The Truth Always Comes Out

                  Chapter 14: Let's Talk

 “Blaine can you come downstairs? Angela yells. Blaine stops packing up his things and heads downstairs wondering what his Mother needs. “Hey, you called?” he asks his Mother as he walks into the kitchen. “Yes dear, do want something to eat or drink? She asks. “No, I'm good Mom,” Blaine replies. “So what do you need, I was packing up.” Blaine inquires. Angela walks toward Blaine and grabs his hands and says, “Blaine you are going to be heading to New York soon and your Father and I need to talk to you if you don't mind. Blaine looks at his Mother realizing what she is talking about and thinks for a second before saying, “Okay.”

They walk into the living room where Tom is sitting in his chair reading a book while waiting for Blaine and Angela to join him. “There you are,” he says as Blaine and Angela sit down on the couch feeling a little nervous. Blaine looks at his Father as he begins to speak. “Blaine, I want to begin this conversation by saying your Mother and I are very proud of you and all your accomplishments. We love you dearly and only want the best for you. These past 18 years have gone by so fast and you are going to be deeply missed when you head to New York.” Tom takes a sip of some water and continues. “Blaine, your Mother and I feel we need to talk to you about the Jack Hill situation before you leave. We will answer all your questions as truthfully as we can. If at any time you want to stop, we will.” “Okay,” Blaine whispers. “Tom begins to explain, “When your Mother was attacked we were devastated. Your Mother was dealing with something no woman should ever have to deal with. I tried to support her the best I could during this time. When your Mother told me she expecting I was thrilled. It seemed like the gray clouds were finally lifting and the sun was starting to shine through. Your Mother started smiling and laughing again. You have to understand that we had wanted a baby for a long time. In fact we were almost at the point of thinking it would never happen. After we expressed our joy we started trying to figure out the due date and we realized there was some doubt concerning who the father could be. Those few days were like a roller coaster. At the top we were happy knowing we were having a baby and then we plummeted to the bottom realizing that Jack Hill could be the father.” “I have a question,” Blaine interrupted. “Isn't there a drug you could have taken that would have ended any possible pregnancy after a rape?” Angela answered, “Yes, there is and I was offered it. We had been trying to have a baby and I thought to myself what if I am pregnant with Tom's child already. I couldn't take that risk. So I refused the drug.” “Okay,” Blaine said. Angela continues, “After I realized I was pregnant your Father and I had many discussions about what to do about the pregnancy. We both agreed that we wanted this baby. During this time I think we were a little naïve.  We didn't want to face the reality of the situation because we kept telling ourselves that Tom was the father while ignoring the truth. We decided during this time not to acknowledge that there was a question about the baby's paternity to family or friends. Then you were born we were so very happy. Soon after you were born the doctor did a paternity test.” “What did you think when you first saw me? Blaine asks. “Honestly, you were pretty yucky,” Angela laughed. “Funny,” Blaine groaned. “When they brought you to me cleaned up I fell in love with you immediately, but I also felt a tightening in my stomach because for the first time I was forced to face the truth. That Jack Hill may be your father because you had a full head of black curly hair. I think your Father felt the same but he didn't say anything. We didn't want to hurt each other.” Angela said as she looked at Tom with loving eyes. “When I saw you I felt that same twinge. That black curly hair was a red flag because I knew Jack Hill had black curly hair.” Tom said “I'll feel bad you didn't get that new baby excitement because of the situation,” Blaine said. “You don't need to be sorry for anything,” Blaine's Mom said reassuringly. “We found out the results a few days later. We even had it done twice just to make sure,” Angela explained. “How did you get DNA from Jack Hill since he was in jail?” Blaine asks. His Mother answers, “We used some of the evidence gathered for the trial. When we knew for sure that Jack Hill was your biological Father we sat down and discussed what we wanted to do. What would be the best for you? The first thing we decided without question was to have Jack Hill sign away his parental rights.” Blaine asks, “What did he say when you told him about me? “He didn't say much,” his Mother said sheepishly. “Mom, I want to know the truth,” Blaine demanded. Angela answered, “He said he would be happy to sign his rights away because he didn't want anything to do with trash.” Blaine tried not to show how bad those words hurt but his moist eyes gave him away. His Mother rubs his back gently hoping to take the hurt away. She says “After we secured your rights your Father legally adopted you.” “Whose name is on my birth certificate?”  Blaine asks. “Mine!” Tom says loud and proudly, “and always will be.” Blaine looks at him and smiles. Angela continues, “As I told you earlier I struggled caring for you. I loved you but when I would look at you I would remember the attack. As time moved on I kept falling more and more in love with you as I began seeing you and not Jack Hill. I saw a baby boy with the cutest smile, who giggled at everything, and loved listening to music.  Thankfully, no one ever questioned your paternity and we never brought it up. Then one day I started thinking about whether or not you should ever know. My imagination would go wild with different scenarios. I could see people looking at you strangely or pointing fingers at you like you were different. I could see you at a park or in school and the kids calling you names, or hurting you, or you alone without friends because their parents wouldn't allow it. I told your Father about my concerns and we decided we wouldn't tell anyone about your paternity including you. We wanted to protect you from being hurt.” Blaine chuckles, his parents look at him wondering what was funny when Blaine says, “Isn't it ironic your concerns for me still happened only for a different reason.” Everyone knew what Blaine was talking about. After a few seconds Angela says, “The decision we made was not an issue until Jack Hill showed up at our door. Blaine responds saying, “I guess I can understand what you did and why you did it. I am not sure what I would have done if I was in your place. I do have a few questions though. Tom says, “Ask.” “How can you love me?” “How could we not?” Angela said. “You were our baby and still are. You needed protecting, you had done nothing wrong, and you were my son.” Angela said. “Why didn't you give me up for adoption?” Blaine asks. Tom says, “A couple of reasons. If we gave you up people would have found out the truth, but more importantly you were the baby we had been wanting for years. We couldn't let you go.” “Does Cooper know?” is Blaine's last question. His Father says, “No, all Cooper knows is his Mother was hurt not how. He may have learned about the attack when he was older but I don't know. He has never said anything about it.”

“Blaine says, “I'm sorry I ran away. I was so confused and I just needed some time. I didn't mean to make you worry or hurt you more.” “We understand Blaine because we have been there,” his Mother replied. “Blaine, just a piece of advice, running away from problems will not solve them it only makes them worse. Take our word for it,” his Father says. I love you, Blaine says as he hugs his Mother tightly and then stands and walks to his Father and embraces him and says, “I love you Dad.”