Wherever the "Blue" is

Chapter Two

September 16, ????

"Hi, father.... Something wrong?" He timidly voiced as he shifted on his feet, moving forward slightly to close the door to keep the warmth in.

He downed the rest of what was in his cup before scoffing. And slowly, he raised the book.

"This. Roman, what is this? Hm? What did I tell you? Calderai has everything that we need. Everything that makes us happy. I mean, this is our utopia! If we didn't live in Mount Sturlocke, we would've been dead somewhere."

He said as a switch flipped inside him causing his voice to grow harsh and filled with hatred,

"Why do you have to be so....so damn ungrateful about everything?! I work my ass off to provide for this family! Since I was a boy around your age, I helped build this town from the ground up! How inconsiderate can you be?! Answer me!!"

"Joel, please. Just cut him some slack, he's a growing boy and-"

Crack! The cup hit the floor after bouncing off the wall nearest to their mother.

He grunted quietly before standing up and recklessly throwing the journal towards his own son. Roman flinched as it hit him in his head. Shakily, he brought up his hand to the throbbing spot on his head.

"Sophia, this is their problem! Because of you! You wretched woman, don't you understand?! You baby them! This is why they don't trust me! Because you put some messed up idea in their head that there's better somewhere out there! Life is hell and so what?! It's always going to be like that so this is as good as it's going to get! You know the truth just as well as I do and I suggest you find your place before I help you find it. I can promise you that you wouldn't like that."

Roman felt the sting of the threat as his eyes flicked over to where Freya was watching the scene unfold in front of them from the hallway. She looked small. Almost terrified. That she finally knew how her father actually treated them when she wasn't around.

The truth hurts. Now you see it.

His father pushed him away from the door roughly, causing him to fall to the rigid floor, before storming out. Roman felt bad that his mother was on the verge of breaking down. All because of some silly words on some paper.

Almost scared to move, Roman reached towards his journal before holding it close to him. He should be numb to this normal occurrence. But he isn't. When he finally focused on the place around him, he saw his mother cradling his crying sister.

Roman just walked past them. Time was still. Not batting an eye towards them and went straight to his room. He sighed and shook his head before he grabbed some clothes to sleep in.

After getting changed, he opened his thoughts and immediately, tears sprung to his eyes as he saw scribbles over his own writing as well as pages missing.

Why...Why is this like this? Why did he do it?

Roman thought to himself as tears soaked into the pages, causing the ink to embody exactly how he felt.

After a bit, he set the book aside and curled up in his bed, hiding underneath the hand-sewn blanket his mother gifted him. Roman wanted to sleep. But he couldn't. His tears wouldn't allow him to. No sniffling. No heavy breathing.

Just tears. Tears pent up from the years of being treated this way by his own father. This time, it was different. He finally broke something in Roman. And Roman despised the man that helped create him.

The journal was Roman. It's who he is and who he was. And it's gone. Ruined. He wanted a change. He wanted to get away. Far, far away from here.

As the owls began hooting and the rain fell from the sky, drumming on the roof, he had began dozing off. Letting their sounds lull him to blissful nothingness.