Chapter 21- Total Disclosure

When I woke, the first sound I was greeted with was the arguing going on downstairs. Someone really had it out for another person and it puzzled me why mom and Martin would be yelling at each other like they were. It reminded me of when my dad still used to live at home and my parents were nearing the end of their marriage.

I knew they hadn’t been in love for a long time before he left, but they rarely ever argued, at least not in front of me. I only ever witnessed them arguing two times before they called it quits. Both times I’d ran over to Aiden’s and stayed until my mom came over and got me, and assured me everything was okay. I hated seeing my parents that way. Though they day he left it still surprised me. I never knew what they had argued over, but it seemed pretty big to my mom. I was too scared to ask any questions about it though; afraid it might send my mom into another one of her crying spells again.

I pushed the blankets off my body and got out of bed before silently creeping over to my door. I opened it slowly so that it wouldn’t creek and tried to listen in on their conversation.

“I thought I made myself clear before,” my mom yelled. “If she wanted to talk to you, she would have called or written you and she didn’t. Get the message, John. She’s still angry at you.”

John? Wait, dad’s here? H-how? W-when?

I quickly ran to my bedside table and unplugged my phone from the charger and glance at it. Two messages and two missed calls and both were from him, my dad.

Message one:

Bailey it’s been a week and I haven’t heard anything back from you. If you don’t call me, I’m coming to see you.

Message two:

Julie and Max are coming to town with me this weekend. Tell your mom expect me in the morning.

Crap. This is what I get for avoiding him. Who knew he’d have just showed up out of nowhere? I snuck back over to the door to listen in on the rest of their conversation and silently prayed he wasn’t there to take me back with him. The last thing I wanted to do was live in Glennville with my dad and his new wife.

“Did you even give her my letters or birthday cards I sent her?” he asked.

Wait, he sent me letters and cards? I never saw anything.

“No,” mom answered back without hesitation. “I didn’t give her any of them. I am protecting her, John. I am protecting her from getting her heart broken again. You left her once you’ll do it again. I won’t let you hurt her.”

“You’re the one who made me leave!” he shouted.

“You had a child with another woman. What did you expect me to do? Say congratulations on having a son and pretend everything was alright?”

I gasped. Mom knew about Julie and Max all this time and didn’t tell me? Why? Why would she do that to me? Why would she keep my letters?

I felt betrayal and disbelief creeping up inside me and it hurt. My own mom had lied to me from the day he left.

“No, but to cut me off from my only daughter is unacceptable! The only reason I stayed away from her as long as I did is because I truly believe she hated me. But you were the one keeping us apart. It wasn’t Bailey’s decision.”

“Keep your voice down or you’ll wake her up,” mom snapped.

“I want to see my daughter. I have a right to explain things to her. She’s only heard one side of the story and that’s yours. Now she deserves to hear mine,” he said with promise in his voice.

“I am still her mother and I am telling you to stay away from her. You gave up your parental rights when you left her that day. It’s a bit too late to try being a dad to her now.”

“But that’s just it, I am still her dad. I have a say about what goes on in her life especially now that I know she wasn’t the one who shut me out.”

“Get out of my house,” she yelled. “Get out now.”

“Sherry, calm down. All this yelling can’t be good for you or the baby,” Martin intervened.

In a much calmer voice my dad replied, “Tell her I’m staying at the Holiday Inn off main street room 325. I’ll be expecting her.”

Without another word from anyone, the door slammed followed by the start of a car before it sped down the road. I backed away from the door slowly in shock from the new information I had just learned.

I sat down on my bed while my mind tried to understand what just happened. I couldn’t make sense of it. I don’t understand why my Mom would keep us apart. Yes, he left, but he also tried to make up for it by contacted me. And all this time I have been sitting here thinking I wasn’t good enough for him, that he didn’t want me anymore, when in fact, he did.

All the angry and resentment I felt towards him over the years quickly diminished into nothingness and I actually found myself wanted to see him and demand more answers. I deserved them. It was my right to ask.

Without another thought I stood from my bed and pulled on some clothes, before tossing my hair up in a loose ponytail and grabbing my phone and keys. I rushed from my room in a sprint. When I neared the bottom of the stairs I saw Mom and Martin sitting on the couch while he rubbed her back as she softly sobbed.

She looked up at me when she heard the sound of the car keys rattling in my hands. Without giving her a chance to say anything I called out to over my shoulder as I exited the house.

“I’m going out. I’ll be back later.”

I drove just above the speed limit to the other side of town to my dad’s hotel where Julie and Max where also staying and whipped the car into the first available parking spot I could find. The hotel was nice, but not very busy this time of year. The most business the hotel seen was at holidays when visiting relatives would come in and stay for days for weeks at a time. It was still a month yet until Easter, but that wasn’t a typically busy holiday for visiting family either.

