Chapter twenty five: Truth be told-Reality sucks
She saw Dino toss Caleb a look that she didn't quite catch. "Zie, I told you we not coming." "So you gonna make me face all those horrible people out there on my own? You want me to have a lonely night? What kind of a boyfriend are you huh?"

"Ziesha..." And just like that, she reached Caleb's soft spot. She knew that she was his weakness and strength at the same time. He couldn't resist her, yet didn't want to disappoint her. Dino even noticed because he chuckled out loud. "Hi Zie," he laughed, "Aren't you supposed to be dressed for the party?"

She looked down at herself. "I am dressed. It's you two who's wasting my time."

She caught another quick exchange of looks between them.

"Alright," Dino surrendered, "It's on you Caleb. I'm on whatever you decide to do. Lemme know, I'll be in my room." He left, closing the door behind him. "It's on you," Ziesha repeated his words, using her famous puppy-dog eyes.

Caleb smiled, extended his hand out for her. "You really want me there love? With your father and everyone else present?" So that was what it was about-her dad. She should have seen that one coming.

"I want you there," she admitted, taking his hand and sitting down on the bed beside him. "What made you think I didn't want you there Caleb? I know, I know. The media and reporters and my dad but you don't have to flash your handsome face around. And we can have our own tiny party upstairs in my room."

"Hmm, sounds tempting." "With Dino," she added, laughing. Caleb made a mocking face. "A threesome babe? Come on, I always pictured it to be with two chicks but I guess Dean could work too-Ow! Ziesha!" Caleb caught his chest after Ziesha threw a punch at him. "Fine, I'm sorry. Jokes." He caught the next shot aimed at him.

He smiled at her but she could tell that something was bothering him. She wanted-no, needed to know-what it was.

"What's wrong Caleb?" "What do you mean?"

Great, now he hid his expression from her. "I mean you supposed to tell me everything remember?" Quoting his exact words about them being a team seemed the perfect way for him to talk. "I don't like these little secrets between us Caleb. It complicates thing, especially when the truth eventually comes out."

She did a quick mental debate with herself about whether to confront him about the conversation she'd just overheard between him and Dino. After weighing the outcomes of that, she decided not to.

"Ziesha, look at me." Caleb tilted her face towards him. "I know what I promised you and I meant what I said. Nothing will ever come between us again." But he still wasn't telling her what really was on his mind. "You still wanna go to the party love...with me?"

"I'm not gonna answer that question again Caleb."

He leaned in for a small kiss, closed his eyes then rested his forehead against hers. "We'll go for the party and then we'll talk." Progression.

"You sure you don't wanna tell me now?" "And spoil the mood. Nah, babe. I'm good." Which meant that it was definitely not good news. Could there just be a single silver lining in all of this? She started to say something but Caleb cut her off. "It's fine love. Dean and I still need to get dressed anyway...lemme text Dean."

She found his laziness amusing and adorable at the same, he could have just called for him across the hall.

"Alright let's see...jeans or formal?" "Jeans one hundred percent. How about the red skinny one?" She'd only seen him in that pair once and he looked to die for. Caleb made a disapproving face. Right, she forgot. He hated repeating his clothes. Talk about being a major fashion diva.


"Fine, it's a choice between white skinnys and red." He made his way over to the wardrobe. Ziesha analyzed her outfit in the mirror. "White could work," she admitted, "Then, we'd match." "That was kind off the whole idea love. We always match for every-ohh fuck!"

Something sprung out of Caleb's wardrobe when he opened it-some book or novel of that sort. And to say she taught Caleb was organized. His wardrobe was supposed to be filled with clothes, not some-she looked down at the book again. But it was not a book.

Caleb bent down to pick it up but stopped when he saw the look on her face. "Ziesha, I can explain."

"That is my mother's diary?! Why do you have her diary? How did-did you steal it from my house?" She didn't even have an idea where it had been dumped all this time. She only remembered the cover page design of the diary, since she and Mia had designed it when they were kids.

"No, of course I didn't steal it from your house." Caleb reached for her but Ziesha pulled her hand back. What else was Caleb hiding from her? "What are-You said that we..." she couldn't even find the right words, "Were you spying on me, my dad?"

He shook his head. "Just listen for one minute." "Why do have my mother's diary Caleb? Why are you doing this to us, you keep lying to me!" "I never was lying to you Ziesha!" His voice rose a little at the last bit of his sentence. "Just listen to me please!"

He grabbed her arm when she tried to escape. "I am not lying to you!" He repeated, much louder this time. Why was he getting upset, how did this suddenly become her fault? "Why did you steal my mother's diary from my house Caleb? I'm not gonna ask you again."

"I didn't steal shit from you okay! It never was in your house in the first damn place!"

"What?!" That didn't make sense. He wasn't telling the truth, nor was he letting go of her arm so that she could get the hell out of here.

"Your father didn't tell you because he didn't want you to know Ziesha."

She stared at him blankly, zero-percent knowledge of what he was talking about. "Look, I only found out after we started dating. My father told me but he made me swear not to tell you." "Tell-me-what?"

Caleb sighed loudly, as if by telling her the truth, her entire world was going to crumble. But Ziesha couldn't see what was worse than her boyfriend lying and keeping secrets from her. "Caleb, I need to know the truth. What the hell are you talking about?" "I promised not to-" "Just tell me!" she demanded, anger surfacing again. She wasn't going to leave without the truth. "Tell me or I will walk out of here and never come back Caleb."

His jaw clenched. "Alright fine, you wanna know the truth. Your mother had an affair with my father! That's why your parents divorced, that's why your father hates mine and that is why your mother left!"

"What?" Ziesha looked at Caleb, waiting for him to tell her that he was joking but he didn't. The pained look on his face told her that this was exactly what he was afraid of. Her reaction to the truth. "How...why didn't you tell me this before?"

"It wasn't my story to tell Ziesha. If I told you, I would be stepping on your father's boundaries. He should have been the one to tell you. But Ziesha, that was years ago. We weren't involved in it. Why do we have to suffer for their mistakes?

"That was our parents' doings. My father and your mother's mistake. We can't pay for what they did."

Ziesha had no words but Caleb was absolutely right. They were being punished for something that they had not committed. It was their parents' fight but no matter how hard they tried, it was never enough. Their parents were literally sworn enemies, and she could not even blame her dad for wanting to destroy Randal. He deserved it.

But she and Caleb didn't.