Page 74 of The Torment of Two

“I was nine.”

Dad starts to cry again and Pops storms out of the room. A door slams somewhere within the house. Guilt and anger and sadness swirl around inside me like some fucked-up typhoon ready to suck me up and spit me out.

“Nine,” Dad rasps out through his tears. “Oh my God. This explains so much.”

It does?

Before I can probe him, Pops returns with the offending letter and picture in hand. He slaps them down on the coffee table before landing in a heap beside Dad. His anger is still there like a live electrical wire, but his eyes shine with abject despair.

I knew this would happen.

I knew if it ever came to light, they’d have to revisit the horrible, devastating memories.

Jamie Park is a witch.

How could she?

Why would she?

Hasn’t she done enough to torment my dads?

“There’s so much to unpack here,” Dad says with a humorless laugh. “So much.”

Pops leans forward and stabs a finger at the picture. “Tell us everything.”

I press my lips together, not eager to get into this. There’s no hiding it now, though.

“Two,” Pops clips out. “Cut the bullshit and speak.”

“Dax told me Santa wasn’t real and he could prove it.” I run my tongue over my bottom lip, wishing I’d grabbed a handful of butterscotch candies so I’d have something to distract myself with. “I told him he was wrong. Went hunting and discovered that stuff instead.”

“Oh, honey,” Dad croaks. “You must’ve been so confused and hurting.”

“To say the least,” I mutter.

“So you sought her out?” Pops asks, jaw muscle flexing. “To punish us?”

Dad gives a sharp shake of his head. “Grant. Cool off before you say something you can’t take back.”

“I just want to understand how it is our son is apparently dating the girl we almost adopted.” Pops pinches the bridge of his nose. “All scenarios as to why this has happened in my head are bad ones. What did we do to ever deserve this betrayal by our own son?”

“Betrayal?” My voice rises several octaves. “How betrayed do you think I felt when I discovered I was your second choice?”

Tears of anger and years’ worth of pain form in my eyes, blurring my parents’ figures. I press the heels of my hands against my eyes, trying to get them not to leak. A ragged sob rips from my throat anyway. So much for that.

Hands are suddenly on either side of my head as Dad kisses the top.

“You weren’t a second choice, honey,” Dad says with a broken voice. “You were the best decision we ever made. Instalove. The second we laid eyes on you, you were ours.”

His words prickle their way into my aching heart.

“But you wanted Gemma. Enough to name her and fix up a nursery for her,” I argue through my tears. “She was your number one. I was the backup option after Jamie broke your hearts.”

Dad pulls back and kneels in front of me. “Eyes here, Two.” He motions at his red, teary ones. “You are our number one. You.”

Pops comes over to join, sitting on the arm of the chair. “You really thought we were pining away all these years over Gemma?” His strong hand clutches my shoulder. “Son, from the second we got you, you’ve been our entire world.”

“Did you start dating her to get back at us?” Dad asks. “Because of how you were feeling?”

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