Fever (#2 of Drunk-Dazed Series)

Chapter 2: Jisoo

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"Daddy, where are we going?" my son Riki asked me. I looked at him in the rearview mirror and smiled. "Remember I told you about going to a place where people would help you feel better?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Is that where we're going?"

"Sure is."

It's been two weeks since Jisoo, my girlfriend and the mother of my child, ran away. Our relationship was starting to fall apart.

We had a big argument the night before she disappeared. I couldn't remember what it was about, but it was something small and stupid. When morning came, Riki woke me up, and he was crying.

"Mommy is gone," he whimpered. "W-what do you mean?" I asked, still half asleep. Riki grabbed my hand, and we made our way to the master bedroom where she slept. When we got there, the bed was as if no one had slept there. A slip of paper was sitting on the bed, and I grabbed it.

I'm sorry for running away, Heeseung; I can't take it anymore. I found someone else who loves and cares for me better, so don't come looking for me.

Jisoo

I couldn't believe what I was reading. I gripped the paper as tears blinded my sight. A small hand touched my hand, and I looked over to see Riki crying as well. I wrapped my arms around him as he cried into my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, buddy; I'd failed you," I whispered.

After that, I decided to sign Riki up for children's therapy; he needed it more than I did. I found a place that was ten minutes from my house and scheduled him an appointment. Hopefully, this will bring his spirits up.

After we got out of the car, we walked hand in hand inside. The place looked like a daycare: posters of princesses and superheroes, toys in one corner, and streamers hung over every door.

We walked to the reception desk, and an older woman was typing on the computer. She looked up at us and smiled. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hello. I scheduled an appointment for Lee-Nishimura Riki today. It should be at four o'clock." The woman typed on her computer for a few moments. "Ah, yes, here he is. You two could sit there; the therapist will call you when she's ready," she explained, pointing at cushion chairs in the middle of the room.

"Thank you. Come on, bud." Riki and I walked to the chairs and sat down. I noticed he was shaking a bit. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Daddy, I'm scared," Riki said. "What are you scared of?"

"I'm scared of talking to the person."

I smiled and rubbed his hair. "There's nothing to be afraid of, buddy. A therapist is a nice person; they won't bite."

"Do you have a therapist too?"

I froze and looked out the window in front of me. "No, Daddy doesn't have one because he doesn't need one."

"But I hear you crying every night as I do. You're sad too."

Dang, he was intelligent. I leaned on the top of his head. "Don't worry about me, son; I'm doing fine." I bopped him on the nose, and he giggled. "We're focusing on you today."

A door in the corner opened, and a lady peeked in from behind. "Lee-Nishimura Riki?"

Riki jumped from the chair and gave me a quick hug. "Bye, Daddy," he grinned, running to the therapist. She extended the door wider so he could walk in. "We'll be done in an hour, sir."

"Thank you," I nodded, and she smiled and closed the door.

I didn't know why, but I swear that voice sounded familiar, like a distant memory from my past. However, I didn't remember the woman at all.

I hated talking about my past, so I didn't think about it. My life as a college student was horrendous. I don't even want to tell Riki about it.

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Was that man out there...no it can't be. I hadn't seen him in years. I don't even want to think about him right now.

Anyways, Riki and I walked into my colorful office. He sat on a comfy chair at the table while I sat on my wooden chair. Once I gathered all of my notes, I smiled at him. "So, your name is Riki, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," the boy nodded. "Oh, you have good manners. I appreciate that." Riki smiled, and I chuckled at the one front tooth he was missing. "Thank you, ma'am; Daddy always told me that manners make people happy."

"What about your mommy?"

His smile transformed into a frown. It was part of my job, but it pained a tiny piece of my heart when I asked these questions.

Riki sighed. "My mommy liked that I had manners too, but she sometimes got mad about it."

"What do you mean?"

"When I say 'ma'am' too much, she always said stop calling her like she's an old lady."

"But manners make you feel appreciated."

"Not her, though."

I took notes in my journal. After I finished writing, I looked back at Riki. "Who'd you played with more?"

"My daddy," he explained. "Every night before we went to bed, we'd play a board game. I always won; it was funny."

I chuckled. "Did your mom play board games with you too?"

"There was this one time I asked her to play. Daddy was at work, and I wanted to play. She was talking on the phone when I showed her the game. I waited until she finished to ask her to play, but..."

Riki paused mid-sentence. "But what?" I asked.

"She told me to get away from her and slammed the game on the floor. I got on the floor to pick up the pieces, but she grabbed my arm and dragged me to my room, slamming the door."

I handed him a box of tissues, and Riki took one, wiping his nose. "I told Daddy what happened the day after, and they had a big fight. I didn't come out of my room the whole day."

"When did this happen?"

"When I was four, last year."

This boy had a good memory, and he was clever as well. The reason he was here was that he didn't want to tell anyone about his feelings, not even his father.

"I'm so sorry that happened, Riki. You must've been scared and confused." The boy nodded. "I was. Um, I don't mean to sound mean, but I don't know your name."

I chuckled and smiled. "You can call me Miss Y/n."

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Riki's my favorite character right now, just to let y'all know.
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