I put the car in park and unbuckled my seat belt. I looked around the parking lot for my dad’s car, but stopped myself when I realized I didn’t know what he was driving. The only thing I’d ever seen him in was his police cruiser, but being in another town I knew he wouldn’t have brought it.

Opening the door I stepped out of the car and close it behind me. I gripped the keys in my hand nervously as I approached the hotel entrance. A dark skinned woman sat at the check-in desk and smiled kindly at me as I entered. I returned her smile when I stopped in front of her.

“Excuse me. Could you tell me where the elevators are?” I asked.

“Sure, hon. Just take a left down this hall and it will be on your right,” she said pointing the general direction I needed to go.

“Thank you.”

According to the chart in the elevator my dad was on the third floor so I hit the correct floor button and waited for the doors to open. After making a stop on the second floor to drop off an elderly couple it finally let me off on my floor and I stepped off the elevator.

Room 325 wasn’t very far down the hall, only about mid way. Without giving myself time to prepare for seeing him again I knocked on the door. To my surprise, Julie answered the door. Her face lit up when she saw me.

“Bailey, it’s good to see you again. Come in.”

“Thanks,” I said stepping inside. “Is my Dad here?”

“He just texted me, he’s picking up breakfast, but he’ll be back soon if you want to wait.”

I nodded walked over to the desk that was place in each room and sat in the chair. I noticed that the beds were already made up which told me they just checked in or got up pretty early this morning and room service already made them.

I didn’t know exactly how I was supposed to feel about Julie now after learning about her being with my dad while he was still married, but I made a deal with myself on the way here I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions until I heard the whole story. I had done that with my dad before and refused to listen to him when in fact I should have.

A text soon came across my phone from Aiden and I suddenly remembered our plans for this morning and felt bad. As much as I wanted to be with him today, I knew I had to do this. I needed to talk to my dad.

So sorry, Aid. Something big came up with my dad. I promise I’ll explain later.  - XOXO Bailey

I hit send and put away my phone without waiting for a reply. I knew Aiden would understand. I’d just be sure to call him as soon as all of this was sorted out.

Max came out of the bathroom and stopped in front of the door in surprise. He looked to his mom and then me unsure of how to react. I too was wondering that myself. I mean, technically he was my brother, but he was still a complete stranger to me. How do address someone like that?

“Hi,” I said lamely waving my hand.

“Hey,” he replied awkwardly returning my wave.

Was it just me or was this room feeling entirely too small right now?

Attempting to make the moment less weird I tore my eyes away from him and glance around the room. I wanted so much to study him and see if he and I had any resemblances, but that might make him uncomfortable so I refrained. I didn’t exactly know the code of conduct for finding out about a brother you never knew you had. These things should come with a handbook. It would certainly be helpful.

“Food’s here,” Julie announced opening the door I didn’t even know anyone had knocked on.

Carrying a box of dunking donuts and tray of beverages in walked my dad after placing a kiss on Jennifer lips. Both Max and I shared the same look of disgust.  

“Eww. Two other people in the room here,” Max said.

Dad stopped mid step when he saw me sitting in the room waiting for him.

“Bailey. You came.” Surprise was clear in his voice he said handing the food off to his wife. “I didn’t think your mom would tell you.”

“She didn’t. I heard you guys fighting this morning. It woke me up.”

Julie looked at him with clear disapproval and shook her head. “You said you were just going to talk.”

He displayed a look of guilt as he replied to her. “I was, but Sherry just makes me so crazy sometimes. She always has. It got a little out of hand,” he admitted.

Her eyes then drifted to mine apologetically. “I’m sorry about that, sweetheart. Are you hungry? We have donuts.”

“Um sure.”

She held the box out to me and I took one of the chocolate ones. I took a small bite and glanced around the room at everyone while remaining silent. It was an awkward situation we were in and I, nor my extended family, knew what to say.

Dad cleared his throat breaking the uncomfortable silence. All eyes switched to him.

“Come on. Let’s go for a walk,” he said to me motioning to the door with his head.

I nodded in reply and stood up with my breakfast in hand and followed him out. I was thankful for his suggestion. It would be a lot easier to talk to him without people I hardly knew in the room with us.

We found the elevator on his floor and took it to the bottom. When we exited the hotel I was pleased to see that the rain had stopped and it was now just a light drizzle and thick fog. I wrapped my arms around my body holding my jacket to me, keeping out any cool air.

“We could drive somewhere if you’d prefer it,” he offered.

I smiled and shook my head. “No, that’s okay. The park’s not far from here. Maybe a ten minute walking distance. We could go there.”

I noticed the pained look in his eyes at the mention of the place he ditched me at. They same place he promised to meet me at the day he left. When he didn’t show my heart broke.

“Okay,” he agreed reluctantly.

Most of the way to our destination we walked in a comfortable silence just taking in the scenery. It wasn’t much with the fog rolling in, but it was still a beautiful morning. The closer we got to where we were going he began to open up.

