Path to Deciduous (Sequel to Road to Evergreen) | #Wattys2018

t h i r t y - t h r e e

"The worst thing about being lied to is knowing that you weren't worth the truth." -Unknown

***
Lesley's P.O.V

He frowns as he scans me.

"I'm not sure if you're Cinderella or her step mother."

My dress is dirty at the hem showing my bare feet and I'm pretty sure my mascara is smeared. He scoots aside as he lets me in.

"Thank you for letting me stay over, Spence."

"What happened to you?" He says as he closes the door. I walk in and sit on that ugly orange couch of his.

"I need to lie down for a while." I'm not making eye contact and I'm barely blinking. Seconds later, he hands me a loose shirt of his and I thank him as I make my way to the bathroom.

I take off my dress and hop in the shower. I can see the dirt merging in the water as it cleans my bare feet. I let the water cover me whole as I let myself cry. I cry because those minutes I spent staring into my father's eyes were emotions ready to escape. And now they're flooding.

I turn the faucets off and step out, wrapping the towel around me as I grab tissues wiping away the smears. My hands reach to the wound on my shoulder and I stay staring at it for some while. A knock on the door catches me off guard.

"You okay in there?"

"Yeah," I wipe my face. "I'll be out in a second."

"You better not be playing with my cabinet pills."

I open it. "You can open a pharmacy with that."

"I don't think they're for medication use." He says over the door.

"If by medication you mean drugs, then it should work."

He laughs. "Do you want me to hook you up?"

I roll my eyes, ignoring him. Spencer's shirt reaches at my knees. It's off wearing any shirt other than Adam's. His used to reach above my knees. My phone kept vibrating the whole drive, so I turned it off, dashing away.

When I head out, I lie on the couch. After hearing the sounds of cabinets opening and closing, he comes with two cups, a bottle of whiskey and a blanket. He pours a bit for each as he hands me it. I sit up straight.

"Was it Adam?" He eyes me curiously.

I shake my head but then stop, realizing that he was the one who told me. I drink as I let the heat of the liquid slide down my throat.

"Breaking news..."' I take another sip. "Trenton Parker is alive."

"Who? Is that your cousin or so?"

"No, Spencer. That's my father."

His eyes widen as his jaw drops. It takes him a few seconds to recover. "How? Why?"

"He married his best friend, Maria. I mean I saw the damn ring blinking at me." I twist my ring in hand, feeling it tight. "And he has a son. Remember Max?"

He nods.

"Yeah, well. She was his mistress but he chose them instead of us. On top of knowing he's alive which I still can't crank into my head, he is fucking married."

I gulp all at once and cough in return. Spencer pours me more.

"Did you just like what, I don't know, run into him?"

"He's living right under our noses this whole time. Literally. And I ran into him once but I thought it was my conscious deceiving me because I couldn't find him later. But no, that was true. I'm not crazy. Am I?" I start laughing as I shake my head.