How Bad Could You Really Be?

Goodbye Onceler.

My eyes hovered half open as the ceiling rushed past my line of view. How the hell was I moving so fast? My mind started chugging through what happened. I recalled my fight with Greedler. So at least I didn't die. But Oncie, he wasn't going to understand this was he? Someone leaned into me and asked me if I was okay. My head nodded, but I really wasn't sure how I ended up here. I came in and out of consciousness for awhile. When I woke up I was in a rather nice room. I sat up looking around.

"So, you're awake," Oncie's voice called out.

"Hey," I said with a sigh.

"How do you feel?"

"I don't know, I'm kinda-"

"Why did you let this happen?"

"You think I let him do this?"

"Our child is gone now."

I looked over at a large chair where his voice resonated from. I turned my legs to the ground and stood up.

"Don't come near me," Oncie hissed.

"Oncie, I-"

"Don't call me that! I am Mister Onceler to you!"

"What's going on? Did you let him...?"

"Me? You wanna talk about what I let him do? He's made me richer than I can imagine! Finally we could have gone to all the places we dreamed of, had anything we wanted."

"Is that why you did this? I didn't want that," I said quietly.

"He opened my eyes, you know. That you were just leeching off me! You didn't even want to have my kid! Is that why you asked him to do that?"

"What? Oncie, I-"

"You don't get to call me that!"

He shouted and stood up from the chair. The green suit had replaced the more relaxed look he temporarily adopted once more. He turned around to look at me. His face was that same worn down look from a few months back. He strolled over to me.

"Now that you're awake I feel I need to tell you something," he said.

He shoved a piece of paper in my hand. It was a sealed envelope. I opened it to see a restraining order against me. He turned his back to me. Even though I had been hurt because of Greedler before, this just shattered my heart. I stared at the words before grabbing my things. There was a new set of clothes there. He must have brought them before his change of heart. I slammed the bathroom door shut before getting changed. When I stormed back out Onceler was standing there.

"I guess this is goodbye, then," I said keeping a calm exterior.

"Yes. I'd love to say it was pleasant, but you've just kept me from biggering my business. We've resumed chopping down trees."

"We?"

"Yes, my family kindly decided to lend a hand."

"Of course they did."

I threw my things in a bag and pulled it over my shoulder. Just as I reached the door Onceler spoke up again.

"By the way, your father died last night. The house belongs to my company now, so don't even go near it."

My head turned back slightly. What else could I say to him? I turned the corner and ran down the hallway. Not a single doctor protested my leaving this time. I ran out of the hospital and stood outside. A lot of people turned and looked at me. Had I been wearing something funny? No, my outfit was normal. It wasn't until I passed the newspaper stand. There was a picture of me and my father on the front page. The article slandered everything that happened in my family. I grabbed a newspaper and read it. Everything was taken out of context. Everyone stared at me as I crumpled the paper up and threw it onto the ground. I stormed past my house. Two police stood outside, they glared at me as I walked by. I caught their gaze and held it for a moment before I carried myself out of town. There was nothing left here for me. I sought an old friend outside of town. The animals looked weak after Onceler started destroying the forest once more. I sighed and found myself at the now grassy mound where I had buried the crushed egg before we met. I sat by the river which was filled with schloppity schlopp.