Catching Feelings

Chapter Eight: Seventeen Years Too Late

Derek's grip on my shoulder loosens and I feel everyone's intense gaze locking on me. He stiffens behind me and I turn around to see him glaring at my father.

I look at my father again, trying to remember the speech I had planned and rehearsed many times before, for this exact moment. But the thing with that speech was that I never thought I was actually going to be able to say it.

I keep my voice steady, as my eyes turn to ice. "How did you find me?"

My grandmother cries out and when she looks at me, I can see her pity and anger clear like a sheet of glass.

The man- my father just smiles, choosing not to answer.

I try again a few seconds later, "What are you doing here?"

His eyes darken at my tone but the crooked smile remains on his face nevertheless. "I thought it was about time I meet my daughter, don't you agree?"

"You're seventeen years too late," I mutter under my breath and move to walk up the stairs when he stops me.

"Please just give me five minutes, I'll explain everything."

"What is there to explain?" I stutter, my eyes filling with hate. "You left. You were gone for seventeen years, what made you think I wanted anything to do with your explanation?"

I mutter some not-so-nice words under my breath but Derek grabs my arm before they can get too nasty. "Just give us two seconds," he says and motions for me to walk upstairs to my bedroom.

He doesn't give me a chance to argue as he lightly pushes me down the hallway and into my room.

Once the door is closed, I cross my arms and turn toward him, "What the hell Derek? There's no way in hell I'm letting him just waltz right into my life like he actually cares."

"He may not care, but you do, I know you Skylar. If you didn't care you wouldn't have froze up when you saw him."

"You try not freezing when a father that you haven't even met all your life is standing at your front door asking for a chance to explain exactly why he hasn't been there all these years." I say, trying to brush it off lightly.

But Derek knows it's not something I can just brush off; it's written so clearly on my face. "Maybe he has a good explanation, just give him one chance. If you think his story is bullshit then you can tell him to leave."

I stare at him suspiciously, "I think it's really ironic that a few days after telling you about my non-existent father, he randomly shows up out of nowhere."

He cuts me off with a look of hurt in his eyes, "If you think this is my being-if you think I brought him here, think again. I don't want to see him anymore than you do."

I shoot him a look and he rolls his eyes, "When you said you didn't want to see your father, I didn't push you or even ask you why. I just let it go."

"You didn't ask me because you already knew the reason why." I point out in a clipped tone.

"Yeah," he replies, "I do know, I wouldn't want to see him either. But you don't know what he's going to say."

"Neither do you, Derek." I snap. "He's just going to try to apologize and give me some sorry ass excuse for why he wasn't here when I needed him the most and I don't want to hear it."

"Just hear me out then, okay?" he waits for me to nod and when I do, he continues, "imagine what he went through to get here. You're grandparents did a good job in hiding you from the world and the people outside of Belmount. I don't think your father was immune from their protection, he could be the exact person they were hiding you from."