Bereft (Seven Year Itch #2)(16)

“Do you love the woman?”

She still didn’t know who I’d been with. “No! Absolutely not. There were never feelings for me. It was just sex.”

“How did Mom find out?”

“She caught me.” I turned and looked out at an open field. The sun was beginning to set, and plenty of young adults were sitting around, reading and enjoying each other’s company. “She came home and I was there.”

Steph placed her hands up to her mouth. I could tell she was in shock. “I’m sorry, Steph. I knew better, but I went through with it anyway.”

“Jesus, Dad.” She didn’t call me Daddy, which meant her opinion was changing. “How could you? No wonder she’s pissed. Did she know the woman?”

“I’m afraid so.”

She seemed intrigued, and I knew what she was going to ask next. “Do I?”

I took her hand and looked right at her, as if it would help the blow. “Honey, it’s Kyla.”

Steph jerked her hand away. She stood up and stared at me, like she could see right through me. “No. There’s no way. Not my Kyla. She wouldn’t. You wouldn’t. That’s sick!”

“Please hear me out.”

She pointed to the parking lot. “You need to leave.”

“I can’t go. We have to talk about this. She came onto me. She said things to me, and threw herself at me. I’d never make a move on my own. I never even considered it.”

“Please stop. I can’t hear this. I feel like I’m going to be sick.” She held her abdomen. “This can’t be happening. I just talked to her. She wants to get together this weekend. She asked if she could stay the night. This is a bad joke, right? Tell me it is. It has to be.”

“I’m afraid it’s not a joke. The last time you were home Kyla stayed the night. You had to leave for a class the next morning. After your mother left for work she came down and sat on the couch with me. She started making comments about the way I looked. I ignored her, but then she began taking off her clothes. I don’t know why I went through with it, but I did, and then it continued.”

“This is disgusting. She’s my age, Dad. How could you? She’s like daughter to you.”

“She was. I’d always thought of her that way, but things changed. Your mom and I haven’t been on the same page and I appreciated the attention. It was selfish, and I hate myself, but that’s the truth.”

“I can’t look at you. I’m so angry right now I could kill someone.”

“Please don’t. We need to handle this as a family.”

“A family? Dad, do you hear yourself? We’re not a family. Mom won’t get over this. I wouldn’t if I were her. Maybe it would be forgivable if it were with a stranger, but you screwed my best friend. An accident is once, but you’ve mentioned it went on for a while. That means both of you were sneaking behind our backs. Because of your actions our family might break apart, and I’m losing my best friend, because obviously she’s lied and used me to get to you. How could I have not seen it? She’s been mentioning you, asking me questions.”

“Honey, I’m not going to give up on your mother. I can fix this. I promise I won’t stop trying.”

“I still want you to leave. I’m going to need to make a call and break up with my best friend. It’s going to be ugly, and honestly, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to handle it. She’s my oldest friend. I trusted her with my life.”

“I hate to ask you this, but I need your help. I’ll leave you alone. I promise I’ll give you time.”

“What do you want? I think you’ve taken enough from me, from mom.” Stephanie wasn’t letting up. She was pissed and hurt. I couldn’t blame her. I never would. These were my sins.

“Kyla’s causing problems. She won’t stop calling me. I can’t make good with your mother if she’s still trying to contact me. I’ve asked her to stay away, but she refuses. She says she’s in love with me.”

She covered her face and shook her head. “Spare me the details. It’s making me ill.”

“We need to sever ties with the girl. She’s starting to act crazy.”

“You do realize you’re asking me to give up my best friend? Do you have any idea how I feel about you right now?”

“I do.” I glanced away. It hurt too much to see the disappointment in her eyes. I was no longer the father she looked up to. I was someone who’d made a mistake that could cost us our family. “Please help me make this right. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate.”

“I need to be away from you so I can think. I need to call Mom. It’s going to take me a long time to be able to consider forgiving you. I can’t imagine how Mom is feeling.”

I reached over to kiss her, but she backed away. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to be my dad right now. You need to get out of here and make things right. If you’ve broken up our family I’ll never forgive you.”

I nodded and turned to walk away. I was well aware it would go down the way it had, but nothing could have prepared me for the tornado of emotions I’d experience. My actions had cost me everything. I’d have to start from the bottom. I didn’t care how hard it would be. I’d get my wife back, and I’d prove to her I could be the man she depended on to love her forever. I had to. I didn’t think I could live without my girls, I wouldn’t want to.