The Faith Of The Dream.

Chapter 13

Cole stared at his notebook, humming. The lyrics were all jotted down along with the notes. They had practiced it a lot, too, today. Music was blasting all day and nobody cared. If his father wasn't home, Cole was sure he could practice all the time. How he wished his father would never come home.

And his and Kai's song turned out to be better than Cole had ever imagined. Really, he and Kai would make a great team together.

"This is going to be perfect," he said, putting the open book on the desk and returning to face Kai. "When will we perform?"

"Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, four months from now, because this song is going to be my final project for a specific subject that I better not explain because it will surely make your head hurt. And, yeah, we are going to perform it." The man strummed a guitar on his lap. His small kitten was playing under Cole's bed, clawing at the dangling sheet.

"That's still so long," Cole said, walking to the side of his bed and pulling the cat out from under the bed. It meowed softly at him. "We have time to make it even better."

Kai hummed. "We always have time."

"I wish I went to the same campus as you. We could work together and study together, and so on." He sat by the bed, holding Skye on his lap. "It's not like my current campus is no fun. It's just, I want to be with you."
His face grew hot after the statement. Heart was racing, and he was trembling now.

"You're funny, Cole." Kai chuckled. "We can always work together even after the project ends, you know."

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Cole let out a bitter laugh.

"Wanna grab a bite after this?" Kai offered, putting the guitar down.

Cole looked at the clock. It was seven PM now. Working with Kai had occupied almost one hundred percent of his mind that he forgot about his rumbling stomach.
"We can order—"

His words were cut short by a shout from the outside of his room.

"COLE!" It was Bentho.
"Why is your friend shouting?" Kai asked curiously. "I know he has a loud voice, but he clearly sounds panicked."

"I don't know." Cole stood from the bed and walked to the door. "Maybe he wants to invite us for dinner."

"Everything's under control! Just... just..." Bentho's voice sounded even more panicking. There were also loud footsteps outside, indicating that he was not alone.

"Please, Lou, just leave him alone!"
Cole could feel his heart stop beating. Cold sweat ran down his neck, making chills crawl up his spines. His hand stopped at the doorknob, trembling.

"Benthomaar, buddy, stay out of this. Okay?"
It was his father's voice. Cold and confident.
Wait. Why is he here? Didn't Bentho say that he left for a day? He shouldn't be home by now!

"I can't just let you destroy his dreams!" Bentho was angry now. "You are his father! You should know him better than anyone!"

"I know what's best for my son." His father's voice was right behind the door. A knock later, he called, "Cole, open the door! We need to talk."

"Hey, it's your dad?" Kai asked.
Cole didn't reply. He was busy racking his brain for anything to say or answer or whatever.

"Cole?" His father called again, a bit louder this time. "I know you are in there. I heard loud music. I just want to make sure everything's under control."

Cole gulped. He did set the speakers to high volume when he was practicing with Kai. He did recite random poems and sing. He did all that his father hates so much.
"Lou, he's just having fun!" Bentho reasoned. "Let him be!"