AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He could barely stand, swaying on his feet like a tree in the wind. It was one of the saddest things I’d ever seen. My father, the man who raised me, wasted at the ass crack of dawn on a Saturday morning.
“Come on, old man,” I said, approaching him. “Let’s get you to bed.”
“Don’t touch me.” He jerked away from me, staggering against the counter. “You’re his now,” he muttered. “Think… too good for me.”
Tears leaked down Mom’s face as she watched me try to get a hold on him.
“Dad,” I said. “Come on, you’ve got to work with me here.” I managed to hook my arm around his waist, but he turned on me at the last second.
“I SAID NO!” he roared, throwing his fist high and wide. It was a lame punch, but I didn’t see it coming until it was too late, and his knuckles collided with my cheekbone, sending a flash of pain reverberating through the side of my face.
“Fuck,” I hissed, jerking back.
“Kaiden!” Mom cried, but I waved her off.
“I’m okay.” Ignoring the deep burn along my face, the anger skittering down my spine, I shoved Dad hard, walking him through the house. I didn’t even bother attempting the stairs, guiding him into the living room and pushing him onto the couch.
“Not my son…” he murmured. “No son of my mine would ever choose… choose that fucking has-been Ford.”
“Sleep it off, Dad,” I said, glaring down at him, wondering where his life had gone so wrong.
So he’d messed up in high school—we all made mistakes. He’d paid his dues and moved on with his life… except, he hadn’t. His hatred and resentment had only festered over time, growing and shifting into something monstrous and dirty.
Liquor only fed the beast.
I joined Mom in the kitchen. “Oh, baby,” she wrapped her arms around me, sobbing softly into my chest. “I’m sorry, Kaiden. I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s okay, Mom.” I hugged her tightly, the words bitter on my tongue.
It wasn’t okay.
Nothing about this fucking shitshow was okay.
“He needs help,” she whispered.
“Yeah.” But getting him into rehab again wasn’t going to be easy.
Mom untangled herself from my chest and inhaled a shuddering breath. One I felt all the way down to my soul. Wiping her eyes dry, she took another deep breath. “Let me get you something for your face.”
“It’s fine, Mom. I’m fine.” But I wasn’t fine. Not by a long shot.
“It’s already bruising,” she said flatly, her eyes filled with regret.
“Yeah,” I said, shrugging her off.
What was another bruise to add to all the invisible ones my father had caused over the years?
* * *
The second Lilysaw my face she paled. “Oh my God, Kaiden.” She reached for my face. “What happened?”
I inched back, catching her hand in mine. “It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing.” Her eyes narrowed with concern. “You’re hurt and I want to know what happened. Did… someone hurt you?”
“Come on.” I took her hand and led her around the back of Bryan’s house to the pool house.
Bryan was already gone, so it was just the two of us. And he was right, I owed him.
