Girl in a Hoodie: Where the Future Lies

Chapter 68

James's POV:

It was awkward when we sat at the table to eat later that evening with little to no discussion being spoken, almost as if it had become a forbidden action. All that could be heard was the sound of the cutlery scraping against the ceramic plate as we ate.

During the past two hours or so, Riley had been constantly worrying about me, checking to see if I was okay almost every five minutes. Ellie was sleeping in the cradle by the sofa at the moment so Riley couldn't distract herself by drifting away from talking, using our daughter as an excuse.

"Ri, the food is great by the way," I tell her upon clearing my throat after taking a bite of the seasoned gammon she had spent the past ninety minutes cooking.

"Thanks," she laughs. I smile and finish chewing before leaning over to kiss her cheek, making her blush the slightest shade of pink. Terry smiles and just about hums a small sound of agreement. Then it goes awkwardly silent again.

I feel Ri look between me and her dad, her eyes darting back and forth as if she was watching a tennis match, before she sighs, rolling her eyes and drops her knife and fork onto her plate, beside her unfinished food. Unlike his daughter though, Terry had already finished eating his meal and was on his last bite whilst I still had half a plate left. Despite how good the food was, I somehow managed to lose my appetite along the way.

"Okay, cut the slack. The three of us need to talk," Riley affirms before adding, "about everything." Her dad drops his cutlery like she had previously done and then folds his arms in front of him after pushing his plate forward.

"Okay," he says. "Let's talk then." Riley glares at me when I continue to eat, so, reading her mind, I swallow what was in my mouth currently and then push my plate forward like she had just done.

"Okay, I'll start," she declares, letting out a short breath. "Dad... why did you lie to me about Mum for so long?" she asks him. Feeling rather misplaced, I worm the palm of my left limb under the table to rest on her knee. "My real mum," she says to add to the silence, instinctively placing one hand on top of mine under the table. "Laura," she mentions. "Why did you never tell me she was dead?"

Terry looks around as if he was a deer in the headlights, caught in the middle of a railway crossing. I guess it's because he had never intended for Riley to find out the truth on her own, considering all he had told me was the real name of Ri's mother and how Alice was her aunt. He looks at me, like I would have known and told her. I didn't know a thing before I searched through Riley's history. So I don't give him any intel at all.

"So it is true," Riley avers quietly when she gets no response from him. I look down and sigh, feeling the mass of betrayal he was passing onto his daughter. I wasn't sure what to do in that moment so I just continue to massage her knee as if it will, somehow, eventually coax her.

"Riley," Terry starts but she cuts him off.

"Dad I have spent my entire life trying to figure out who the other half of my family is because you never told me anything other than the one or two concise explanations. I wanted to find out who my mother was, what she looked like, what she sounded like, whether she looked like me or I looked like her. Wondering if I had been a Mummy or Daddy's girl. Questioning the reason she left and if it was even because of what you had originally told me, but for all I know, everything you've ever sworn to me was the truth, could just be a dirty, filthy lie." 

Her nose scrunches up and my body tenses. I want to say something. The only thing is that I don't know what. I just feel awkward. It's like I've forgotten how to talk, merely because I've never been caught up in such a difficult situation like this.