Second Chance Boyfriend

He laughs but it’s hollow sounding. “She molested you. God, she’s sick. I never want to see her again.”
    “You don’t blame me?” I fall onto the couch, my head spinning. All these years, I believed if he discovered the truth, he would hate my guts.
    “Blame you? How could I blame you? She said this started when you were still fifteen. Fucking fifteen!” He’s crying harder. “I’m sorry, Drew. I brought her into our lives and I’m so goddamned sorry. I had no idea. No fucking clue she was doing that to you. How could I be so stupid, so selfish? So blind?”
    “It’s not your fault, Dad…”
    “Stop right there, just…stop. It’s all my fault. I should’ve paid better attention. I should’ve been there for you but I wasn’t. I hate that. I’ve let you down.” He takes a deep shuddering breath. “It’s over, son. My marriage is over. You don’t have to worry about her being a part of our lives any longer. She’s no longer welcome in my home, in my heart, in my life.”
    I’m crying too. The tears are falling and I sniff, trying to gain some control over my emotions. That tight feeling I’ve been carrying in my chest for months—hell, years—is slowly but surely easing. My dad knows the truth.
    And he doesn’t hate me for it.
    “When did she tell you?”
    “She called me hours ago. I have no idea where she is. Did you see her? Did she come there? God, she’s twisted. I swear she’s obsessed with you.”
    “I saw her. Fable tried to beat her up when she found out Adele had met her younger brother.”’
    “You’re still with Fable? I thought you two broke up.” He pauses for a moment. “Wait a minute, does she know what happened between you and Adele?”
    “Yeah.” My voice is a raspy whisper.
    He’s silent for a while, as if he needs time to process that bit of information. “Things must be quite serious between you two.”
    “She—she figured it out when I brought her home.” Adele had been less than subtle. That my father couldn’t recognize her crazy, possessive behavior showed how oblivious he really was to her.
    When Adele always complained about how Dad ignored her, I believed her.
    “I’m an idiot. I hope someday you can forgive me.”
    His words take my breath away. “I—I feel the same way.”
    “There’s nothing for me to forgive. You were innocent in all of this.” A little sob escapes him again. “I’m so sorry, son. For everything.”
    We talk a little bit more and I promise to come see him soon. Hopefully going there without Adele present will remove the ghosts that haunt me in my old house. My dad needs me right now. I need to forget all those ghosts once and for all.
    I end the call and go back into the bedroom to find Fable sitting up, leaning against the pillows, the bedside table lamp on its lowest setting. She has the sheet tucked around her, her shoulders bare and gleaming in the soft light, and she’s twirling a strand of long blonde hair around her finger, staring at the ends so hard she almost looks cross-eyed.
    She’s silly. Beautiful. And so understanding, so accepting of all my secrets, I don’t know what I did to earn her trust and forgiveness. I love that she’s in my life. That she wants to be with me despite it all.
    “Is everything okay?” she asks, her voice hushed.
    Going to my side of the bed, I settle in beside her. “That was my dad.” I take a deep breath and stare straight ahead. I’m almost afraid to look at her even though she knows everything. “Adele told him what happened.”
    “How did he react?”
    “He doesn’t hate me. He feels awful for what she did to me.”
    “See?” Her voice is quiet. “I told you he would be on your side.”
    She did. I hadn’t believed her. “I guess you were right.” I release a deep, shaky breath. “I can’t believe how accepting of me he was.”
    “Did she tell him about…Vanessa?”
    Frowning, I turn to look at her. How could I have missed that? “He never mentioned her. So I’m assuming no.”
    Fable lets the strand of hair she’d been twirling fall from her fingers. “Do you really think it’s true? That she was your daughter?”
    I shrug. This is the information that makes me the most uncomfortable. I don’t want to believe it. That I could’ve been a father just…blows my mind. I have a tough time talking about it with anyone, even my therapist. It’s a subject I don’t want to face.
    Especially since I haven’t a clue if it’s true or not.