“Caleb, I just want you to know that...,” Sherri’s voice trailed off, as Caleb just sat there, staring at his feet. Her long brown hair brushed lightly against his shoulder as they sat together on the edge of the apartment building, like they had every single night. She was so close to him that she felt his heart beat, and it seemed to pulse through her veins with its steady rhythm, and admirable confidence. Caleb’s face was as hard as rock, but Sherri knew that behind that, there was true feeling. There had to be -- she’d seen it once before.
“You wanted me to know?” Caleb asked, looking up into her beautiful, round face, her almond brown, deep eyes, full of soul, full of meaning. he wasn’t sure if he knew who she was anymore. He didn’t know whether she knew who he was. He wasn’t even sure whether they should be sitting on this ledge, even though they’d done it so many times, and nothing bad had happened before. This time was different. This time, feelings were involved.
“I just wanted you to know that whatever happens, I’ll always love you,” Sherri gulped. He head tilted to the sky, trying to hold the tears back, and her eyes lifted to the stars, looking into the blank atmosphere, searching for answers that she wasn’t sure existed. “And I want you to know that there’s nothing wrong with love. There’s nothing wrong with the feelings-”
“That’s where you go wrong. And that’s where... that’s where...,” Caleb sighed. He didn’t even know what to say any more. His mind was lost; his senses deceased. His soul -- it must belong to someone else now, because he felt that his life had shaken his whole being apart. The events that had brought him and Sherri together seemed useless-worthless-now. Now, he wondered if the knowledge that they now shared would bring them closer together, or just back apart again.
They both knew that there were no words. They were both confused, but also both so in deep in their infatuation with one another. Sherri turned her head toward Caleb, away from the moon, away from the stars, away from everything that was real. She turned to what now felt so far gone, and so imaginary. She turned toward passion, and Caleb turned toward it too. They looked into each other’s eyes, and sweet melodies seemed to ring in their ears. Sweet lullabies tuned out the fear, and the anxiety that formed tensions between the two. They both leaned in to each other, and wrapped their arms around each other, pressing their lips together, and forming one pair of lovers, unshattered by fear and confusion.
A door slammed shut five minutes later, and footsteps tapped the pavement, as a tall, older man walked with authority across the apartment rooftop. His face was red for the first time in his life, and his cheeks were soaked in his own tears. He looked down at the two, who had just stopped kissing long enough to look up at him.
The man took a deep breath, sucking his teeth, and looking at them in the eyes, one at a time. Another tear rolled down his cheek.
“Father... father, I-” Sherri began. The man knelt down and pressed his finger delicately against her lips, shaking his head slowly, and closing his eyes, secretly wishing that he was not in the predicament that he felt was his fault for getting into. Caleb’s brows furrowed, and his stomach wrenched. He knew the truth, but to have Sherri in his arms again meant the world, and even if that was the last time that they were to be together like that, he would never regret it. Still, he felt wrong for it, and he just needed closure. He just needed the real truth, and the real facts. He was tired of not knowing. He was tired of guessing, and wondering, and trying to figure out whether he was right or wrong. He was tired of wondering whether he was fooling himself.
The man swallowed down his tears before he spoke. “Here, in my hands, lies the paternity tests, Sherri. And, I’m sorry--I.... I wish that your mother and I had gone about this differently, but... Caleb is my son.”
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