One House Behind | ✓

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

Shelly

Done with dinner, it was time for bed. I could see the little guy getting tired already. His hands went to his eyes and he rubbed.

"You tired Seb?"

"Yeah, Daddy," he slurred out and rub to his eyes again.

"Can I take him a shower?"

"Well, it's your place now. Again," Mom sighed as she tried to busy herself. 

But there wasn't much to clean. That's how I found myself going to my room and calling Tanner. He didn't answer, he was probably doing homework or showering. I'd call him again later.

Doing my own homework, I got so lost that I hadn't heard when my father walked in. His hair was wet and he was in his pajamas. The same kind he wore with me, an old tee and checkered sweats.

Looking at it made my heart squeeze.

"Hey, you busy?"

I wanted to say yes. I wanted him gone. But this was a chance for him to explain. Logically, he had to tell me what happened. Even if I didn't like it. Even if he wanted to hide his crime.

"No," I sighed, pushing everything to one side of the bed.

"Uh, how have you been?"

"Good. I got a boyfriend now, Mom's met him."

I felt like I was telling him a secret. Tanner had been my safe spot, a spot no one had known about until recently. But telling my father, an almost stranger, made the whole ordeal weirder. 

"Is that safe? You've been safe right? I'm not talking about health either." He scratched the back of his neck, eyes wandering away from me. 

"We don't need to have the sex talk, Dad, I know all about it. Plus, we took a test and I got the shot. Test was negative if you care."

His eyes shot back to me before he said, "A pregnancy test? Darling, I don't-"

"No! It was a test to see if we got the virus. None of us, his family or Mom and me, have it. And the shot was the vaccine. I'm not doing things."

It was my turn to disconnect my eyes from him. I wiggled under his gaze before I cleared my throat. I could see where he thought that. I'd have to work on my wording sometime soon.

"Good. On both parts. You're my little girl. I don't want you being too grown, now."

"Yeah."

The heat on my face only burned more. This was not a topic that I wanted to discuss with my father. I couldn't even look at him anymore.

"Good, good."

"Yeah," I mumbled.

Silence enveloped us. Biting my lip, I looked up at him. His eyes were dancing around my room, looking at the little things that changed. Very little had so it wasn't long until his eyes came back to me.

"We should talk about your brother," he said, finally bringing it up.

"Yeah. We should."

I watched as he cautiously took a step further into my room. Moving over in the bed, to allow him space, my body curled into a ball. My feet were to my butt and my knees to my shoulders. Limiting my space for him was ironic since I never wanted him back in it.