"You're what now?"
Venning nods. "Not what you were expecting?"
"Not really," I say, looking down, unable to meet his eye. I can't imagine Venning being a father, especially to my first and only friends.
"The shock is written all over your face," Venning says. He pauses and I can feel his eyes on me, examining my reaction and expression. "There's something you want to tell me, but have conflicted feelings about doing so. It involves my children."
Hearing Venning say that he had children is weird enough without them being my only friends.
He notes my silence and says, "Alright. I won't press you for it."
"How do you know they're your kids?" I ask quietly.
"Because they were born before Ember left the Endurance with them."
"With Kadiya?" I ask and he nods. "Why not with me?"
"I don't believe Ember Irving knew you were alive," Venning says. "We were incredibly close with your parents and they wanted us to be you and Kadiya's guardians should anything happen to them. But Ember and I did have a falling out right after they died and the custody rights were unclear." He shrugged.
"How did they die?" I whisper, my heart pounding.
Venning looks at me with sad eyes. He knows I've been waiting for this answer for a while and he's been dreading this day for longer. I see the melancholy in his face when the topic of my parents arises.
"You do know the names of your parents, right?" He asks.
"Elliot Ophia and..." I hesitate, a lump rising to my throat as the sudden realization hits that I don't know my mother's name. The only way I learned my father's was from the history lesson I received from Kadiya, Luna and Matthew. "Oh my God." I whisper, looking down and hugging my legs to my chest as I try not to cry.
"I'm sorry," Venning says.
"No you're not," I say without thinking and suddenly red hot anger rises up in my veins, overpowering every other emotion. "My parents entrusted my upbringing to you and you... You screwed up! I mean, you didn't even raise me! Ada did all that -- Where is she?"
"Ada is here in the city," Venning says softly.
I scoff. "Look at this," I hold up my prosthetic and gesture to it. "What sixteen year-old has a bionic arm? What kind of kid makes their first friends at fifteen, only to learn that he had to betray them? What kind of kid is raised by a robot and thinks that she is more human than the only person in their life? What kind of kid grows up being trained in combat and drilled almost like a soldier ever since they could walk? What kind of kid doesn't know the names of their own parents?"
"Damon-"
"No! Don't even try to explain yourself!" I almost shout and he looks a bit taken aback. "What the hell is wrong with you? I hate you."
No reaction whatsoever. I hate him. I want to see him get upset but I don't know how to push his buttons. I know how to annoy him, but I have no idea what I could say to make him show any sadness or remorse for screwing up my life.
"This past year was the best of my life without you in it."
Nothing.
"The only painful parts of it were a result of what you did to me."
Nothing.
"If you were really friends with my parents, you wouldn't have put their own son through this."
YOU ARE READING
The Wrong Side
Science Fiction"I'll tell you when you're an adult." These are the few words that have been repeated to Damon Ophia for his whole life. Damon's life is made up of secrets. In some cases, secrets are being kept from him, in others he needs to keep secrets, and in...
