Page 76 of It's Complicated

Bri made moon-eyes at him.

I bit my tongue hard enough I tasted blood. I guessed my birth didn’t make the cut of happy times in my dad’s life.

That wasn’t really a surprise. My father had never said he wished I wasn’t born, but he’d made it clear I hadn’t been part of his plans.

Was the new baby an accident too?

New baby. The concept was so alien to me. My dad was turning sixty in a few months, and he’d spent my entire life ignoring me. Now he was having a second kid with his barely legal bride when most people were becoming grandparents and looking forward to retirement.

What the actual fuck?

They finally stopped staring adoringly at each other and looked at me expectantly.

“Congratulations,” I said, my tone even and devoid of any emotion.

Bri’s lower lip came out in a pout. “You’re not excited?”

My dad glared at me. “Of course he is. Right, Isaac?”

“It’s not that I’m not excited,” I said carefully. I wasn’t, and I was actually feeling nauseated and a bit light-headed, but Icouldn’t tell them that. “This is just a bit of a shock. I need a second to process everything.”

“What’s there to process?” Dad asked, taking Bri’s hand and holding it on top of the table.

“A lot,” I said incredulously. “Ten minutes ago, I had no idea you were even dating someone, and now I’m meeting my future stepmother?—”

“Bonus mother,” Bri interrupted. “I don’t like stepmother. It makes me sound old and like I’m not an equal part of the family.”

“My mistake,” I said, my voice tight. I really didn’t give two fucks what she wanted to be called or why. “Now I’m meeting my future bonus mother and finding out I’m going from being an only child to having a baby sibling at twenty-five. Forgive me for needing a few minutes to wrap my head around everything.”

“That’s totally understandable,” Bri said. “But I want you to know that I love your dad more than anything, and I want nothing but the best for him.”

I looked between her and my dad. “Okay?” How was I supposed to respond to that?

“Isaac, you’re ruining what’s supposed to be a joyful moment in Bri’s life,” Dad said accusingly. “And in mine.”

“Sorry,” I said automatically. “I don’t mean to ruin things. I’m just not myself right now.”

“There’s one more thing we need to talk about,” Dad said, accepting my bullshit apology. I’d been apologizing for shit that wasn’t my fault for years. He knew the words were empty; he just didn’t care.

“I’m not sure I can handle any more news today,” I said truthfully. “I’m feeling a little blindsided right now.”

“We know it’s a lot,” Bri said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. “But this is a good thing, Isaac. Your dad is happy, and it would be nice if you could be happy for him too.”

“How old are you?” I asked, some of my control slipping.

The audacity of a woman I’d just met lecturing me on not being ecstatic that my father was essentially replacing me was too much.

“That’s not your concern,” Dad said.

“I’ll be twenty-five in ten months,” Bri said at the same time, like that somehow negated the fact that she was almost two years younger than me.

I laughed so I didn’t start yelling.

“Bri and I have been talking,” Dad cut in before I could say anything about her age. “And now that we have the baby to think about, I’ve had to make some decisions about the future.”

“Okay,” I said when he paused.

“I’ve done all I can for you,” he continued. “I put years of my time, energy, and resources into you. I gave you opportunities most people would kill for, but you refuse to grow up and live up to your potential.”

---