Page 4 of Raise 'Em Up

“Mom!” I shout as I throw the door open, struggling to get in with all my bags. “You have no idea how shitty the past twenty-four hours have been,” I huff, finally managing to get my bags in. The door closes behind me with a click.

When I look up, I’m taken by surprise. “Rylee, hunny! I thought your flight wasn’t until tomorrow.”

“Ahhh...” I blink in confusion. “Things changed. I got an earlier flight.” I drop my bags to the ground.

Mr. Sanderson is here. That’s very odd. I can’t even remember the last time I saw him in this hotel. He’s friends with my mom? He’s known to be very nice with the staff, but why is he in my house?

“Rylee,” the other man in the room says my name like he’s in some sort of awe. Who the hell is this guy? What the fuck is going on?

He’s tall with styled dark hair and a very expensive looking suit. “Do I know you?” My eyes dart over to my mother. She’s standing there, tears in her eyes and a panicked look on her face.

“Mom, what the hell is going on? Are you sick?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Nothing like that. I’m fine, I promise.”

Everything I’ve been through is put on pause while I try to figure out why my mom looks like she’s ready to burst into tears. Is she in some sort of trouble?

“Mom.”

“Rylee, baby, I know this isn’t what you’re going to want to hear, but I need you to listen. Please.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand as my body stiffens. “Mom. Speak. Now.” A wave of panic fills me.

“Hi.” The man steps forward, his eyes glossy as a dumb grin takes over his face. “This is. Wow. You’re so beautiful. And grown up. This is crazy.”

My eyes widen and I take a step back. “Back up, weirdo.” I look at my mom. “I swear to God, Mom, if you’re in some sort of money trouble, we can figure it out, but there's no way I’m letting you sell me to some old man.”

“What?” My mom chokes, horror in her eyes. “No, Rylee. God, no, that’s not at all what's happening.”

Tall, dark, and creepy’s face turns bright red, his eyes widened in the same look of horror as my mother. Mr. Sanderson just chuckles in the background.

“This isn’t at all how it was supposed to go.”

“How what was supposed to go?!” I shout. “If someone doesn’t tell me what the fuck is going on, I’m going to lose my ever loving shit. And trust me, I’m already on the verge of a breakdown with the amount of bullshit I just went through. I will not hesitate to start swinging.”

“Rylee, my name is James. I’m Mr. Sanderson’s son. And I'm your father.”

The word rattles around in my brain as I just blink at him like a deer caught in headlights.

Father. Did he really just tell me he’s my father?

“Ha,” I laugh out loud. “Funny joke.” I look toward my mom. “But I’m really not in a joke-telling mood.”

“It’s not a joke, sweetie. It’s true, James is your dad.”

“What?” I choke out, gaping at her. “No. No!”

“Yes.” My mom nods. “I’m so sorry, sweetie.”

“I’m not.” James turns to my mom. “I’m not sorry. What I am sorry about is that you didn’t tell me I had a daughter!”

“We talked about that,” my mom growls.

“And seeing her for real doesn’t just make the pain go away!”

“You knew who my father was? You said he was just a guest passing through that you had a fling with. How long have you known it was him?” I ask my mom.

My heart pounds painfully in my chest. I feel like I’m going to be sick. My whole world, yet again, is crashing down around me. What the hell did I do in a past life to deserve all of these awful things that keep happening to me?

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