Perseverance

Chapter Fifty Three ~ October

You.

Ran.

Over.

Your.

Father.

Her lips are moving but I can't hear what's coming out of them. Instead, I just watch, arms in front of her chest as she gestures towards me, almost like she's begging, nearly dropping to her knees.

Something suddenly grips my arms from behind and I force my head to move, looking up at Ellis' concerned face, gaze flitting from me to over my head, back at the chaos.

Slowly, the noise infiltrates my ears, overtaking the shrill ringing that echoes through my skull and crashing me back into reality.

"What the fuck, Mom?" Haydon is yelling, Elena and Missy in front of him, hands on his chest to keep him from making his way across the kitchen.

"I can't fucking take it," my dad is saying softly, Savannah trying to comfort him.

I'm surrounded by them, Haydon to the left, Dad to the right, Mom directly in front, only two meters away. Her eyes are on me only, regret spreading across her features as I continue to stare at her.

There's no emotion in my expression, I know because I feel nothing. I can't force anything on my face because I feel empty. I'm just watching her, seeing my family fall apart. It's utter destruction... but all I do is stare.

"Her... her father?" Olivia is the one who finally echoes my mother's words, confirming that I'm not crazy, not imagining things. She stands back up, smacking her hands down on the table as Alice hurries out the kitchen with the screaming baby in her arms. Why am I not screaming? Why is Daisy so upset? It's not her family.

Although... I guess it is.

What the fuck...

"George is her father?" Olivia continues. "She... he... he said it ended way before you ever had Becky."

My mom's bottom lip wobbles slightly before she shakes her head. "It lasted the entire year. Until I found out I was pregnant. Only then did George agree to let me go."

Haydon stumbles back against the cupboard behind him. Brett lets his head fall into his hands.

I just watch.

"Becky is George's child," my mom delivers the life shattering words.

"That... That's not true," Dad snaps. "You can't know for sure."

Mom's eyes finally slip from mine, turning to her husband as she rips his heart out. "The timeline makes sense, Ted."

"No—"

"You thought Rebecca came early," Mom continues, a singular tear finally slipping down her cheek. "She was actually late. Two weeks late."

Elena lets out a string of polite curse words and as Haydon slips to the floor, she goes with him, wrapping her arms around him, not caring who's watching. Brett's jaw is tensed, his hands curled into tight fists as he looks over at his somber mother. Olivia looks defeated by the last of George's secrets being out in the open. She sinks onto the chair behind her and rakes her hands through her hair.

My dad is crying, Savannah still whispering to him as she tries to help. My dear best friend. The girl who spent so many nights at my house growing up. The one who Dad and I would make hot chocolates with at midnight when we were in senior year of high school. He always made her laugh, something I cherished. Savannah deserved a dad like him. Someone to watch over her.

And my mom... in the moments that followed her lashing out at Brett, I could have sworn it was just her protective side, caring for Savannah far too much.