separation//[t.j.]

the truth.

"a few weeks after you left for college, i kept getting nauseous. then i missed a period. so, i took a pregnancy test and found out i was pregnant. you had already broken up with me, and you were already in college, so i didn't bother reaching out. i told my parents and then they kicked me out so i went to live with my aunt. i eventually found an apartment, and then a few months later i gave birth to riley. well, when i gave birth to them, their name was chloe but as riley grew older they realized that they were non-binary and preferred to be called riley. so, of course, i supported them. if you want to be in their life, you have to as well. okay?"

tyler was silent as he digested all the information i gave him. it took him a while, but i sat patiently. i knew it was probably a lot to take in, so i didn't get annoyed with how long he was taking. finally, he did speak.

"riley sounds amazing. but..why didn't you reach out sooner?" he spoke. i frowned.

"i was afraid, you know. i didn't know how you would react to finding out you had a kid. i swear on everything, this is not how i planned to have you two meet. i had no idea you were even in a band." i told him. he nodded, in acknowledgement.

"i understand. can i- now that i know about riley, do you think i can be apart of their life? i promise to respect their pronouns and i promise to be present. if i had known about them in the first place, i swear i never would have left. i've always regretted leaving anyways, considering how much i loved you."

i thought for a moment. there was no point of keeping riley and tyler from each other. they knew each other existed, and tyler knew riley was his child. he seemed like he genuinely wanted to take his place as a dad and there was no reason to keep him from them at that point.

"yes..as long as you promise to call during tour. i can like let you see them sometimes just- please don't leave them like you left me. i know it was such a long time ago, but i need you to promise me you won't do that to riley okay?" i decided. tyler nodded.

"i swear. i'm not going anywhere ever again. i regret leaving you more than anything in the world. i promise that i'll never do it again." he told me.

"well then in that case...i think we should tell riley."

"okay, you should go get them and we can tell them in here."

"i'll be right back."

i disappeared and went to find riley. they were still backstage with josh and mark. i told riley to come with me, as i waved to mark and josh. we went back to the dressing room, where riley sat with tyler and i.

"riley we need to tell you something." i started, once the three of us were sat down.

"what's up?" they asked. i took a deep breath. might as well get right to the point.

"tyler is your father. that's why i fainted, and that's how i know him. we dated when we were much younger and when we broke up that's when i found out i was pregnant with you. i would would reached out to him, but he was already in college." i explained. i don't know what reaction i expected but the one i got from riley was not that.

"i know. i'm not dumb." riley simply said. i scrunched my eyebrows.

"what?" tyler questioned. riley giggled.

"dude, we have the same face. it didn't take me long to put all the pieces together." they said. "the first time i watched a music video, i noticed how similar we looked. then i took the fact that you were the same age as mom, you were from the same city as us, and i didn't have a dad, and i realized that you could very well be my father."

"so you kind of like knew what you were doing, having us go to a concert and getting barricade?" i asked. i was surprised by riley's actions. they were like a genius almost.

"well, i didn't expect you to faint but yeah. i figured it was a 'now or never' kind of opportunity."

"why didn't you just show me a picture of him and ask if that was your dad?"

"now where's the fun in that, mom? i think this was way more fun."

"that's definitely my kid right there." tyler spoke, fist bumping riley. they smiled, but instead of fist bumping tyler, they hugged him.

"sorry." they said, pulling away. "i've just been wanting to do that."

"don't apologize, kiddo. you can hug me anytime. i am your dad after all." tyler replied. i felt my heart warm at the sight of the two of them.

"thanks...dad." riley smiled.

i let the two of them talk for a while until josh and mark came in and said it was time to clean up. i also agreed that it was time for riley and i to get going, considering it was getting pretty late.

"before you guys leave, can i get your number y/n? so that we can see each other more?" tyler asked. i nodded, contently. i knew that i said i didn't want to immediately forgive him, but i had a different mindset then.

i gave tyler my number and then riley decided that they wanted to give tyler their's as well, so that they could text sometimes. i allowed it, because i knew riley wanted to get to know their dad.

we left the venue at 11:38 pm that night. riley talked nonstop about tyler and asked endless questions about what it was like when we dated in high school. they asked all the normal questions a kid would ask, and i answered them all honestly. eventually, riley fell asleep on the way home and i just drove, feeling significantly relaxed.

tyler and riley meeting each other removed a weight off my shoulders that i never knew was there.