Chapter 20: the half truth.

Disclaimer: still don't own wowp or the characters except Adawna. Nor the song.

"You think that I'd learn my lesson by now,

you think that I'd somehow figure out,

That when you strike a match, you've found a field of flames.

You think that I'd learn the cost of love,

And paid that price long enough.

But still I drive myself right through the pain.

Yeah, well it turns out, I haven't learnt a thing."

-Learn my lesson, Daughtry

When Adawna was five years old-

When she was five, they finally decided to tell her the truth about her 'daddy'.

"Umm, Adawna, we have something important to tell you." Alex said nervously at the dinner table, sipping a glass of water.

"Yeah?" Adawna quirked her eye-brow. "You have something important to say?" she grinned slightly, amused by the idea that her mother could be serious.

Alex glared at her and then looked at Justin. "Justin I can't do this." She whined. "You have to do this."

"Sure, dad, do this." Adawna said non-chalantly, focusing on her cupcake.

Justin nodded at Alex and looked towards Adawna. "Adawna, listen to me very carefully, okay?"

Adawna nodded quickly, being 'daddy's little princess'.

Justin took a deep breath and finally began. "I'm not really your father. I'm your uncle."

Adawna stared at him for two minutes. His heart started pounding against his chest in anticipation. He was expecting her to slap him, to shriek, to have a yelling match with Alex, or to breakdown into tears, but instead, she simply burst into laughter. "Nice joke, daddy, really nice. You're learning something from mom."

Justin panicked and looked at Alex. Alex gulped. Adawna wasn't taking him seriously! Oh God!

"That is the truth Adawna", Alex snapped, feeling uncomfortable, nervous and hence, angry, "He is your uncle. He's not your dad. And you've gotta stop calling him daddy."

Adawna stopped laughing, and stared at her mother, tears forming in her eyes. "No!" she screamed as she got up from her chair and threw the cup-cake at the floor. "I will not stop calling him daddy!" she yelled, stomping her foot. "he is my father. He is my daddy. I don't care if he happens to be your brother. That's your fault, not mine."

Alex and Justin froze at her words. It wasn't their fault that they were siblings; it was their fate. Someone must have misplaced the words 'brother' and 'boyfriend' while framing their destiny.

"Please tell me I can call you daddy, please." Adawna pleaded, wrapping her arms around Justin's shoulder and crying.

Justin nodded as he returned the hug.

"He is not your father!" Alex snapped angrily, as she stood up, wiped her hands and threw the napkin away.

"Then why didn't you tell me before?" Adawna yelled, breaking away from Justin.

"You wouldn't have understood!" Alex yelled back.

"You lied to me!" Adawna growled as she pointed her index finger at Alex, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Adawna, calm down." Justin tried comforting her.

"Stay away from me! I don't wanna talk to you!" Adawna yelled, running away to her room.

Seven days later

"Come on Adawna, eat your dinner." Alex announced, throwing the door to her daughter's room open.

"No!" Adawna yelled, rolling over in her bed and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Alex finally lost her temper and began yelling. "That's it! You have been acting cranky for the last seven days. You need to listen to us! Let us explain everything! You need to learn to behave yourself! You have no right to-"

Justin placed an arm around her shoulder and stopped her ranting, calming her down. "I'll talk to her… You finish your packing."

Alex instantly relaxed in his arms and nodded. Moving away from Justin was such a hard decision, but that seemed to be the only option at that moment with the way Adawna was behaving. She had to make such a tough choice! She had to put her feelings aside for her child. Justin had instantly agreed to it, even as his heart broke, just for Adawna's happiness. He loved her too much.

Shooting a deadly glare in Adawna' direction, Alex walked out of the room silently.

Justin sighed and sat down on the bed, fidgeting with his fingers nervously. "We need to talk."

Adawna shook her head. "I don't wanna talk."

"Well then, how about I speak and you listen?" he asked gently, lying down beside her.

She shrugged and scooted away from him. That stung him deep inside his chest. Was his little girl starting to push him away forever?

He sighed and looked at her. "Do you want to know about your father?"

