Deception by April Isabelle Ordonez Page A

smile, without saying a word.
    "How are you doing today?" my mom asks Travis when she returns, setting his glass of water on the table and resting her hand on his shoulder.              
    Not looking up from his hands, he nods. "I'm not bad."
    "How is Amanda doing?"
    He covers her hand with his and squeezes it lightly. "Today is one of her good days." So many questions flood my head. I didn't even know that my mom knew about Travis' parents, but it's evident that she does. And she might even know more than that.
    "You know about what happened?" I question, looking up at my mom.
    "Yes, I know," she says, observing Travis with caring eyes. "It’s so tragic, but everything will be all right though."
    Travis' phone rings. He answers it while getting up from the chair and walking away from the table. My mom looks at me and smiles. "How are you holding up, honey?"
    "I don’t know. I'm not sure it's all sunk in yet. I feel like it's so much to even understand."
    "I know."
    "How are you feeling, Mom? Like, how are you really feeling?"
    "Well, you know, I'm not too bad," she says, attempting to tell me what I want to hear.
    "When did you find out?"
    "About three weeks ago. Part of the reason I wanted you, Marla, and Drew to come on vacation was that I wished we could all talk about it together. Marla still doesn't know yet, I left before I could tell her. But Drew knows. I ran into him at the hospital the day that I went in for a biopsy. He's been helping me to understand the test results and such," she says, her eyes filled with sadness and fear. "It’ll be okay though, Ames," she adds, no longer able to look at me. She looks down and starts fidgeting with her dress.
    Moving my chair closer to hers, I lean in and hug her. "I love you, Mom." When I pull away, I see that Travis has returned.
    He places his hands on the back of the chair. "I'll leave you two alone," he says tenderly.
    "No, please don't go," my mom declares.
    His eyes shift to mine,and I can tell by the look on his face that he really doesn't want to g o— and well, I don't want him to go either. "Please stay," I advise, smiling up at him. His eyes instantly brighten and I see a glimmer of a grin form.
    "Is Amanda with her grandma?" my mom asks.
    "Yeah, she picked Amanda up from school. She's going to sleep over there tonight."
    "Then, stay." My mom pulls his chair out. "We can order dinner."
    • • • •
    "Amanda isn't your daughter?" I inquire. We've had a couple glasses of wine with dinner and I’m starting to feel more comfortable having Travis in my presence. Although, the alcohol still hasn't helped me to look him in the eye for longer than a few seconds before I start feeling like a school girl with her first crush. If the butterflies in my stomach would go to sleep or flutter away, I'd be good. But at least my inner voice keeps getting louder with every sip of wine, so the butterflies have seemed to settle for a bit.
    "She's not my biological daughter, but she's my daughter."
    I furrow my brow. "What does that mean?"
    "Amanda is Brian's biological daughter. But Brian hasn't been a dad a day in her life. Amanda's mom, Susanna, died when she was four. My parents took Amanda in, and then I decided to adopt her when she was ten." I’m left speechless. "She's a remarkable kid," he adds, his smile reaching his eyes.
    "She's been through a lot," my mom interjects. Travis nods.
    "She has.” He notices that I’m not sure what they’re talking about, so he elaborates. "Amanda was in a car accident with her mom. They were hit head on by a drunk driver. Their car burst into flames with the impact. Susanna was pronounced dead at the scene, and Amanda was left with third degree burns on seventy-five percent of her body," he explains. "She's had many surgeries and therapies over the last ten years, but she’s so resilient and strong. She goes through it all with a smile on her face." I instantly sense the love he has for her, radiating through his