Page 137 of Over Time Advantage

Guilt washes over me. My daughter has felt alone because of me. Because I was a horrible father. My strong, independent daughter just wants someone to take care of her, and I couldn’t do that for her, so she ran into the arms of the first man who would. This is my fault. I’m so ashamed of myself.

I sit and stew in self-pity while the two of them share a tender moment as he wipes her tear-filled face.

I’m staring into space, thinking about what a mess my life is, when Kennedy mentions it was a very worried Fallon who alerted her to my coming to confront Daylen. She then suggests I call her to let her know I’m okay.

The shitshow that is my life washes over me as I sadly admit, “Fallon and I aren’t seeing each other anymore.”

“What?” she yells. “Why?”

I can’t take this fucked up situation anymore. Everything in my life is falling apart.

Standing so quickly I stumble and my chair falls back, I yell back, “I don’t owe you an explanation of my love life, Kennedy. Considering you got married and pregnant without so much as a mention of it all to me, I don’t need to share anything with you.” I take a few deep breaths but still can’t breathe properly. “I need to get out of here. I can’t handle this.”

She stands and shakes her head, “You’re not sober. You can’t drive. It was irresponsible of you to drive here.”

My jaw tics. “Don’t tell me what to do like I’m a child.”

“You’re acting like a fucking child,” she replies, “so I will tell you what to do. I’ll lie down in front of your car before letting you drive right now. You’re not going anywhere. When you sober up, you can go and apologize for whatever you did to Fallon. Don’t fuck things up with her. She’s the best thing to ever happen to you.”

My throat clogs with emotion. It’s too late. Everything is already fucked up with Fallon. It’s over. I have nothing and no one. I’m going to die alone while my daughter is saddled with a baby and an absentee, philandering husband.

Daylen tries to defuse the situation by offering to drive me home, which he does. On the way, he apologizes for my finding out the way I did but says he’s happy I finally know. He gives me a long, passionate speech about how much he loves her and that he would even if she weren’t pregnant.

He asks for my blessing to propose to her properly so they can have a real wedding. As if any of that matters now. She’s already married and pregnant. I know firsthand that pregnancy before love isn’t a winning combination. It’s history repeating itself in our family. It’s like a family curse. First my parents, then me, and now my perfect daughter.

He goes on and on about how he plans to support her career.

While I can admit Daylen seems sincere, I know the odds aren’t in their favor. I have nothing left to do but give my blessing. What’s the alternative? Being cut out of her life again? I don’t think I could handle that. At least I know she’ll stay in Philly now. Daylen has an airtight contract for the next several years. He’s not going anywhere. They’re not going anywhere.

FALLON

I was never able to fall back asleep. After holding a terrified Harper until she finally fell asleep, I shed silent tears for the rest of the night as I physically felt my heart breaking. Again.

We’re over. There’s no coming back from this. There’s no coming back from the way he spoke to me and the way he acted in front of my daughter.

Pain eviscerates me, but then a wave of anger takes over. Not at him, at myself. I was willing to again put aside my own needs for a man. I was willing to give up my dream of having more children because I thought we shared an unbreakable, once-in-a-lifetime, storybook kind of love. What a crock of shit. I’m such a fool.

I notice my phone light up on my nightstand. Seeing that it’s Kennedy, I slide my arms out from under Harper, grab the phone, and tiptoe into my bathroom.

After I carefully close the door, I quietly answer, “Hey.”

“Hi. You were right. He was out of his mind drunk and started punching Daylen. I got there in time to calm things down a bit. We all sat down and talked about it. I’m not going to say all is good, but the truth is out, and I’m hopeful we’re headed in the right direction.”

“I’m happy to hear it,” I offer sincerely. If nothing else, Kennedy needs this.

“He…umm…mentioned that you two aren’t seeing each other anymore. What happened?”

I shake my head as a fresh set of tears blur my vision. “I’m not putting you in the middle, sweetie. Your father said and did some things last night that can’t be undone. If there’s one thing he and I agree on, it’s that we’re over.”

I hear her sniffle. “No, I don’t believe that. I’ve seen you two together. You’re the real deal. You’re in love.”

“Love wasn’t enough this time.”

I’m not enough.

“When he sobers up, you’ll talk this through. He’s home sleeping it off now.”

It’s too late.