Behind Classroom Doors

XLI- Maybe it's all Been a Lie

Authors note:

One of my readers, Sadiyah made me new covers for the book so this chapter is dedicated to her! So don't forget to vote and comment!

A big thank you goes out to honey_sprinkles

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Shawn's P.O.V.

I hang up the phone and head to Dianne's house. It's a bit of a drive but I want to know why she really showed up on Saturday. We haven't spent the holidays together since I turned eighteen, so I know that was a lie. I know the reason she lied was because Livia was there.

There are things that she wants to know that I'm just not ready to tell her. Maybe I'm just not ready to face it but for now, this is her story. Livia Gardner, the survivor or something like that.

When I pull into the driveway I take a moment to sit in the car. I've only been here a handful of times in the last eight years. I used to love this house. It has the old school, blue door, and white picket fence but the blue door is rusting and the fence's paint has been chipped off.

I get out of the car and walk up to the door. I pull out my key and walk in to find Dianne in the living room with a cigarette and a cup of coffee. "Kevin." She says as she looks up at me, "I wasn't expecting you."

"To be honest I didn't think I would come. This house doesn't exactly have a lot of good memories." I walk over and sit on the auburn couch. Her boyfriend at the time, bought it when I was twelve.

Dianne puts the cigarette out in the ashtray on the coffee table, "You're being dramatic." I don't respond, maybe she's right but it doesn't change how I feel about this house. "Are you hungry? I can make-"

I interrupt her and say, "No thanks."

She leans back, crossing one leg over the other, "When you didn't answer my messages I just assumed you didn't care." Dianne admits, but a part of me doesn't care, I just want her to stop contacting me.

"Why did you come over Saturday?"

She hesitates before sighing, "Katherine called me a while back. She wanted to know where you moved to."

"Yeah, she said she found out through you."

"Katherine didn't tell you why, if she did you wouldn't still be with that other girl." The only thing Katherine said she wanted was a date.

"I don't understand." Katherine isn't in her right mind. She's clingy and manipulative, that's why she came to find me.

My Mom opens her pack and pulls out another cigarette. She takes a hit before replying, "I know why you broke things off with her Kevin. You've lost so much in your life that I understand why you left as you did."

I can't stand here and listen to her trying to empathize with me after all these years, "Is there a point, Dianne?"

I can almost see the flicker of hurt in her eyes but it's gone in an instant. "Katherine has a baby...she was looking for you because she had the baby."

I shake my head in disbelief, "That's impossible, she lost it."

"I thought so too but the timing fits, he's only a few months old." He. She has a son.

"You're kidding." This has to be a joke, Katherine's drug addiction prevented her from having the baby. "I don't believe you."

Dianne laughs curtly like she expected me to say that, "Believe me the last thing I wanted for you was to have a kid with one of your students. Go see her for yourself, Kevin." Dianne stands up and walks over to the desk. She pulls out a piece of notebook paper and a pen. Dianne writes something before handing the paper to me, "This is her address. For your sake, I hope I'm wrong and it's all a lie, but if it's not then you need to take responsibility."

I look up at my mom. "I took responsibility almost a year ago when she told me she was pregnant." Then she needed to get high and came home with blood running down her leg. That was the last straw, I knew I had to leave.

"You don't have to love her, Kevin." Of course, she would say that that's what got us into this mess in the first place. I came to her when I found out Katherine was pregnant, she gave me the same line.

I knew I didn't love Katherine, we used each other for sex and that was it. I stayed though, I did what I thought was right. "I should go." I dismiss it while shoving the paper in my pocket.

"Kevin there's one more thing," She says. "Merry Christmas."

Christmas isn't for another week but she knows I won't come to see her. It's sad what we've turned into, "Merry Christmas Dianne."

I walk out and to my car. If Katherine really had a son then what am I going to do? I can't pretend that I know the first thing about being a father, especially when the mother is Katherine. I'm not any more prepared than I was a year ago.

The drive gives me time to convince myself that she's lying. There's no way that even after what happened she had the baby. I knock on her apartment door and wait as Katherine answers, "Kevin, what are you doing here?" I walk past her and inside the apartment. "Sure, come on in." She says sarcastically before closing the door and turning to me.

  "Tell me why you really came to Brookview," I demand.

Katherine crosses her arms over her chest, "The way you barged in tells me that you already know why."

"You said you just wanted to show me you changed."

Katherine nods. "We didn't exactly end things in a healthy way. I wanted to see if you actually hated me before telling you, maybe prove to you that I can be different."

I look around the living room and stop when I see a picture of a newborn baby framed on her desk. I walk up to it and stare at it, "There's no way he's mine." I say more to myself.

"Look, I know what I did was wrong but you have to understand that I was in a bad place. I was on drugs and I was only thinking about myself." She walks up to me and places her hand on my chest, "I know how you feel about me so I even thought about not telling you. Then I look at him, "she glances down to the picture. "Matthew deserves a Dad whether you like it or not." 

I look down at her, "Matthew?"

Katherine smiles, "That was your uncle's name right? I wasn't all bad, I remember how important he was to you." None of this makes any sense.

"If you knew you were still pregnant then why didn't you give him up? What stopped you after I left?"

"I was put in rehab, remember? My parents were pissed at first, they threatened to take my trust fund as I told you. Eventually, they came around and paid for me to move out. I really have changed, Kevin." I know she hasn't, the fact that she wanted to play games when she came to Brookview reminds me of that. Still, I can't ignore that I might have a son and my life will change forever.

"I want a DNA test. Then and only then will I believe you." After everything, it's the least she can do.

Katherine scoffs at the thought, "You can't be serious."

I remove her hand from my chest, "I'm completely serious, I'm done letting you control my life. If you want me to trust you then be honest for once and prove that he's mine." I hear crying coming from down the hallway and look that way.

Katherine begins to walk toward the room but stops and turns to me first, "Fine, you'll get the test. See yourself out Kevin, I have to go take care of our child."