Hale Daughter

[126]

Eli and I are to our room and we are watching a movie when Derek and my dad enter our room. I pause the movie and we look at them.

"We are going to buy stuff for the house. Need anything?" Derek asks us.

"Nope" Eli and I say at the same time.

"See you" my dad says and they both walk away.

I press play again but the movie ends. Great. We turn off the TV and lay to our beds.

"Yn?" I hear Eli calling for me.

"Yeah" I replied to him.

"Can you tell me how my dad was with you before I came here?".

"It's not that different to be honest but ... Derek cares for you and worries really much. He hates when I'm not thinking before I do something. He always hated it about me. Derek was ... " I take a minute to think about it as flashbacks are coming to my mind. "Derek was calmer. Not at all but ... Somehow calmer. He was training me more often but now we are arguing most of the time so ... Yeah. He had multiple ways of punishing me when I was doing wrong stuff. When I was doing bullshits more likely".

"Like what?".

"I remember one of his really well. He was calling it the 'daily routine'. He was driving me to school and then back home, giving me for lunch everything that I hated for food and then I had to study for the next day at school. If he was relaxing, even a little, he was training me. This punishment went on for like 10 days. Maybe a little less".

"Didn't it work?".

"Well it was the time that I had a few mental health problems and I was going to my psychologist really often. More often than I do now. I remember that I was pissed with Derek and I went to our old house. The one that Harlan and Luna are living in now. The basement has some really nice walls to punch if you want but it can hurt you really bad either".

"You punched the walls. Right?".

"Yeah".

"Did my dad find you?".

"No actually. When I heard him upstairs, I ran away. I jumped out of the window and went to the river. Argent found me".

"What did he do to you? Argent".

"Well because my hands and stomach were bleeding, he got me to the hospital".

"Stomach? Why?".

"I kind of hit myself in my stomach quite hard and hurt myself like that".

"That sucks".

"You can't imagine".

"Either way, I can't understand how that stopped your punishment. My dad would be really angry with you. That you ran away from the house, hurt yourself. Wasn't he angry?".

"Well he was really worried actually".

"Worried?".

"I never acted like that before and he knew that something was wrong. Melissa treated me quite well but I couldn't heal".

"Why not?".

"Because I was in pain. Your dad took my pain and lost his Alpha because of that".

"Oh shit".

"You can't imagine. Melissa gave me a few pills so I can control my ... IED and the bipolar ... " I take a deep breath. "Anyway. The pills didn't help me. I fainted when I was at school and I didn't take other pills. That made Derek to stop my punishment. It stopped the day that I first took the pills".

"He cared really much for you".

"He still does. Even if he doesn't show it that much".

"You think so?".

"Oh I know so. Derek doesn't like showing his emotions. Especially happiness".

"But he does show it".

"Because you're here".

"I can't understand".

"You changed him, Eli. Derek became someone else since you came here. He has a son. A really good son and he is trying his best to do everything correctly".

"I can feel that though" we hear the front door opening.

"YN?" I hear my dad calling for me.

"COMING. Be right back, buddy" I say to Eli and walk outside. "Yeah. You need help with the stuff?".

"No. Come with me for a second" my dad says and goes to his room. I follow him and enter his room too while I close the door behind me.

"What happened? Did I do something?".

"Of course not. I umm ... Derek and I were talking and I have to ask you about your ... School".

"What about my school?".

"Will you finish it?".

"Hell yeah I will" he sighs in relief.

"Great. And umm ... Will you go to university or in college?".

"Yeah. Why?".

"Nothing. That's what I wanted to know".

"I'm searching for colleges though. Don't worry. I will go".

"I just thought that you didn't want to go".

"Well it's not an easy choice. I'm not completely sure yet but ... I can't give up on that too".

"What do you mean?".

"I gave up on you and we fought. For days. If I give up on college too, then I'm hundred percent sure that I'll never learn how to survive alone".

"I don't know to take that though but I'm happy that you are thinking of going".

"We will see, in a few months".

"Alright then".