Have you ever wondered how your parents live with secrets and still make themselves look so perfect in front of the kids?.. You. Like hell, they're not humans like us. Fun fact: probably the kids were just too little to understand what was going on between their parents.
Let's look at divorce, for instance. When you were little, and your parents got divorced, it hurt because you knew you wouldn't be seeing both their faces every day. But shockingly, they made it easy: you stayed at your mom's place today, your dad's the next day, and you wondered,
"If these two could agree on one thing, why don't they just get back together?"
Yes! Exactly my point. At that moment, you were growing up with the lies they told you, or made you believe, until you got to a certain age, started dating, and realised being coupled up with someone wasn't easy; you'd fight today and make up the next day.
You realise sometimes you can't put up with some of your girlfriend's or boyfriend's attitude, and then you two finally break up. That's when the understanding comes in, and you begin to understand some things your parents never told you...
Let's take another instance: your parents aren't divorced, but you know something isn't right. Probably one of them did something stupid, and you believe they should've gotten divorced. But one day, it all just dies down, and you see them forgiving each other. You couldn't forgive it, but they did, and you had to grow up happy without really getting why they got along so perfectly. The reality is, kids have to grow up inside the lies their parents tell.
Now, that kid who couldn't forgive was Connor, and his perfect parents were Adline and Mr Cole, and it was clear they had some little secret keeping them together. Was there a logical explanation for why she hadn't divorced him even after finding out he had a kid outside their marriage? Now he was about to find out what his father meant by that last statement, and why his mother suddenly wanted a drink so badly, going hard into the cognac, more like rage, regret, and the look of an exposed victim.
Adline staggered into the living room, her husband standing by the fenced stairs like a warrior who knew the arrow was coming for him. His wife was drained, and his son was lost, trying to figure out why his mother was taking it so personally, and at the same time getting the feeling his father might have abused her somehow.
"You fucked up, man!!" she spat out.
"You were gone for months!!"
"Woman, I was gone for two months. I loved you!! I was faithful; I just did my job and went back to you and the kids."
"So now you don't love me anymore?"
Adline walked up to her husband, looked him in the eyes, and sobbed a little; he could tell she'd had a lot to drink in a short time. Connor watched his mom acting almost possessed.
"Tell me!!!" she roared.
"What?" Cole smirked at his wife.
"Honey, you look terrible. I don't have time for this right now; the kids don't deserve to see this," he added, sighing heavily.
"You never loved me!!" she cried, her blonde hair sticking to her tears.
"I did, I always did, ...and shit, I still fucking do. Remember, you fucked him!! And I saw it; you were enjoying every bit of the love he gave you."
"He was sweet to me; I needed you!"
"You needed me? To lick your cookies or be your husband? I remember doing both gracefully. " Now Cole had had it.
"Look, I run the company, I go on trips, company trips, I try to build a future for us, and yet, I come home to you and my kids after just two months, and he goes all sweet on you!! You loved him more than you loved me!!" He added
"It was a big mistake, and he blackmailed me with the video," Adline went weak.
"Yeah, and guess what, I was so happy, I went to a bar and had my revenge, and you got mad when I told you I had a kid."
"No, please don't," Adline begged, sensing he was about to let the whole truth out.
"Yeah, that made me the bad daddy. Then one day, I'll lose my son because he finds out you didn't just cheat, you aborted a baby, and you've been trying to make up for your mistakes by squeezing Dean into your goody-goody mama act!!"
"How could you think he'd never tell me?!... he was and still is my biggest threat; you knew that," Cole said, walking out.
"Mom..." Connor said in a low tone, shaking his head.
"That's why you never got mad at Dad; you didn't want Dean. He's just a way to make yourself feel better about your mistakes. To think Lilly was right. To think we all thought Dad was the bad one."
"You are our mother. Did you ever see us when Dad went on trips? Because Dad always did see us, wherever he was, and we thought you did too... but we were wrong," Connor added.
"I'm sorry. I love you and your sisters; it was just adult stuff."
"Well, now I'm an adult. Explain it better to me: why you made him look bad and made it all about you."
Connor stood there, of course, mad at the woman he'd always wanted to protect. He'd been lied to his whole life by both his parents. And after watching the argument between them, he felt torn.
"Say something, please."
"I don't know what to say, Mom, but I know I'm not spending the night here with you and your lying husband, and please don't look for me. I'll be fine."
"Connor, just tell me where you're going? At least I need to know you're safe. I respect that you're still mad and need to be alone."
"Anywhere but with two cheating parents."
"We're coming with you, please," the twins said.