Fallen Crest High(19)

"And you're the Mecca for his dating daydreams?" I caught sight of Becky on the sidelines. Her cheeks were inflamed and she pointed to the corner. When I looked over, I saw a confused Adam Quinn against the wall with some of his football teammates. He pushed some of his blonde hair out of his eyes and scratched his forehead.

Then Ashley DeCortts pushed through the crowd. She sidled next to Jill and touched her on the arm. "What are you doing, Jill?"

"I'm making my stand." Her eyes drilled into me.

I rolled my eyes and snorted. "Are you kidding me? You can have Jeff. I don't want him back." Then I thought about it again. "I haven't wanted Jeff for a couple years now."

Someone gasped. Someone laughed. And I turned to leave, but I stopped when I saw him right behind me. A look was hurt was evident when he met my gaze for a second.

My jaw hardened and I pushed through the crowd.

When I saw the men's locker room door was open and no one was inside, I went without thinking. My dad's office was in the back and his door was open. I paused in the doorway. I'd rarely come to his office because of where it was, but I took a deep breath. I was there now.

The small bathroom that attached to his office had the door closed. The toilet flushed and a moment later he came out, drying his hands.

He froze for a brief moment. "Samantha."

"Hi." I glanced over my shoulder. Male voices carried through the room and I heard them coming closer so I closed the door and sat in one of his chairs.

"What are you doing here?"

I hugged my books on my lap. "I haven't seen you since we moved out."

"Yeah…I know." He sounded tired as he sat behind his desk. His body was tense and his finger started to tap on his chair. I watched as it continued to tap, a habit I knew he did whenever he was nervous.

"How are you?"

A small grin appeared. "I'm okay. I'm the one who's supposed to ask you how you are."

One of my shoulders shrugged. "I'm not the one who's getting a divorce."

"Yeah, there's that."

"Jeff and I broke up."

"Oh?"

"He was cheating on me."

My dad's face remained void of any reaction.

My hands twisted together in front of my books and I looked down at my lap.

"With Jessica. You remember her, right?"

There was silence.

I ploughed on, "For two years and Lydia knew. She helped them lie about it."

I waited and then after a minute, he asked in a quiet voice, "Why are you telling me this, Samantha?"

"What do you mean?" I looked up now. I needed something; I was looking for it in him. I didn't know quite what, though.

"I'm sorry that Jeffrey cheated on you. That's a horrible thing to find out."

"Like you and mom?" I swallowed thickly.

He froze again. His finger stopped tapping. And then a deep breath left him and he hung his head a moment. When he looked up again, I reeled back. The pain was so clear, so evident in his eyes. I was speechless for a moment.

He choked out, "I can't keep lying to you, Samantha."

Lying? "Dad?"

He closed his eyes and looked away. "I'm not your father."

I laughed.

"I mean it, Sam. I'm not your biological father." He caught my gaze again.

He was serious. I saw it in them and a flare of pain stabbed me in the gut. I almost bowled over, but my fingers caught my chair's sides and dug in. My books fell to the floor, one of them thumped on top of my toe. I didn't feel it. I was caught in his eyes and I felt seared by them and by his words.