“I guess you have a lot of questions,” he guessed.

“I do,” I replied.

He pushed his hands into his pockets and nodded. “Where should I start?”

“The day you left,” I answered automatically. “Why did you go?”

He face gave nothing away as he answered. “It was selfish reasons, really. I had a lot of them. I made mistakes and I had no way to fix them, so leaving seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

“And now?”

“And now I realize it was a mistake. Not leaving, but cutting you out. Not making more of an effort to see you when I should have.”

That comforted me some.

“What did you do?” I asked.

He sighed, a look of shame taking over his features. “As you’ve already figured out, I had an affair on your mother. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I’m not perfect. I made the mistake of not telling your mom about it until three years after it happened, when I found out about Max.”

“She didn’t tell you about him until he was three? Why?”

“It was a one night stand that I didn’t think would have any repercussions. I thought that if I tried to forget about it, it would just go away. But it didn’t.”

“No, it didn’t,” I agreed.

“I ran into her in town one day she told me about her being pregnant and having the baby. She didn’t have any way to tell me until she ran into me that day,” he explained. “It was fate catching up to me.”

“And then you told mom?”

He nodded. “I did. I didn’t think I had a choice anymore. She deserved to know the truth and I could no longer deny my infidelity. When I told her she was livid, but I knew it was because I waited so long to tell her, and not so much about the affair. She claimed I wasted three years of her life, when she could have moved on.”

When we arrived at the nearly deserted park we wondered over an empty bench and sat down. After a brief moment, he continued.

“Your mom and I hadn’t been in love for a long time. The only reason we got married in the first place was because of our parents and you. Getting pregnant at sixteen doesn’t leave much room for romance in a relationship. Sherry was my high school sweetheart, but when we had to start living in the real world, everything changed for us. It got a lot harder and more complicated. We had a house, a mortgage and bills. We just changed.”

“But that doesn’t excuse an affair. Yes, times get hard, but you started a whole other family with someone.”

“I know. I know it’s not an excuse, just an explanation. I don’t expect it to be condoned by you or anyone else.”

“So that’s why you left, because mom kicked you out after having learned about the affair?”

He remained remorseful. “Yes and after I put some distance between us I realized I what a terrible parent I was. I skipped town that day and thought you’d be better off without me. It wasn’t until a few months later I realized leaving you was the worst thing a parent could do and tried to make amends. I came to see you while you were out with Aiden one day.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “You did?”

“Yes, but your Mom went crazy and ordered me to leave. She said I’d done enough damage and wouldn’t it me cause anymore. She convinced me you wanted nothing to do with me and wanted me to stay away. She made me think it was a good idea. Though, I wanted nothing more than to apologize and make amends for my behavior.”

Anger flooded through me. “I can’t believe she never told me. I had a right to know. She watched me cry myself to sleep every night for a year.”

He shook he head at me. “Don’t blame her Bailey. She was just being a protective mother. She thought what she was doing was for the best. She and I have both made mistakes.”

I quickly stood up from the bench. “But she still lied to me. Every time I asked if she heard from you I always received the same answer. No. I never got the birthday cards, or the letters, or anything. That would have been better than nothing. She could have at least have given me those.”

“Bumblebee, I didn’t come here to cause strife between you and your mom. I came here to see you. I want to try to make up for lost time. The day I saw you at Julie’s work place last week I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t just let you go on hating me. I saw an opportunity and I took it. Now, I’m glad I did.”

My eyes watered at my old nickname wrapped my arms around my dad. “Daddy, I’ve missed you.”

In that moment of honesty, I knew I couldn’t hold a grudge against him any longer. I had missed him and so much time had already been wasted, I knew I couldn’t waste anymore. Being angry was only hurting us both and I didn’t want that anymore. I had to forgive him. It had been eight years. That was too long. At least he was here now and that was better than never.

“I’ve missed you too sweetheart.” He voice broke at the end of his reply sending me into tears of my own.

“Promise you’ll never leave me again. I don’t think I could handle it if you did.”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of it. And that part of the reason I’m here today,” he said pulling away from me and meeting my eyes. “I want you to come back home with me. I want you to come live with Julie, your brother and me.”

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A/N

Another long wait, I know. All I can say is I’m sorry. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and this offered some insight into Bailey’s past. The next few chapters will be about Bailey trying to forgive her mother for lying to her and her progression in her relationship with Aiden.  

I’m thinking there is somewhere around 5 to 8 chapters left so I’m going to start wrapping thing up soon. Just a heads up to you guys. I’ll try to make sure I don’t leave any storylines hanging when I finish.   

Please leave me your comment and votes. Can we try for 150 comments this time? And by that I mean genuine comments. No spam. Thanks a lot! And this is just a goal, NOT a requirement. :)

*This chapter is unedited.*