Crazy For You by Alexander, S.B. (best ebook reader ubuntu .TXT) 📕

the look on your mom’s face when she laid eyes on you. It was pure perfection—love, adoration, and something far greater than I can articulate. That day was the happiest of our lives. We both cried tears of joy when we finally got to hold you.

“‘I wish your mom was here to see how you’re growing into a strong individual and a beautiful woman.’”

I stopped reading aloud as my tear ducts turned into Niagara Falls. Dad and Nan cried too. “I’m not sure I can go on,” I said.

Nan tucked a stray brown hair behind her ear and set her glasses higher up on her nose. “Try. It’s important that you read the rest.”

My vision was blurry, and I didn’t see how I could. After one more intake of air, I picked up where I’d left off, when all I wanted to do was get on my skateboard.

“‘I’ve struggled with the right words, on how to tell you. I never knew if there would be a right or wrong time. Your mom and I agreed we would wait until you were a teenager, but then the accident took her from us. After that, I couldn’t bring myself to broach the subject, afraid that I would lose you too.

“‘And whether this is the right time or not, you need to know. So please find it in your heart to forgive me.’”

Pausing, I rubbed the sharp pain spreading through my chest and checked on Dad. His eyes were closed. Nan, on the other hand, was staring at her lap, or maybe the deck. My gaze drifted past her to Colton’s house. I wasn’t sure why—maybe to let my brain relax for a second.

Swallowing, I pressed on. “‘I will always and forever be your father, but I am not your biological father. Your mom and I adopted you when you were barely a month old.’” I read that last line to myself again, stopping on the word “adopted.” I was adopted.

It felt like my jaw came unhinged as the thin piece of paper between my fingers began to shake. I didn’t know how to process such shocking news. I read the first four words in the last line again. “Your mom and I.” That meant neither Dad nor Mom were my bio parents. In turn, it meant I had another mom and a dad somewhere in the world.

My vision blurred, but not from crying. I was seeing stars. I whipped my head at Dad as a ton of questions hit me all at once. Who are my mom and dad? Where are they? Why did they give me up?

He was staring at me, tears flowing freely, with so much sorrow written on his handsome face. Nan seemed to be holding her breath.

I tried to speak, but my tongue wouldn’t work. My mom wasn’t my mom. My dad wasn’t my dad. The two people who had loved and cherished me, who had given me everything I could possibly want, weren’t my biological parents. Confusion spiked through me, wound its way into my brain, and stopped on a flashing neon question: Why didn’t my real parents want me? I didn’t know whether to be sad or angry.

Suddenly, I felt numb from head to toe. If someone stuck a knife in me, I wouldn’t feel it.

“I’m adopted.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement to get my mind to unwind the meaning of that word.

Part of me understood why Dad was telling me now. Part of me didn’t. Anger simmered deep in my gut about why he hadn’t told me years ago. Then what would you have done? Whether now or before, nothing would have changed. You don’t know that.

What I knew was that I loved the man sitting beside me. I loved Mom, God bless her soul. They had both given me a life that was filled with love and devotion. They had given me everything I could have possibly wanted.

They are your real parents.

Yet I was curious about the two people who didn’t want me.

Nan cleared her throat. “Skyler, I can see the war going on in your head. Keep reading.”

Dad typed on his computer. “If you need a break, I understand. But please know I love you.” Then he sobbed, the sound of his crying echoing in the backyard.

My heart broke into a million pieces. I would never doubt his love for me.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart racing so hard I swore I was about to pass out. But I had to be strong for him. I could see how hard it was for him to tell me the mind-blowing news.

I stood and wrapped an arm around him as I pressed my cheek to his. “Dad, you’ll always be the dad I love. You’ll always be my hero. And if I could trade places with you, I would.”

Nan broke into a sob. Dad cried even harder.

I was serious. Sure, my mind was blown, but my feelings for him would never change. He was and always would be my superhero, the man who had taught me how to swing a baseball bat, throw a ball, ride a bike… the list went on.

Nan came over, extending her hand. “Why don’t I read the rest?”

I shuddered, handing her the letter without any protest since I was having a hard time seeing through my tears.

I sat back down as Nan brought her chair closer to Dad and me.

She swallowed before she began reading. “‘Your mom couldn’t have kids, and we tried like heck. But after several miscarriages, we finally decided to call it quits and try the adoption route. The process we went through was a closed adoption, so the records were sealed. The only thing we knew at the time was the girl was young when she’d gotten pregnant.

“‘When I found out I had ALS,’” Nan continued reading, “‘I contacted my lawyer, Mr. Wilson. He’d explained that he could probably get the adoption case reopened since I had a dire medical reason, but that