The Story of Tonight

Chapter Twelve

Lia sat on a park bench, kicking random rocks that were near her feet. She had been in the same spot for about an hour, trying to make sense of her thoughts. She looked at her phone to check the time, which she had put in airplane mode. Her phone had been blowing up with more and more notifications and she couldn't deal with it. She already had to deal with the stares of strangers as they passed by as she had sobbed.

She didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she had received the answer to a question she had had her entire life. On the other hand, with the answer came even more questions and emotions.

She looked through the photos on her phone. There was a selfie of she and Lin that had been taken during their movie marathon. It was taken after they had finished their fifth movie, The Little Mermaid, which they realized was a shared favorite. She looked completely disheveled in a worn hoodie and a goofy smile, compliments of the painkillers she had been taking, with Lin's smile equally as wide as hers. She didn't know when he had pulled out his photo to capture it, that he knew he was taking their first photo as father and daughter. A few more tears escaped from her eyes.

Lia shoved her phone into her pocket and pulled both of her feet up on the bench, resting her chin on top of her knees. If she had to pinpoint one word to encompass how she was feeling it was betrayal. This entire time she had thought Lin was spending time with her to get in good with her mom, and turns out it was because he wanted to spend time with his kid for the first time. How could her mom keep her a secret? And how could she just lie to her?

The cool breeze felt refreshing as Lia started her trek home. She didn't want to return home. That was, in fact, the last thing she wanted to do. However, the sky was turning dark and she knew she'd have to eventually if not for the simple fact that she was a broke teenager who couldn't survive a night alone in the city. But was she? She thought to herself as she continued to walk. She just found out her father was a celebrity. Her mom was an attorney and had always been able to provide for the two of them, but what would the addition of Lin mean for her life? And what would having a dad actually be like? Lia let out an audible groan. With each answer she came up with, five more questions would pop in her head.

Lia wasn't surprised to find her mom and Lin at their kitchen table when she walked through their apartment door.

"Where have you been?" Vanessa immediately got up as Lia shut the door behind her.

"I told you I had to get out." Lia replied with a cold tone.

Vanessa sighed, accepting the answer. She walked back to the table, sitting down next to Lin. "Why don't we all sit down and talk about this?"

Lia folded her arms, and leaned against the wall. "I'd rather stay here."

Lin could tell by the expression on Vanessa's face, and the time that he had spent with Lia, that she was acting out of character. He didn't blame Lia, considering the news she had found out that afternoon. He realized in that moment, however, that he didn't know shit about parenting an angry teenager and was more than happy to let Vanessa take the lead.

"I'm sure you must be pretty upset," she began. "And you have every right to be. We can't change the past now but we want to talk about how things will work going forward."

The teenager studied her mother, arms crossed, and waited for her to continue.

"You can spend as much time with Lin as you want," she told Lia. "We'd rather not get into the legal system of shared custody because you're a teenager and can make your own decisions about how you spend your time."

"Where will I live?" She asked.

"Both places," she said. "Lin is happy to help set up a bedroom for you at his apartment and you can come and go as you please. But you need to check in with both of us on your plans."