Warrior

Chapter 10: Weight of the World

There was a lot on my mind as I drove home from Frank's, it took some convincing but I finally managed to get him to throw me into rotation. He couldn't really give me a lot of attention, he was training Marco Santos's for Sparta. It wasn't a problem, he would do everything he could, Frank used to train me when i was in UFC, I didn't really listen to him, but now it was crucial. My body was sore from the hours of training, I left in the morning and didn't come back till late night. It was my family that kept me going, my beautiful girls and my beautiful wife, God knows I'd do anything for them.

I pulled up at he house and let out a deep sigh as I put my bag around my shoulder and lifted myself out of the car. I walked towards the house and picked up Rosie's tricycle in the front lawn as I walked to the front door.

"Brendan" I heard, and my heart stopped in my chest, I turned around to face my father standing in the middle of the street "it's me, pop" he took off his hat and out it over his chest. I stared at him in shock, I wasn't happy to see him at all, he stood heavy hearted under the light of the street lamp.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, keeping my distance from the old man.

"I have some news for you" my eyebrows furrowed and I kept my cold stare on him.

"Somethings wrong with your hands?" I asked, he looked down at them and I could see the confusion on his face, he looked back at me and shook his head. "If there's nothing wrong with your hands then there's no reason for you not to phone. That's the deal."

"Yeah- I forgot-"

"Phone or mail pop, non negotiable" I spoke sternly but he held out his hands palms down and walked towards me, looking at me with hopeful eyes.

"Brendan, have you ever seen my hands so steady?" He had a small hopeful smile on his face, "have you?" I turned away from him, not wanting to hear anything he had to say, and I wanted him gone before Jade noticed.

"I'm going inside" I growled.

"I've got a thousand days, a thousand days sober today" I turned to face him, narrowing my eyes almost in shock at the man, had he really thought it would make anything better?

"Well that's great, Pop. But it doesn't change anything" his mouth opened a little bit, he was afraid to see me walk away, but he had already lost all of us.

"What do you mean it doesn't change anything, have a heart, Brendan" his words angered me, and I walked closer to him, a ferocity in my voice that I hadn't used since I took my sister and left.

"You listen to me. You take your have-a-heart bullshit and you run it down the fucking road. Run it out on someone who doesn't know you like I do." I could see Jade and Naomi from the corner of my eye peeping out the window, this angered me more, why the fuck would he come here.

"C'mom Brendan, I thought maybe we could break bread... Open some lines of communication" I shook my head.

"You got two lines of communication, the telephone and the post office. Just because you decide it's a special day doesn't make it one for me. I got a wife and kids waiting for me, my little sister that I had to be a father to because of you. So I don't have time for whatever this is." Pop stared at me for a second and looked up at the window at Jade and Naomi.

"I know you got a wife and kids in there. I got a granddaughter I haven't seen in three years, and one I haven't even ever met!" I scoffed, going closer to him and staring into his eyes, he was weak.

"Why is that, pop? Why is that? Do you remember having anything to do with that?" My hands clenched into fists. He nodded, looking at his feet in shame, I knew he felt bad, but that wouldn't change anything. "That shit you pulled. Never again. And all that shit I saw growing up? That doesn't happen here." I felt bad, I did, but I wasn't going to let him back into my life just because he thought it was ok, Jade didn't need that, I didn't need that and neither did Tess and my children. "Take care of yourself" I walked towards the door.