The boy who brought my girl back from her senior prom stared me down and told me the clock was ticking on my secret.
Chapter 1 - The Boy at the Door
The boy who brought my daughter home from prom looked me dead in the eyes and said, "You have five minutes to tell her the truth, or I will."
Delia had been counting down to that night for weeks.
I hadn't seen her light up like that in years. Maybe ever.
Her date was Marcus. Captain of the football team. Top of his class. The kind of boy who could've asked any girl at Fenwick High and had her say yes before he finished the sentence.
He asked Delia.
She floated around the house for days. Every conversation circled back to the same things — the dress, the corsage, the way her stomach dropped every time she pictured walking in on his arm.
Growing up without a father had taken enough from her already. I wanted this one night to be perfect. Just one night she could keep.
Then prom night came.
Marcus showed up at the door in a pressed shirt, flowers in his hand.
Delia came down the stairs, and she was radiant.
I stood at the end of the driveway and watched their car turn the corner, and I thought, good. She gets this.
A couple hours went by. Then my phone buzzed.
"MOM. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED."
I laughed and typed back fast, telling her to spill everything.
A minute passed.
"I'LL TELL YOU WHEN I'M HOME. IT'S INSANE."
Then nothing. The messages stopped.
By midnight I was walking laps around the living room.
Finally headlights slid across the wall.
Delia came through the front door all at once — glowing, rattled, eyes huge.
"Mom, something happened tonight and I really need to —"
She cut herself off and looked back at Marcus, who was still standing on the porch.
"Actually — hang on, let me grab you some water."
The moment she headed for the kitchen, something in Marcus's face changed.
That easy smile he'd worn all night was gone.
My stomach turned over.
"Marcus, what's —"
His voice came out low. Level.
Too level.
"You have five minutes to tell her the truth."
I couldn't get any air.
"Or I will."
May you like
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What truth is Marcus talking about — and does Delia already know? Comment "NEXT" if you want Part 2. It's in the comments. 👇
