Runaway - A DEVIL'S NIGHT FANFICTION (PTBR + ENG)

Chapter 26 - Ivar

Nowadays...

I was scared. I would never admit it, not to Nini and not to anyone, but seeing her finally vent about what she was thinking and feeling after the meeting with Evans made me afraid. Once we promised that we would find a way to be together. We tried to fight him off and keep her safe. I promised that she could count on me and my family to help her, but nothing I said was enough to make her stay.

He had found a way to convince her to come home and so she did, leaving us and walking away without looking back. So when I saw her struggling to stay calm, using all her willpower and courage to sit there in front of him, trying to impose her wishes, I also saw that she still felt as lonely as she had four years ago and I hated that.

All I wanted since we met and became friends was to protect her and keep her by my side, but seeing her full of uncertainty and fearing what would happen from now on made me realize that even now, Nini still didn't understand how far I was willing to go for her.

I park the car and go downstairs, walking in silence, using my cell phone as a flashlight and climbing up to the open balcony that was never finished and that overlooked much of the city, to find my father standing there, leaning against the railing with a cigarette in his hand and a beer in the other.

My father saw me coming and also noticed when I stood next to him, but he didn't say anything for a long time.

It's late and the lights in Thunder Bay are gradually fading, but when I received his message telling me to meet him at "my model house", I immediately understood what he meant and I already knew his reason for bringing me there. So I left Nini at home and came to find him.

"When you were born, I remember that I made a promise," he finally began, still looking out over the city. – "I knew I'd make a lot of mistakes and I had low expectations of most things, but my focus was on being someone you could count on. I promised that you would have a present father and that I would be someone you could trust, and I thought I had achieved that. Until today."

"Dad..."

He held up a finger so that I could let him continue.

"Today I was able to put some pieces together in my head. Pieces that didn't make any sense on their own and because of this, I thought that it was a rebellious phase or things of age" he snorted, shaking his head. – "The changes in your behavior, your closeness to Madden, the outings after school, when you only came back in the evening and then... You changed even more. The outings stopped, you joined the basketball team, which you'd never shown any interest in before, and you became quieter, introspective even. Suddenly, it seemed like you were doing it to impress someone. So, I started to make it clear that I was proud of the man you were becoming. And not that I wasn't before, you know I'm very proud of our whole family, but you seemed to be trying hard to prove that you could do it all."

I stay silent and let him connect his memories, because there's not much I can do now.

"And now that everything seems to make sense and have a connection, I can realize how much I missed out on and what I chose to ignore. Which leads me to wonder if I've failed..."

"No," I deny immediately, interrupting him. – "You haven't failed."

He sighs and turns to me, finally facing me.

"So the studio was for her? She's your artist?" he asks, blowing the smoke into the wind.

I nod.

"For how long?"

I take a deep breath of the cold October air before answering.

"Since seventh grade," I say, putting my hands in my jeans pockets.