I am Chloe

Chapter Sixteen

Thanks again for the comments! Lots of hate on Grandma Bitter! 

* 

My mind was in a state of shock, my mind kept circling around the truth, the truth being what my grandmother had told me. I couldn't believe how much of a jerk my father was, not only was he a jerk with me, but he was a jerk with my mother too. 

Dad opened the apartment door, "hey," I heard him say to someone. It was no other than David, sitting on the stool at the kitchen counter. Dad must've shown him where the spare key was. 

"Hey Will, Chloe," David said.

David got up from the stool and walked up to my father, "do you want to talk?"

Dad sighed, "not now, Davie." 

"Chloe, are you okay?" David turned to me. What, was he playing family shrink? I had my own shrink, anyway.

I ignored him.

"Chloe?" David repeated.

"Chloe, the man's asking you a question," Dad told me as he grabbed a diet coke from the fridge.

"What man?" I muttered, but apparently they heard it.

Dad looked at me the way he had looked at his mother, "excuse me?" 

"Nothing."

"He was being nice, Chloe!" my father yelled. What had gotten into him?

David backed up. "It's fine, I think I should get going."

"No, David. Stay, what the hell is the matter with you?"

"Seriously, Dad?" I yelled back angrily.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Will, bye Chlo." David left the two of us alone.

Dad rushed to the door, "David, wait." But it was too late.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Chloe? Of all the people, you chose David to get your anger out on?" Dad yelled.

"You don't know him, Dad!"

"Oh really?" His veins popped out of his neck.

"I hate David, Dad. I hate him." 

"Well I don't give a shit about that!" he turned to head to his room.

"You don't know what he did!" I yelled out.

Say, it Chloe, say it.

He still didn't turn to face me.

"Dad he raped me."

That made Dad stop dead in his tracks.

"What?" Dad said, his voice was shaky, almost as shaky as when I'd been alone with David.

"He-He raped me. Three years ago at the party you held for him," my voice croaked.

Dad turned and looked at me with rage. "That...is by far the sickest thing I've heard anyone say."

He doesn't believe me. My own father doesn't believe me.

Our heads both turned to the door, David came in, he 'looked' shocked at what I had said.

"I-I forgot my jacket," he stuttered.

"Davie," Dad called out. 

"I'll see you tomorrow." 

Shit, David knows. David knows I confessed.

"Why do you always have to ruin everything?!" Dad yelled to me as David shut the door. 

I didn't reply.

Dad walked around the kitchen counter in distress; he sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I should've never had agreed to it." 

"A-agree to what?" 

"To all of this! Do you seriously think I actually felt pity for you when your mother dropped you off? I did it all for the money!" 

"Mo-money?"

Dad scoffed. "Why should I even tell you that anyway?" 

"Dad, I want to know, I am main victim, after all", I said, quoting my grandmother.

"Fine, if you want to know, fine." He took a big gulp of coke before he continued to speak. "Your grandparents, the lowlives you saw, were going to keep me out of their will if I hadn't agreed to it."

Agreed to what?

Dad sat down on the stool, the same one David had sat on; he moved his hand through his hair for a second time before he reluctantly continued.

"He was my parents' rivals, you were the only connection they had to him, since his daughter is your mother. My parents threatened him with you, they told him if he didn't agree to the collaboration, he'd have to give you a percentage of the money he earned, since you were a blood relative. My parents told me if I gave you up for adoption, therefore changing your last name, they would keep me out of their will. So, I agreed." 

Money, it's always about the money, he took another gulp.

"That was the biggest mistake of my life," he continued, "I got nothing out of it, nothing but bad luck in everything I did. I never wanted to start a family like this but look at me now: a single father working as a full time heart surgeon. Who would've known?"

Dad brought it to himself; if he hadn't agreed to the bet, none of this would've happened, heck I might have even been born to an actual couple who couldn't wait to have me. But no, everyone used me...for money.

"And I have to suffer for all of this?" I spoke up, what did I have to lose?

"I never agreed to this life, Dad. But I suck it up, sure I may have no friends and a father who doesn't give a crap about me but I suck it up. Even when I have the right to get mad at everything, I suck it all up and I am sick of it." 

I felt my face redden, the tears were there to cool it down. My father avoided looking at me in the eyes. Shame is what he felt and I could tell it. He got up from the stool, grabbing his blazer from the couch and placed his bow-tie on the kitchen counter. Then he left me there, he left me all alone in the apartment. 

Lonely, lonely Chloe.

Where were you all the time?