Page 31 of Daddy's Best Friend

“What did you do? Rape her? Make her do it? Wait until she was drunk and vulnerable? Is that why Kirsty left you?” Dad’s insults, hurled at Alan like fiery darts, took aim and smashed the target. Alans’ face contorted, and I knew he was about to unleash. I wrenched my arm away from Mom and rushed to his side, wrapping my arm around his waist. The way he instinctively embraced me felt like magic.

“No, Dad. He didn’t hurt me. I swear. I initiated everything, okay?” My hand splayed across Alan’s chest, and I could feel his heart pounding. I could only imagine the emotional turmoil going on inside of him. My head felt like a mini hurricane swirling about, destroying my sanity. “Dad, please calm down.”

“Calm down? Ella, you mean to tell me you seduced a man who is old enough to be your father, who has a son older than you? You did this?” He looked like he didn’t believe me, and when I looked at Mom and saw her crying, covering her mouth, I knew this was going to be bad.

“Daddy, I love him.” My tears matched Mom’s; except she was probably crying because of how humiliated she was because of me. I was crying because a nuclear bomb was going off in this room between people I loved, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was the one who dropped it.

“Todd, please listen to us.” Alan’s voice was calm now, reassuring, like he had pushed away the insults about his ex-wife and was ready to parley. “I tried to explain that you don’t understand. Ella is an adult and—”

“You’re right.” Dad fumed. Mom staggered to his side and held him in a similar fashion to the way Alan held me. “You’re absolutely right, Alan. You’re both adults. Which means I can wash my hands of you both.” The more Dad talked, the calmer he got, until his voice was a normal tone, despite his face being bright red. “To think I had a best friend who was supposed to help me with my struggling daughter. And look what happened.”

“Dear…” Mom patted his chest, but he ignored her.

“I want you out of my house—both of you. I want you off my property, and out of my life, and neither one of you is welcome back.” Dad jerked away from Mom, and she whimpered.

“Todd, please don’t do this.” Mom fawned over him, touching his arm and patting his shoulder. “Please, Ella is just a child.”

“The hell she is!”

I startled at the shout, clinging to Alan, who held me tighter. “Daddy, I—”

“Out! And don’t come back.”

I sobbed. What else was there to do? When it became very apparent that we were no longer welcome in that room, or in any other room of the house, I trudged down the hallway, Alan on my heels. We stopped by my bedroom and grabbed my bags. Alan carried the suitcase and backpack, and I scooped up a few more things along with my pillowcase stuffed to the brim. Mom followed behind us, crying but saying nothing. When I stepped out the front door, she was there, shaking her head.

“I love you, Mom.” I lingered for a moment, but I knew she wasn’t going to try to fix this. Dad needed space, just like Alan had said.

When my things were stowed away in Alan’s trunk, he pulled me into his arms. We stood by the open passenger door, and I cried into his chest. I had never wanted it to be like this. When I first found myself attracted to Alan, I had known what my father’s response would be. That’s why I had fought it.

But at that part on Alan’s yacht, I had been drinking and I lost my mind. It was stupid; I’d admit that. But what blossomed out of that moment was something I never would have dreamed Icould even have. I loved this man so deeply, I’d sacrifice my relationship with my parents to have him, though I wished I didn’t have to. I just wanted my dad to understand I wasn’t a baby anymore.

“Hey, we’re going to fix it. Okay? Because I want our family to be whole, and that includes your relationship with your parents.” Alan’s comforting words, combined with the way he held me, hand smoothing over my back, made it easier to let go.

He ushered me into the car, and I sat down, buckling up. I watched Mom’s eyes as she stood at the front door as we backed out. She didn’t look angry at me, but she did look hurt. I had lied to her and let her believe it was Trevor. That had to have taken a toll on her.

“She’ll be okay, Ella.” Alan patted my knee as he drove. I took his hand and clutched it between mine.

“What if it’s not okay? What if they never forgive me.” I laid my head on the headrest and sighed, closing my eyes. This entire journey with him had only started. What if this didn’t work out? What if I ended up like his ex-wife? Or worse.

“I’m telling you; we’ll find a way. Right now, we just need to get you home so you can relax and rest. It’s not good to be so stressed out when you’re pregnant. Your hormones affect the baby, and it can have a permanent lasting effect on him. Let’s just try to stay calm. You let me handle everything.”

I bit my lip and looked at him. “Him?”

Alan glanced at me as he pulled to a stop at the stop sign. “What…?”

“You said ‘him.’ You want a boy?” I pressed his hand against my stomach that was not yet even showing.

Alan shrugged. “I want you healthy, and a healthy baby, and that’s all I care about.”

Somehow, I knew I’d make it through this with his support. “And you called it home. Did you mean the guest house?”

Alan pulled away from the stop sign into traffic and remained quiet for a minute. I braced myself for what I thought would be an answer I didn’t want. But he said, “No. I meant my house. My bed—our bed. I’m in love with you, Ella, even if I couldn’t admit it until just today. I wanted you there so many nights, just to hold you while you slept. I was ashamed because you’re so young. But life is too short to be ashamed.”

“We are meant to be together, even if you are younger than Trevor. We fit. We make sense. We have the same passions, hobbies, interests. We click, and I haven’t found another woman on this planet that I click with, except you. Not even Kirsty.”

I smiled, feeling happy tears in my eyes. “I love you too, Alan. I feel the same way.”

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