaching the subject with caution. 

"God, I don't know. It feels wrong to abandon a child I helped to create, but at the same time I don't know if I'd be able to handle the constant reminder of her mother's dishonesty. I do intend to provide some financial support though, regardless. I feel like that would be the right thing to do."

"I think you should do whatever you feel is best for you; you owe it to yourself. But I know that whatever you decide, you'll end up doing the right thing."

I sighed, "Thanks Jake."

"I think we should tell management sooner rather than later, we don't want this getting out before we can get a handle on the story."

"But what about Mom and Dad?" I asked, nervous to tell anyone else before I had the chance to tell my own parents.

"You take care of them, I can tell the team." Jake said in an attempt to take some of the pressure off of me.

"Yeah, okay," I acquiesced.

"Hey Josh?" He asked.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Everything will be okay." He stated, trying to convince us both that things would get better.

"I hope." I said softly.

"Listen, I gotta go, but we can talk more about this later. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." He said, bringing the conversation to a close.

"Okay..."

And with that, we ended the call.

I stared at the contact list of my phone screen and scrolled down to find my mom's. I was completely unsure of how she would take the news, but I was hoping at the very least she'd be understanding. I took a deep breath, and pressed call, closing my eyes as it began to dial.

When the ringing finally stopped I cleared my throat and began, "Hey, uh, Mom?"

"Hi Josh, what's goin' on?" She answered cheerily.

"Mama, I need to tell you something." I began.

"Okay, honey, what is it?" She probably sensed the uneasiness in my tone.