Too Good To Be True: A Tyler Hoechlin Love Story

Chapter 15: The Journey Home

"Oh my gosh, I called him four times already. He won't pick up!" I said frustrated. 

"Did you call Katherine yet?" Chris commented.

"Of course, she is my best friend." I replied. 

"Well did she answer?"

"No.." I confessed. I looked out the window and saw a sign saying 'You are now in Las Vegas.' How long have we been in this car? I have to pee..

"Look, we are almost home. Can you just stick it out till we get there?" He begged. It was almost as if he just had read my mind.

"How far is almost home to be exact?" I asked not really wanting to answer. Las Vegas is still pretty far from California.

"We have exactly five hours and thirty five minutes left, if traffic is good." He read off of his GPS.

"Oh my, I have no idea how you do this every weekend to be honest. This is a really really long drive. I can't believe your parents let you do this." I told him.

"I already told you why. I don't like staying with my parents. I try to get away as much as I can." He said bluntly.

I sighed. "Chris, who do you talk to about this?" 

"No one really." He responded quickly.

"Well, we have five hours more in this car ride together. The radio signal isn't working, so you might as well start spilling the beans to me. Who knows it might help you, my mom thinks I would be a good therapist." 

"I really don't like talking about it Ally." He said sheepishly.

"Look, I am here for you. You are here for me. I will listen, I will only listen. I promise I will not judge or ask any questions at all. Only if you let me." I suggested.

Chris stared at the road ahead of him, keeping his eyes only focused on that. The expression on his face turned blank. He still wore the beanie over his golden brown, shaggy hair. He gripped the steering wheel with his hands until his fists turned white. He took a very deep breathe in and out, and then said, "Okay, only on one condition." 

"What's that?" I answered quickly.

"You have to look at me the way you always have after I tell you." Chris had a very serious expression on his face. He looked like he was in deep thought.

"Of course. I promise." I urged.

"Ever since I could remember my dad was an alcoholic, but when I was seven I remember my dad took his drinking way too far one night. He yelled at me for no reason. He called me useless and told me I will never be anything important when I am older. He told me he wished I was more like my older brother, Nathan, who was always the one in the family who everyone loved. Not me though, I was more like the outcast of the family. I remember I ran away from him. Tears were rushing down my face and I called for my mom but she was no where to be found. I called for Nathaniel, but he was gone, too. So, I locked myself in the bathroom, but he had the key. My dad, um, h-he unlocked the door, whilst I was still scared to death. I had never seen a side of him like that. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and threw me to the ground. Blood was rushing down my forehead, and it hurt so bad. I have a scar from it." He pulled up his beanie revealing the scar. I gasped and put my hand over my mouth. 

"Oh my God." My eyes were starting to get glassy. Just listening to this story made me want to cry, and it did not even happen to me. He looked at me. "Go on. Im sorry." 

"So anyways, he had a bottle of vodka in his hand. He smashed the bottle into my head. I can still feel the blood rushing down into my head. Then, I heard a voice. It was my mom's. She was screaming for him to stop. All I could hear her say was stop, what have you done. What are you doing? Leave him alone!" He stopped. His voice started to shake. "I-I was laying on the floor. I couldn't get up. My head was pounding so hard. It felt like I had like a thousand needles in my head. My dad shouted at my mom. Something I don't remember- I probably don't want to remember it. Then my mom shouted something back. But my dad grabbed something out of his pocket. He pulled out a knife and stabbed my mom in the back with it. All I could hear was the sound of my mother's wailing cries on the floor next to me. My brother came back home, I don't even know where he was. He rushed us both to the hospital. Thank God for him, she probably would have d-died." His voice cracked. I could see the tears running down his cheeks. I reached for his hand as he went on. "I eventually healed, but my mother- she is paralyzed from the waist down. She lost all feeling in her body. She can't communicate properly anymore. She can't even feed herself. I visit her every day during the week in the mental hospital she stays at. But since my mother can't talk and perform like normal acts anymore, she could never file a divorce. So I still live with my Dad and you can probably imagine what he still does to me and my brother. We have matching scars to prove it." He pushed up his sleeve. A tear dripped down his face. He had a small purple mark that showed me exactly what he was talking about. I put a hand over my mouth trying to refrain myself from crying, yet again.