Sam sat in her parked car outside of the dance school, Sarah's laptop on the seat next to her.

She's been letting Freddie believe Lauren was his child while she's sat back and collected fat child support checks for years, Sam thought to herself.

Sarah was evil. It was plain and simple.

It's sick, Sam told herself. To let someone go their whole life thinking he's raising his own child when he's actually raising someone else's…

Now, though, Sam had actual proof that Sarah was cheating on Freddie. However this no longer just involved the two adults. It now brought in a child.

She knew Freddie would be beyond crushed to find out Lauren wasn't his. She knew how much he loved her; she could see it in his face whenever he would even talk about her. And she knew how much it would hurt to have Lauren suddenly snatched away from him.

She felt a lump in her throat as she looked down at her keys, where a red and yellow lanyard hung, worn and faded.

She knew it would destroy him.

Even though it would kill her, perhaps just stepping back and letting Freddie live the rest of his life believing Lauren was truly his child would be the best.

But then again…one day he just might find out, and it would probably hurt even more then. What if Lauren got sick and needed a bone marrow donation or even a kidney from a biological parent?

Sam sighed as she leaned back in the drivers seat.

Should she tell him and bring his world crashing down? Or should she let him live a lie?

She stared out the window, regretting looking in Sarah's laptop in the first place.

Would I want to know? Sam asked herself.

Sam sat in the parking lot for several more minutes, letting the weight of the decision fester. And then, taking a deep breath, she started her car and began to drive.

…..

When she arrived at Freddie's house, she found that Sarah's car was parked in the driveway.

Dang it! Sam thought. I can't just barge in there and tell him with her right there!

She didn't know what to do now…should she just and wait for Sarah to leave? That could take hours.

But almost as if by fate, Sam saw the front door of Freddie's house open and Sarah walked out. Sam ducked down in her seat, watching as Sarah got into her car and drove off.

Sam waited a moment before she sat up again.

It's now or never, she told herself.

She parked her car where Sarah's was, grabbed the laptop and headed to the door.
She tried to calm herself down as she knocked, but her stomach still felt like it was in knots.

Freddie opened the door a moment later, looking quite surprised to see her.

"Sam?" Freddie said. "Er, hi. What-What are you doing here?"

Sam shifted nervously. "I have something really important to tell you, Freddie."

"Oh," Freddie said. He looked down the street, almost as if he was afraid he was being watched. "Well…come in."
"Is Lauren home?" Sam asked softly.

"Yeah, but she's upstairs," Freddie replied. "Sarah wants her room cleaned."

"Can we-Can we talk out here then?" Sam suggested, wanting to avoid having Lauren overhear this conversation at all costs.

"Um…are you sure you wouldn't rather-"

"No," Sam said at once. "Out here. Please. It's-It's better if we talk out here."

"I-Okay," Freddie agreed. "What's on your mind?"

Sam hesitated for a minute before handing Freddie Sarah's laptop. "Sarah, um, left this at the dance school today while she waited for Lauren's class to finish."

"She did?" Freddie said. "Huh, that's strange. She usually never lets this thing out of her sight. Well…I'll give it to her. Wait, that-that's not what you wanted to talk about…was it?"

"Not-Not exactly," Sam said heavily. She looked right up at Freddie's eyes; the eyes that could make her forget what she was she going to say at the drop of a hat back in high school. Maybe it was just her nerves, but they seemed to be working their magic now as well. She quickly looked back down. "Freddie, I-I went through her laptop."

"Huh?" Freddie frowned. "Sam, I don't understand…why would you do that."

"I wanted to get proof," Sam said softly.

"Proof?" Freddie repeated. "Proof for what?"

Sam braced herself. "Freddie…she's cheating on you."
Freddie's eyes widened. "What?"

"She's cheating on you," Sam said again. "I-I saw her with another man one night and a few days ago I saw her kissing that same man right outside the dance school."

"Sarah-no," Freddie said. "No, Sam. Sarah wouldn't cheat on me. We're-We love each other.

"Freddie, it's true," Sam said gently.

"No, it's not," Freddie said. "Sam, I think I know my own wife."

"Freddie, she's never around!" Sam pointed out. "She has you on such a tight leach that she practically controls your every movement!"

"That doesn't mean she's cheating!" Freddie said his voice rising.

"She is," Sam insisted. "And-And it must have been going on for awhile now…"

"And why do you say that?" Freddie asked, crossing his arms. "I love my wife. And she loves me, okay? We have a perfect life together here and we have a perfect daughter together who-"

"No you don't!" Sam blurted out. "Lauren's not your daughter, Freddie!"

Freddie nearly dropped Sarah's laptop in his arms. "She-She's not-That's a lie! Of course she's my daughter!"

"No, Freddie, she-she really isn't," Sam said, trying to ignore how angry Freddie was starting to look. It was unlike she had ever seen him. "Sarah's been getting child support paper from Lauren's real father ever since she's been born. Every month some guy named Mitchel Stellings deposits three thousand dollars into a secret account. Look on her computer! In a folder labeled 'taxes'. Everything's there, you can see for yourself! It's all-"

"I don't need to see anything!" Freddie yelled, catching Sam by surprise. "Lauren is my daughter. I am her father; I have been ever since Sarah got pregnant with her!"

