This changes everything

Chapter 22: New girl

"Hi, my name's Leslie, I'm your dad's girlfriend" 

Leah gave me a shove after I said what the fuck out loud, but it was a shock.  This is something he should've told me. 

The Leslie girl let us into my dad's house, he was sitting on the couch, oblivious to the revelation that just happened at his door. 

He saw Leah and I and immediately got up to come and give me a hug, I didn't hug him back, trying to get him to realize the shock I just had, then introduced himself to Leah and she did the same. 

"Uh dad, when were you going to tell me?" 

His eyes widened finally realizing the new girl was the one who let Leah and I in. 

"Oh right, you went to see your mum for the holidays, so I didn't get a chance to, but this is Leslie, we got together back in September" 

"September." 

"I thought tonight could work, since I was finally meeting Leah, to take the pressure off of everything" 

"This isn't something you just spring on me" 

I stormed off, and I went to the bathroom, tears started flowing down my cheeks.  I always knew that one day both my mum and my dad would find new people they would eventually call their soulmates, but they were together for twenty years, and I was around for 17 of those years.  17 years of me witnessing their love story, only for it to end, and them ending up with completely new people. 

I thought it might be easier since I was older, and how long it was before either of them did eventually get into new relationships, but instead it was harder.  I understood what everything meant, what getting a divorce meant, why they did it, yet actually understanding what was going on, made it harder in this moment, harder than I could ever imagine. 

I stayed in the bathroom for a while trying to get all the emotions I was feeling out, the sadness, anger, frustration, that currently consumed my body, but it felt like nothing was working. 

I heard a knock on the bathroom door that I had locked, I told whoever it was to go away, until I heard the voice of the girl whom I love, that I left in the awkward mess I may have started. 

I let her in, and she crouched on the ground as I sat on the toilet seat, she held my hands trying to help me get the words out, but instead we just sat in silence for a while.  

"I can't believe he wouldn't tell me" 

I sobbed. 

"Maybe he was nervous" 

"Yeah but this was supposed to be our day, I can't even sit in a room with them right now" 

"Why? You always talk about how the divorce was the best thing for your parents?" 

"I know, but it's so much harder seeing it, maybe there's a part of everyone with divorced parents thinking their parents will make it back to each other one day" 

She paused for a minute, clearly thinking about what I had to say. 

"It's okay to believe that, you always talked about making your parents happy by the life that you live, I think they both needed to find a bit of happiness in their own lives too" 

Maybe I was being selfish thinking they would never find someone else to love. 

"I know, it just sucks right now" 

She didn't respond right away again, and placed a soft kiss on my forehead, then my right cheek, then my left cheek, and then my lips. 

"How about, I drive home, and you can have a few glasses of wine to calm you down a bit and help you let loose, but don't say anything rude like you did at the front door"