Through the Dark | ✓

Twelve

Ethan was in his studio looking over some old drawings.

"Son?" Michael peeked his head, not trying to disturb his son.

"Come in" he looks up from his drawings and looks at his father, "what's up?"

"I want to ask you more about Danielle" Michael has always tried his best to be close to his son, but Ethan always seems to push him away. He's the only thing that he has left from his Mia. But he knows that the reason for his distance is all Marc's fault.

"I don't know much about her myself. She's only told me a few things."

"Can you tell me what they are?"

Ethan places his drawings on the table and walks over to the couch and sits. "I know that her family has physically and emotionally abused her, because her mom was raped and she was the result of that. So they blame her for it. Her step-father, mother and younger sister absolutely hate her and just used her as a slave." He couldn't imagine everything she had gone through, the pain she felt. "When she was young, she remembers a boyfriend her mom had who she considered a father. He loved and cared for her, but her mother hated that relationship, so she got rid of him."

Michael's eyes widened, "rid of him?"

"Not kill him. She sent him to prison for false reasons, and he received 20 years." He tried harder to remember anything else she told him, "that's all I know about her"

"What did you tell her about yourself?"

Ethan rolls his eyes, "all the lies you've told me to tell every single person. Don't worry dad, she doesn't know your dirty job nor how my leg situation happened."

His father slightly slouches and rubs his face with his hands, messing up his hair. "You do know she will find out somehow, living under the same roof."

Ethan sighs, he knew he would have to face his own lie soon, "I know dad, but I'd rather tell her myself than her finding out by someone else."

And they both knew who that someone else was.

"He will not get near her, you understand. I'm going to protect her like my own" Michael arose from his seat.

"Like you did with me?" Ethan whispered, looking at the ground.

He calmed from his outburst and faced his son, "son, you know what happened that day, we both do." He sat back down on the couch and faced his son. "It was all a setup, I was supposed to meet up with him out of town."

"I know" Ethan whispered once more, still facing the ground. He will never forgive his father for what happened to him.

Before, Ethan had a life. He would go out so much and was so adventurous. He loved sky diving and skiing, those are the things he misses the most. He could obviously still do it, but how the doctor said, "it's too risky." He was such a player as well, every girl wanted him. But one good thing came out of this, he saw how disgusting it is to mess with a girl. All his "friends" left him. Carter, who he considered his best friend, had told him "now that you're out of the picture, girls will come after me now."

Ethan decided to be the one to break the silence and stood from the couch. "I have some things to do, so if you don't mind, I would like to be alone."

His father quietly exited the studio, lost in his thoughts. "If only I could go back in time and fix everything."