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'A Broken Past'

A rush of panic and fear fill throughout Cody's body. Cody looks deputy Mason in the face, his expression stern. "Where is he?" The officer straightens himself in his chair, "Cody, he's here." Cody attempts to sit up yet again, "I don't want to see him." "Cody, I really think you should see him. You're going through alot right now. Maybe this could be good for you." Cody glances down and sighs deeply, "Can you and Wess wait outside?" Deputy Mason stands up and nods, "Yes." He walks over to Wess and shakes his shoulders. Wess jumps up, "It's not mine!" he yells as he jumps to his feet. The officer stares at him with a look of concern. Wess gives off a nervous laugh and looks at Cody. Cody cracks a smile and shakes his head. "We should be going." the deputy says as he nods towards the door. Wess looks at the deputy and then at Cody. Cody nods at Wess with approval and with that Wess walks towards the door. "I'm going to go grab a monster and I'll be waiting outside if you need me okay?" he smiles slightly as he walks out the door. "I'll send him in." Deputy Mason says as he follows behind Wess. Cody glances around the room, his body starts to shake. The clock ticks away with every passing second, Cody's heart close behind it. The door opens and Cody's heart starts pounding harder and harder inside of his chest. The light from the hallway creeps into the room, "What the fuck is he doing here?" Wess demands as the door closes. Cody inhales deeply and straightens his posture as he stares at the man in front of him. The once muscular man is now thin and weary looking. His eyes are swollen and have bags under them. "You look like hell kid." he cracks a small smile. "No thanks to you." Cody chokes back the pain. "May I sit?" Cody nods. The chair looks small under his figure. It creaks under his weight. He places his hand gently on the bed, causing Cody to wince. "Why..." Cody clears his throat, "why are you here?" "You must be very upset with me for leaving you." Cody shrugs, doing everything in his power to fight back the anger and pain bubbling inside of him. "It's not the worst thing you've done to me." The man looks down, "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. That's why I had to leave, I couldn't keep punishing you for something you didn't do. It wasn't your fault. I was just broken." Cody sits up more and grinds his teeth, "Really dad? Really? After everything now you feel bad?" Cody lifts up his gown with his one hand and points to a cigarette scar on his chest. "You remember this one? It's from when I got in trouble at school for defending myself when a kid tried picking on me. Or how about this one?" he turns his body in an awkward position and lifts up the back of his gown. A huge scar across his back is imbedded deep within his skin, "Remember this one? This one was because the hospital bill was so high from me having my arm and collarbone broken after being jumped." He reveals another scar on his leg, "How about this one? This one was given to me when some guy keyed the car because you took his parking place." Cody puts his gown back down and stares his father dead in the face. The man looks down and starts to cry, "I never meant to be that way. Not ever. It was just so hard after Amanda died. I couldn't do it on my own." Cody leans back and stares at his father with a sense of pity. "When I left, I went to rehab. I assumed it would help me get out of my vicious cycle. And there is where I remembered what caused me to be the way I am." "Dad..." Cody sighs, "What happened to mom?" His father wipes his tears away and sits up in his chair. "Your mother was so beautiful when I met her. I couldn't believe that I had caught her attention. She had beautiful brown hair and the prettiest green eyes. It was like two shiny emeralds. She had the most beautiful singing voice that you've ever heard." A tear escapes and rolls down his cheek and he lays his forehead onto the bed. "She was so loving and so happy. She saw the beauty in everything and everyone. But one day things started changing. She was different. She became more shy. Quiet even. At night she would cry herself to sleep. I didn't know what to do so I would just hold her until it ceased. Some nights she would wake up screaming. It was so loud at times that the neighbors even called the police." he paused briefly and lifted his head up to look at Cody. "Why would she scream?" "It took a long time for her to finally open up to me and tell me. But when she did I felt so helpless." he runs his hand over his head. "She told me she was raped when she was walking home from work one day." Another tear escapes his eye, "And not long afterwards we found out she was pregnant... with you." Cody's head starts spinning and his heart starts racing fast. And all at once his emotions come flooding through and he starts to cry. "But what happened to mom?" he asks through his tears. "She gave birth to you and loved you from the moment she held you in her arms. But the emotional toll that man did to her was too strong. She had good days, but the bad days were hard. She couldn't even kiss me without breaking down almost entirely. One day I left for work and I came home to a litter of alcohol bottles on the floor and a dead loved one in the bathroom. She filled the bathtub to the top with water and slit her wrists. She just couldn't take the pain anymore. And after I lost her... all I had was you and an obsession with alcohol. And every time I looked at you, all I could see was the monster who took my queen away. And I hated knowing that you were a part of him. But after you beat that kids skull in for harming Sarah, I knew I was wrong. I had to get out of there before I hurt you again." he looks Cody in the eyes. "But when I heard that she died, I knew I had to get back before you did something to yourself. What I did was wrong, and I don't blame you for wishing I was dead. But I'm not going to sit by and watch you destroy yourself. You're all that's left of Amanda. And I refuse to lose her again." Cody nods as he lays back into his pillow. "I get it. You need time. Get some rest. I'll keep in touch." his dad softly pats Cody's leg and walks out. Wess bursts through the door and immediately runs to Cody's side. "Are you okay?" Cody nods, "I'm just tired." "Get some sleep. I'll be right here." Cody closes his eyes and drifts off.

"Cody." Sarah giggles. "What are you doing?" Cody smiles as he traces his fingertips along hers. "I'm admiring the love of my life. Sarah smiles and kisses Cody. She rolls on top of him and when they pull away her face is deformed from the car crash. Glass and blood stain her face as she leans over Cody, "Cody, what's wrong?" She says. Cody screams and jumps up. His heart pounding in his chest. He looks around the room. Sweat rolls down his face and he wipes it away. He looks down at his hands and the handcuffs are gone. He looks to his right and sees Wess curled up in the chair fast asleep. Cody lays back down and stares at the ceiling. "Why do you torment me? What have I done to deserve this?" His eyes fill with tears and he starts to cry himself back to sleep.