Chapter 2
1284 Words
The celebration continued at full force. Laughter echoed through the house.
Music played from a speaker.
Relatives she hadn't seen in years kept pulling her into hugs and conversations.
For the first time in a long time, Willow felt completely at peace.
Eventually, she brought Aaron over and introduced him to her mother.
"This is Aaron. He drove me home from the airport."
"Thank you." She shook his head carefully.
Aaron laughed.
"Your daughter is a gem."
.
A few minutes later, he somehow found himself surrounded by guests.
Willow wasn't even surprised.
The man could make friends with a brick wall.
She watched from a distance as he animatedly told a story.
"...and then this pit bull comes flying out of nowhere…."
The crowd burst into laughter.
"I thought I was dead! Absolutely dead!"
More laughter followed.
Aaron's voice somehow managed to be louder than everyone else's combined.
Willow shook her head.
The man had only been here twenty minutes and was already acting like family.
"Where is father?" She suddenly asked her mother.
Willow looked around.
"He's upstairs," her mother said. "At least he was a few minutes ago."
Willow frowned, that was strange. Her father never missed the important moments.
Before she could go looking for him, she noticed her mother's attention drift elsewhere.
Specifically… Toward Aaron.
The older man was now demonstrating how he had apparently outrun two robbers despite having a bad knee.
The audience was completely invested.
Unfortunately, so was her mother.
Willow narrowed her eyes.
There it was.
That look.
The same look her mother gave her gym instructor.
And the plumber.
And that ridiculously handsome pharmacist from three years ago.
A dangerous look.
"Mom."
"Hmm?"
Willow folded her arms.
"Mom."
This time, her mother looked at her.
"What?"
Willow pointed discreetly toward Aaron.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"That look."
Her mother's expression remained perfectly innocent.
Willow wasn't buying it.
The woman could win awards for pretending.
"What look?"
"The look you're giving him."
Her mother gasped dramatically.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Mom."
"What?"
"You're doing it again."
"I'm not doing anything."
Willow stared.
Her mother stared back.
The silence stretched.
Then her mother sighed.
"Fine."
"I knew it."
"He has nice eyes."
"Mom!"
"What?" she whispered defensively. "I'm married, not blind."
Willow nearly choked.
"That is not the point."
Her mother rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please. Looking isn't cheating."
"Tell Dad that."
"I have."
That answer stopped Willow cold.
"You what?"
Her mother shrugged.
"He says the same thing about actresses, he would leave me for Angelina Jolie or Halle Berry."
Willow blinked.
Somehow, that sounded exactly like something her parents would discuss. Random topics.
Still… the have never cheated on each other, atleast that was what Willow knew.
She glanced at Aaron.
The man was currently pretending to be a pit bull, in the middle of the living room.
Willow looked back at her mother.
"Seriously?"
Her mother grinned.
"What? He's charming."
Willow groaned.
Her mother was impossible.
And somehow, despite everything, Willow couldn't stop smiling.
.
The celebration still continued.
People danced, drank, and congratulated Willow from every direction.
Then…
A bottle flew across the room.
CRASH!
The empty beer bottle shattered in the middle of the living room.
The music died instantly.
Conversations stopped.
Every head turned toward the staircase.
Silence swallowed the house.
There he was.
Alfredo. Willow's father.
He stood at the top of the stairs, one hand gripping the railing for support. In his other hand was a half-empty bottle of liquor.
His shirt was wrinkled.
His eyes were bloodshot.
And he was very drunk.
One step.
Then another.
Slowly, he descended the staircase.
The room remained frozen.
Nobody spoke, nobody moved.
"Heyyyy..."
His voice echoed through the silence.
"My daughter."
A crooked smile spread across his face.
"You're back."
Another step.
"You didn't tell Daddy you were back."
The smile widened.
Then twisted into something ugly.
"Maybe you told your real daddy."
He laughed.
A loud, wild laugh that sent chills through the room.
Willow's stomach dropped.
The guests exchanged uncomfortable glances.
Nobody knew what was happening.
Nobody knew whether to intervene.
Alfredo reached the bottom of the staircase and staggered toward her.
"What are you doing, Fredo?" Tamara asked sharply.
But he ignored her completely.
His bloodshot eyes locked onto Willow.
"Did your mama tell you who your real father is?"
The room grew even quieter.
If that was possible.
Alfredo looked around and then his gaze eventually landed on Aaron.
The poor man looked like he wished the earth would open and swallow him whole.
Just minutes ago he had been laughing with strangers.
Now he was witnessing the destruction of a family.
His heart broke for Willow.
This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life.
Willow couldn't move.
Couldn't think, couldn't even react.
Her face had gone completely blank.
Alfredo pointed his bottle toward Aaron.
"Who is he?"
Aaron hesitated before stepping forward.
"Hello, sir."
He offered his hand politely.
"I'm Aaron. I drove your daughter home from the airport."
Alfredo looked at the extended hand.
Then deliberately ignored it.
Aaron slowly lowered his arm.
"I see."
Alfredo nodded to himself.
Then looked toward Tamara.
"Look at her eyes."
His voice cracked slightly.
"She's doing it again."
The room collectively frowned.
"What are you talking about?" Tamara snapped.
"How long?"
Alfredo asked quietly.
Then louder.
"How long will you keep sleeping with other men?"
Gasps erupted throughout the room.
Alfredo dropped heavily onto a chair.
The alcohol was beginning to expose the pain underneath.
His voice shook, his hands trembled.
"What do you mean?" Tamara demanded.
The defensiveness in her tone only made him angrier.
"Shut the f**k up!"
The sudden roar made several guests jump.
"You know exactly what I mean!"
Willow finally moved.
"Dad..."
She stepped toward him carefully.
Trying to calm him.
Trying to save what remained of the evening.
Trying to stop him from humiliating himself and her.
But Alfredo wasn't interested in being comforted.
He looked directly at her.
And said the words that shattered everything.
"I'm not your father."
The room exploded into silence.
A deeper silence than before.
The kind that arrives after a bomb goes off.
Nobody breathed, nobody moved, nobody spoke.
The words hung in the air.
Heavy, impossible and absurd.
Surely it was just drunken nonsense. Right?
"Don't talk to my daughter like that." Tamara immediately stepped between them.
Protective, defensive and furious.
But Alfredo was already reaching into his pocket.
The room panicked.
Several people screamed.
Others stumbled backward.
For a split second, everyone thought he was pulling out a weapon.
But when his hand emerged…
It wasn't a gun.
It was a folded piece of paper.
Alfredo threw it.
The document struck Tamara's chest before fluttering to the floor.
Tamara's expression changed instantly, pure fear.
She lunged for it.
But Willow was faster.
She bent down and picked it up.
The paper trembled in her hands.
Her eyes scanned the page.
Then froze.
DNA PATERNITY TEST.
Her breathing stopped, Her vision blurred.
She lowered her head, trying to focus.
Until one word consumed everything.
NEGATIVE.
The letters seemed to grow larger and louder.
NEGATIVE.
NEGATIVE.
NEGATIVE.
The world tilted underneath her.
The sounds around her became distant.
Muted.
As if she were sinking underwater.
The document slipped from her fingers.
Her knees gave out.
And just before she hit the floor…
Aaron caught her.
The last thing she saw was her mother's terrified face.
And the last thing she heard was Alfredo's broken voice.
A man who sounded far less drunk now.
And far more devastated.
Than anyone in the room had ever seen before.
- Writer
