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BREAK FREE 15 ; 𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐦!
SITTING ALL ALONE IN HIS room was Brian Thornhill as he looked through the photo album of his family. Family pictures and his solo ones were inside, all of them smiling and posing at the camera but their smile not reaching their eyes. Even though he seems happy in those pictures, there was a lifeless look in his eyes that told millions of stories. Penelope was clearly faking her smile in the photographs.
Looking through the photographs made Brian realize that he stopped even faking a smile when his tenth birthday came, due to what and who Penelope made him to be. It's also around the time he completely stopped seeing her as his mother. However, that doesn't mean he has no pictures that he doesn't smile genuinely. He only started smiling when Tristan came into his life.
A knock on his door made him look up and sigh exasperatedly, seeing his father standing there with awkwardness. "What do you want?" Brian asked, annoyance clear in his tone, and closed the album.
Clearing his throat, George enters and closes the door behind him. He approached Brian hesitantly, as if he was scared the blue haired male will lash out at him if he didn't walk up slowly. "Jasper told me everything. Your mother was harsh back there, she shouldn't have said what she said." Sincerity was visible in his tone, which Brian found unusual and surprising for a man who never ever cared for his own son.
"As if you care." The young Thornhill snapped, shooting him a glare. George's lips curved downwards to form a sad frown as he looked at the floor.
Guilt plastered his face remembering how he never scolded Penelope for being too harsh and strict on their son, how he turned a blind eye on her plans to make Brian a perfect shadowhunter against his will, how he never stepped in whenever she used nasty words on him. For the first time, he regrets not caring and being too carefree. He actually didn't know what to explain about his past behaviors and he wasn't even planning to; none of the reasons can excuse how he ignored everything that's happening.
"Get mad at me all you want, but remember that I won't stop calling you my son." He declares softly.
Brian seems to be taken aback as his eyes merely widened, brows rising up, surprised at the term 'son' leaving George's mouth. "You really think after you ignored my cries for help I'll accept you with open arms? That I will proudly call you my father?" George looks down at that, unable to respond. "Don't even think for a second that I'm thankful of having you and Penelope as my parents. My life would've been better if I didn't have you at all."
George lost his words, realizing how much pain they made Brian go through. Although mostly it's Penelope's fault that their son turned out like this, it was also his fault too. He chose to be ignorant. He chose to defend the prejudices of his wife rather than correct it and tell her that what she's doing does not make her a great shadowhunter.
