Through The Dark (Vol 2.)

Chapter 52

"Daddy to hold me,
That's what I needed."

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It took me about a second to process what James had said, my eyes had widened and my mouth had fallen open. I stayed there frozen in shock as James kept glancing between Emma and I, his blue eyes lost and confused with what was happening. Oh, he was so in the dark about this all. For a split second I thought maybe he knew all along I was his daughter but by the way he was staring at the two of us, it was obvious he new absolutely nothing. Emma had kept this secret from him for years and yes, before I had accepted her not telling him but that was when I didn't know he was my father. He deserved to know, and my anger that Emma had lied to me and him only heightened. He had been right in front of me this whole entire time, and she never planned on telling me.

"Hello? Someone better tell me right now what the hell is going on? What is the matter with you two?!" James shouts.

I blinked out of my shocked state and slowly turned my head to look at Emma, my gaze becoming hard and cold. She had her chin tucked into her neck and bit her lip as she stared down at the counter. "If you don't tell him, I will." I say slowly, making Emma's eyes dart up to mine. I see anger flash behind them before its replaced with guilt. Good. She should feel guilty.

"Tell me what? What is it Emma?" James asks confusedly and her eyes slide from me, to him. Her body stiffens when she looks at him and her shoulders hunch in on themselves. She crosses her arms over her chest and looks away from James, her eyes darting around the kitchen to notice our audience.

"Logan, Aiden, go upstairs to your room." Emma says calmly and Logan's eyebrows furrow.

"What? But I want to know-"

"Go upstairs. Now." Emma says in a tone full of authority, her eyebrow arching and daring him not to listen to her. His head falls and he mutters something incoherently as he turns to go upstairs, Aiden had ran up the moment Emma told him to. Emma waits to hear Logan's bedroom door close, and then turns to look at Charlotte, her lips pressing into a hard line.

"You too, go upstairs."

"Oh fuck no," Charlotte says and Emma gasps, her face twisting in anger but Charlotte rushes to speak before she can. "You're hiding something, I've felt it the moment Kaydence came here. I'm staying." Charlotte said firmly and Emma's jaw clenched but she seemed to think better of the situation and didn't fight her on it. She turned to look at a waiting James, and her face fell with guilt again.

"Emma, tell me right now what is going on." James demands and I bite my lip to keep from screaming at him. You're my dad! And she didn't tell you! Or me! That's what the fuck is going on!

The silence In the room stretches in anticipation and an annoyed sound leaves my lips the longer Emma takes to respond to him. She catches on that my patience is wearing thin and sighs before speaking. "Do you remember when we were fifteen, and I had gone away for a year?" She asks him slowly and he tilts his head, nodding.

"Yes, you said you were staying with family." He says but it comes out sounding like a question. Wait, family?

"Yeah...," she pauses and looks down at the counter. "With-, with my sister. I had gone to stay with my sister."

Sister? Oh my god. Oh. My. God. Sister. It makes so much sense now, the picture I had found of them. Why they had both been so young. They were fucking sisters. My mom had actually been my aunt the whole time. My breath rushes to the back of my throat and Emma's looks at me quickly when she hears it, her face holding shame and defeat. I cannot fucking believe her.