The Bridesmaid

36|To Confess or To Not Confess

Natalia was quiet the rest of the car ride, and only spoke whenever she needed to. She was anxious about what Adriana might say. It was killing her not being able to confide in anyone, but it was also scary to think about telling anyone.

What if Chase found out? What if Jessie found out and hated her for not trying harder? There were so many "what if's" running through her head, and she felt a headache coming on as they finally returned to the Bryant's.

"Natalia, are you coming," Jessie asked as they all got out of the car except for her. Natalia looked up at her best friend and nodded. "Yeah, sorry," she said as she grabbed her bag and got out of Mason's SUV.

Natalia ignored the concerned glances Kris, Mason, and Kylie sent her, and instead grabbed Anthony's hand. "Can we talk," she softly asked him.

He immediately nodded as they walked to the backyard and climbed the ladder to go up to the rooftop. As soon as they were seated, Natalia leaned her head against his shoulder and let her legs dangle from the edge. Anthony didn't say a word as he let her take some time. He just sat there with her in silence to keep her company.

"I used to come up here when my mom and I would fight," Natalia finally said as she stared at the house across the street, "Before Kris though, I would go to Jessie's and I'd sit in a tree they had in the front yard. It was a safe space from the craziness going on at home."

Natalia sighed as she looked down at their intertwined hands. "My mom likes to blame my dad for everything that happened. It was always the go to answer. It was easy for her to say that my dad was a good for nothing man because he wasn't around to prove otherwise."

"But he wasn't," Anthony guessed.

Natalia shook her head. "I never realized that it was right under my nose the whole time. My mom was having an affair with a wealthy man she had met at one of the Delp's parties. They tried to work it out, but my mom had always been a sucker for money. My dad just couldn't offer her what she wanted, and she wasn't willing to let the other man go. When he left, I hated him. I loathed him for abandoning us like we were nothing."

"But he left you without an explanation. No one could blame you for wanting to hate him when he left," Anthony said.

"It also didn't help that my mom would bash him to anyone that would listen. I let myself get brainwashed by her, and I let all the hate get to me. Then when everything went down with Chase," Natalia paused as she inhaled a deep breath, "I went looking for my dad. When I finally found him and learned the whole story, I confronted my mom. Things got ugly very quickly, but through it all, my dad stuck by me. I felt horrible for hating him."

"You miss him, don't you," Anthony asked as he took note of the sad look in her eyes when she spoke of her dad.

"I do," Natalia confessed, "He moved to California after the whole ordeal, and I don't really blame him. I mean, I moved all the way to Chicago to get away from my crazy mother. We don't see each other often, but he checks in. He's actually the one that helped me move past everything that happened here."

"He sounds like a great man. I'd love to meet him one day," Anthony smiled.

"He'd love you! Plus he's a huge baseball fan, so you'd totally impress him," Natalia joked.

"Good to know," Anthony laughed.
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"So we never got the chance to talk," Adriana said as she and Natalia were in the bathroom getting ready.

Natalia put her mascara down as she looked at Adriana in the mirror. "There really isn't anything to talk about. My mom just said somethings that pissed me off. Nothing new there."