**So due to tomorrow being the start of dead week, I will not have ANY TIME tomorrow to update, therefore the update is coming today. Sorry for the weird time. Anyway, GRAB A FUCKIN BUCKET OF POPCORN CAUSE SHIT IS ABOUT TO FUCKING GO DOWN!
Also, kudos but also fuck u to the people who kinda had this figured out ahead of time. I thought I was bein' all slick with this major fuckin plot twist but some of you saw right through me. PLEASE ENJOY!
UPDATE!!!! I uploaded this chapter BEFORE the clearing up confusion chapter and for some reason wattpad decided to be stupid and change the placement of the chapters. Sorry for any confusion they caused! **
Troy's POV
A huge smile formed on my face as I took in my familiar surroundings. It didn't take me but a few seconds to reply when one of my old football buddies texted and said they were all meeting up at our old field to play a few games. This was all we did growing up, especially because a lot of the guys I played with lived in trailer parks and didn't like the people that hung around their homes during the day.
"So, we've been hearin' a helluva lot about your woman from Chad. You ever gonna tell us about her?" One of my better friends, Haas, asked as we all congregated in the middle of a run down patch of grass.
"Yeah. She's just that. My woman. You don't need to know shit about her." I shot back while raising one of my eyebrows in warning causing everyone to holler with laughter.
"I don't know, Carmichael. Might try and get in her pants just for old times' sake." He teased me. I knew his intentions weren't malicious because, true to his word, we did that shit to each other all through high school, but for some reason the thoughts of him even looking at Aurora made my blood boil and my mind fill with the idea of murder. Shooting my hand out, I grabbed him by the throat and squeezed before knocking his legs out from under him. He kneeled in front of me, a terrified expression on his face as I glared at him while simultaneously digging my thumb further into his jugular.
"Talk about what's mine like that again and I'll make sure it's the last fucking thing you do, understand?" I growled right in his face. A bead of sweat trickled down from his temple to his neck before he gasped for air and frantically nodded his head. Throwing him away from me, he pushed himself into a sitting position before giving hunching over and coughing. Glancing around at the guys around me, they all gave me looks that said what I already knew; I was a fucking crazy bastard. To be quite honest, I didn't give a shit. Not when it came to my Rora.
Chad laughed beside me before saying, "I fucking told you not to pull that shit, Haas. That one was all on you." I opened my mouth to reply, but a desperate cry of my name from a good distance away caused me to whip around.
"Troy!" I heard the strangled cry again before I realized just who it was that was calling for me.
"Shorty? What's wrong baby?" I demanded before gathering her crying frame into my arms, completely ignoring everyone else around us.
"Everything was a l-lie. They all lied! I-" She rasped out before another heartbreaking sob tore through her chest, effectively cutting her words off.
"Shh, I need you to calm down, Aurora. Tell me what's going on. What happened?"
"She's my mom. She fucking lied to everyone. She's my mom, Troy!" She yelled hysterically. I was still at a total loss of what the fuck was going on and why she was so upset. Before she could explain further, I saw her glance behind me at Chad's concerned face before she began crying even harder - much to my despair.
One Hour Earlier
Aurora's POV
"So, three weeks down only one more left of your break. You ready to go back?" Knox asked me as he stirred a spoonful of honey into his cup of tea. He laughed after seeing me scrunch my nose while glaring at the concoction.
"It was something my wife got me into way back before we were even married." He began to explain as if reading my mind. "Some holistic shit about calming the nerves while providing energy. It still sounds like a wad of shit to me, but she likes to think she's right and it's just become a habit along the way. It makes her happy that I took her advise and that's all that really matters." He finished with a small smile.
"I just want you to know that I really admire and look up to the relationship you and your wife have. The way you two co-parent and raised all your kids. It gives me hope." I said, voice cracking towards the end of the sentence. He snorted with a shake of his head before encompassing both of my hands in his.
"I want to tell you a little something about the beginning of my wife and I's relationship. Plain and simple, I was a fucking dick. I was extremely controlling, way too possessive, and so overprotective it probably makes what my son does look careless. I hit people and did irrational things that I thought were necessary to keep her from leaving me. I was terrified for the entire beginning of my marriage, actually my relationship in general really, that I was going to lose her because I simply wasn't good enough. There are some days that I still don't believe I am. Most mornings, I roll over and thank God for the incredible life partner he blessed me with and that she put up with my shit for so long. The family and the happiness that she's given me are things that money can never and will never be able to buy. They're priceless.
"Now, this may seem a little redundant, because I know my wife has told you a very biased version of this story where she paints me out to be less of an asshole than I really am, but us Carmichael men are all the same. If there's ever a moment that you don't want to put up with my boy's shit, or things start to be too much, just know that you're not the only woman who's ever felt that way. Not by a long shot. I see the way Troy is with you, and it makes me so proud that my boy has found someone that he's worthy of and vice versa." I hiccuped with the sob I was desperately trying to hold back that his sweet words caused.
"God dammit, did you have to say that?" I whimpered while wiping away the tears that had escaped from my eyes. He laughed while patting my hands before taking a generous sip of tea and resting his body back against the worn out booth.
"I do have one favor to ask of you, though." His deep voice rumbled out. I nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"Take your kids here. My father, bastard that he was, took my mother here, I took Poppy here, and I'd like the tradition to continue." He said.
