5
1050 Words
Kimberly sat in the small living room at her friend Michelle's house, nursing her mug of now cold tea. A bombshell Griffin had just told them over dinner swam in circles inside her head, culminating with Carter's white, guilty face.
Michelle sat opposite her; a deep line furrowed across her forehead. "Kim, you have been silent for hours. You really need to talk with me. What is wrong?"
Kimberly stared at a mug in her hands until finally, words tumbled out. "It's messy, Michelle. I really do not know where to start."
Michelle leaned forward and went soft in her voice, "Start anywhere, I am here to hear you."
Kimberly took a quivering breath. "Griffin-he said he is the biological father of Perri, and Carter he didn't say a thing." Her voice cracked then, and her hands shook as.
Michelle's eyes went wide in horror. "What? That's insane, how could that even-?
"I don't know!" Kimberly burst in, frustration pouring out. "Griffin mentioned that he was with me on our honeymoon night. I keep trying to remember that night on our honeymoon. Everything was perfect it seemed. But now." She stopped, her eyes welling up with tears. "Now I don't know what's real anymore."
Michelle leaned forward, placing a reassuring hand on Kimberly's knee. "Kim, none of this adds up. It has to be one of Griffin's tricks just to annoy you.”
Kimberly shook her head. "It isn't Griffin, it's Carter-the expression that crossed his face, that evasion from an affirmative response to something like a confirmation. Because he's kept this hidden from me since the beginning.”
Kimberly had lain on Michelle's couch, turning from side to side, her mind refusing to shut down. Honeymoon memories floated to the surface, indistinct and disjointed. She remembered how quiet Carter had been that evening, excusing himself after they'd shared a toast. She remembered the feeling. strange, like her head was spinning, though she hadn't drunk much.
Then, backlit in her mind, was the form of a man; his touch strange yet so familiar and oddly gentle. Kimberly jackknifed upwards, her breath catching in the back of her throat.
Could it have been Griffin?
She threw her hands over her face as her heart racketed against her ribs. If what Griffin had said was true, that night wasn't the start of her married life to Carter. It was altogether different.
****
The next afternoon, Carter appeared at Michelle's door, and Kimberly's fragile resolve fell to pieces. Michelle was resistant but admitted him; her face guarded.
"Kimberly," Carter said. His voice was thick with desperation. "We really need to talk."
She stood frozen, her arms folded. "You mean you need to talk. I am done listening to lies.
“I never wanted to lie to you," Carter pleaded, his eyes imploring. "I just.I didn't know how to tell you the truth without losing you."
"You mean the truth about Perri?" she snapped. "Or is there more?"
Carter winced, guilt crossing his face. "Kimberly, please. Just let me explain.
"Then explain!" she yelled. "Because right now, all I see is betrayal. From you, from Griffin. And I don't even know who to believe anymore."
Carter hesitated, clenching his hands into fists at his sides. "I wanted to protect you, Kim. I thought. I thought if you didn't know we could just move forward and be happy.
Kimberly laughed with a bitter taste. "Happy? How could you think I'd be happy living a lie?
"It wasn't a lie!" Carter protested. "I love you, and I love Perri. None of that was fake."
"But his paternity was," she said coldly. "And you let me believe he was yours.
"I had no choice," Carter whispered. "I couldn't." He turned away, his voice catching. "I couldn't give you a child, Kim. And I knew how much you wanted a family."
Her eyes widened in horror. "You mean…you're sterile?"
Carter nodded, his face twisting. "I couldn't tell you. I was afraid you'd leave me."
Kim's stomach fell. "So instead of being honest, you did what? Set me up with Griffin?"
"It wasn't like that," Carter said quickly. "I didn't want it to happen, but Griffin saw an opportunity, and…”
"And you let it happen," she finished, her voice trembling with anger. "You stood by and let him take advantage of me!”
"It wasn't like that," Carter pressed on. "You were safe, I swear. I just thought. I thought it would solve everything."
Kimberly shook her head, her eyes raining tears. "You didn't solve anything. You destroyed everything. Are you happy now? Tell me, are you happy?"
*****
The phone rang and buzzed with calls and messages continuously, and there was no stopping it, really, while at Michelle's house. Most of them she received and then ignored; however, when a number showed up with a text indicating that she really needed to see this and there was a video attached with it, she hesitated then pressed play.
The grainy footage showed a dimly lit corridor, and it didn't take her long to make out from it the hotel from her honeymoon. There were two figures on the screen now: Carter and Griffin, their voices audible and their figures unmistakable.
"She must never find out about this," Carter said urgently.
Griffin smirked, "Relax, big brother. Your secret's safe with me as long as i get my share."
Carter gave Griffin a big fat envelope that she presumed was filled with money. Griffin smiled and walked away while Carter stood at the entrance of their hotel room with his hand frozen on the door knob before he eventually pushed the door open and went inside.
By the time it was over, Kim thought her blood had run cold. Her shaking hands laid the phone down as different questions coursed through her mind.
Who could have done that? Why now? After all this year they had to reveal the truth, why did they have to wait until now to tell her.
More than that, what else were they keeping from her? She had to get to the bottom of this and find out everything. She was willing to cut off every tie with the Myles family if it resulted in that. I wouldn't let them use me for their benefits.
- Writer
