Chapter 72: Revelations Part 2Brandon’s P.O.V “Let’s hear it, then,” I said, unable to hold back my impatience. “I’m ready for all of it as long as it’s the truth.”When the words left my mouth, I began to realize that the opportunity in front of me wasn’t just an opportunity to know and learn the truth, but an opportunity to really hear my father’s side of the story–something I failed to do time and time again before.This was something Faith had told me about when I told her the truth–a truth that I’ve never told anyone else before, not even two of my best friends, Coal and Sagar.Faith, from the beginning, understood the intricacy of my relationship with my father. And somehow, I understood her intentions even better now. She had always pushed me in the direction where there was a possibility of my father and I reconciling.Her approach had been one of understanding and empathy. She never judged me about anything I told her. She never, not once, questioned any of the decisions I
Chapter 73: House of LiesBrandon’s POVBoth me and my father turned our attention towards the TV. “I knew you’d come for answers. I thought you would want to see the footage, too, so I had it prepared,” he explained before grabbing the remote and turning the screen on.The screen flickered to life before us, my gaze fixed on the scene unfolding in front of me. A shiver rolled down my spine when I saw my mother on screen, and for a minute, I had to remind myself that she was long gone, that this was nothing but an old piece of footage.As the scene played out, my father’s words replayed in my head. Everything he said was right. The woman on the screen was my mother alright, but she wasn’t at all the woman I thought I knew. Her voice burst through the speakers, her anger echoing through the house as if she were actually here. The way she spoke, the way she acted clashed with the image of the loving mother in my memories.“I don’t…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say.“I know, it’s
Chapter 74: Coming HomeFaith’s POVThe night stretched on as I lay in bed after twisting and turning for what felt like hours with nothing but darkness all around me. The seconds ticked by as I struggled to find sleep, the weight of what I had learned and the weight of the truth that I knew clashed in my head, and apparently, it wasn’t planning on letting me sleep.The pain of their betrayal, especially my father, was like a knife through my heart. Everything I knew about my parents, about their values and teachings, now seemed like an illusion that had been mercilessly torn apart. The ideals that they bestowed upon me, and lessons they carefully imparted, were nothing but a set of carefully crafted lies that they couldn’t even withhold themselves. My home had been built on nothing but lies and deceit.Sometime in the middle of the night, my mind returned to Brandon. I thought about him and his struggles, his battle with his own demons, and the darkness he had fought to overcome. Fea
Hi guys, I know you guys are probably tired of hearing me say this...but I am not in the perfect mental health to continue this story right now, at least not as daily updates. This story is almost towards the end and I know if I pulled through this month, then it would've ended, however, my mental health has started to deteriorate once again. Probably because my pills aren't working anymore, so I do need a doctor check up real soon. Thing with depressive disorders is that you never get a clue when it's about to hit. I was feeling absolutely fine last week, in fact, my writing was better too, I was writing almost 7K every day. But then, since Monday morning, I fiund myself unable to get out of bed and combined with the flu, I'm completely crushed. Barely had any sleep for the last three days and it keeps getting worse. I've been crying one minute and laughing the next. Feeling like I'm no longer relevant and no one loves me. Yes, I know all that sounds kinda pathetic but it's comple
Chapter 75: EthanFaith’s P.O.V“Faith, have something.” Debby slid her salad bowl across the table towards me. “You’ve been running around all morning for these submissions. You need to eat or you’ll be passed out in the middle of the hallway somewhere and we wouldn’t even be able to help you!”“Babe, give the girl a break,” Nik sighed from beside her. “Your nagging reminds me of my mother sometimes.”I looked up at Nik sharply, the assignment temporarily forgotten as an avalanche of old memories threatened to destroy whatever sense of sanity I had been able to establish over the past few weeks.“Monika!” Debby snapped at her girlfriend, her elbow jabbing into her side as Nik winced and gave me an apologetic look.“Sorry.”I shook my head, getting back to finishing the rest of my assignment. “It&rsqu
Chapter 76: Sick to the StomachFaith’s P.O.VI watched Ethan leave before I turned back to my friends, my mood significantly dampened now that I was burdened with the weight of this new information.Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one who was bothered by the news of the video and this time, Nik looked visibly pissed.“Bloody motherfuckers!” She cursed out, and I had no doubt in my mind that it was directed at the women who had taken the video. “I thought it was gone for good! I thought Brandon’s dad with all his influence and power would’ve been able to get rid of it for good! But now I find out that over 50K bloody people have watched it?”“Babe…” Debby put a hand on Nik’s shoulder, trying to calm her down. “You know it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have done anything to stop it. Besides, if someone had screen recorded th
Chapter 77: False AlarmFaith’s P.O.V“One month.”The weight of those words settled within me, weighing me down as the full impact made the blood inside my veins turn to ice.One month…How had I not noticed that I had been late for one month! One whole month!“Faith…let’s calm down first, ok…” Debby placed her hands on my shoulders, trying to offer some form of comfort, but it wasn’t helping. “Periods can be late for various reasons! Stress, metabolism…diet? Anything is possible! Have you ever had this problem before? Or PCOD or something like that?”“No.” I shook my head numbly, feeling bile rise to my throat yet again as the realization slowly settled in, along with the implication of what this could mean… “N-never. I’ve n-never h-had problems b-before…”I stuttered,
Chapter 78: Burning BridgesBrandon’s P.O.V“Pass me that paper? No…not-that one. Ethan!”Faith’s familiar laughter filled the near-empty library before she placed a hand on top of her mouth and swallowed her laughter, owing to the glare from the librarian, and I felt a familiar ache in my heart as longing filling my entire being just at the mere sight of her.These past few weeks…this is as close to Faith as I had gotten. Every time I tried to take a step…every time I tried to cross the bridges that had formed between us…the knowledge of a shared horrible past wrenched me back with a force that knocked the wind out of my lungs.People say that a child should always strive to make their parents proud. But what about the parents? What about their mistakes? What about their crimes?Why do we have to bear the burden of their pasts, their mistakes?When