She shrugged. "I… I don't know…" she whispered, tears forming in her eyes again. Justin tried to comfort her with a hug, but she pushed him away. "Tell me all about him!" she demanded angrily.

Justin gulped. "Okay." He took in a deep breath, and began narrating a G-rated version of the story. "Your father's name is Mike… Your mom met him during her High School years. They dated for a few years and finally settled down. But… your dad was really mean to your mom, so she came back a few month before your birth…" he took in another deep breath and looked at her, his heart aching when he saw the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks. "Do you want to know more about him?" he asked softly.

She nodded, wiping a few tears. "Why was he mean to my mom?"

Justin gulped. Was he supposed to tell her the sick truth at that moment? Deciding not to burden the already broken girl with more harsh truth, he shrugged. "They didn't get along well."

Adawna whimpered, looking away. "Why did he never come to see me? Doesn't he love me?"

Justin inhaled sharply. Explaining this to a five year old child was so difficult. Maybe they should have waited for a few more years…"He loves you. He loves you a lot." He assured.

"Where is he now?" Adawna demanded angrily. "Tell me where he is!"

Justin gulped hard. The horrifying scene from years back came back to his mind. He could clearly hear the desperate, pleading voice- "Promise me Justin, please promise that they will never know. PROMISE ME!"

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shut the blood-stained memory away. He had to keep his promise. He opened his eyes and focused his gaze on Adawna, who was looking at him intently.

"Your father's dead." He blurted out in one breath.

Adawna froze, taking in his words.

Justin winced. That was not how he had meant to say it! "Adawna, I didn't mean to…"He sighed and started petting her head with his hand. This time, she didn't protest.

"Why did you treat me like your child?" she asked, letting more tears slip from her eyes.

He gulped. How was he supposed to explain to her the fatherly emotions he felt when he first saw her, when he first held her, when she first called him dad, looking up at him with that heart-melting smile, when she first learnt to walk, when he read fairytales to her and she listened attentively, when she fell off the swings at the playground and started to cry?

"I am your uncle…" he said instead. The truth sounded so harsh even to his own ears!

"No." She shook her head, and he forgot how to breathe. "You are my father…"

"Adawna, I-"

"Please, daddy, please don't push me away!" she pleaded, suddenly throwing her arms around his shoulder. "Please let me stay here with you!"

Justin blinked, taken aback. "Umm, We… we thought you didn't want to stay here anymore?"

Adawna pulled back and looked at his eyes. "What! What made you think that?"

He shrugged.

"Mom's idea?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

He nodded, eyebrows creased together in confusion. "Umm… yeah…"

She snorted. "Of course, who else can cause such a great misunderstanding?"

"But… but you said you don't wanna to me?"

"Yeah, I did. I didn't wanna talk to you." Adawna answered quickly, her sobs subsiding. "But that was because I needed some time alone… not because I hate you or something… she just jumped into conclusions!"

Justin looked at her in disbelief. "So, you're not mad at me?" he asked tentatively.

Adawna tilted her head to the side and studied him for a moment. "If I say I am mad at you, will you buy me a cell phone?"

Justin stared at her in disbelief again and shook his head. "No, nothing like that. You're too young to own or use a cell phone."

Adawna groaned and slumped back into the bed.

"But I can get you something else." Justin said, grinning, as he suddenly got an idea. He rushed into their store room and came back quickly.

"Dolls?" Adawna snickered. "Dad, sorry if you lost count, but I'm a five year old girl now."

"Hey, these are special." Justin protested. "I and your mom used to play with it when we were young."

"Really?" Adawna asked, finally showing some interest and grabbing the dolls.

"And I also brought you mom's old doll house." He said grinning. "It's in your play room."

Adawna threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thanks daddy!"

Justin returned the embrace. "So, are we cool?"

She nodded. "As long as you let me call you daddy…"

His eyes filled with happy tears. "Deal." He whispered, beaming with delight. "Now there's one more thing left to do…" he whispered, walking away.

Justin entered her room, closing and locking the door behind him.

Alex looked back at him and groaned. "What is it now, Justin?"

"Stop packing." He ordered, sitting down on the bed.

She looked at him like he was crazy.

