the night sky

#12 betrayed

" dad?" connor picked up the phone looking at the time. It was 10pm and his dad never called this late. connor wiped the sleep from his eyes and sat up trying to understand his father's rambling. " dad you are drunk. I can't understand you."

" I made a bad mistake don't you make the same one." roberts speech was slurred and he wasn't making sense.

" dad you're drunk. what do you need?" He could hear music in the background. " are you at the bar?"

" yes, I need to talk to you..." his father paused. " can you come here?" He could here ice clink in a glass. " I'm at that honky tonk dive you like." the phone went dead.

connor groaned as he pulled himself out of bed. the last thing he wanted to do was drive into a town he left behind. all the memories he tried to run away from was there. he picked up his clothes from a chair getting dressed quickly and grabbing his keys. he headed to the bar knowing it was about a half hour drive dreading having to see his father again.

he pulled into the parking lot looking at the time on his phone. " 11:30 of course it's got to be late." he took the keys out of the ignition and started for the door taking a deep breath he walked into the bar searching for his father. he spotted him up at the bar downing another whiskey. he sat next to him at the bar.

the bar tender walked over to him. "what can I get you sir? Connor? man it's been a while! how ya doin man?" connor shook the man's hand.

" Dan! man it has been a long time! just water for me. I'm here to pick the old man up off his drunken stoop." Dan nodded in understanding and turned to grab him a glass of water then placing it in front of him.

" son," his father grabbed the bottle he had next to him.

" I'm here dad. we should get you home..." his dad cut him off.

" i did a bad thing connor. " he stopped and looked at his empty glass. reaching to pour himself more he started talking again. " I screwed up but that doesn't mean you have to. you need to be in your daughter's life. don't be like me." he drank from his glass. connor looked at him confused.

" dad I don't have a daughter. how drunk are you?"

" I never gave her a chance. that girl you love." Connor was starting to grow more irritated with his father. " I saw your little girl today. Man she looks just like you..."

" what are you talking about? you aren't making any sense dad."

" that day she found you in bed with Emma.." Connor looked at his dad confused before his dad finished what he was trying to say. " Emma convinced me to drug you and stage that. you never did anything. " his dad had begun drinking straight from the bottle at this point. Connors jaw dropped as his body stiffened still trying to register what his father was saying. " then you just let her and your child go... why? why let your daughter suffer?" Conner jumped up from the bar stool as everything started registering in his brain.

" you drugged me," his hand went to his forehead rubbing his temples. " and then you ripped my entire world away from me? why? why would you do that? how...." he looked at the sad pathetic state his father was in anger rolling off him like a wave in the ocean. " what do you mean I let my child go?"

" she said she gave you some gift on your birthday that day telling you that she was pregnant...." out of nowhere Connor raised his fist and punched his father as hard as he could in the jaw. he watched as his father went down still hugging his bottle of whiskey. everyone in the bar stood watching the scene unfolding in front of them.

" you bastard!" Connor shook his hand from the stinging pain. his own father destroyed his life. he walked out of the bar leaving his father on the floor of the bar. walking to his truck he climbed in. he stopped for a second and then reached into the glove box pulling out a neatly wrapped box. he unwrapped it and started to cry when he saw what was in it. a little note inside read happy birthday daddy . he was a dad. he started up the truck and drove. his mind racing. how could his own dad do this? why didn't he fight harder? why did he just let her walk away and never call or text? he looked at the time. it was 12 am now but he was determined to get answers. he couldn't sleep. he just let her walk away out of his life.

he was never the same after that night. he hated himself for what he did to her. he never forgave himself. he tortured himself every night for doing that to her only to find out his father drugged him and staged the entire thing. he pulled over his body shaking and tears poured from his eyes. a daughter. he had a daughter. he sobbed even louder as the realization that he had missed everything because of his bastard father. he started screaming loud and louder and tears soaked his cheeks until he couldn't scream or cry any longer. he looked at his phone again willing it to ring and it be Alexis. nothing. he looked at the time. 12:45 in the morning. he began driving again aimlessly not wanting to head home but having no where to go. he found himself driving again.

pulling into a drive way he looked around. why was he here? what did he hope to gain from this? he knocked on the door and rang the door bell until the door finally opened. " Connor? what are you doing here it's 2:30 in the morning!" Emma stood there looking at him a silk robe tied around her tightly. she looked into his eyes and saw the anger, hurt and confusion swallowing his entire body. defeat spread across her face. " you know don't you?" she looked at him as tears fell down her face. " I'm sorry." she looked down at her slippered feet.

" you took everything away from me Emma. why? why would you do this?"

" because I loved you! I still love you Connor!" he took a step back from the door. " because I wanted you for me and thought you would come back to me if she were out of the picture, but you didn't..." her eyes locked on his." you just wanted her and just retreated into yourself and wouldn't let me near you!" she let out a sob as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

" you took my life away from me." he sounded defeated. " I thought I betrayed her. I HATED MYSELF FOR WHAT I DID! " he sucked in a deep breath trying to calm himself. His head was throbbing and threatening to split in half with the force of each stinging pain. " what you and my father did to me and to Alexis and now my child! you don't love me!" he started to walk away as she reached out to him touching his arm. he ripped his arm away from her. " don't ever come near me again!" he jumped into his truck backing out of the driveway. waves of emotion pouring through his body filling him with hate, anger and overwhelming pain for everything he lost. he had no plan and no idea how to get back what Emma and his father took away from him. looking at his phone for the time. 3:30 in the morning. he threw his phone down on the seat and continued to drive with his thoughts filling his head. He just drove with no purpose and no plan. His entire world was crumbling like the say she drove away. He never got that image out of his head. It haunted him at night when he tried to sleep. She had been his entire world. A world he never knew existed. Alexis had been his hope for a life he would have given anything to have. She was love. She was his home and his father and Emma took it all away without a second glance. He was lost. Every day he woke up and her memories haunted him. Every night he went to bed and she filled his dreams. He would never be able to get over her. She left with his heart. She took his life with her. "I Have a daughter." He whispered out into the truck. His body still shaking from everything he now knew.