heart strings♥

chapter 31: Bonding with Father

Marcus sat on his seat, his fingers laced on top of his desk. He stared thoughtfully at his son who stared right back at him defiantly. The brown hair was surprisingly new, though the piercing blue eyes and haughty indifference was more than the same, Marcus thought in amusement. In fact his son's eyes seemed to be radiating fury right now, and Marcus knew it'd be best not to speak yet or his little boy might throw a tantrum. With a hidden smile, he remembered the very last time he had one. It was such a funny yet painful experience. And he reminded himself of how violent this once little boy could still be.

He half expected Alex to go straight into rampaging complaints and demands, but as he also half expected, the boy stood wordlessly, staring straight into his eyes with this air of superiority and scary thoughtfulness. Marcus wondered how Alex managed to get into his office without being seen by Angela, but what he most wondered about was the curious question of why Alex didn't just head for the exit instead of coming here. But of course he had posted guards for that possibility. Yet still, Marcus had thought that escaping would be his son's first priority.

Marcus couldn't take it anymore, he cracked up. Barking out laughter and slapping the desk with his palm in his outburst of mirth, he continued to laugh and laugh at his amusing son.

Alex' lip curled in distaste. He hated being the center of amusement, much less to his father's amusement. He had unconsciously crossed his arms over his chest, looking like a child who didn't get what he wanted, and seeing this, his father laughed even more.

He was feeling a little tired from all the sneaking around so he sat down on the couch and placed his feet rudely and intentionally on the table. Looking at the old man, Alex noticed the visible signs of aging on his laughing face. His hair had more white streaks, his face had more lines than the last time, and he didn’t seem to be as strong as before.

“My boy, it’s been a while since we last met now, hasn’t it?” he said wiping a tear from his eye.

“A year I suppose,” Alex shrugged.

“I see you’ve taken a new look,” his father remarked. By this, he clearly meant the brown hair.

“I want to go back Dad,” his son said.

Lacing his fingers in thoughtful silence, Marcus stared at his son. Finally he said, “Is it because of your girlfriend?”

“She’s partly the reason,” Alex said.

“Partly?”

“The other reason is that I can’t stand you,” Alex grumbled.

Marcus took out a folder from the drawer in his desk and opened it. “I had some friends of mine send me some information on your performance at school, Alex.” He flipped through the pages. “Do you know what I’ve learned?”

“Something amazing I guess…” Alex sighed.

Marcus gave him a wry smile. “You lack discipline my boy.”

“Gee,” said Alex, “Now whose fault do you think that is?”

Marcus looked hurt. “Alex, you know that your mother and I are sorry we’re always not around. We’ve already had years of guilt eating us up. We knew how horrible we are as parents because simply supporting our child financially is not enough to –“

“Alright, I get it Dad,” Alex said dismissively. He was afraid that his father would start crying if he let him continue his speech.

But Marcus wasn’t done yet. “Alex, we truly are sorry for our irresponsible behavior…I hope you know that.”

Alex hated this topic. He found it very uncomfortable and awkward.

When Helen died, his parents came home so suddenly and was suddenly slapped awake of the state they had cruelly left their only child. The twelve year old boy cooked his meals, washed his own clothes, and took care of the house all on his own. He never once smiled when his parents finally arrived. He merely glanced at them lifelessly and continued playing his guitar. Marcus and his wife felt devastated. Since that day, they’ve started to pay Alex as much attention as they possibly could. But Alex had grown up unused to such pampering and he would either avoid them or ignore them. Their sudden change in attitude was bizarre to the young boy. Their actions of caring were foreign to him. And whenever his parents tried to suggest taking him with them, Alex utterly refused. The empty mansion had been his home. It was where he grew up with Helen and played with Raysa. In his young age, he had already decided that he didn’t need parents. He knew that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Though the only thing he needed from his parents was money since he had found out that he was too young to be allowed to have a job.