"Just look at the folder-"

"I don't have to look at anything!" Freddie said. "How-How can you-Sarah was right!"

"What?" Sam frowned.

"All this time…" Freddie said softly, shaking his head. "All this time I've been giving you the benefit of the doubt!"
"Freddie?" Sam said, slightly startled. "What are-"

"You really are trying to ruin my family, aren't you?" Freddie said, his voice deathly soft.

"No!" Sam said at once. "No, I'm trying to help you!"

"How? By telling me these lies?" Freddie snapped. "By telling me I'm not the father of my own daughter?"

"I-"

"She was right," Freddie said again. "You-You came here to Texas so you could find me and do this."

"No I didn't!" Sam exclaimed.

"Your own life is so messed up that you wanted to mess up mine, too," Freddie continued. "You're alone! You're-You're a washed up alcoholic who has to have her best friend come down to take care of her still!"

Sam felt as though Freddie had struck her with a knife.

"Well guess what, Sam!" Freddie yelled. "My life happens to be great. Not everyone's is as pathetic as yours!"

Sam stepped back, speechless.

"Just-Just leave me alone," Freddie said. "I wanted to help you, I really did. I tried. But I'm not going to listen to this."

And with that he slammed the door in her face.

Sam stood there for a moment, stunned, before she quickly ran back to her car.

She had tears in her eyes and couldn't get the words Freddie had just hurled at her out of her head.

And they hurt her, she knew, because they were true.

I shouldn't have told him, Sam thought to herself as she wiped her eyes. Now this is just one more thing I've screwed up on.

Sam started her car, still feeling as though she had been slapped, and began driving down the street to the liquor store.

…..

Freddie slammed his door shut, absolutely fuming. He set Sarah's laptop down on the coffee table and sat down on the couch, trying to calm down.

How dare she, Freddie thought angrily. How dare she come here and tell me those lies about an innocent five-year old. Sarah was right about her all along…

Freddie glanced at Sarah's computer. There was nothing on it. Nothing at all, other than her work stuff.

"Daddy?" Lauren said, coming downstairs. "I cleaned my room. Can we play now?"

Freddie stared at her. Her long red hair and hazel eyes were all Sarah. So were her small earlobes, her button nose and her dimples. Freddie couldn't see any of him in Lauren's physical appearance. He knew this; but plenty of kids didn't look like one of their parents and they were still theirs.

"Daddy?" Lauren said again. "Daddy, let's play!"

Freddie silently picked her up and hugged her tightly in his arms. How could anyone suggest that she wasn't his when she fit so perfectly in his embrace?

"Daddy? Why are you acting weird?" Lauren asked.

"I love you," Freddie whispered, kissing the top of her red head. "So much, sweetie."

"I love you too," Lauren said. "Now can we play?"

"Just-Just a minute, okay?" Freddie said. "I'll be up in a little bit. Go get some coloring books."

"Alright," Lauren said.

As she went back up to her room, Freddie's gaze fell back down to the laptop.

There's nothing on there…he told himself firmly. Why even humor her accusation by looking?

Still, though, an odd, curious feeling boiled inside of him.

Slowly, Freddie sat down and picked up the computer. I should check to make sure Sam didn't mess with anything on here, he figured.

So he opened up the laptop, immediately spotting the folder Sam had told him about; the one marked 'taxes'.

It is kind of weird she has a bunch of tax stuff saved here when we have an accountant, Freddie thought. But hey, maybe Sarah just wants to get things in order for him…

So he clicked on the folder, expecting to find W2 forms, lists of deductibles…but he didn't.

Instead there were dozens of forms Freddie didn't recognize. He clicked on one and scrolled through, hardly able to understand all the legal jargon. But at the very bottom, he saw Sarah's name. And Lauren's. And a Mitchel Stellings. Just as Sam had said.

Freddie quickly pulled up another form, which was just as confusing to understand as the first. So was the third. But when he pulled up the fourth, he felt his heart stop. He only needed to understand one line of this form. The line at the top that read 'Biological Father: Mitchel Stellings.'"

"There-This isn't-no…" Freddie said, feeling as though the room was caving in on him. "No…there's got to be a mistake. There has to be a mistake."

Lauren was his daughter. He had been in the hospital room when she was born. He had cut her umbilical cord. He had taught her to walk and how to talk. He read to her every night before bead, knew that she liked strawberry milk better than chocolate milk and that she was afraid of the dark. He had comforted her when she broke her arm slipping in the tub last year and told her that thunderstorms were just giants bowling up in the sky.

He's the one that loved her more than anything in the world.

His whole body shaking, Freddie stood up. The laptop fell from his lap to the floor, but he didn't care. He went up to Lauren's room, where the child was patiently laying on the floor in front of her favorite coloring book.

"You ready to color, daddy?" Lauren asked brightly.

Freddie picked her up again, trying not to think about how similar her and Sarah looked.
"I have to go on an errand," Freddie said, his voice deflated and broken. "I'm going to drop you off down the street with Ms. Barrows. You can play with Mackenzie there."

"Where are you going?" Lauren asked.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart," Freddie said. "Don't worry…Everything will be okay."
Freddie headed out of the room, grabbing Lauren's hairbrush with several long, red strands stuck to it as he passed the dresser.