The Blues of Atlantis | ✔

Chapter Eighteen

Why on earth did Wade bring her all the way out here, in the middle of nowhere? There didn't even appear to be any stores on this side of the lake, just one single road traveling down the side of it.

"Where are we?" she asked, kicking a rock across the dirt road. Thankful that, despite the cool air, the sun was shining overhead.

"Grand Lake."

She'd never heard of the place, but from what she'd seen of it so far, it would be a nice place to visit in the summer. Winter and beach houses just don't seem to go together very well. She pulled her hands inside her sleeves, and hugged her chest. With how cold it was already, she could imagine the pristine lake freezing over.

She continued to follow Wade until he stopped in front of a pine log cabin. Pulling a key out of his pocket, he walked up to the light blue door and shoved the key in the lock. Nerina didn't follow him, she just stood there staring at the building.

"Whose place is this?"

"It belongs to Kyle and Maggie."

How come they never told her about this place or even brought her here in all the time that she was growing up? Off to the side of the cabin sat a sky blue range rover, all set for driving in the harsh winter weather that Grand Lake was known for. The vehicle sat under a wooden garage to protect it from the elements.

Turns out it even had valid insurance. A huge stack of firewood lined the back wall of the garage. Did someone know they were coming? She shivered at the thought. As she went to go up the stairs, her legs were far too tired to cooperate. Wrapping her hands around her knee, she tried to manually put her foot on the first step and almost fell over.

Wade came back down the stairs and scooped her up in his arms. He didn't put her down until they entered one of the bedrooms. The bed in the room looked rather inviting with it's thick flowery duvet. He gently laid her on the bed and she crawled under the covers. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, entering a dream world that was as strange, if not stranger, than real life.

Her vision was hazy, and she couldn't see much more than a few inches in front of her. She was unable to move, as she was wrapped up like a burrito. She tried to speak but all that emerged was a loud high-pitched cry.

"Shh, my darling. Everything will be okay." Cool moist lips pressed against her forehead. A soft and gentle voice began to sing as a woman's image swirled in her vision. Her blue eyes captivated her and  the woman's long white hair enveloped her like a cocoon. The melody of the song soothed her, even though she didn't understand the words.

It was unlike any language she'd ever heard before, but it pulled at her heart strings. She felt like she'd heard the song a thousand times before. It kind of reminded her of a nursery rhyme that parents would sing to a young child.

"Mommy loves you," the woman murmured in her ear, cuddling her close.

The image faded and Nerina's eyes snapped open, her heart thumping erratically in her chest. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. She pulled her hair away from her face, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

Had her entire life been a lie? Or was this just her imagination running wild? She rolled over and looked on the nightstand, but didn't see her clock. Did she knock it down while she was sleeping?

She looked over the side of the bed and didn't notice it on the ground. Reaching over, she turned on the lamp and an unfamiliar room stared back at her. That's when all the events of the last few days filled her mind.

"Wade, get your butt in here," she yelled.

Wade cringed when he heard his name. When she sounded like that, nothing good ever came of their conversations. He procrastinated by leaning down and throwing another log on the fire.

His wife had been asleep for about five hours, and he'd hoped she would forget about wanting to talk to him, but that was only wishful thinking. He wished Kyle and Maggie were here already because he had a feeling Nerina wasn't going to let him off lightly, not if her tone had anything to say about it.

When she called him a second time, her voice was more high pitched than the last, and he figured he better listen. He walked over to the bedroom door that was slightly ajar, and he saw her with her back propped up against a pillow, her hair all tousled from sleep. The epitome of sexy, but he doubted she had sex on her mind.

His friend down below did though, perking up at the sight of her. "I highly doubt you're going to get lucky right now," he said under his breath, adjusting his pants. He pushed open the bedroom door.

"What's wrong, babe?"

She pulled her legs up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, giving him a guarded look, effectively closing him out of any type of embrace. He figured as much. Sitting down on the side of the bed, he waited patiently for her to talk.

"I don't know which hurts more, learning that Kyle isn't my father or that you knew and didn't tell me."

Wade looked down at the brown multi-colored carpet, which had seen better days. His heart squeezed in his chest as her pained voice took hold of it in a vice-like grip. He'd hurt her, something which he had never intended to do.

But it was inevitable wasn't it? The truth was going to come out eventually. He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry."

"How could you not tell me?"

"It wasn't my place." That was a lousy excuse, but it was the only one he had. Truthfully, he could have told her, warned her of all that was to come.

"Don't give me that bull crap. You could have told me."

"Then what? What good would it have done? Here's the truth, he loves you as much as any father could love a child. For all intent and purposes, he really was your father."

"But he isn't my father."

He sat cross legged in front of her, taking her hands in his. "What is a father, Neri?"

She knew the answer to that, he knew she did. A father isn't necessarily the sperm donor, it is the man who steps up and takes care of you, raises you. The one who is there for you through the hard times. Family is so much deeper than just whose blood runs through your veins.

"But—"

Wade put his finger against her lips. "No buts. He was your father in every sense of the word."

"That's fine and dandy, but who is my real father?"

"I think we need to wait for Kyle and Maggie. They can give you more details than I can." He looked away from her as she spoke, hoping she wouldn't see that he just told another lie. He knew just as much as they did.

At the mention of Maggie's name, she got up and moved to the bedroom window, her arms wrapping tightly around herself. She looked so vulnerable and it tore him apart.

"What about Maggie?"

"What about her?" he asked, knowing full well what she meant.

"Is she my mother?"

He swallowed hard. This was not a conversation he wanted to be having with her alone. The more he revealed, the angrier she would be with him for knowing more than her.

"Why do you ask?"

She whipped around suddenly and shoved her hands in her hair, plugging her ears. "Will you stop answering my questions with a question. It pisses me off."

"Is she my mother?"

Oh boy. He ran his hand through his hair. "I think I better go stoke the fire," he said, standing up and moving towards the door.

"Halt, buster."

He paused in mid-step, chuckling. She had the mother-tone down pat and she wasn't even in her second trimester yet.

"Yes, Mother."

'Don't laugh at me."

He had to bite his cheeks to keep from laughing at her stern expression. 'I'm sorry, babe."

"Well?"

"No, she isn't," he said, sighing.