Unfaithful

16

"Hey, why the long face?" I was startled by the sound of his voice as he stood at my doorway. Mark looked at me with concern. "Are you coming down with something? You look a little pale."

"No. No, I am fine." I croaked back. I tried a smile but I knew it fell flat. I could barely look him in the eye. The offending item was stashed under my pillow and I felt like my hands and eyes were still burning from reading it. Damn Emily.

"Okay. If you say so. I am going to start dinner. What do you want?" He asked me with a raised brow. I cleared my throat.

"Ah, anything but sausage." I replied. He gave me a strange look and turned to leave. I knew my face was probably in flames right now, so I turned over and buried it in my pillow. I knew more at this moment than I wanted to. I hated Emily. So, so much right now. She was a demon set out to destroy my innocence.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Mark sounded worried now. I waved him off determinedly. I got up and gasped for air.

"Yes. I am fine. I was hanging out with Emily. She is really weird." I shook my head and he finally seemed satisfied with my answer. I sighed in relief as he walked away to make us food. This was hard. Living with someone you liked was really hard when you weren't together. I still had to wait until their paperwork was finalised before I could pursue him too. My conscience wouldn't allow for anything less.

"Hey Greg? I heard back from my investigator today. He explained what happened to you to your father. If you want to go and meet your father, he said he is willing to see you. He would like to meet you very much." Mark told me gently from the doorway. His shirtsleeves were folded back and he wore his favourite apron. I nodded and he smiled a little before going back to the kitchen.

Did I still want to meet him? After everything that had happened? I supposed in a way it would bring closure if nothing else. I could say I knew who he was and that he did care for me, even if I didn't know about it at the time. That was something I guess. It would take my mind off of my feelings for Mark for awhile. It might help clear my head for the coming school year as well.

I got up and went down the hall to the kitchen to see what Mark had decided on for dinner. He was making fried fish and baked chips. It smelled really good. He grinned over at me and I set the places with cutlery, plates and glasses. Then I watched as he flipped the pieces of fish in the pan with a pair of tongs. They sizzled and the light crisp from the first side was sprinkled with spices by the cook.

"It looks delicious. Thanks for dinner again." I said as my mouth watered in anticipation.

"No problem Greg. Did you want to set a date for going to see your real dad?" He looked over at me and I nodded.

"Yeah, I want to go before school starts up. Otherwise I think it will be too much stress with the beginning of classes." I replied. He hummed.

"Yes, that is a good idea. Did you want... that is... should I go with you?" He seemed uncertain as he put the fish onto a paper towel to blot the grease and pulled the chips from the oven. He tossed them in a towel lined bowl with a bit of salt and then plated them both. He glanced at me somewhat nervously.

"Um, I guess if you wanted. I mean, you don't have to go but I would like it if you did. It will be a bit weird meeting someone who is supposed to be my father when we have never set eyes on one another before. I think it would be nice to have the support." I allowed while I dug into the crispy food. It was perfect for tonight. Spicy fish with a touch of crunch on the outside and soft flaky goodness on the inside.

"Okay. Yeah, I can go with you. I will set it up. Leave it to me." He grinned and nodded, finally digging into his own food.