Just Friends

•14•

It was an awkward silence. I don't know what to say and I damn sure didn't expect to be telling him anything tonight.

"Oh—she was just—" my mom started

"No, don't try to lie for her, Dani. Is there something you want to tell me, Calisa?" He asked as he sat next to my mom on the couch.

"No, it's nothing."

While my mother is the non-judgmental parent, my father on the other hand is entirely judgmental and will blow all of this out of proportion.

"It's something alright and I wanna know." He said

It was silence again, I don't know what to say or how to say it.

"Just tell him, Calisa. It's best to not keep it a secret." My mom said

"You might as well tell me, I heard everything on the stairs I'm just waiting on you to tell me the correct way."

I wish she could tell him, and tell him the long stories I told her as well.

"Why do I have to go through explaining everything again if you heard me?"

"I want to see if you'll lie to me."

"Why do you have to make this more complicated than it already is?"

"Hey—I'm just a concerned parent. I also want to know why I wasn't informed anyway."

"You weren't informed because I didn't want you or anyone to know just yet. I wouldn't have told mom if I knew on my own, but she figured it out herself. This entire thing is embarrassing and confusing so I was trying to keep it a secret as long as possible." I said

"And you would've waited until you were 9 months to share it?"

"No, just until I was comfortable."

"Keeping it a secret made you more comfortable, huh?"

"James, stop interrogating her! This is already hard to process as is and you're being irrational." My mom said

"No, I'm not. I'm just curious as to why at least I wasn't informed as well."

"Well now you know." I said and rolled my eyes

He took a deep sigh, "How far along are you?" He asked

"I'm 3 months."

"And you plan on taking the paternity test, when?" He asked

"Soon!"

"How soon? I want to know which guy I need to be attacking." He said

"You won't have to attack anyone." I said

"Oh, yes he will! Now I know this isn't ideally  the right time or the way you wanted to bring it to him but you need to tell him everything, because it's been eating at me that I haven't been able to tell him." My mom said and gave me a stern look

I rolled my eyes and sat back.

"Can you tell him? I really don't feel like going through the motions of crying and getting myself worked up and—"

"Troy has been raping and beating on her since she was 15. She tried leaving him plenty of times but it only worsened, the last time this happened he almost killed her and that's when she got away." My mom blurted out and stared at my father for his response.