The Darker Exterior

Chapter 16

My heart plummeted into my stomach and I felt my skin pale of all color. My back suddenly felt heavy, as if I was being crushed by a mountain.

"My pops, my father, my dad. You've probably called him daddy too, knowing him. Isn't it weird? That he has a son my age?" Ford said, standing up, dusting himself off as if the entire situation never happened, "You may think he's the hero here and I'm the villain, but I can assure you," Ford walked over to me and leaned over, whispering in my ear, "he's going to fuck you and dump you like the rest of them. He's a liar and a cheat. And when he does," he winks at me and pulls away, "I'll be here."

And with that, he flips off Atticus and walks away, leaving me in my pool of shock.

The people around me were moving in a blur. My stomach was twisting and turning into knots that couldn't be undone with something even as strong as bolt cutters.

"Aurelia," Atticus said, trying to place a hand on my leg. I turned to him and backed my chair up slightly.

"You-" I took a breath and stood up, balancing myself on the table, "What the fuck."

"Aurelia, I wanted to tell you, I was going to as soon as I got here, but Ford just gets me so riled up I-"

"Just shut up," I say, looking at him as I back away. Hurt flashed across his face but he hid it carefully, "I need..." I trialed off and grabbed my phone, opening Uber as fast as I could. I needed to get out of here.

"Aurelia you need to sit down you're panicking," Atticus said calmly.

"I think I'm gonna make a choice for myself thank you very much," I retorted, walking toward the exit in a hurry. I felt like I was going to throw up.

As I hastily grabbed my things from the ticket woman at the front, I busted out of the front doors.

"Aurelia," Atticus called from behind me, following me out. I turned to face him, looking him up and down. I could see it now, the similarities in their eyes, statures, even the way they carried themselves.

"You could have told me. You should have told me the night we met, but you hid it, and don't bullshit me, saying you were planning on telling me. You watched the aftermath of me getting screamed at by Ford, saw how unhappy I was. You just sat there, knowing that he was your son and what did you do?" I laugh sarcastically, "You lied to me and that fucking hurts. So just leave me alone," I spit.

Atticus watches as my Uber driver pulls up next to me, guilt laced in his facial expression, frozen as I opened the door and got in.

It was his fault after all. He was the one to break my trust. 

*********

"Ford's father?" Annie asks, setting her mug down on the table.

"That's fucking insane," Nathan said, leaning back in his chair, wrapping his arm around Annie's chair, "how did none of us figure that out?"

My thumb gently stroke the warm glass of my mug as I stared at the swirling brown liquid, "I did some research. Ford Changed his last name back to his mother's maiden name after they split. He erased every trace of Atticus from his social media, pictures, everything. He really hates him," I respond.

"It's seriously fucked up that Atticus didn't tell you Ford was his son before asking you to be his girlfriend. Isn't that illegal too?" Annie asks, her brow furrowed.

"I really don't know, I'm just," I sigh and place my head in the palms of my hands, "I'm hurt and confused. Ford and I argued terribly, so I don't know if I even have a job anymore. And thinking about Atticus makes me want to scream."