Forever Yours (Moreno Brothers)

Chapter 4 - Part 2

Sarah

The remorseful expression on Sarah's mom's face was not what Sarah had expected when she dropped the news about her dad looking for her. Luna's expression only got worse as Sarah filled her in on everything Sydney had told her he'd said.

With her heart beating wildly, Sarah kept waiting for her mom to interrupt her and tell her it wasn't true, but she didn't. Instead, she brought her hands to her mouth and shook her head.

"It's not true, is it?"

Her mom motioned for her to take seat at the kitchen table where she sat, but Sarah refused. "No, first tell me if it's true," she asked, her heart rate spiking as the feelings of betrayal sunk in.

Had her mom really made such a selfish decision and kept it from her all these years?

"It's complicated, Sarah."

"What's complicated?" Sarah demanded, the warm tears blurring her eyes. "Either you lied to me or you didn't."

"I was protecting you, honey. Sit down and I'll explain."

Sarah stared at her mom, remembering she'd decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. She tried her hardest to compose herself because there was still the possibility that her mom did have a good reason for depriving her of the opportunity to knowing her father without at least giving her the choice. Maybe all those years as a child she'd secretly wished her father would magically appear and save her and her mom from their struggles were not all for nothing.

She took the seat across from her, almost afraid to know the truth. What had her mother been protecting her from that was so bad she was probably never going to tell her about it if she hadn't found out on her own?

Her mom reached out for Sarah's hand, and Sarah gave it to her, needing to feel the comfort of her touch. She began telling Sarah about growing up in a slummy neighborhood, her domineering stepfather, and how she'd become rebellious and reckless at a young age. She met Sarah's father at a club she wasn't even supposed to be at because she was underage—a minor even. But in that neighborhood, just like all the liquor stores that sold alcohol to minors, the clubs were known to let underage girls in as long as they dressed the part and at least looked older. Her mom had said she and her friends did, so they easily got in.

"It's also why, when I first met your father, he wasn't aware of how young I was. He was twenty-two, and I wasn't even seventeen at the time. I lied and told him I was eighteen. He bought it, and we started seeing each other. I had to be sneaky because my parents, but especially my stepfather, would never allow it. There were also things I didn't know about your father. He dealt drugs and had been in a gang for years. Before I found all that out, I thought I was in love, and we became intimate. Months later when I confided in my mom that I was pregnant and wanted to keep you, my stepfather had your father arrested for statutory rape. It was only then that everything about his past surfaced. He had arrest warrants for things he'd done years earlier: theft, burglary, and vandalism. I knew then he was the not the kind of man I'd want in my life or yours, and I was actually glad he went to jail, though I did agree to sign paperwork stating that it all had been consensual."

She took a deep breath and then a drink from the tea she'd been sipping on when Sarah first approached her with the news of her father looking for her. Suddenly Sarah needed something to drink too. As much as she felt better now that she knew more, she was still trying to make sense of it all. Her mother could've still told her the truth.

Sarah stood up, unable to sit anymore, and told her mom she was getting water. Her mother seemed grateful for the break. On her way back to the table with her bottle of water, Sarah's phone rang. She sent it to voice mail when she saw it was Angel. No way was she interrupting her mom now, and she knew she wouldn't be able to explain it to him quickly. She'd just have to call him back when she and her mother were done.