Chapter Forty-three
“Why are guys looking at me so weird?” Brian opened his eyes to see Ryan and Patricia staring at him. He yawned and pressed the button on his hospital bed to position his bed upright. He eyed the clock. It was almost nine a.m. He must have fallen asleep after eating breakfast. “Did I grow an extra head or something?”
His parents chuckled with distinct awkwardness. They scuttled closer into the room. Brian was grateful to be alive. His near-death experience had brought things into perspective for him. He smiled at his father.
Patricia kissed his cheek before she went over to pull the curtains back and let the sunlight inside his private room. Brian barely noticed the brilliance of the skyline. He was more concerned with the slight tension in the air.
He arched an eyebrow. “What’s going on? You’re both freaking me out. Am I dying?”
It was a week after his accident and Brian’s second day alert. He had spent the majority of his first day awake weaning off the IV and sedation drugs. They had removed most of the gadgets he had been attached to except for the heart and blood pressure monitor. Early this morning, Brian was able to put food in his stomach, and he was happy about that, even if it was a liquid diet.
“No, you’re not dying. Your vitals are good, but your body needs time to heal. I thank God for bringing you through surgery, and I’m trusting Him for a complete healing,” Patricia said. She wandered over to the meal cart and fiddled with his uneaten Jell-O. Then she walked up on Brian’s left side and took his hand. “Your father and I need to speak with you.”
Ryan moved on the opposite side of Brian’s bed. Brian wrinkled his brows and looked to the left and to the right.
“Brian, there’s no easy way to say this, so I have to come out and just say it,” Patricia said. “You were in such a bad car accident that you needed to get a transfusion.”
His heart rate quickened. “Please don’t tell me I got some bad blood or something?”
Patricia squeezed his hand and touched his face. “No, it’s nothing that drastic.” She had a tender smile on her face. “I love you, son.”
“Ha! It is drastic,” Ryan butted in. “Your mother donated blood because I couldn’t.” He cleared his throat. “What Patricia didn’t think to tell me until a week ago is that I’m not your biological father.”
Brian’s eyes bulged. He looked back and forth between the two of them before settling a hard gaze on Ryan. “Is this some kind of a joke? What do you mean you’re not my father?”
“I mean Patricia lied to me, to both of us, for the last twenty-three years,” Ryan said.
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you.” Patricia glared at Ryan before looking Brian’s way. “Brian, right now, you have to get your strength back. We will talk about this some more once you’re better. I told Ryan to wait, but he insisted you needed to know today.”
Ryan snapped, “Yes, we needed to tell him because I didn’t want Brian coming home and wondering why I wasn’t there.”
“Wait? What?” Brian’s chest heaved. He held his hands up. “Slow down. I’m having a hard time processing all of this. You both are coming at me way too fast.” He looked at Ryan. “What do you mean you’re not there?”
“I’ve moved out,” Ryan said. “But it doesn’t mean you won’t see me. I’ll be there to check on you. Even though I’m not your father by blood, you are my son. It’s important that you know that.”
Brian shook his head. Ryan was not his father? His vitals monitor beeped with a fury. He knew his blood pressure was wacky. Patricia fiddled with something and soon all was quiet in the room.
“But, you two are inseparable. You can barely keep your hands off each other . . . How did this happen?” Brian’s voice escalated with every word.
“We weren’t always inseparable,” Patricia said. “Remember, your father did sleep with Tiffany, and Karlie is his daughter.”
“Why are you bringing Karlie into this?” Brian pointed to his chest. “Can we keep this about me? I don’t need a reminder on how Karlie came to be. I need to know—I want to know about me. You need to explain and your bringing up Dad’s cheating isn’t helping your case.”
“Yes, Patricia, please explain,” Ryan chimed in.
Patricia’s eyes slid away from his. “When I met your father, I was sort of in a relationship with this guy.”
“What!” Ryan yelled. “You told me you were single! Another lie.”
She glared. “Do you want to hear my story, or are you going to keep interrupting?”
“Dad, please give her a chance to talk,” Brian said, closing his eyes and resting a hand over his head. “I can’t deal with your bickering on top of all this.”
Patricia tucked his sheets around him probably to keep herself busy. She released a breath. “I was with someone but the minute I met your father I knew he was the one.”
Brian opened his eyes and turned to listen.
“When Ryan introduced himself and we shook hands, I felt a connection. We, um, were together that night, and the next day I broke things off with my boyfriend.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend?” Ryan asked.
“Would you have gone out with me?” Patricia arched an eyebrow.
“No, but—”
“There’s your answer,” she said. “I wanted you. I wasn’t thinking past that.”
“How did you find out the truth?” Brian asked.
“You were four years old, and I rushed you to the emergency room, thinking you might have meningitis. When they did the blood work, I found out your blood type . . .”
“And you said nothing. Instead, you went on as if everything was all right,” Ryan filled in. Brian saw the heat in his eyes. His father bore a look of pure hatred on his face.
Patricia’s lips quivered. Tears rolled down her face. “Every day I carried the guilt, and I wanted tell the truth. But I was scared. You would have left us. You were the only father Brian knew, and you loved him. I told myself that’s what mattered.”
“You should have told me,” Ryan said.
Brian’s composure cracked. His body shook. “Would it have mattered?” Brian whispered. “If you had known, would it have mattered?”
“Honey, I think you need to rest—”
Brian cut her off with a glare. “Mom, I need you to leave. I respect you because you gave birth to me, but I need you to leave.”
She cupped her mouth and nodded before rushing out of the room.
Brian faced Ryan. “Would it have mattered?” he asked for the third time. His heart pounded as he waited for Ryan’s answer.
“No, I wouldn’t have left you. I loved you. I still do.”
Brian swallowed. “Dad, I know you’re hurting, but please don’t leave me. I know I haven’t been the model son, but I’ll change. I’ll do whatever you want.”
“I don’t need you to bargain with me. I love you no matter what you’ve done. Brian, I’m not leaving you. I’m leaving Patricia. Too much has transpired between us.”
“It won’t be the same without you there,” Brian admitted. He gave his father a sad smile.
Ryan touched his cheek. “I’m only a couple of blocks down. I’m not far away.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever see Mom the same.” His voice took on a hard edge. “She’s not who I thought she was. I thought she loved you, but she’s a liar.”
“She’s your mother, and the Bible said you should honor her. Patricia has some issues . . . She’s going to need you by her side.”
Brian nodded. What issues? He did not ask because he was not sure if he could handle any more truths. “Dad, I feel lost. I feel like I don’t know me anymore.” He coughed.
“You’re still you.” Ryan moved around Brian’s bed and went to pour him a cup of ice water.
Brian took two sips before returning the cup to his father. “Now I understand how Karlie felt. My heart is ripping out of my chest. I feel like I’m on a crashing plane with no parachute.”
Ryan hugged him tight before releasing him. “You’re an Oakes. You will recover.” There was no doubt in Ryan’s words. His father sounded sure in Brian’s capabilities.
Brian wanted to howl and wail, but he soaked in some of Ryan’s optimism. Hearing his father call him an Oakes strengthened him. He swallowed his tears and lifted his chin. “Does Karlie know?”
Ryan nodded and grinned. “Yes, she found out when I did. I wondered when you would get around to realizing you’re free to date my daughter.”