AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am not my father!”
She stands too, following me as I leave the claustrophobic bedroom. I pace to the front window of our little cabin, brooding.
“What distinguishes you from your father?”
Her question, though asked gently, makes me shoot her a furious glare.
“We’re completely different.”
“In what way? From what I have managed to piece together, he only cared about money. How is that any different from the life you’ve been living?”
I can’t even look at Persephone, so I stare out the window as I reply.
“Da was a complete bastard. He embezzled, he lied, he cheated on Ma, he drank every chance he got, he—”
I stop, trying desperately to control my voice, which grows louder with every word. Taking a breath, I calm myself before resuming.
“He beat my brothers and myself bloody until we were old enough to leave the house. He was a terror to everyone that knew him, but he saved his worst punishments for those of us unfortunate enough to live with him. I would never—”
I stop again, steeling myself. I look back at Penny at last.
“I am nothing like him.”
She comes to me, drawn like a magnet to run her hand over my back in soothing little circles. Shuddering, I grit my teeth.
I hate her touch. Hate the fact that I need it. Hate that it feels like a balm to soothe my troubled soul. Hate the way that it puts another chink in my armor.
I stand stiff and still, staring blankly out the window. Just outside, rolling green hills and the blue-black ocean beckon. But I am hyper focused on how good it feels to have her caress my back.
Jaysus, but I have gone soft to my core.
She runs her hand over my back for a minute more before continuing to ask me questions.
“Do you think that your mother was unaffected by your father’s temper?”
I scoff. “No. If anything, she got it worse than anyone.”
Penny’s hand stops moving against my back. “Can I ask… if you know that, why are you so mad that she left?”
“Because I had to stay!” I growl. “She left and never even tried to come back.”
She is quiet for a moment. “Who told you that?”
Looking at Penny with a scowl, I gesticulate. “What do you mean, who? No one told me. I was there. I would’ve noticed.”
She pins me in place with a look.
“You were a little boy. Your father was in control. Your mother may have attempted contact any number of times without you being any the wiser.”
Picturing the mean old man who called himself my father, I can see him lying to me without remorse. God knows, my father did everything he single thing he could get away with.
Why not tell his sons that their mother had abandoned them?
“Hades.”
I turn, my fists clenched, my body ready for a fight. But Persephone just gives me a hint of a smile.
“It’s not easy to think of what could have happened in the past. Especially when you were too young to even know what was going on. I’m not saying that my suspicions are right. I’m just pointing out that there is obviously some kind of critical information that is missing here.”
