Love in a Cup

Chapter Thirteen

Sawyer

I slammed the drivers side door and, knowing I couldn't have made the drive in my car due to some fallen branches, I made the long trek up the driveway.

With the grand re-opening of The Hut behind me, I was finally ready to sit down with my parents and deal with all the emotions I'd tried my hardest to avoid for days. I texted Parker to let him know about my decision, and he invited me over afterwards. I didn't want to burden him with whatever weight I'd be carrying when I left, but spending an evening with him was way too good an offer to pass on.

I felt weird, standing at the front door of my parents' home. I had the urge to knock, but it would probably only serve in making my mother cry, which I definitely didn't want to happen. I opened the door and called out to let them know I'd arrived. My dad rounded the corner from the living room and smiled wide. I thought that was a good sign.

"Hey, Dad," I said, allowing him to pull me into a hug. It felt normal, the embrace, just like it had all my life.

"Glad you made it here in one piece, kiddo," he said. "Mom's waiting for us."

We walked in together, Dad's arm still thrown over my shoulder. The second my mom saw me, her chin started to shake. Gah!

"Hi, Mom," I said, going in for a hug. She squeezed me a little too tight and held on a tad bit too long, but I let her. I'd probably freaked her out pretty badly seeing as it had been nearly ten days since we'd spoken last.

"How are you doing?" She asked. I smiled. How very like her to ignore the giant, stormy topic I'd come to discuss.

"I'm doing great, actually. I've never been happier." Her chin wobbled again, but I ignored it this time. I sat down on the chair opposite of the couch where her and my dad were.

I looked down at my hand in my lap and reminded myself I had nothing to feel embarrassed or awkward about. This was their wrong that they needed to make right. Not the other way around.

"I think it would be best to just talk about what I came to talk about," I said, meeting their stare.

"Where would you like to start?" Dad asked.

"Why did you-," I cleared my throat, annoyed that my voice broke. "Why did you never tell me?" I asked

My dad turned his head away quickly, but not before I saw the tears that filled his eyes. I almost choked on the air I tried to get into my lungs. I'd never witnessed a single tear fall from my father's eyes.

"I'm not sure we ever decided not to tell you," Mom started.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "You did decide at some point. Mike told me he wanted me to know since I was a year old. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Mike had no right to tell you anything," Mom said with venom.

"He had every right to tell me whatever he wanted to!"

"Sawyer," Dad said calmly. "We chose not to tell you when you were little because you wouldn't have understood. Then, you were older and we worried you would want to leave us. It was selfish, but I can't like to you. The thought of you coming to us and asking to go live with Mike, even if it was just over summers, scared us. Eventually, when you were about twelve, I thought it was time." He looked over at Mom with sad eyes. "There were times we fought about it, but when Mike came and asked if you'd want to eventually take over MSA, that's when we knew we'd messed up."

I stared at him for a moment before sliding my eyes to my mom. "I need to hear from you now. I need to know why you fought so hard against me knowing. Mike is your brother-in-law... how did you think you'd go an entire lifetime without anyone telling me?"