"Mom? Dad?" I walked into the house after dropping Ilyse off and realized it was dark and still, like some serial killer was going to jump out from around the corner any time now. But the serial killer never materialized and the house remained still and quiet, something didn't feel right but I didn't know what it was.

Looking through the whole house took me a while but I eventually found the two of them in the study, curled up near the fireplace that wasn't even lit.

"Mom? Dad? What's the matter?" At first I thought that mom was crying because she'd found out about the fight at school today, but when I saw the envelope that had dropped on the floor near the door I bent to pick it up and almost dropped it again. I knew who the letter was from and wanted no part of it, I didn't want to hear from the murderer that had fathered me.

"He wants to meet you Keelan, ultimately the decision is up to you but we feel that you should see him." I shook my head at dad, I was not meeting that man. I'd reply to his letter and let him know just what I thought about him but there was no way in hell I was going anywhere to meet the man that had ruined my life.

"No. I'll never forgive him for what he did, you're my dad and you're my mom and nothings going to change that. You both got me through the bad times and have stuck by me through my stupid phases. I don't want to meet that guy, he's just the sperm donor that made me but you're the man that raised me to be who I am now. I don't want to meet him, I've got nothing good to say to his face and if I want to see his face I can just google him anyway." I had started out with something good but got sidetracked when mom started crying harder. Was I saying all the wrong things?

But when she got up from her seat and came to hug me I just held on to her, she was shaking so hard I couldn't do much else.

"I was so scared you would want to leave us and go live with your real family Keelan, we were so worried." My real family? I don't think mom and dad realized just how much of a real family I had with them, they didn't skimp on the love or discipline when it came to me.

"Mom, you and dad, Nat and Corlan are my real family. I've not heard from my birth parents families once and I'm okay with that because I have all the love and support I need right here. Sorry to say it, but I'm not leaving any time soon." Mom laughed a teary laugh when I said that last bit, I couldn't help the little jokes that came out.

"I'll write a letter to whoever I need to or even make a phone call but I'm not going anywhere. Please believe me when I say that." Mom pulled away a little and looked up at me with her teary eyes but had a smile on her face like I'd never seen before. She really looked happy, like really happy and I realized I hadn't seen her look that way for a long time now. Had she been that worried about my leaving? If I could I would live with them both until I was thirty, but I wanted to go to college and do all those other normal things too.

"Okay Keelan, there are a few people who would like to hear from you. But we can talk about that later, how was your day at school? I see you've got a bruise again. Mrs. Gasfell called though, we're really proud of you for standing up for others Keelan. We don't care if that boy likes boys and I hope you raised you three kids the same way, what we care about is how you treat other people and how good of a human being you are in life. So this time we're going to sweep that fight under the rug, okay? Are you hungry? I'm starving." Mom wiped her tears away, gave me a kiss on the cheek and excused herself from the room.

"She really was scared Keelan, she realized she hadn't been so fair on you lately and thought you might leave because of that. You birth father has been sending letters for much of the summer, we didn't know how to tell you because I knew how you felt about the man. But, I think if you send him a letter or give him a call in prison then he'll finally understand what you feel for him. I know you love us, because we love you but your mom just wasn't sure. Come on, she's probably cooking up half the food in the pantry." I laughed but could understand where dad was coming from, I'd give James Carrington a call in prison when I was ready but for now he could read all my scathing remarks in the letters that I would send him.

I planned on sending him one letter for each that he'd sent over the summer, I'd add his letter back in to each letter of mine and use the worst kinds of words and phrases that I could muster up.

Dad was right about mom though, she had a mountain of food sitting on the bench when we walked into the kitchen, I rolled up my sleeves and went to start peeling potatoes for dinner. Mom patted my back when I walked passed her to grab the pot, this is what I realized family was about.

It wasn't just a mom and dad living in the same house, it was the small things too. Like taking the trash out without being asked, cleaning up after myself, helping with other things and just being there with family.

Later that night, after dinner I spoke with Ilyse over video chat. We were talking about our families and how well things had sort of evened out over the summer. She told me all about Laura and Martin and how much they were trying to be normal, she told me that though she had tried to be the strong, mature person that it was really great to just let go and be a teenager again.

I told her about the letters from my sperm donor in prison and how I had the perfect answer for every single one of his letters. I even read Ilyse a bit of his letter so that she could understand some of the anger that I was feeling at this guy. He was demanding in the letters, which brought us back to the first time she'd gone to stay with Martin and how he had been that demanding too.

But, the difference between Martin and my sperm donor was that Martin had some right to her attention. My sperm donor had none, what so ever. Because as I read through his letters I realized he wasn't my sperm donor and that it was why he'd killed my mom...she'd had an affair and he'd gotten that angry about it that he'd killed her.

When I read it I couldn't believe it.

"I'm coming over to your place Ilyse." I said before ending the call. It was late and mom and dad likely wouldn't want me sneaking out, but having a room with easy window access was always a bonus when I needed some fresh air.

Before I knew it I was at Ilyse's home, tapping lightly on her bedroom window.

The good thing about her room was the fact she had a door that opened out on to a private patio type thing. So I could walk straight in when she opened it, when Ilyse closed the door and locked it behind her I hugged her. I needed the comfort, knowing that another lie had been revealed after so long was kind of shocking.

For her part, Ilyse just held me.

We ended up in her bed, her head laid on my chest, her leg flung over mine and we slept like that. When morning came we were woken by shaking, or rather I was woken by shaking as Ilyse whispered for me to wake up. At first I was groggy and thought it was too early to get up for summer, but I quickly realized that summer break was over and I wasn't at my house.

"F*ck, if you don't see me for a few days it's because I've been grounded again." I gave Ilyse a quick kiss, threw my jersey on and went back to my house. It was stupid of me to try and sneak through the bedroom window so I went to the front door and knocked on it.

Mom opened it wide, she tried to look stern but I could see she was just relieved that I hadn't run off.

"Sorry mom, I went to Ilyse's house." Mom shrugged her shoulders and ushered me inside before closing the door firmly behind her.

"We know, we heard you sneak out last night. You know you're not that quiet when you climb through your window, besides your father sent Martin a message and he confirmed you and Ilyse were curled up in her bed." Okay, I didn't know what Martin and my parents were even talking let alone exchanging text messages. I think Ilyse would find it hilarious that our parents were friends when she found out, though I guess Martin would tell her this morning.

"I'll go out the door next time, I promise. I better get ready for school." Mom ordered me to have breakfast before I went to school so did go into the kitchen once I was done showering and dressing to find everyone sitting at the table still eating and chatting happily.

And again I was struck by how important family was, but it wasn't until I looked at dad...like really looked at him that the penny dropped and I almost fainted.

He caught my eye in that moment, the smile on his face dropped immediately when he saw the expression on my face and ushered me out of the room to the study.

"Keelan, it's not what you think." Was the first thing he said as he closed the door, I think I was just in shock by the fact that this guy...this guy that I'd been calling dad could well have been my own father...my sperm donor.

It.was.crazy.