French Rose

Chapter 35

Christina King

"Why do you have clown costume in your room and why is there a picture of you with googly eyes?"

It was nighttime when we got home. It took hours to get here and we landed a long time ago but out of fear to have a conversation with my dad, I decided it would be a good idea to spend some time in a hotel and then go home when I had the courage to. Jenifer was more than excited to stay and thought it'd be better if we stayed till the next morning but I wasn't comfortable with the place and besides, I didn't like staying anywhere that wasn't home. I was tired from the long exhausting journey but it didn't look like she was one bit, she remained just as energetic as she was before.

I got an amount of calls and texts from my parents, a few from my dad and a lot from my mom. She still had no idea of what was happening and why I didn't want to be at home yet and it actually got to a point where she got upset about it. Dad, on the other hand, called only once and I guess he didn't do it again because I didn't pick up the call.

We got home just a few minutes ago, met with my mom by the door who was very happy with the fact I brought Jenifer along. Then I brought her upstairs to the guest's room which was looking more than a junk store than a room.

I guess things don't always happen the way we plan.

"The picture is twelve years old and I have no idea about the costumes but no need to worry, you'll only be here for a few days and nothing here will come alive at night. I hope"

"I'm scared"

"You don't need to be, everything will be fine, enjoy the room and bye!"

I slammed the door shut with her in it and immediately ran to my room before there arose any reason for me to assure her the room wasn't hunted. My room was close to hers, only a minute long walk, and I was told to let her stay in there so in case she ended up not being okay there, she could always walk over to mine.

I got to my room and met the door slightly open. Knowing I let the door closed before leaving, it could only mean one thing. Mom didn't have the kind of patience to wait in my room for me but dad, he bad been a bit distant from me since I got home and this would be the right time to talk about things. I was worried things could go bad but at the same time, at least I was no longer angry.

"Hey dad, how are you doing today? I said, after walking in to meet him sitting at the edge of my bed close to the window.

"Definitely not okay but looking at the bright side, I brought you chocolates" He pulled out bars of a familiar red wrapper chocolate. It was something small but was enough to put a smile on my face. Before then, he didn't like me taking too much sugar and would never, in his right mind, give me some himself. It was sweet he was going out of his way to make things work but what I needed was certainty he wasn't Alex's dad.

"Thanks"

"So how was your time in France, I see you have a friend now"

"It was everything but fun. I had to do things I didn't want to and when things finally started getting okay, I got threatened so no, France wasn't the best place for me"

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of this Christina, I would've let you stay if I knew things like this would happen"

"I never wanted any of this but here I am in the middle of a mess I can't bring myself out of. I'm not the type of person to like the spotlight dad, it's too harsh on me. I don't know how to cry all day and smile in front of a camera just to get people to say good stuff about me, I don't know how spend hours dressing up and going through painful beauty treatments, I don't know how to keep classy friends and I definitely don't know how to take an information like I did. I'm the direct opposite of who you think I am"

"I know and I'm sorry Christina, I can't describe how sorry I am that all of this has happened. I thought it would be a good way to expose you to the life you were going to live cause it worked for me. I was also born into this like you were and I had to go through a lot to be who I am today. Things were difficult but it later worked out, I had to figure things out on my own and I thought the same technique would work for you. What I wanted was to prepare you for what is ahead, It didn't cross my mind you're still the little girl you've always been. I'm so sorry"

"It's okay dad, I understand. I just need to know, how did this come to be? How does Alex's mom have proof against you?"

"It's complicated"

"It can't be too complicated and even if it is, you obviously don't have a choice here. This is a more than we think it is, our whole family and reputation can be destroyed by it. I was angry with you, I was very very angry with you but I've made myself trust you. I believe you but what I want is a strong reason to back me up. If the proof happens to be fake, how will we prove it isn't?"

"I don't know"

"You don't know? So there was a time you almost cheated on mom?"

"It was a mix up, I was confused. It was your mom's birthday and she wanted a party so we threw one. There were so many people in the house, I had no idea when Stacy came into our room or why she was even here at the first place and I thought she was your mom" There was an evident look of regret on his face, he sounded even worse than he did on phone the previous day and the look on his face was slowly making me lose the little hope I had left. His hands were holding his head and his elbows rested on his knees as his eyes slowly turned red out of an emotion I could only say is in the middle of anger and sadness. It was the first time I ever saw him look so broken and I wouldn't call it his fault. If things actually happened the way he said they did, he wasn't the one to blame.

It was her fault for coming upstairs at the first place. Why would she come in here knowing fully well it was their room? Why would she let it happen after knowing he has a wife? Thinking of it, why wouldn't she? This woman would do anything to get whatever she wants.

"So"

"I don't know, I can't remember if anything happened. I was tired, dizzy, I could barely control myself. I don't think it did but now she says Alex is my daughter_"

"Why did you tell me it isn't true if you don't even know what the truth is?"

"Because I couldn't explain it to you over the phone and if I did, you might want to leave me and I don't want you to ever leave me, Christina. I've gotten everything I have today for you, I can't let something like this tear us apart"

"It's not your fault, I'm not blaming you for any of this. I can't imagine how much you're going through now and I know you don't want your family ruined but you have to think. There's nothing we can do if you don't figure it out. It's either that or we take whatever she says"

"I've tried thinking over the years but I just can't bring myself to remember. I knew all the events of the day but it got to a point that evening that things got blurry, I got tired, I couldn't see or think of anything. I wasn't drunk, I didn't take any alcohol that day and I'm sure of it. I remember the reason I decided to go to bed was because of it and that's all I remember"

"There has to be a symetery in whole thing. I can just feel this whole thing is planned by her, she did this to get your attention and now she has us as puppets"

"Calm down_"

"I can't calm down dad, I can't. Our entire family is on the line here, do you have any idea what will happen if mom finds out about this? She's not a strong person, she can't take any of this and with her current situation, we'll be lucky if no complications arise so no, I can't calm down"

The door abruptly opened behind me, followed by the very familiar scent of lavender and I knew from there that mom was the one who walked in. I turned around with hopes she didn't hear any of what we said but when I saw her eyes filled with tears and her eyes directed towards dad, I knew she heard everything.

"Calm down Diana, I promise it's not true. We'll find a way t_"

"You told me nothing happened and I trusted you"

As if the worst didn't happen that night, her water broke just after she said those words.