Alyssa's Secret by Raven DeLajour

ALYSSA’S SECRET
    Raven DeLajour

    I step into the house after a long, boring day
and I’m tempted to run back out and drive away. I wouldn’t be
running away forever. I just don’t want to see her face right now.
I don’t want to deal with the excuses, the lies, and the fake
apologies. I would never hit a woman in my life, and I never have,
but I would lose my temper and I would probably do something stupid
like smash my face against the wall. Yeah. Not the smartest move,
but what can I say. I’ve been losing my mind lately.
    So when I see our babysitter,
Alyssa, enthusiastically reading to our five-year-old boy, Dylan, I
find myself confused and elated at the same time. If Alyssa is
here, then Miranda is obviously out with her friends, flirting with
men like they are all single and don’t have a family back at home.
Despite my sadness and frustration, I step into the kitchen and
smile at Alyssa before she looks over at me with an enthusiastic
wave.
    “ Hi Mr. Evans,” she says as she
sets the book down. “Look, Dylan! Your dad’s home.”
    I smirk as Dylan quickly glances
over at me and gives me a weak wave. It’s obvious that he’s fallen
for Alyssa. We’ve only had her babysitting for about a month but
she gets along with Dylan so well.
    “ Aw, Dylan.” Alyssa pouts. “Why
don’t you give him a hug? He worked hard all day. He must have
missed you.”
    Dylan shrugs and leans in closer to Alyssa, who
looks up at me with an apologetic expression. I can’t help but
laugh.
    “ Dylan,” I say as I set my
briefcase down. “Why don’t you go to your room for a bit? I have to
talk to Alyssa.”
    “ Okay,” Dylan says before he hops
off the couch and saunters off to his bedroom down the hall,
leaving Alyssa and me alone.
    I sigh as I slowly walk toward the
living room where Alyssa is sitting on the couch. I notice that she
almost always avoids my gaze when I’m around her, unless I’m
speaking to her. I know that she is shy, but I get the sense that I
make her feel uncomfortable. She looks cute today with a pair of
black capris and a black shirt that reads ‘proud bookworm’ on the
front. Her thick black-framed glasses complete her cute, geeky
look.
    “ So I assume Miranda went out?” I
ask her as she looks up at me.
    She nods. “She called me about an hour ago
saying that she had to go out. Luckily, I didn’t have work so I was
able to come.”
    I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m so
sorry, Alyssa. I had no idea about this. If you want, you can go.
I’ll still pay you.”
    She shakes her head. “Oh, don’t worry about
that. I was barely here for an hour. It’s no big deal.” She
hesitates before she says, “Is everything okay?”
    My gaze falters to the floor. “Yes. Everything
is okay.”
    **
Four hours later, Miranda comes home and barely glances at me. But
it doesn’t matter. I’m ready to hang out with my friends for once.
I’m not a perfect person, but for the past five years I’ve put my
family first in front of everything else. That includes my friends,
who always invite me out to the bar. I’m backing out of the
driveway when my cell phone starts ringing.
    “ Hey, I’m driving,” I say as I back
out of the driveway. “What’s up?”
    I hear Gregory’s distinct laugh in the
background as Adam says, “Change of plans. Come meet us at the
Hilton.”
    I raise an eyebrow. “Um, okay. Why?”
    “ Just come here. We’re in room
303.”
    Shaking my head, I fight the urge to argue.
“All right. I’ll be there shortly.”
    I have no idea what my friends could
be up to. Knowing them, they have something bizarre planned for me.
I don’t want to speculate or really think about it, actually.
Because the sad truth is that I have other things preoccupying me
right now. Like the fact that Miranda wants a divorce. She claims
that there’s no one, but I know that is bullshit. I always see her
on the phone, texting someone with a huge smile on her face. I
wonder when she stopped