"Jaxon..! Jaxon..! Wake up, bro.."
Dad's voice called me from the dining table. It was 9:00 AM, which was strange—he usually had already finished a cup of coffee at his office desk by that time.
That morning, the three of us had breakfast together. I was usually cheerful and always joked with Dad during meals, but suddenly I became quiet. The atmosphere shifted.
After finishing breakfast, I went back to my room and locked the door. Dad left for work, and Mom started cleaning up.
My phone, which was usually never out of my hands and always on standby, was cold and dead that day—battery 0%, lying untouched.
Knock knock knock.
"Dik.. aren't you going to shower, son?" Mom asked, knocking on the door.
"Yes, Mom.." I replied as I came out of my room with a blank stare. As I dragged my feet toward the bathroom, Mom looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Where's your towel, son..?" she reminded me.
I don't know why, but that day, my behavior toward Mom changed. I kept locking myself in the room until noon.
Benny came over that day, but I chose to take him out of the house. In front of Benny, I pretended everything was fine. We walked around, chatting and laughing. He took me to his house and proudly showed off his chirping bird collection.
Around 2 PM, Benny invited me to watch a bird chirping contest at the field near the district office, but I declined, saying I just wanted to go home.
When I got home, I took my dad's bicycle and rode it fast with no destination—just riding around aimlessly.
By accident, I saw Dad inside a small restaurant. He was with a woman. Curious, I moved in closer without being seen. She was beautiful, dressed tightly, and enjoying the food in front of her. They looked very close. I didn't want to think negatively at that moment—maybe she was a coworker or business partner—so I left and continued riding.
~ ~ ~
Two days later.
Sunday. Back then, before I started college, Dad would always take Mom and me on trips, but not anymore. Dad went to work, saying he had to chase a deadline for a project.
Still feeling awkward around Mom, I didn't feel comfortable at home, so I decided to ride my bike to the beach not far from my house—just about 5 km away. I initially asked Benny to come with me, but he had a competition scheduled.
"Waaah.. I can't, Dik. There's a sub-district level competition. Try asking Kevin, he usually stays home on Sundays," Benny said when I asked him.
Kevin was the most popular guy in my class back then. His face was fair and sweet like a girl's. Sometimes I felt jealous of him, but he was quiet. He preferred being alone and rarely joked around. He was always serious about everything. Last I heard, he worked at a local mini market in my village…
Following Benny's suggestion, I went to pick up Kevin, but I was disappointed when he refused my invitation, saying he wanted to rest.
Since no one wanted to go with me to the beach, I canceled my plan. I returned to Benny's place and joined him to support and watch the competition.
Not being a bird lover, I got bored just one hour into the event, so I decided to go home and sleep.
On my way home, I saw someone riding my dad's motorcycle. Wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and gloves like a biker. Because of the helmet, I couldn't see the face. The jacket was unfamiliar to me, and so was the helmet. It bugged me, so I found a nearby motorcycle taxi and asked the driver to help me tail the mystery rider.
I saw the motorcyclist park in front of a house. Soon, a gorgeous woman came out wearing a black T-shirt and hotpants with fringes—almost looked like she wasn't wearing pants.
I recognized her face. It was the same woman I saw having lunch with Dad the other day. Without taking off his helmet, the man in the leather jacket revved the engine and sped off with her riding pillion.
"Sir.. please follow that couple. I'll pay whatever it costs," I told the driver, pointing at Dad's motorcycle.
After a roughly two-hour ride, the motorcyclist finally stopped at a hotel.
I got off and crept closer, trying to get a better look. I squinted my eyes to focus on them, like a camera lens zooming in on a subject.
"Sir! Sir! What about my fare?" the ojek driver called out from behind me.
I turned around and handed him a hundred-thousand bill.
"Here, thanks. You can keep the change," I said.
Aarghh!! Damn it!! When I turned back, the couple had vanished. They must have already gone inside the hotel.
I was so curious, I recklessly decided to wait outside to catch them when they came out. I found a nearby coffee stall, hoping I'd spot them soon.
I finished three cups of coffee milk.
A bunch of snacks filled my belly, but after sitting there for four hours, my back and butt ached. I gave up and looked for a ride back to the bike deposit. Then I rode back home with intense curiosity.
Who was that guy? Could it be Dad? No way! The Dad I know wouldn't waste his money on something like that. But I was sure—the license plate number matched Dad's bike.
When I got home, it was 5:30 PM. Dad should've been home already. I searched around the house, but there was no sign of him.
"Your dad called earlier. He said he's staying the night at a coworker's place," Mom said, noticing I was looking for him.
"He has to work overtime because of a tight project deadline," she continued while folding clothes she'd just brought in from the clothesline.
And once again, Mom was wearing something super sexy in front of me.
Hearing her explanation, I just replied, "Ohh."
My body went limp. I felt disappointed, but my heart refused to believe what I had seen.
I went into my room and plugged in my phone.
"Rather than making assumptions, I better confirm it myself," I muttered.
On my smartphone, there was an app I had connected to Dad's phone.
"What's wrong, son..? Talk to Mom, is something bothering you?" I didn't even realize Mom was standing beside me.
My thoughts scattered the moment I saw her—her dress was see-through under my room's lighting.
I could vaguely see her breasts, and there was a small bump at the tip. My confused mind foolishly scanned her from top to bottom—she was only wearing underwear.
"Hey!! Mom's asking you a question, why aren't you answering?" she said again, grabbing both my shoulders and bringing her face close to mine.
Her lips looked glossy and slightly wet.
I quickly pushed her hands away and turned my gaze to my phone. "No, Mom. I'm fine," I answered stiffly.
I powered on my phone—it had only charged 2%.
And I was instantly shocked when I opened the app and saw Dad's phone location. Yep.. It was right at that hotel.
"Well then.. I'll go cook something. You must be hungry," Mom said as she left.
I was lost, not sure what to do. Couldn't be that Dad gave his phone to that man, right?
There was no doubt—that man was Dad. But why?
Wasn't Mom beautiful and sexy enough that Dad had to cheat on her?
Should I tell Mom what I saw? Or stay silent and confront Dad instead?
Someone, please help me...
Before I knew it, tears rolled down my cheeks.