Okay so here we find out about Luke's dad, and a bit about Luke's past too.
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Connor was silently following me into the hospital. He refused to wait in the car because he wanted to make sure I was okay. It was cute of him, but I wouldn't let him in the room. Me and my dad needed our alone time.
I walked up to the reception desk and asked for my dads room number before walking down to his ward.
I stopped outside the door and took some deep breaths. Connor squeezed my shoulder for support and told me he'd wait outside.
I grabbed hold of the handle and stood there, frozen.
This was my dad. I hadn't seen him in 7 years. He was dying.
The realisation hit me once again, but this time I was strong. I didn't collapse or black out.
I forced my hand to open the door and forced my feet to step into the brightly lit room.
'Luke. You came.' My dad said, his voice was weak, just like his body. He looked so fragile. His face was lined with wrinkles, his dark hair was gone, his eyes no longer held the sparkle I once loved about him.
'Of course I came. I wanted answers.' I told him, transfixed by the sight before me.
'Come and sit down. I'll explain everything but it'll take some time.'
I walked over and sat down.
'Now Luke, please listen to all I have to say before you ask any questions. It's a long story and I might lose my train of thought if you do.'
'Agreed.' I said simply.
'Okay. Well I guess I should start when I was 18, when I began working for the government. I was a PA, nothing fancy, but the pay was sufficient to keep me alive.' He looked at me and saw my surprise, I had never known about my dads job. 'Eventually I was trusted to deliver messages across the country. Ones that couldn't be passed through the internet or phone lines. Messages that might be intercepted so were encrypted. Messages that required I was trained in self-defence.' He sighed. 'I would have quit, but then I met your mother, and I needed the money, which was more than what I was getting as a PA, to take her on dates and such.' He looked at me. 'Soon after I was trained more vigorously, and sent on more... Dangerous errands. Me and a small team of others would track down terrorists and... Stop them terrorising any more.' He sighed. 'Then I couldn't quit, and I needed the extra money because Lizzie fell pregnant.' He looked at me. 'This was still before your time.' He sighed. 'Before you ask, you don't have any older siblings. Your mother had a miscarriage before you were born.' A tear rolled down his face at the memory. 'When you were 9, during one of my... Errands, someone got away, and I soon received threats of vengeance, including details of yours and your mothers brutal murder.' He looked at me, anguish in his eyes. 'At that I left. It was all I could do to keep you safe. I made it realistic in case anyone was watching. Me and your mum had a planned argument, a rather large on. I stormed out, calling you an accident to make sure anyone listening heard. Then they were following me, rather than you. They didn't think it would affect me anymore.' He sighed yet again. 'Then I got cancer, and it became more difficult to run, so I set up a flat in London. A few months ago, however, it was ransacked, and I still had pictures of you and your mum. I heard you were moving to America and was given a month to live, so I came to find you, and warn you.'
I looked at him, silently allowing it to sink in. It wasn't possible, was it? Oddly though, I believed him.
I nodded and stood up. 'Thank you.' I said. 'And I forgive you.' I walked to the door. 'But I can't be close to you now. There's not enough time, and I can't let myself get close to someone who will be taken from me in less than a week.'
