Excerpt

My phone rang when I was near the front desk. It was the same number as before.
“Two times in one day, is everything alright?”
“Marky, it’s me. It’s-”
Even thought it had been a long time, I recognized that voice “-Dad?”
“Hey, sport. How are you?”
I was so happy to hear his voice I almost cried “Good” I lied “and you?”
“Same old. Did I hear something about you getting attacked?”
“Uh, yeah. But it’s not a big deal.”
“Your mom practically died when she first heard. No way it’s no big deal. What happened?”
What should I say?
“Someone ambushed me, and beat me up.”
“I’m so sorry. High School all over.”
“Yeah. If it hadn’t been for Sarah, I could’ve died.”
“Do you know why it happened?”
“Because…because” I fumbled with my words “I cheated on Sarah.”
“With who?”
I started crying a little “Mitchell.”
“Does Sarah know?”
“Yes” I sniffed.
“What did she say?”
“She asked if that meant I had changed my mind. But I haven’t.”
“Are you sure? Your happiness is important.”
“Yes.” I knew he’d think this. “It only happened because I was drunk. But Sarah’s still the person who I want to be with.”
“And she seriously wasn’t mad?”
“Not really.”
“You’ve got a great girl.”
I was so surprised “Are you kidding?”
“I know I wasn’t so keen on her to start with. But I see that I was wrong. She’s definitely something else.”
“Thanks.” I said quietly, getting all verklempt again.
“And I want to meet your girls.”
I tried to hide my tears “Oh dad. Thank you so much.”