Rage was the only emotion Romeo felt for his father right now. The thought of him keeping his brother hidden was unbelievable. His father was capable of abandoning his own blood. Imagine what he could’ve done to him. He wondered if his mother knew. If she didn’t, he didn’t want to be the one to break it to her but if she did, he didn’t know how he’d be able to handle knowing both his parents are capable of doing harm. Ejecting his phone out of his hand into a nearby wall out of frustration, Romeo gruntled while plopping down on his couch, staring out at the ocean with his back against the cushions. He glanced at his shattered phone on the floor, instantly regretting what he’d just done.
“Fuck, now I gotta get a new one,” he muttered before reaching into his pocket to grab his work phone.
Romeo stared at the numbers typed in his keypad. He clicked the green button and waited with his phone to his ear for her to pick up. At this hour, he’d be lucky if she did. The sound of the line coming alive made him sit up in his seat.
“Hello?” Her voice sounded as if she’d just woken up.
“H-hey. It’s Romeo. I had to call from my work phone. Is this a good time?”
“It’s 2 o’clock in the morning, Romeo, but it must be important if you’re calling at this hour.”
Romeo stayed silent. He didn’t know how to say he had a brother. It was going to definitely take some getting used to.
“Erm, well...damn, I don’t even know how to say this shit.” He chuckled with no humor behind it. “My dad has a whole other child— well..he’s 31 years old so not really a kid, haha. This guy has literally always been right there. You know? He dates one of my friends so I’ve seen him in passing. Just didn’t know he was my father’s kid. Crazy shit..”
Romeo’s therapist just listened. She honestly had no words for this situation right now. She feared Romeo hitting the darkest points of his life but he needed to deal with his emotions as they’re fresh instead of his emotions dealing with him.
“That’s heavy, Romeo. How does that make you feel?”
“I feel...honestly?...like I wanna punch my dad in the face.”
“Okay...Have you told your father about how you’ve felt?”
“Nah..I kind of just...hung up on him. I couldn’t bare to hear any of his excuses. Nothing he says can excuse that. I should’ve known. He should’ve been there for him. I’m 23 years old. What do I look like learning about him now? He lied. He kept secrets. For what? To save face? Who the hell would’ve even cared about him having a child before his marriage? Who hides a whole kid? Yeah, just leave them to fend for themselves while you’re out with your new family. That could’ve easily been me. Easily. If he could do that to him, imagine— jus-just imagine what he could do to me.”
“Is that what this is about? You feel like maybe your father doesn’t care about you?”
“No. I just– it feels like if he could easily abandon one kid, who’s to say he won’t do it to another.”
“Okay. Have you had a chance to talk to your older brother?”
“I did..he seems cool. He offered to sit down and talk with me but I had something to tend to or maybe I just wasn’t really ready to meet him...I don’t know.”
“Well that’s okay. You just weren’t ready. This is a lot for you to take in. Have you tried to sleep it off?”
“Yeah...but I just keep tossing and turning. Shits annoying.”
“Well, yeah..I got a new brother, my dad’s a liar, I’m worried about my mom and how she feels about all this. I can’t even bring myself to call her..cus what if she don’t know? Why is it my job to tell her? Why hadn’t he told her? And if she knew why didn’t she make him be a man? How could she stand beside him like that? I couldn’t do it.”
“Do you think your mom is capable of just letting him abandon your brother?”
“I don’t know to be honest and that’s what scares me..I feel like I don’t know my parents anymore..”
