Read His Mind | ✓

Chapter 14

"Abbie sweetie.. how do I tell you this? Your dad and I... " How was I going to break the news to her?.. she's going to be so surprised... Unable to finish her sentence, she nudged my dad and said, "Why don't you tell her, Walter?" He should be the one to tell her... this was his fault after all..

"Your mom and I are having a divorce," my dad said.

The secret was out in the open at last, making it only more real. When I found out accidentally, there was still the possibility that maybe I heard it wrong, but now, it was confirmed. This was reality.

"How long have you been keeping this from me?" I asked.

"We filed for a divorce about a month ago," my dad revealed.

"I'm sorry sweetie for not telling you sooner," my mom apologized. "I was planning to tell you, but every time, right when I was about to, no words would come out. I didn't know how to break it to you, sweetie." Her reaction... it was not what I expected.. too calm.. did she know already?

"Why are you two divorcing?" I've always assumed that their marriage was going along smoothly. They had their occasional arguments, but they made up soon after. If it wasn't for my newfound ability, I would've never imagined this happening. I would've been much more shocked than I was now.

"We found that we weren't the right partner for each other," my dad said. She didn't know the real reason..

"Then who is that woman you mentioned earlier, Mom?" I looked over at my mom and saw her flinch.

They didn't say anything. The silence in our house was deafening. We stood there in the living room quietly for several minutes. When neither one of them made a move to answer, I brought up another question.

"Were you cheating on Mom?"

"Abbie!" my mom gasped.

"You don't need to know that," my dad answered, giving very little information.

"That's why you're divorcing, aren't you?" I continued. This was like the Korean dramas, where the husband had a mistress. "Was Mom not good enough to you?" I didn't know who was talking anymore. The Abbie I knew wouldn't speak like this to her parents. Where was I finding the courage to do something like this?

"Apologize immediately, Abbie!" my mom demanded. "That is not how you should be talking to your dad." This was the first time I've seen her act up like this.. what happened to my little girl...

"Why are you on his side? He was the one who cheated on you!" I couldn't understand why she wasn't saying anything to Dad. She should be using this chance to yell at him or something.

A hand came flying at my face. The sound echoed in the house.

I thought it would be my dad who slapped me, but to my disbelief, it was my mom. I stared at her in shock.

"When I told you to apologize, I meant it," she said sternly. "You've gone overboard. I know you're upset at the news, but that does not mean you can disrespect your dad this way. I want you to apologize, now." What's gotten into her?.. she's normally not like that...

I quickly blinked my moist eyes and forced words to come out of my mouth. "I'm sorry Dad."

"Go to your room," he ordered.

I nodded and ran up the stairs. Instead of going in my room, I stopped and eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Why did you have to mention Julia?!" This Julia must be that woman. Her name sounded oddly familiar, where have I heard that name?

"I didn't mean to... it was an accident. She was going to find out sooner or later."

"It would've been better later than now!"

"Did you give away any hints to Abbie about our divorce?"

"No, I didn't."

"She didn't seem that surprised when we told her."

"Did you not hear the way she was talking to me?? I think that was a pretty big reaction to our divorce."

"But-"

"In about one more month, we can go our separate ways."

Their voices grew more faint before it disappeared altogether. I hurried into my room and shut the door behind me.

I skipped dinner that night and went straight to bed right after I finished my homework. My mom tried to talk with me, but I hid my face in my pillow and ignored her. Dad cheated on her, why wasn't she acting angry at all?

◈ ◈ ◈

A few days later...

Benson followed me around campus the past few days just like he said he would. I think he noticed my gloomy mood, but he didn't say anything which I was grateful for. I would probably cry if he did. That feeling when someone brings up a sensitive topic, you can't help but tear up.

It was strangely peaceful. Calvin didn't try anything to get his revenge for what happened which worried me. Maybe this was the calm before the storm?

My intuition was correct.

At the beginning of lunch, Benson and I were walking down the hallway toward our bench where we now sat together everyday to eat lunch when Calvin and a bunch of his soccer teammates appeared. They were holding egg cartons, bottles of liquid, and some other things I didn't want to find out.

We both had a bad feeling about his appearance so we turned around to leave only to see that some more of his buddies were there too.

They walked closer and closer, surrounding us. Benson and I were backed up against the lockers when they stopped a few inches in front of us.

Calvin laughed in amusement. "You should take a look at your expressions right now!"

"What are you going to do?" Benson asked.

"Let me take a couple of pictures to commemorate this happy occasion!" He took out his iPhone and snapped a few photos. "I'll make sure to share this with everyone! Sharing is caring, right?" He put his phone back into his pocket and turned to us. "Be prepared for the best revenge yet!" He made an okay sign at his friends and I watched in horror as they all put something into their hands. Some held eggs, some held tomatoes, some held unidentifiable things.

Instinctively, I tried to back up, sensing the danger, but I was already pushed against the lockers. I had nowhere else to run, to hide. I was out in the open, defenseless.

"On your mark.. get set.. go!" Calvin yelled excitedly.

A tomato came flying at me. I closed my eyes and prepared for it to hit me, but it never came. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that Benson had wrapped his arms around me and blocked it with his body like a barrier.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"I said I was going to protect you, didn't I?" he reminded. "I'm just keeping my promise."

His face was inches from mine. He gave me an assuring smile as they kept throwing and throwing despite the fact that it wasn't even getting to me. They must've threw something hard because Benson winced in pain.

"Are you okay?" I whispered worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He sent me another assuring smile, but winced once more when they threw something hard again.