Illicit Affairs

Chapter 24

Ryan's POV

"I'm coming." I shouted out in annoyance, my voice echoing through my empty house as someone stood outside my front door obnoxiously jabbing the doorbell button over and over.

Through the peephole, I saw Mia standing on the porch soaking wet. I flung the door open and was ready to snap, but something was seriously wrong. Not surprisingly, she was shaking from being cold and wet, but it was more. Her face was terrifyingly pale and her eyes were dull and lifeless.

I reached out, grabbing her hand, I pulled her into the house. "What's wrong Mia? What happened?" I asked, bracing myself.

"My...my grandfather." She stammered through chattering teeth.

My heart sank into the pit of my stomach and I tried not to panic. If something happened to Mr. H....

"Mia....what is it? Talk to me. What happened to your grandfather?" I asked, my hands on her shoulders ready to shake her out of the trance she appeared to be in as her eyes stared at me blankly.

"He....he..." She continued to stammer, her teeth chattering even more. As anxious as I was to know what was going on, I knew I needed to get her out of her wet clothes and warmed up before she caught pneumonia.

"Come with me." I took her hand and led her to the utility room. "Let's get you some dry clothes and then you can talk to me." I grabbed a towel that was still warm from the dryer, as well as a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. She continued to stare at me blankly, not even making the slightest move to take the items I offered her. I think she was in shock and the pit in my stomach grew. Something really bad had happened and I was beyond worried.

Seeing as she was not in her right frame of mind to take care of herself, I pulled her wet sweater over her head and tossed it into the washing machine. With a sigh, I also removed her bra and threw that in the machine as well. It took everything in me not to stare at her. It had been weeks, but this wasn't the time or place. I helped her into the hoodie which was still warm from the dryer, then peeled the wet jeans off of her body. She seemed to have snapped back to reality enough to put on the sweatpants. I started the machine and began to towel dry her hair. She took the towel from me and began to do it for herself. "Thank you" she finally whispered, but she was still clearly shaken.

I took her hand and led her back to the living room, sitting her on the couch while I wiped the puddles off the floor and handed her her handbag, which she had dropped on the floor. Finally, I sat down next to her, noticing she was clutching her bag like a lifeline. She was still shaking so I grabbed a throw off the back of the couch and wrapped it around her.

"Mia, you're scaring me. Please tell me what's wrong. Did something happen to your grandfather?"

She shook her head vehemently then began sobbing. "He...he's a liar. My f-father...he kept me from him. It's a lie. Every damn thing in my life is a lie." Her voice caught as another gut wrenching sob was released. I was so confused. Nothing she said made any sense.

"What about your father Mia?" I asked as gently as possible, only for her to sob even harder.

"He...he's been alive th-this entire time. R..right under my nose. Grandpa k-kept him from m-me." She sniffled and stammered more.

"Mia...I don't understand sweetheart. Your father, he's been gone for a long time."

"He's not my father." She wailed, sounding like a wounded animal. She then pulled a leather bound book from her bag and shoved it into my hands. "J-Jimmie Johnson is my...my father."

I sat in stunned silence. It was almost like a bomb had been dropped and I was just waiting for it to blow us all to smithereens. The book felt heavy and ominous and almost like it was burning my hand, but I couldn't make myself open it. It couldn't be true. Could it?