Status: Thank you for reading, any and all comments are welcome and appreciated!
Tangled Web
Chapter 13
Faintly I heard Leland stuttering a few…. Uh, uh….uhs as Olivia made her newly discovered knowledge known to everyone.
‘Breathe, breathe…breathe’ were the words I kept repeating over and over to myself. ‘Don’t let Leland see the fear on your face…breathe.’
I could hear the muted words as Kaiden spoke to me while I focused on my breathing. I had no idea what he was saying until he tapped me on the arm.
“Mommy, can I play in my new room?”
“Sure baby, go ahead.” I whisper. What we were discussing really didn’t bother Kaiden in the least bit. As he took off running into his new room I looked up, meeting my ex-husbands eye’s; hurt and anger flashed across his face.
He calmly pulled out his phone and dialed someone’s number, asking them to come by and pick up the kids for the afternoon. I didn’t bother to ask who it might be; he would never leave them with just anyone.
Leland stands up, pulling the girls up with him, “Girls grandma Beth is coming to pick you up so you can swim at her house with the other kids today. Do me a favor and go get your swimsuits and help Kaiden find his okay?”
I sat motionless in the chair. My secret had been brought to light by my six year old. I couldn’t be upset with her, she didn’t know the difference. I only wondered how she put two and two together and came to that conclusion; as far as I knew neither Duane Lee or I had ever mentioned Dylan being my child. I suppose it was possible that she overheard Dylan himself saying something when he didn’t know those little ears were listening.
Leland and I just stared at one another until the doorbell rang. And no sooner had he shut the door and watched Beth drive away with our children did he start questioning me.
“Honestly, I don’t even know where to start Mila.”
I looked down at my hands. I didn’t know where to start either.
“Is it true, is Dylan really your son?”
I chewed the inside of my mouth, and continued looking down at my hands.
“It just blows my fucking mind that my own children know and I don’t. It’s truly unbelievable.”
I closed my eyes, and continued to chew the inside of my mouth until I could taste blood. I refused to look at him.
“This…this is just…bullshit. I really can’t comprehend how you could keep something like this from me; you and Duane Lee. My own brother kept this from me.”
I began to shake one leg up and down, up and down. Trying to do anything I could to keep from looking at Leland.
“Say something damn it!” he says grabbing my face roughly with his hand. “Say something Mila… anything! Defend yourself and tell me this isn’t true! Just fucking say SOMETHING!” he screams in my face, punctuating each word with a squeeze of his hand.
“Get your hand off of my face.” I whisper, quite calmly. “I don’t have to defend myself to you or anyone else for that matter. I no longer answer to you!”
“So it’s true?” He asks as I stand up, coming eye to eye with him. “I should have known you were nothing but a whore when I met you.”
‘Breathe, breathe…breathe’ were the words I kept repeating over and over to myself. ‘Don’t let Leland see the fear on your face…breathe.’
I could hear the muted words as Kaiden spoke to me while I focused on my breathing. I had no idea what he was saying until he tapped me on the arm.
“Mommy, can I play in my new room?”
“Sure baby, go ahead.” I whisper. What we were discussing really didn’t bother Kaiden in the least bit. As he took off running into his new room I looked up, meeting my ex-husbands eye’s; hurt and anger flashed across his face.
He calmly pulled out his phone and dialed someone’s number, asking them to come by and pick up the kids for the afternoon. I didn’t bother to ask who it might be; he would never leave them with just anyone.
Leland stands up, pulling the girls up with him, “Girls grandma Beth is coming to pick you up so you can swim at her house with the other kids today. Do me a favor and go get your swimsuits and help Kaiden find his okay?”
I sat motionless in the chair. My secret had been brought to light by my six year old. I couldn’t be upset with her, she didn’t know the difference. I only wondered how she put two and two together and came to that conclusion; as far as I knew neither Duane Lee or I had ever mentioned Dylan being my child. I suppose it was possible that she overheard Dylan himself saying something when he didn’t know those little ears were listening.
Leland and I just stared at one another until the doorbell rang. And no sooner had he shut the door and watched Beth drive away with our children did he start questioning me.
“Honestly, I don’t even know where to start Mila.”
I looked down at my hands. I didn’t know where to start either.
“Is it true, is Dylan really your son?”
I chewed the inside of my mouth, and continued looking down at my hands.
“It just blows my fucking mind that my own children know and I don’t. It’s truly unbelievable.”
I closed my eyes, and continued to chew the inside of my mouth until I could taste blood. I refused to look at him.
“This…this is just…bullshit. I really can’t comprehend how you could keep something like this from me; you and Duane Lee. My own brother kept this from me.”
I began to shake one leg up and down, up and down. Trying to do anything I could to keep from looking at Leland.
“Say something damn it!” he says grabbing my face roughly with his hand. “Say something Mila… anything! Defend yourself and tell me this isn’t true! Just fucking say SOMETHING!” he screams in my face, punctuating each word with a squeeze of his hand.
“Get your hand off of my face.” I whisper, quite calmly. “I don’t have to defend myself to you or anyone else for that matter. I no longer answer to you!”
“So it’s true?” He asks as I stand up, coming eye to eye with him. “I should have known you were nothing but a whore when I met you.”