The Innocents

Chapter 35: Iris

"Lucas and I will give you some space," Mr Flinch announced from the sofa he was sitting with Lucas, breaking the unnerving silence in the room.

"No, he will stay," my mother said matter-of-factly, not even blinking or stuttering.

I was glad she seemed to like Lucas, it would make things easier in the future, but one thing did hurt me a lot. She seemed to like Lucas more than she had ever liked me and to think they had just met recently.

"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere," Lucas replied.

My mom shifted on her sofa uncomfortably all while keeping her gaze on him. "If you leave, I leave".

Whoa. I narrowed my eyes at Lucas, my mind whirling with a storm of questions. How had he managed to do what I yearned for twenty-one years, in just one week?

"He can stay," my dad interjected.

I leaned forward towards my mother to see her reaction towards me and I was utterly disappointed when she drew her shoulders back and withdrew herself.

She still didn't want anything to do with me.

Lucas came to sit next to my conflicted self as his dad made his way outside the house, leaving us to commence an insufferable meeting I wasn't ready for.

"First off, I want to begin by saying I'm sorry. To all of you. To you Iris, for leaving when you were just a fetus, and most importantly to you Vanessa, for leaving when you needed me the most".

That won't change anything, I thought to myself.

" I know. But I needed to let it off my chest before we began speaking about your mother," he replied.

I silently gasped. Had I just said it out loud? I looked at Lucas and his smug smile confirmed my suspicion.

" Sorry I had–"

" It's okay. I deserve it".

" Then will we have our happily ever after now?"

" What?" Both my dad and I said as we turned to look at my mother.

" Will we have our happily ever after now?" She asked again, clutching the Barbie doll close to her heart.

I had gotten the feeling something was definitely off about her in the car.

"We said we would give this to our daughter," she mumbled.

My dad sighed. "There's something I must tell you all".

Ugh, I was already used to being used by this old man now.

" I have a family".

I was definitely not surprised by that. It was evident he was a family man.

" Don't worry, they know all about you, so you don't have to–"

I scoffed. "I'm fine. It would have been more shocking if you didn't have a family than you having one".

" That's a relief," he said breathing loudly as if he had been holding his breath the entire time.

" Then what about me?"

We all turned to face my mother. She was squeezing the Barbie doll tightly that if it had been alive, it would be wimping in pain already.

" What about my happily ever after?"

There she goes again. " This is no fairy tale woman, get a grip," I said to her.

She rose from the sofa abruptly. " You promised".