PRETTYMUCH a Lie [n.m]

Forty-Seven

Amelia

"You what?" I replied. "You can't be. My father died when I was younger," I added not wanting to believe this strange man that still had his arms around me.

"Let's give them some space," Austin spoke, trying to get everyone out of the room.

"You okay?" Nick asked me before leaving.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied wanting to know every detail of what this man was trying to tell me.

He took a seat beside me on the bed as the last of my friends exited the room.

"Your mother told you I died?" he asked in a saddened tone.

"Yes. She would never tell me anything else about you, as many times as I would ask her," I replied.

This couldn't be happening. My dad was alive? He was a doctor? My mother was nothing but a bitchy librarian who treated me like shit.

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was there when you were born. We named you after my mother, Amelia Grace. Your mother kicked me out when I caught her cheating on me when you were around six. She turned the whole thing around on me, she was mad because I wanted to go back to medical school. I had to drop out prior because we needed money for you," he explained while tears became evident in his eyes.

"I tried to fix things for your sake, but she wanted nothing to do with me. She told me you would be better off without me. I stuck around in the background until you graduated. I was there at every tennis match, every honors ceremony. I am so proud of you, Amelia. I wish I could've been there more but she threatened to get a restraining order," he took a deep breath and dried his eyes. "I moved out here after I made sure you were set in college. I paid for your tuition. I made sure that you had everything you needed but I'm sure your mother told you she did all of those things."

My eyes filled with tears as I listened to this man spill his heart out to me. I pulled him in for a tight hug. The best hug I had ever had frankly.

"I'm so sorry, Amelia. I'm sorry I left," he cried.

"It's okay. It's okay," I sniffed.

I couldn't believe my mother would do this to me. To him. She told me my father was dead. She lied to me. On top of all of those horrible things, she still treated me like shit. For what?

Breaking our hug, Nick and Alison walked back in. While I filled them in, my father went to get an ultrasound machine and a nurse.

"No fucking way?" Alison ranted.

She was just as shocked as I was.

"I don't know what to say, are you sure?" Nick trailed off.

I nodded.

"I'm so happy for you, but this situation sucks," he added.

"I'll figure it out later. This is too much for one day," I said, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"How far along are you again?" my dad asked while he strutted back into the room with a nurse and the machine to examine my baby.

"Two months maybe?" I replied.

"Wow, I'm going to be a granddad," he smiled, "Let's check this baby out, shall we?"

It was weird calling him my dad. I really didn't know what else to call him though. All I could think about was all of the time that we had to make up for. He was always there. I didn't even notice. He seemed like such a nice and caring guy. I was wondering where that side of my personality came in to play. From him.