The Party Scene Saga: Stories Yet To Unfold

Part 26

"Dad, please." I cried. "Dad, you're scaring me."

I was full on crying now, with Zack's hand wrapped tightly around mine. He kept squeezing it gently in an attempt to calm me down, but it was no good. Dad was upset, and dad upset meant I couldn't be happy.

"Mom, come on." begged Zack. "What the fuck is going on?!"

For once, Carla didn't yell at Zack for cursing. For once, she actually looked at me like she cared. I watched as her eyes filled with tears then be blinked away, much like I always did. Dad wasn't looking at anyone; his gaze was still focused on his feet.

"Lily," Carla began, her voice slightly shaky. "I just want to start by saying how...how sorry we are for keeping this from you. Sweetheart...we didn't want to, believe me, but we thought it was for the best. You're old enough to know the truth know, both of you. So...take a seat first."

I didn't move a muscle. My feet stayed rooted to the spot and I clenched my fists so tightly until my knuckles were white. Zack eventually made me move, dragging me by the waist to the couch. He sat me next to him and took both of my hands in his. I looked up at him; he was just as scared as I was, but he was somehow holding back his emotions.

"Right...um...oh Mark I don't know where to begin." she sighed, looking at dad.

"Begin with what?" I choked out. "Dad please just speak to me! You're scaring me!"

"Please dad..." Zack pleaded, barely above a whisper.

He finally looked up, but at Carla. He cleared his throat and turned to look at us. I silently pleaded with him, eyes wide, to tell me what was going on. I could see in his eyes it was killing him to keep it to himself and he wanted to tell us so badly, but he didn't want to because it'd upset him. Dad reached over and grabbed one of my hands and one of Zack's - much like he did on our 7th birthday - and took a shaky breath.

"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do." he croaked, rubbing his thumb along the back of my hand. "Lily...Lily, Lily, Lily. You know I love you to death, don't you?"

I nodded. My eyes pricked with tears again as he sat in silence, still rubbing my hand.

"Well, I'm sorry to admit it...but I've been keeping a very big secret from you for a long time. For your whole life, in fact." he told me. "Let's go back 17 years. My sister called me one day and gave me two bits of news. One was great, the other...not so great. She told me she was pregnant, which made me so happy - a niece or nephew the same age as my own child, what's not to love?! But the father was killed in combat. He'd just come off leave again and she didn't have the chance to tell him. Anyway, April came and so did the birth of two babies: Zack and my sister's baby - a beautiful little girl. I can't even begin to tell you how happy it made me. Just knowing that me and my sister had these beautiful children in our lives made my life complete. But as I was leaving for the hospital to see her, I got a call. She was sick and she needed me there. I've never driven anywhere as fast in my life as I did going to that hospital. But I was too late...she was gone."

All of us were crying now. Zack's chin was digging into my shoulder as he hugged me from the side. Carla was rubbing her hand in circles on dad's back and it was the one thing that was stopping him from breaking down.

"What happened to the baby?" I asked quietly.

"Huh?'

"The baby." I murmured. "Did it survive?"

"She did." dad nodded. "And she grew up to be one of the strongest little ladies I've ever known, and one of the most beautiful."

I sort of knew where this was heading, but I daren't say it out loud. I didn't want to face the facts.