"It's all right now." He explained, staring at the ceiling. "She doesn't want to leave…"

"Really?" she asked in a hopeful voice, as she abandoned her packing, got up from the floor, and sat beside him on the bed. "But I thought she-"

"-Stop thinking." He said, glaring at her. "And stop jumping to conclusions."

"Oh." She muttered, biting her tongue. "So, um, I got it all wrong?" she asked, smiling sheepishly.

He nodded, still glaring at her. "Apologize. Now." He demanded.

She quirked an eyebrow at him. Did he really expect her to apologize? Her lips curved downwards into a mischievous grin as she suddenly had a mischievous plan. "I have a better idea…" she whispered, trailing her hands down his fore-arms.

"Alex." He warned.

She rolled her eyes and ignored him, continuing the motion with her hands, her fingers tracing circular patterns on his skin.

"You nearly tore our family apart!" he reprimanded.

"Did you tell her about… us?" she asked hesitantly.

He shook his head. "No… I don't think she can take that… she should never know."

"But how can we-"

"-We have to be careful Alex." He cut her off.

"Hmm…" she breathed, still continuing with her actions.

He grabbed her wrists and forced her to stop, bringing his face dangerously close to hers. Her breath hitched at this sudden turn of control. "Justin…" she whined, licking her lips.

He simply kept staring at her lips, slowing leaning closer. And just when their lips were about to brush…

…."JUSTIN!" she yelled, as he suddenly got up and away from her.

He looked at her and grinned darkly, enjoying the teasing. "Serves you right." He snarled, before walking out of the room, leaving her dumb-founded.

Alex breathed deeply in derision and desire. "J-jerk!" she yelled weakly behind his back.

"What do I name them?" Adawna asked her mom as she walked out of the room.

Alex looked at her face in confusion, and then at her hands. She gasped in surprise when she saw her old dolls. "Those… they are…"

Adawna nodded. "Yours… what did you call them?"

"I named them Justin and Alex." Alex replied, smiling to herself at the memory of her innocent childhood.

"Hello, Justin and Alex." Adawna said, smiling at her dolls.

When Adawna was ten years old-

When Adawna was ten years old, she walked into the kitchen one morning and caught sight of her mother, sprawled on the kitchen table, kissing her brother fiercely, her arms wrapped around his neck.

She gasped at the sight before she could stop herself, and they froze.

"Umm….Adawna.. it's not what it looks like…" Justin stuttered, quickly breaking away from Alex, and mentally cursing himself for being so reckless. How could he let his guard down like that?

"Huh?" Adawna deadpanned.

Alex cringed and jumped into action immediately. "I know it may look like we were kissing… but we were actually practicing….umm… CPR!"

"CPR!" Justin muttered under his breath. That was the best she could come up with? They were doomed!

They both stood frozen, waiting for her answer.

Adawna shrugged. "I'm getting late for school," she replied indifferently, tapping her foot on the floor, "which is fine by me, cause you know me, I don't really like school, BUT since mom's staying home today, I think school is a less scary place."

Justin and Alex glanced at each other, and then at Adawna, feeling totally lost and confused, the initial shame and guilt, being replaced by bewilderment.

"Let's go." Adawna said impatiently, walking out of the room.

"She actually bought that?" Justin asked in bewilderment, staring at the door which Adawna just exited. "It was that easy?"

"I have a feeling it wasn't." Alex said sadly, shaking her head.

Justin nodded. "We will discuss this later…" he said, before following Adawna and walking out.

"I hope so…" Alex whispered softly as she watched him leave.

The drive to the school was silent and awkward.

Adawna turned on the radio in the car, listening to it and humming the tune. Justin kept tapping his hands on the steering wheel, glancing at her nervously, but never making eye contact.

Adawna finally turned down the radio when they stopped at a traffic signal. "How long have you been dating my mom?" she asked, her voice cold and harsh.

And his heart stopped beating.

(A/N: Ah, cliffhanger! *evil grin* It wasn't intended, but I rewrote this chapter and it got too long and I had to split it and, okay I'll stop ranting :P review for faster update! Two more chapters and the Epilogue left, if I don't rewrite it again that is, LOL.. BTW, can you tell that I wrote this angsty chapter when I was super happy? :D)