Where the Skies are Blue

Chapter Fifty-Three:

We haven't moved from his bed all morning. I lay facing him, my arms wrapped around him. His arms wrapped around me; his chin rests on top of my head. I'm mortified by my actions from last night. My mind is playing it on repeat. I wasn't thinking.

Ender runs his fingers gently through my hair. "You're okay." He says softly.

"Can we just stay here forever?"

He chuckles lightly. "I wish."

"Is your mom home?"

"Yeah, she's sleeping until her shift tonight."

"Do you wish your mom was here more?"

"It'd be nice, yeah. I get pretty lonely being alone here all the time. But I understand why she works so much, and after my sisters passed away, I think working helps keep her from going crazy. It keeps her distracted."

I run my fingernails up and down his back. His skin is smooth and soft. "Do you ever talk about your sisters with her?"

"No, it's too painful. It's almost like it never happened." He sighs. "I don't want to upset her, but I wish we could talk about it."

"Maybe try to start the conversation one day. Just talk about a good memory you all had together, then ease into telling her how you feel."

He grips my chin gently and tilts my head to look up at him. His lips gently kiss the tip of my nose before landing on my mouth. I melt into him. When he pulls away, we look into each other's eyes.

"Henry found out about Katherine and George's affair." I admit to him.

Ender's eyes widen. "Shit, what happened?"

"He found text messages on Katherine's phone and confronted her about it. She basically told him that she doesn't want to be with him and is going to be with George." I scoff. "You should have seen how heartbroken Henry looked. I felt awful. I should have said something."

"Don't blame yourself. It's impossible to know what the right thing to do is in a situation like that. What's going to happen now? I can't believe that."

Sighing, I shrug my shoulders. "Well, apparently, Katherine has it all figured out. She's going to be with George and live this life of luxury. Henry offered to still let me live with him, so I'll probably do that and start saving up money for my own place."

"What the hell," He shakes his head. "That's insane. And to think she'll be Hunter's stepmother if she and George marry."

"Tell me about it. Hunter's going to be so angry when he finds out. I'm scared."

He gives me a serious look. "Fuck him. Don't worry about Hunter. He's not going to do anything to you, okay?"

I nod quietly. Now would be a great time for my dad to show up and take me away. Why can't Henry just be my dad?

Then, it hits me. What if Henry is my dad?

Holy shit.

I bolt up in bed, nearly hitting Ender in the face. He gives me a wide-eyed gaze and lifts himself up as well. "Oh my God." I mutter to myself as my mind works. I mean, it makes sense. Maybe Henry was in town for whatever reason, ran into my mom at a bar, they had a drunken one-night stand, and he went back home, never knowing I existed until Katherine must have found him and reached out to him. Maybe she guilt-tripped him into bringing us here. He probably felt horrible not knowing about me and wants to make things right now. That has to be it. Maybe he was ashamed of cheating on his wife and didn't want anyone to know.

Oh my God.

This is amazing. If he's my dad, he has rights. I can stay with him. Right?

"What?" Ender asks me.

"Ender, hear me out," I say quickly. "What if Henry is my real dad?"

His eyebrows scrunch. "Huh?"

"Okay, I know it sounds insane. But think about it—isn't it weird that he invited two strangers to come live with him without knowing us at all?"

"Yeah, I guess—"

"And what if he just found out about me because Katherine reached out and told him? Once he found out, he brought me here so he could get to know me and be part of my life, to make up for being absent this whole time."

"Auden, I don't know. It's a bit of a stretch—"

Henry being my dad would be the best news ever. It makes sense. I mean, maybe everything isn't adding up right away. But this is it. I just know it. "Ender, he's my dad. I know it. I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner. I mean, don't you think we kind of look alike too?"

Ender scratches the back of his neck. "Maybe, I don't know? Auden, we should look into this more before you get your hopes up. If you're his daughter, that means he cheated on his wife, and I can't really imagine Henry doing something like that."

"My mother always said it was a drunken hookup. He probably made a mistake and went home thinking nobody would ever find out about it." I reach out and grab Ender's hands, a smile growing on my face. "Come on, think about it."

"I am; believe me." He moves his thumb back and forth over the top of my hand. He takes a moment to think. "Didn't you say they met on a dating app or something?"

I roll my eyes. "Yes, but that could have been a story he made up because he doesn't want to tell me yet."

"Okayyy," He goes back to thinking. "Well, you also said Katherine has a weird jealousy of you with the men she's with. Why would she be jealous of you and Henry if you're his real daughter?"

"I don't know, she's a sick fuck. She always thinks I'm a threat."

"Auden," he says carefully.

I frown and pull away from him. "Why are you so against this?"

"I'm not." He reaches for my hands again and brings them to his lips. He kisses them gently. "I'm just trying to think this through. I don't want you to be disappointed."

"It makes sense, Ender. I know I'm right."

He nods. "Okay, I believe you."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Now you're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. I think you might be onto something; I just think we should figure it out a bit more before going to him about it."

I move close to him and straddle his lap, my hands going to his hair. "I've gone my whole life wondering who my dad is and hoping he'd come for me. Now I think I've finally found him and have been living under his roof this whole time. I have to know for sure. I want to hear him admit it to me. Before Katherine tries to take me away. If he's my real dad, there's no way she'll let him take me from her."

"Okay, I support you." He leans forward and kisses me. He breaks into a smile.

I smile back; it stretches across my face. "I can't believe this." I say with excitement, then fall into him, crashing my lips against his. He wraps his arms around me, and we tangle in his sheets, kissing one another eagerly with a desperate hunger.