After-Effects

8

Keith

I couldn't muster the strength to face my father and sister. My mind was a dark, hollow void, covered by the bleakness of shame. The familiar surroundings of my house now seemed like I was walking inside a prison of life a sentence of loneliness.

The moment I stepped through the door, my dad was upon me, surrounding me with questions, concern, and denial. His words tumbled out at a frantic pace, as if he was struggling to comprehend the unthinkable.

"Keith, what's going on? I don't understand any of this... Karissa's post... it says you..." He faltered, his voice cracking with emotion, before forcing out the words.

"She claims you cheated on her." His hands grasped my shoulders, his grip tight with a mix of shock and desperation, as he searched my face for answers, his eyes pleading for a denial.

""My son would never do that," he declared, his voice ringing with pride that only made me more suffocating.

I couldn't bear to meet his gaze, my head hanging in defeat, my heart heavy with the knowledge that I'd betrayed his trust. I didn't deserve his unwavering faith in me, his words underlining my failure to live up to his expectations.

""Wait a minute, Dad," Margaret intervened. Her eyes locked onto mine, and I could feel her piercing gaze, as if she could see right through to the depths of my shame.

I couldn't muster up the courage to meet her gaze, my eyes dropping in defeat as I swallowed hard, the spikes of my guilt threatening to choke me. My sister had always been able to read me like a book, and now her expression revealed that she saw the truth - that I was guilty.

What could I possibly say? The truth was too ugly, too shameful. I had cheated on Karissa, the woman I was supposed to love and cherish, with a ghost from my past. I felt my eyes welling up with tears as I struggled to stand under the pounding force of humiliation. The reality of my actions was now my constant shadow.

My voice stuck in my throat like, refusing to come out. My mind recoiled at the memory of that disastrous night, when I'd surrendered to a moment of weakness and betrayed Karissa's trust.

"You did cheat on her, didn't you?" My sister exclaimed, her voice firm, her conviction unwavering.

"Look at me, Keith," she commanded, her voice cracking with emotion. I met her gaze, and she pinned me with a piercing stare, her eyes brimming with tears that seemed to hold a deep sadness and disappointment. The intensity of her gaze was like a mirror, reflecting back all my shame and regret.

My father's face morphed into a painful confirmed realisation.

"Dear God," he breathed, his voice barely audible, as he recoiled from me, his eyes wide with horror. He paced away, his hands flying up to his face as if to shield himself from the truth. His fingers dragged down his cheeks, pulling at his hair in a gesture of despair, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps, his shock and disbelief radiating off him.

"'Why, Keith?' he asked, his voice cracking with perplexion, as he halted his pacing and turned to face me.

I knew he had envisioned a future with Karissa as his daughter-in-law, had eagerly anticipated the day we'd exchange vows and start a family of our own. The thought of becoming a grandfather had lit up his eyes with joy, and now, that future lay in tatters by my thoughtless betrayal.

I was mute, my voice lost inside me. How could I confess to my father, the man who had always beamed with pride at the person I had become, that I had so utterly failed to live up to the values he had instilled in me? The content feelings of his expectations, the memory of his guidance, and the pain of my own weakness strangling me. I had been taught to be loyal, strong, and loving, but my actions had betrayed every one of those principles.