William Jarvis - Sky Valley 04 - Murderous Coffee Crumble by William Jarvis Page A

these?”
    “Those,” Emmy said, “are Lena’s letters to you. Well, she never really sent them but she gave them to Daniel’s mom when…when she was still alive. Those are years and years of letters and heartbreak, dad.”
    “Emmy, where did you get these? Amelia’s dead.”
    “She kept them.” Emmy said. “Nana was cleaning up earlier and she found all of those, together with your old yearbook. You told me mom had always been your prom date but apparently there was a year that she wasn’t and you actually went to prom with Lena McMahon.”
    “Honey, I—“
    “And those letters are proof that you actually also had a relationship with Lena and she loved you! She loved you, dad. Yeah, she may not have been very good at it but she did. Her love…well…it drove her mad.” She said. “She was so consumed by it and this leads us to the fact that she’s actually working with Tripp on this because they both have unrequited feelings for you and mom.”
    “This is crazy.”
    “Why can’t you just wake up to the truth, dad?” Emmy demanded. “I know it’s hard, okay? I know it is. But because you’ve hidden the truth from me for so long, all these things are happening now. I mean, I’m not blaming you, dad, but why would you paint such a picture-perfect version of things when you know it’s all a lie?”
    “I wanted to protect you.” He said. “Look, Em,” he said, “I did a lot of stupid things when I was younger. If you knew me back then, you’d probably say that your mother did not deserve me. Actually, there are still times when I get to think that way. I loved your mother so much and sometimes, I feel like if she wasn’t with me then she probably wouldn’t have died. I know it’s stupid but sometimes, that’s how I think because…because I have no idea how to make sense of this. Sometimes, I feel like it’s the world’s way of getting revenge because yes, I did play when I was younger, but I loved your mother. She was…she was wonderful and I would never hurt her that way.
    Yes, I got together with Lena. There was a time in high school when we were together just because well, I was mad at your mother for sharing a kiss with Tripp. It was a dare and all that and your mom had her sense of recklessness, too, so that’s what happened. Anyway, I went to prom with Lena, your mother was mad, we got back together and I didn’t really think Lena would harbor ill feelings over that.”
    “She did.” Emmy said. “You were such a jerk to her. I don’t know what she was like in High School but dad…”
    “I know.” Troy said. “But I was young. I always thought Lena was too full of herself but back then, she wasn’t able to show it so…” he took a deep breath, “Anyway, your mom and I got back together and—“
    “And you hooked up with Lena again back in college.”
    “Your mother and I weren’t together then.” He said. “And it was one kiss, Em. I didn’t think she’d be fussy because of that.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I get the feeling that you may be Serena’s father.”
    “God, no.” Troy said. “I would never do that with her. And I’m sorry.” He said. “I know this is all crazy and I know it’s dragging you down and I’m sorry about that. But I never wanted any of this to happen.”
    “You could have told me the truth right away.”
    “You’ll understand me when you finally become a parent.”
    Emmy took a deep breath. “Do you like Audrina? I mean, do you really have strong feelings for her or are you just stringing her along?”
    “What does that have to do with this?”
    “Dad,” Emmy said, “If you’re just stringing Audrina along,” she said, “You have to stop it right now and you’ve got to get your act together. She deserves far, far better. None of us are perfect so you have to stop pretending that you are.”
    “You are not allowed to go there!” Emmy heard Daniel’s voice from above.
    “I have to see her—“ It was a woman.