Left Behind // Scarlett Johansson x Daughter

Emotional Explosion

POV YN

I woke up, utterly confused, as if I were in a strange place. I was in the bed that, theoretically, was mine. Although I must admit the mattress I was resting on was pure comfort. Back at the ranch, the bed I used to sleep on gave me daily backaches. My father, Ben, used to tell me stories of how people used to sleep on planks, which, according to him, toughened their character. But here, it was as if I were floating on cotton clouds. The room, to be honest, was huge, but I couldn't make it feel cozy or truly mine. It was as if I were on a perpetual visit to someone else's home.

I sat up, with a persistent question circling my mind, wondering if what happened yesterday was real or just a product of my imagination. Had it been a dream in which my siblings accepted me and a new, this time biological, father wanted to get to know me? But when I spotted the familiar gift bag, a smile automatically lit up my face.

James was real, Inez was real, Betty was real, and the cheerful baby was real too. I fondly remembered the lovely moment I shared with Blake, laughing as I remembered our laughter while playing with the flour. Suddenly, my stomach growled, demanding its breakfast, motivating me to put on my old clothes and head downstairs.

In the kitchen, I found Mum, who greeted me with a smile, though I couldn't help but think she hoped I wouldn't remember how upset I was yesterday.

"Thank you," I told her when she placed breakfast in front of me. There were scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice, and an apple. It was more food than I could eat, but I was willing to try, hoping it would calm any impending storm.

"Did you have a good time yesterday? I couldn't talk to you; you were asleep," Scarlett said as she nibbled on her toast.

"Yes, it was great. I played with my sisters all day," I replied joyfully.

Scarlett looked at me intently, and I felt a knot of nerves in my stomach. "I'm glad, little bean," she said as she took a sip of her coffee. Although her words sounded affectionate, her gaze indicated the conversation was about to take a less pleasant turn at any moment.

"You'd better tell me what's on your mind. I'm not a fan of delayed conversations. I've had enough of that already, and I prefer to face everything head-on in the morning," I said, trying to sound determined, although the tension in the air was making me nervous.

"Colin and the kids are at the park. I wanted some privacy to talk with you," Scarlett sat down beside me and sighed. "I'm not upset that you wanted to meet your father and siblings; that's normal. What I didn't like at all is that you did it behind my back and left without telling me anything. The world is a dangerous place, darling, and you don't know the area well."

I nodded and left my toast on the plate. I'd rather have breakfast later if I still had the stomach for it.

"I'm sorry. The opportunity presented itself, and I didn't think much about it. I didn't know, didn't plan beyond that," I replied honestly. "I should have told you, but since you didn't tell me from the start who my father was, I thought you were hiding something from me. I didn't see the need to tell you."

Scarlett stood up and sat down beside me. I felt bad for acting behind her back and even worse for planning to run away.

"Our divorce was painful, I know, but it was all mutual. If I didn't tell you from the beginning who your father was, it's because I didn't know what he wanted to do. Before making a decision, I wanted to talk to you. If you had shown interest or asked, I would have talked to him and told him I would give you his identity. Then it would have been up to him whether he wanted to have contact with you or not. I would never have hidden that from you, little bean."