Cadences: Andrew Competes (Third Cadence)

She stands up and looks down at me while she runs her hands through her hair, looking frustrated, which I must admit looks damn sexy. I suppress a grin.

"That's, that's different. She's cheating on you with my dad!" she explains.

I can't help but laugh, "And I'm cheating on her with her daughter, I think that takes the cake for most scandalous, don't you think?"

"How are you so calm about this? Grant is such a sleazy bastard for doing this to you after-" she stops talking as she realizes something, I can practically hear the wheels turning in her head. "Wait, did you...did you know about this?" She asks quietly.

My smile vanishes as I look down at the ground, searching for a way to answer her. But apparently, that was answer enough.

"You DID!" She yells, "You knew she was cheating on you this whole time?" She demands, incredulous.

I press my lips together and nod.

Her body sags with defeat. "How long?" She whispers.

I play dumb so I can stall her a little, maybe find a way to soften the blow. "How long what?

She scoffs, "You know what, Drew. How long have you known about this?"

I sigh, "About a year and ten months." I reply.

She looks like she's about to cry. And even though I want to hold her, I know she would come to me if she wanted comfort, so I just stay on the bed looking up at her.

She looks down at the ground, the corners of her mouth twitch up and down like she's trying really hard not to cry. It's an awful, awful sight.

Eventually, after a minute or so, Cadence just drops to floor, sitting on her knees in front of me and taking both my hands in hers.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She finally asks.

"I didn't want this to affect your relationship with your mother. " I say honestly.

She laughs bitterly, "Yeah because it was all sunshine and rainbows before I found out just now, right?" She says sarcastically.

I shake my head, "That's exactly why I didn't tell you. You already had so much crap between the two of you, I didn't want to make it worse, and most of all, I didn't want this to hurt you."

She nods, and then shakes her head. "But why didn't you leave her?" She whispers.

I look at her pointedly like the answer is obvious.

Her eyes tear up, "Yeah I was afraid that was it," She sighs, "You didn't leave her because of me?" She asks anyway.

I nod. "You were underage Cadence, I didn't want to take this to court and risk the chance of losing you. She's a lawyer for god's sake, she would've found a way to get full custody over you. I had no chance against her. " I tell her.

She shakes her head again, looking down at our interlocked fingers. "I," She pauses as her breath hitches, "am so, so sorry for this Drew."

"Hey," I nudge her nose with my knuckles, making her meet my eyes,"What the hell do you have to be sorry for, huh?" I whisper. "You have absolutely no part in this."

"I am so shocked about what my mother's done, it's so unfair to you. And you had to bear it for almost two years just so you can keep me." She scoffs, "I am just, so, sorry." She meets my eyes.

"I didn't mind." I give her a small smile, "You don't need to apologize, because you were worth it. I'd do it again," I kiss her cheek, "I'd do it again and again and again," I kiss it three more times, "because you are worth it."

To be continued...