Page 13 of Torch

“Oh, I heard more than enough.” I shook my head, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

Rubbing her forehead, she sighed. “No, Brittney, I wasn’t. Myron has been your father for your entire life. There was never a reason to tell you anything.”

“But why? I deserve to know who my real father is.”

Myron glared at me, appearing offended. “Your real father? Haven’t I been that for you?”

Angrily, I scoffed. Years of suppressed feelings were bubbling to the surface. It was time I spoke my truth. “In some ways yes, and in other ways no. Everything you’ve done for me has been conditional. In order to get this, I had to do that. I don’t see Morgan living with all these expectations.”

Both of them gasped as if they couldn’t believe what I was saying. “Now, wait a minute, Brittney. I have never showed any favoritism between the two of you,” Myron snapped.

“Oh yeah? Then why isn’t Morgan getting sold to the highest bidder for you to get promoted?”

Myron was across the room in seconds, gripping my shirt collar and shaking me roughly. “What the hell did you just say to me? You better find some common sense and do it quickly!”

My mom rushed over, trying to pry his hands off me. “Myron, let her go! What are you doing?!” she screeched.

With too much force, he shoved me away. I lost my footing, and my back hit the wall. I stared at him with wide eyes. I was beyond hurt. He had never laid a hand on me my entire life. Hell, I’ve witnessed Morgan say far worse to him, and he never got physical with her. Not that I wished that on her, but it just proved my point. He definitely looked at us differently.

“But I’m your daughter, right?” I asked as tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Brittney, let’s just talk about this. Emotions are a little high right now.”

I stared at my mother like she had lost her mind. I didn’t have one thing to say to him. “What’s my father’s name?”

“I’m not telling you that.”

I was in disbelief. “You’re… not going to tell me?”

“No. He wasn’t a good man. He was a cheater and he broke my heart.”

I couldn’t even describe what I was feeling right now. My mother made it clear in just a few words that my father’s absence from my life was due to bitterness. I never understood women like this. While a man can be a terrible partner, it had nothing to do with him as a father. Women needed to understand how to separate the two. Because withholding a child from their father hurt the child more than anything.

“What does that have to do with him being a father? Did he tell you he didn’t want me?” Silence lingered in the room. I narrowed my eyes as she looked away from me. “Does he even know about me?” Still, she didn’t say anything. I raised my hands in surrender. “That’s fine. You don’t have to tell me anything. I’ll look for him myself.”

I turned around to make my way out, but Myron’s next words stopped me in my tracks. “If you look for that man, I will cut you off completely. That means no credit cards, the car I bought you, or the clothes I put on your back. You will not blatantly disrespect and embarrass me while reaping the benefits of my money.”

I turned to look at both of them again. My mother looked at Myron like she couldn’t believe he said that, but she didn’t say anything against it. Slowly, I nodded before reaching into my purse. I took out every credit card along with my car keys and threw them on the coffee table.

“Keep it.” I marched right out of there.

I didn’t want to be near this house a second longer than I had to, so I started walking. I could hear my mother calling my name from the porch, begging me to come back. Once there was enough distance, I took out my phone and called Kira.

“How’d it go?” she answered after the first ring.

“C-can you come get me?” My voice cracked.

“I’m on way!”

“I can’t believe this. Your mom and dad are dead wrong for all of this.” Kira shook her head.

“He’s not my dad,” I mumbled.

She glanced at me with a sad expression. “You know what I mean. He’s the only father you’ve ever known. I know this has to hurt.”

I dipped my spoon into my pint of ice cream before taking a bite. “It doesn’t matter. Clearly, he doesn’t fully see me as his daughter. His actions reflect it.”

Kira rubbed my back soothingly. “Maybe your mom is right, though. Maybe emotions were just high, and he was speaking out of anger.”