The Four

Chapter 23

"You have a secret fucking kid Shay!" Melanie snapped when he didn't respond to her, "And you didn't have the decency to tell Addilyn in person instead you gave her a letter written by your abusive ex and her abusive ex's sister! God, do you hear how fucked that sounds?"

"Oh no I hear it" Shay sighed as he sat down on one of the chairs, "Want to sit because I have a feeling this conversation will take a while."

Shay watched as she gave him an odd look wondering why he was acting so calm about the situation. He turned to look down at his glass when she sat down in front of him. Shay gently pushed the other one towards her.

"How long have you known you had a kid?" Melanie spoke softly.

Shay took a breath, "I found out a few days ago through the letter. When I left her I had no idea she was pregnant"

"That's not what Addilyn's letter said" Melanie hesitantly uncrumpled the paper that she held tightly in her hand and began to read out loud.

Shay clenched the glass in his hand as the lies Jenna wrote filled his ears. He knew that he should have probably read the letter first before he gave it to Addilyn but he felt that it would have been overstepping even more.

"Dear Addilyn, long time no see. I hope you're doing well because the last time I saw you, you got my brother arrested due to your delusions and lies. I am writing this to you because I feel that despite everything you put my family through you deserve to know that I am dead. In fact this is one of many suicide notes I am writing. But my suicide is not the only reason I am writing to you. I found out through the grapevine that you and Shay Ryans are dating, congratulations are in order for that. As you probably know Shay and I used to be in a relationship. However it ended rather abruptly when he ran out on me. I tried getting into contact with him for months after but he refused to respond to me. I'm sure you're wondering why I am telling you all this but trust me that it will all come together in the end. When Shay ran out on me I had just finished telling him I was pregnant. He was furious when I told him which is why he left. The baby is eight months old now with no father and now-no mother. However there is an upside. Ryder is getting out of jail and has a steady girlfriend of the name Genevieve Peters. Both are more than willing to take full custody of Roselyn, my baby's name. But I am giving Shay the opportunity to have either shared custody or sole custody of the baby despite what he did to me. Once again I hope you are happy and healthy. Jenna Malec." Melanie finished up reading and looked up from the letter and was met with a grim looking Shay.

"If it is any consultation she talks like a psycho" Melanie attempted to clear the air between the two of them once she stopped reading, "I mean who the hell even says 'through the grapevine' anymore?"

"Melanie," Shay looked up at her, "Stop talking"

"Yeah, got it, I had no idea where I was going with that anyways" She sighed as she rubbed her palms on her legs, "So, you had no clue?"

"Not one" Shay confirmed shaking his head, "And I can prove it with my letter"

"You don't have to read it!" Melanie said quickly, "I just think that's private you know? Especially with everything she did to you"

Shay set his letter on the table, "You read Addilyn's didn't you?"

Melanie looked down at the paper in her hands, "Well that's different. I wanted you to hear Jenna's lies."

Shay nodded as he played with the corner of his letter, unable to look away from it, "Then I'll just give you a summary. She apologized for the abuse which was shocking because when she was doing it she would laugh. She gave me the reason why she was going to take her life and that was because I left her with a baby and caring for Roselyn was too much for her. Jenna then went on to blame me for leaving and told me I should have helped change her and make her a better person because that was my responsibility as a man. She told me about Ryder and how he was going to fight for custody along with Genieve. Another thing I found out was that Geniveve was the person she was cheating on me with. Both of them are more than willing to take the baby away from me and use me leaving as leverage if I want to battle them for custody. They all think I don't deserve to be in her life after leaving"