The Free (Unedited)

Pain and Joy

Lindsay’s POV

“How could you do this to me!” my mom shrieked from up the stairs.

I immediately ran up the them, trying to take them 2 at a time.

I finally came upon the situation at hand, and what I saw froze me in my place.

Dad and Frederik were in bed together. Frederik was trying to cover is body, his face red as a tomato, his eyes cast down in shame.

My father, however, was standing across from mother, a pair of sweatpants on, his face contorted in pure rage.

“Whatever do you mean,” he asked calmly.

“You- you’re ch-cheating on me?” my mom stammered out, her eyes filling with tears.

“Come on woman, what did you think would happen?” dad scoffed, staring at my mom with no sympathy in his eyes. “Don’t play this game with me.”

“Play what game?” my mom said, her voice high with sadness and rage.

“This whole game that we’ve been playing for years,” dad said.

Mom blanched, her face white as a ghost.

“What, you think I didn’t know?” dad taunted. “You didn’t think that I would send someone to check on you, to make sure you were ok? To find out the wife I have been faithful to has taken PA after PA to fuck?”

I stood there, stock-still, my mind reeling at this new realization that my parents have been cheating and my dad was so angry he actually cussed. I have never heard such a word come out of his mouth.

“Y-you kn-kn-knew?” mom stuttered quietly.

Dad just laughed humorlessly. Mom looked like she was about to faint.

“Imagine how I felt when I learned you cheated on me again,” dad started quietly, tears finally filling his eyes, the anger shedding to show his true emotions.

“I trusted you.” The tears were now spilling down his face. “I TRUSTED YOU,” he screamed. Mom jumped. Dad fell to his knees.

“This marriage was failed from the beginning,” dad whispered, his voice directed to the ground.

“Do you remember when you became pregnant with Lukas?” dad asked. “I was so happy. That was our child.” He smiled. “It was beautiful. I was ready to do everything with you. I almost gave up my company for you, but you wouldn’t let me. You told me to travel, to keep going. I remember the day I had to go. I remember those months that I was away. I remember missing Lukas’s birth. I missed you so much. Imagine my surprise when I came home, gave you a kiss and a huge hug, and noticed your baby bump. I remember crying that night, but I still held your hair when you threw up, I was with you when you gave birth. And look at her.”

They all looked at me, mom and Frederik staring at me, dad gazing at me in pride.

“One of the 3 joys in my life,” he murmured, “not mine by birth, but mine by right.

“But you,” he turned on my mom with anger and hatred in his eyes. “When you went to tie your tubes, I cried at work. I wanted us to work so bad, but I knew in my heart we were done. Well, there was someone there that helped me when you put me in a dark place. I never meant to, but I became to love her. So, while you were with your men, I was with her. Then, she told me she was pregnant. She died in childbirth. My beautiful baby Laura. And you decided that you were wronged, and you hate her.” He all but spat the last sentence at mom.

I unfroze myself and made my way over to Frederik.

“This is not our fight,” I told him. “Come.”