Unfinished Puzzle

Piece 14

I opened my book and started to work again. The break had been more stressful than I'd anticipated and I couldn't wait to just get it all over with.

A small hand tapped my shoulder. "Brother-"

I clenched my arm, turning with a smile. "Yeah? What's up?"

The tiny girl stared up at me, fidgeting with her hands. "Daddy wants to know when you're done so you can go to the pug and get him his drink. He said he's firsty."

I took a deep breath. "I'll talk to him. Why don't you play outside while I work? Go have fun with the other kids, I'm sure they'd be happy to play with you more often."

She pouted a little. "Daddy says I haf to come back wif an answer or I can't."

"Well, what he doesn't know can't hurt him, right? Go on, I'll cover for you."

She beamed up at me, her smile bright. "Fank you!!" Without a moment of hesitation, she turned and ran out to play.

When I was sure she was gone, I let out a deep sigh. "Dad, I warned you. I told you not to tell her what to do, and to stop talking to her about your drinks." I quickly finished up my work and stood up, walking over to my bow and picking it up. My stomach wrenched as I waited for his answer, which I already knew he'd say.

"Hey, I let you keep her and I pay for everything, you should be grateful! If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be anything. Now go collect the money from your paper and get me my damn drink already!"

I walked into his room, staring at him with contempt. "I'm the one making the money. I'm the one keeping this family afloat. I'm the reason I am what I am today. My brains and my hard working, not your stupid genetics. Now, listen close. I warned you before, didn't I? This is the last warning. Fix your attitude or I'll do something about it myself."

I turned to walk out, heading to the pub, when I heard his reply. "You ungrateful boy! You're lucky I gave a damn about you when you were born or you wouldn't be here to say those things! You listen to me, boy, do you hear me!?"

. . .

I picked Li up and sat down, rocking her. "You can't go inside. Dad's... Gone. And he's not coming back."

She blinked up at me, confused. "Where did Daddy go? Why isn't he coming back? Is he mad at me for playing?"

"No no no, he's just- he's too tired for anything and needs to be alone for a long time. We're having a memorial for him and then we have to leave the house."

_____

It wasn't often that I lied to her, but I did try to keep her from knowing what really went on. From time to time, I'd hear the neighbors gossiping about the yelling that came from our house before Li was born and it was hard not to say anything about it.

She once asked if I was okay. When I asked what she meant, she said the neighbors said they saw Dad strike me once while I was working in the garden. I told her I was fine and we were probably just joking around.

When she was a baby it was easy to make mistakes and not have to worry about them, but when she learned to walk and open doors, I realized I'd have to lock my door at night. She asked once why she wasn't allowed to sleep in my room anymore and I told her it was because the monsters under our beds only liked my room and she wouldn't be safe from them if she was in it.

Even after I put poison in his drink, Dad's laughing stayed in my dreams. Although I was the reason money came in, I figured it would be easier to sell the house to make enough money to properly pay for Li's needs, and Dad laughed at me.

I'd never forgive him, and he'd never let me forget.

I started running out of money quickly and taking care of Li grew more stressful. One night, I left her at a hotel with almost all my money and a note that said to take care of her. In the silence of the dark, I left Mondstadt and set off for Liyue.