Never Too Late
Truths
Lacey's Point of View
The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut through it with a knife. The look on everyone's faces said it all. Lucy looked guilty, like she knew what she hid from me was wrong. Gerard wouldn't even make eye contact with me – did he know all along? And Mikey…well, I didn’t think he had a clue. I sat down and put my birth certificate on the table. No one said anything, so I decided I would.
"Anyone care to explain this fuckery?" I asked.
"Lacey, I didn't want to hide this from you, I just didn't think you would handle it well and I wanted to figure out how to tell you," Lucy replied.
"Clearly," I said, thinking back to last night.
It got silent again and then Gerard cleared his throat, finally speaking.
"I knew about this, but your mother made me promise not to say a word," he admitted.
"Wait, what?" Lucy, Mikey, and I all said at once.
"Your mom and that douche canoe were having some issues one night, so she came over here,” Gerard explained. “We were all drinking and some…things obviously happened. She found out about a month later and knew it wasn't his, and it was Frank's. But she hid it and lied until Zach started having some suspicions that Lacey wasn't his.”
"Then what happened?" I asked, dying for more answers.
"He threatened to leave her but stayed for Lucy's sake. Even though Zach isn't her father either,” Gerard went on.
"Excuse me? But his name is on my birth certificate.” Lucy looked shocked.
"Oh, that's a whole other story but Frank is your dad too,” Gerard told her. “Allison lied about that as well.”
I was trying to take all this information in but it was hard to process. Obviously my mother had lied to us about a lot of things and it was hard to wrap my head around. Why didn’t she tell us? It was beyond me.
"Wait, so you're telling me you knew about this and neither one of you ever bothered to tell me?" Mikey demanded, sounding hurt. “What the fuck?”
"She didn't think you'd handle it well, so she asked me to keep it between us," Gerard said.
He kept talking but I couldn’t hear him. I felt too overwhelmed and needed to get out. I excused myself from the table and went up to my room, locked myself in my bathroom, and grabbed the small box I kept my razor in. Pressing the blade to my skin, I kept playing the conversation back, lost in my head. I wasn't sure how much damage I had done until I heard a knock on the door. The voice one I was hoping it wouldn't be. There was no getting out of this one.
The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut through it with a knife. The look on everyone's faces said it all. Lucy looked guilty, like she knew what she hid from me was wrong. Gerard wouldn't even make eye contact with me – did he know all along? And Mikey…well, I didn’t think he had a clue. I sat down and put my birth certificate on the table. No one said anything, so I decided I would.
"Anyone care to explain this fuckery?" I asked.
"Lacey, I didn't want to hide this from you, I just didn't think you would handle it well and I wanted to figure out how to tell you," Lucy replied.
"Clearly," I said, thinking back to last night.
It got silent again and then Gerard cleared his throat, finally speaking.
"I knew about this, but your mother made me promise not to say a word," he admitted.
"Wait, what?" Lucy, Mikey, and I all said at once.
"Your mom and that douche canoe were having some issues one night, so she came over here,” Gerard explained. “We were all drinking and some…things obviously happened. She found out about a month later and knew it wasn't his, and it was Frank's. But she hid it and lied until Zach started having some suspicions that Lacey wasn't his.”
"Then what happened?" I asked, dying for more answers.
"He threatened to leave her but stayed for Lucy's sake. Even though Zach isn't her father either,” Gerard went on.
"Excuse me? But his name is on my birth certificate.” Lucy looked shocked.
"Oh, that's a whole other story but Frank is your dad too,” Gerard told her. “Allison lied about that as well.”
I was trying to take all this information in but it was hard to process. Obviously my mother had lied to us about a lot of things and it was hard to wrap my head around. Why didn’t she tell us? It was beyond me.
"Wait, so you're telling me you knew about this and neither one of you ever bothered to tell me?" Mikey demanded, sounding hurt. “What the fuck?”
"She didn't think you'd handle it well, so she asked me to keep it between us," Gerard said.
He kept talking but I couldn’t hear him. I felt too overwhelmed and needed to get out. I excused myself from the table and went up to my room, locked myself in my bathroom, and grabbed the small box I kept my razor in. Pressing the blade to my skin, I kept playing the conversation back, lost in my head. I wasn't sure how much damage I had done until I heard a knock on the door. The voice one I was hoping it wouldn't be. There was no getting out of this one.