Patience

Chapter 6 •December 25th•

Chapter 6 •December 25th•

I was at a party. It was like the one I had gone to but panicked and left. This time there was no panic, I was happy. There was a smile on my face, a smile that hasn’t been present for months.

I felt complete, I only ever felt that way around my dad or Tori but they were both gone so why was I happy? But then I saw him, he stepped out from the shadows.

I made a move to go hug him but he stopped me. That look, the look on his face was foreign; it was strange to see him looking at me like that. He looked pissed, no it was more than pissed it was pure hate and anger.

“You are the reason I’m dead.”

I stumbled back a bit; it was like his words had caused me physical pain. It was like a bullet to my heart. How could he say that to me? How come he was acting this way?

“I joined the army so that I could support my family because she got pregnant with you.” He spat out in anger “I did it all for you and repay me by taking away my life.”

“No.” I whisper “Dad-I didn’t do that.” I mumbled out.

He chuckled bitterly “Lies, always lies with you.” He grabbed a bottle of beer that was on the table and began to take sips. “Lies, lies, lies. You are a liar Gabriel. You never take responsibility for your actions and now look at you.”

He smirked “You’re a mess all because you fell in love with a girl, you ruined her life too. All she wanted was to spend her days unnoticed but then you just had to go and notice her. She wanted to die in peace, but then you came and ruined that.”

“The least you could do is read the damn letter she wrote you but you can’t because you’re too scared. You’re a coward and a liar.” I felt a wet tear fall down my cheek, it was a single tear but it made a huge impact on me. “I’ll tell you what.” He mumbled taking a swig of the beer. “You read the letter and we will all leave you alone. You can forget about us, no more hurtful memories, nothing.”

I shook my head “No.”

“No?” He repeated.

“No.” I confirmed “Because if I do that then I am letting you go. These memories remind me of you, I can’t let those go. I can’t forget about you.”

“Coward.” He said stepping closer. “Coward!” His voice grew louder “COWARD!” He screamed as the beer bottle came flying towards me.

On instinct my hands went to cover my face. I was waiting for the impact of the hit but when it didn’t come I moved my hands and opened my eyes. My dad was gone and the party was on full force.

I wiped my eyes with my hands and then moved them but my dad was still gone.

He was gone, again just like that.

“Merry Christmas baby!” I heard an obnoxiously loud voice scream out. My eyes opened instantly as I looked over to see a girl sitting there on Jason’s bed. I guess Jason’s late night screw decided to stay.

I looked over at my iPod to see that my earphones had come out of my ears while I was sleeping. It was still playing music so I pressed pause and sighed deeply as the girl in Jason’s bed started going on about her family traditions.

If it weren’t for her I probably wouldn’t have remembered this day. I looked over at Carter’s bed that was across from mine. He was there sitting up as he texted someone, I could only assume was Faith. “Oh Gabe you’re up!” Jason yelled as he smiled.