Lily stared at me with wide eyes. “That’s insane!”
“I don’t know what to do. Melissa told me that if I tell Grandma, she’ll kick me out.”
“That’s insane!”
“You can’t live like this,” Lily said firmly.
“What choice do I have?”
“Tell your grandmother.”
I hesitated.
“Your grades are going to crash if you keep losing sleep,” Lily advised. “That punishment could last forever if no one stops it.” She lowered her voice. “Besides, if they actually kick you out, wouldn’t your grandmother take you in?”
“Tell your grandmother.”
Slowly, I nodded.
Lily sat back. “Then there you go.”
***
By the time the final bell rang that afternoon, my decision had been made.
Instead of going home, I took a taxi straight to Grandma’s house.
The moment she opened the door and saw my face again, her expression darkened.
“What happened now?”
I burst into tears again and told her everything.
My decision had been made.
Grandma listened. When I finished, she muttered, “I really didn’t want to do this.” For the second time in a few days, she grabbed her keys. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” I asked weakly.
“Back to your house. This time we’re finishing the conversation.”
***
Melissa was home when we arrived. She sat on the couch, holding Andrew.
The moment she saw Grandma, her eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”
“This time we’re finishing the conversation.”
Grandma stepped inside calmly. “I told you yesterday. This house belongs to me. I showed you the title deed.”
Just then, the front door opened again. Dad walked inside.
He froze when he saw everyone gathered in the living room. “What’s going on?”
Grandma addressed Melissa. “Do you want me to share the truth about how the two of you got together?”
Dad frowned.
Grandma folded her arms. “I knew Melissa had her sights on you long before your wife died.”
“Do you want me to share the truth?”
Dad stared. “What are you talking about?”
Grandma spoke calmly but firmly. “Claire told me everything before she passed away. Melissa stopped being her friend because she kept flirting with you whenever she visited.”
Melissa’s face flushed. “That’s ridiculous.”
Grandma smirked. “Claire confronted her months before Andrew was born.”
Dad’s expression changed slowly. “Wait… what?”
“Claire told me everything before she passed away.”
“She told me she felt betrayed,” Grandma continued. “She said Melissa made her uncomfortable whenever she visited.”
Dad looked stunned. “I had no idea.”
Grandma sighed. “The stress from that situation didn’t help during her pregnancy.”
Dad’s face went pale. “You think…?”
“I’m saying your wife deserved peace during that time,” Grandma replied.
“She felt betrayed.”
Melissa stood up suddenly. “You’re twisting everything!”
Dad sank onto the sofa. For the first time since Mom died, I saw tears in his eyes.
He covered his face with both hands. “I’m so sorry. I should have protected her. And you two.”
He looked at Grandma and me.
Melissa stared at him. “Are you serious right now?”
“I admit that we flirted sometimes,” Dad said. “But I never realized Claire saw or how much it hurt her.”
“You’re twisting everything!”
Grandma’s voice grew firmer. “But what happened after she died doesn’t excuse the way you and I’ve treated my daughter.”
Dad pointed toward the blanket in my hands and looked at Melissa. “You’ll never throw away anything connected to Claire again. If you can’t respect that, then you should pack your things.”
Melissa laughed bitterly. “I don’t need this negativity in my life.” She stormed toward the bedroom. “Being a stepmother sucks, anyway!”
A few minutes later, she came back dragging a suitcase.
“Being a stepmother sucks, anyway!”
“I’ll get the rest of my stuff later,” she said.
Then she slammed the door on her way out.
The house felt strangely quiet after that.
“I’m sorry,” Dad said to me, before pulling me into a hug. He hadn’t held me like that since before Mom died. “I’m going to do better,” he promised.
Grandma smiled softly. “We’ll figure things out together.”
Andrew babbled from his play mat on the floor. I wrapped the knitted blanket around him.
For the first time in a long while, the house finally felt like home again.
“We’ll figure things out together.”
Leave a Comment