Finding Home (Zak Bagans Daughter)

Chapter Twenty-Three

The cherry wooden box was smooth to the touch; you couldn't feel one rough edge or scratch anywhere.

As I looked inside, my heart sank. The first thing I saw was a photo of Zak and Marion. They were both fairly young and he was carrying her bridal style. It looked like they were both laughing; they were obviously truly in love. As I held the photograph in my right hand and held the box in my left, Zak interrupted my staring.

"That was the day she told me she was pregnant"

I almost dropped the box.

"What did you just say?"

He sighed and took the photo from my hand. He just looked at it with a gloomy face.

"Just short of a year before you were born, I proposed to your mother. Of course, she said yes and that started our lives together." He kept starring at the photo and talking. "We were living together in a very, very small apartment. I was working as a wedding DJ and your mom was in-between jobs, but we made the best of it. Then, a couple months later, on this day-" he pointed at the photo in his hand. "She told me she was pregnant. We were so happy, I was so ecstatic to have a little me or a little Marion running through our home." He smiled, but as quickly as it came, it was gone. This told me he had more to say.

"Then about three and a half months into her pregnancy, she started bleeding. We were just sitting on the couch when she got horrible cramps and when she got up, there was so much blood where she had been sitting. Of course I rushed her to the hospital, but it was too late"

He sniffled, and a tear rolled down his face. This was the first time I had seen him cry. I had seen him scared and sad before, but I had never seen him cry.

"They couldn't find a heartbeat" he sniffled again.

"Our relationship went downhill right away after that. She couldn't even look at me without crying, and she still had a little bump where our baby once lived"

I lightly put my head on his shoulder in a comforting manner. Then he put his head on mine and sighed.

"Two weeks after the accident, your mom left me. She packed up only a suitcase worth of clothes and left everything else behind, including the ring I proposed to her with"

He dug around the box and pulled out a beautiful diamond ring. Then he dug around a little more and pulled out a worn out ultrasound picture of a baby.

"She didn't leave a note, nothing. I came home from work to find the house empty and these two items on the bed"

I was a little confused. "But I'm that baby aren't I?"

Zak looked at me and smiled. "You are definitely that baby. If your mom was actually still pregnant when she left me, then she would have been almost four months along. You were born in April, and she left me in November. Meaning, you were born five months later. So unless you were a very premature baby, then there's no way you aren't my kid"

I smiled; it was very relieving to know I wasn't calling some unrelated stranger my dad. Not soon after, I sudden realization hit me. I hit him very hard on the bicep.

"Ow! Jesus Charlie what was that for?" he asked as he rubbed to sore part of his arm.

"You knew this whole time! And you didn't even tell me! This whole time you had the pictures, this whole time you could've told me! How long has it been since we met dad? It's been almost two months! Two whole damn months and you just told me this now!" I yelled. He just sat there at me and took it; he knew he made a mistake when he didn't tell me.

"I couldn't find the box Charlie! That's why I haven't told you yet!" he answered.

"You didn't need the damn photos or the ring to tell me this" I whispered.

I wasn't going to tell him I already knew they were married. I was going to let him think I just found out. He had probably wanted to tell me this whole time, and yet I already knew.

He sighed and walked hugged me. I was sad for Zak, who had no idea that his only child was living as she grew up living a terrible life, and he had just found me now. I was also mad at Marion. If she hadn't left Zak, this would've been completely different; my life would've been so much brighter and safer.

Zak let me lean on him as I looked at both the photos. This whole day was just exhausting, as I held the photos my eyes were slowly closing and it felt like my whole body gained 1000 pounds; I couldn't move, and I didn't want to. After having my eyes closed for a few minutes I felt myself get picked up and carried, but I never left the room. I felt Zak lay me down on his bed and tuck me in. Although I was still slightly awake, I was going to let him do the fatherly thing he missed out on of tucking his sleeping daughter to bed. I heard him tiptoe away and out of the room, then the quiet sound of him turning the bedroom lights off.

"Goodnight Charlie" he whispered. Then the door closed.

Goodnight dad.