I smiled sweetly while leaning my head against my hand and nodded. "Absolutely." He seemed satisfied with my reply as he dove into his food. Moments later, something behind me caught his attention and caused his entire body to tense up.
"Deb? What the hell are you doing here?" Knox asked, slight hostility in his tone. Craning my neck, I saw my recently acquired friend just a booth away and coming closer.
"Hey, Debbie!" I said happily. "What the heck are you doing here?" She glanced at me with a nervous smile before clearing her throat.
"Knox, It's always good to see you. Do you mind if I steal Aurora for a minute? I have something important to discuss with her and Greg." She spoke hesitantly before resting a hand on my shoulder. My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion at the mention of Chad's father. How did she know him? Knox narrowed his eyes at her before slowly nodding.
"Actually, I need to pay Greg a visit anyway. Why don't we all go?" He suggested, a forced smile on his face. Debbie swallowed audibly before nodding. Following us out of the restaurant, we all loaded into Knox's truck since Debbie had apparently taken the bus.
A few very awkward minutes later and we'd arrived at Greg's house. I could feel the tension in the air between Debbie and Knox. It was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. I'd yet to find the courage to open my mouth and question how they knew each other. It seemed to be a can of worms that no one was ready to open quite yet.
"Knox! Aurora! A cosa devo la sorpresa? To what do I owe this surprise?" Greg rasped out from his usual spot on the couch. He was bundled up a tad more than usual and it made my heart pound a little harder. The tired smile he was sporting immediately left his face when Debbie stepped out from behind the two of us and making her presence known.
"Deb." He said distastefully, a look of anger passing over his face. I watched as she visibly paled before clearing her throat.
"There's something that's been weighing down my conscious for a really long time, and it's something that I think you have a right to know." She finally managed to say. Knox and I had similar looks of confusion, but Greg just looked increasingly pissed off.
"You know they say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but it's been six years and I still think you're a fucking bitch, Deb. Oh, but please do share whatever else you lied to me about." He sneered at her. My eyes widened to a comical size as I stared at Greg in surprise. I couldn't believe something so horrid could come from his mouth. He'd never seemed anything but a sweet, fragile man to me.
"I never said I lied to you!" Debbie said defensively. "I just never told you the...whole truth."
"Obviously there is some unfinished business that the two of you need to take care of, so I think I'm just going to take Aurora and we'll head out-"
"No!" Debbie yelled before grasping onto my wrist with a death grip. "This involves her. This is about her."
"Mio Dio! Lei è mia, vero?" Greg questioned with suddenly misty eyes. Debbie crossed her arms over her chest before looking at him, seemingly in pain, and nodding her head.
"How did you know?" She whispered.
"Cazzo, Deb! She looks just like my nonna!" He shouted as a tear trickled down his cheek.
"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Knox asked, clearly as frustrated as I was about being out of the loop of the argument. Especially when it was apparently about me.
"How? How did you keep this from me?" Greg demanded, completely ignoring Knox's words.
"You didn't even come into the picture until after I'd given birth. You wanted nothing to do with me, but I knew you would want to be involved in our childrens' lives. We were dumb college kids and I knew we wouldn't have the money or resources to care for both of them. I did what I thought was the best thing to do at that point in time. The on duty nurse and I grew close and she knew of my situation. She approached me with an...opportunity. Her best friend had just given birth down the hall to a stillborn. The lady was desperate for a daughter, but that baby was her last chance. Her miracle baby, if you will. The nurse swapped our girls when she took them for documentation and told her friend to get the hell out of town before people could start asking questions."
The final words of Debbie's speech hung in the air for a few silent moments. I gasped in realization when every bit of information seemed to fall into place in my brain. Glancing back and forth between Greg and Debbie, I had no idea what to say or do.
"I think we should take a blood test. No offense Greg, but I don't trust a word this woman says." Knox reasoned from beside me.
"I already had one done. Here, it's still sealed if you don't believe me." She murmured, handing Knox the white envelope I hadn't realized she'd been clutching the entire time. Knox continued to stare at her skeptically while ripping the seal open and pulling the paper out. Glancing at the paper, he intently read for a few minutes before clearing his throat and handing the paper over to Greg.
"She's yours." He said with finality. Without thinking, I grabbed the single set of keys that were sitting in a bowl on an end table before storming out of the house. Ignoring all the pleas for me to stop, I unlocked the car in the driveway - thanking my lucky stars that I grabbed the right set - before slamming the door and speeding off.
Present
Troy's POV
"I'm gonna take her home." I murmured quietly to Chad before sweeping her up into my arms. He nodded in understanding before telling me to text him when I found out what was wrong.
Carrying her from the car into the house, I was instantly greeted with a swarm of worried faces. One of which I was very confused to see.
"Aurora, what is Debbie doing here?" I whispered calmly, not wanting to get her all worked up after her tears had finally subsided. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.
"Son, we need to talk." My dad said sternly before glancing at Aurora's shaking frame in my arms with sympathetic eyes.
"Can't it wait? I'm trying to do some damage control here." I said, gesturing towards Aurora with my head.
"No. Ss it turns out, you and Chad will be brother's after all. Well, by law that is." Greg said with a solemn shake of his head. I was about to question his choice of words, but was cut off before I could.
"Someone said my name?"