Criminal

Chapter 1: Betrayal

The bags of candy lay scattered on the living room table, so I poured them into a jack-o-lantern shaped plastic bowl for the kids tonight. Putting the bowl aside, I smiled at the neat table, which was so much better than the empty wine bottles. Over the last two years, mom's attempt to forget her boyfriend's betrayal has turned into acceptance. It was thanks to my hard work of keeping the house clean and paid while she coped. The scent of freshly baked bread wafted through the house. It brought memories of when my parents were together with me, like how it should be, until my father left us. Without knowing why, I knew we'd be better off without him.

The oven dinged, and Fay called for me. "Shelly, your lunch is ready." I stepped into the white, bright kitchen and sat across from my mom at the table while she handed me a slice of baked bread. She always gave me my favorite foods on my birthday today. Basic as it seemed, bread and chocolate were my favorite foods. "I have incredible news." Fay sat with her slice of bread. "Nick wants to get together with me again."

"What?" The bread slipped from my hands. "How can you let him back into our lives after what he did to you? He had a secret double life with another girlfriend and her kid!" I lowered my voice to not hurt her feelings like he did. I was fifteen when he admitted it to us, but there were red flags like my parents weren't married and he wouldn't stay at our house for long.

"Of course I know that, but he means a lot to me, and he does to you-"

"I don't care about him." I stared at my bread, not hungry anymore.

"He's your father. You haven't seen each other in years. Give him a chance."

After some silence of finishing our lunches, my mom sounded more upbeat. "I can give you his address, so you could visit and get more comfortable with this. He'll love to see you again."

I groaned, "Fine." I gave in for my mom. She had been through a hard time because of him, and I didn't want to add to it. I glanced at the picture of the three of us on the wall. We were a happy family until Nick left during the rainy day I turned fifteen. Fay cried all night that day, and so did I, but I stopped crying after that. It wouldn't have done any good, so I pushed forward each day to help my mom move forward too.

"Thanks for listening to me." Mom gave me the written address and stroked my short, black hair. "You're so good. What will I do without you?" She headed toward her room to prepare for a date with him. I'd often wonder what I'd do without her. I lived in fear she wouldn't survive Nick's abandonment and betrayal. She'd lie in bed and drink all day while I used her credit card over the internet to get food and pay the bills.

While I ruminated about the past, I couldn't let Fey see the guy who hurt her so much. I memorized the address and slipped it into my jean pocket. I promised her I will visit, so I'd find a hundred reasons to stay away, which surely would be easy.

After inputting his address into the GPS, I drove there. It wasn't far from my house. I stayed in the familiar suburbs of this town. In fifteen minutes, I arrived at his white house with a picket fence. Everything looked so classy on the outside, but that meant a nasty inside. I wondered if anyone else knew about his vile double life. Thinking about it, I slammed my car door, stomped my way to the front door, and banged it hard.

Immediately, Nick's arms wrapped around me in a tight hug. I pulled away, mostly from shock. "Shelly, I missed you so much. How have you've been? Why did you come? I assumed Fay wouldn't let you visit."

I finally got his arms off me. "Don't talk about her. Why must you upset her again? Everything was getting better, but you ruined it by seeing her again. How could you do this?" The dryness in my throat reminded me not to yell so much. I took deep breaths to calm myself.

"I'm sorry for what I did." He sounded sincere and slowly put his hand on my back to lead me inside. "I can explain, so you can understand."

"You can't explain this away." I walked away from him to check the rest of the house.

I crossed into the living room on my left, which had the shades closed with no light to see my way through the dark room. A woman clearing her throat got my attention. She sat on the couch dressed in a red suit with a skirt, and her blonde hair pulled back into a bun. "You're Shelly, right? Nick's other child."

"Yeah," it came out just above a whisper. I wasn't sure if I should admit to who I was when she scared me. "You're Nick's other girlfriend. What's your name?" I tried to make friends with the angry woman, who must not want to see me.

"Cecil, Nick's ex-girlfriend." She tapped her long, red nails on the arms of the couch.

As much as I liked hearing her become his ex-girlfriend, her glaring and red nails sent me out of the room. I scurried upstairs, thinking she would get revenge on Fay. That was enough reason to stop her, and from Cecil's looks, I wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

The hallway was also dark. I flipped the light switch, but there's no light. The light bulbs either burned out or have been removed. It made no sense to let a house be this dark. My dad and I always had tanned skin and got sunlight, so this light aversion made no sense.

Across from me was a closed door with a 'keep out' sign on it. I chuckled, remembering they have a son, who's a little younger than me. The door was locked, so I continued to Nick's and Cecil's bedroom, which looked normal besides the darkness. It was a pretty room with a gold chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It's a shame they weren't using it. The light green walls went nicely with the navy blue bed covers. Next to the bed was a mini fridge, which seemed odd, but I ignored it.

With a mental list of everything strange about this place, I stopped to see Nick. He stood from the table near the entrance door and came next to me, ready to hug me again.

"Somehow, dad," My voice drip with sarcasm on that word. "You never fail to give horrible birthday presents. You're never with me when I go trick-or-treating, so I hate Halloween. On my fifteenth birthday, you deserted me and mom and dropped the bombshell of secretly having another girlfriend and son. And today, for my seventeenth birthday, you open the closed wounds by inviting mom inside this creepy, dark house with a vengeful ex."

"I'm sorry for all that, but things have gone awry, and I can explain." He pulled out a chair and nudged me to sit, but I pulled away from him.

"No. I don't need your explanations. I'm done with you." Slamming the door shut, I ran to my car. I gripped the steering wheel, taking deep breaths to calm down before driving.

When I relaxed after a few minutes, I realized I forgot to lock the car when I went into his house. Looking around inside, I saw nothing missing. I must leave this place to feel secure again. At least I had plenty of reasons to convince my mom to stay away. I sensed something off about my car. If I had known better, then I would've left it there.

A/N: This is an old story I rewritten to make better. I appreciate votes, comments, and feedback. I'll return them.