The Paralyzed Dream (COMPLETED)

Chapter Eighteen

       "So, one night..." Slade started. Him and Lacey were sitting on the porch swing, slowly rocking back and forth. His left arm was around her waist as she laid against his chest. One of Lacey's arms was around his right bicep; the other was fingering his hand that was wrapped around her waist.

       Slade was about to tell Lacey about a very huge part of something that happened in his childhood. Lacey was thankful that he trusted her enough and felt comfortable around her enough to begin to open up more about his younger days. "It was about a week after my mom left us. My dad had drank the most that I had ever seen him drink. I had tried time and time again to get him to stop that night because it was gettin' really bad. Like...a lot worse than usual." 

       Slade took a deep breath, closing his eyes momentarily. Feeling Lacey give his left hand a soft squeeze, Slade continued, "I had my siblings locked in the kitchen with cartoons on the television. When my dad wasn't looking, I grabbed his bottle of whiskey from the living room and ran to the kitchen, unlocking it as fast as I could. He saw me takin' the whiskey from him, but I was finally able to make it into the kitchen before he could. As I was pouring the whiskey down the sink, I heard my dad loading his gun. We had kept it hidden for so long, but somehow he found it." 

         Swallowing hard, Slade looked down at Lacey' the look in her eye was the strength he needed. "When I realized what was happening, I told the kids to get back and close their ears, so they did, and my dad shot the lock off the door. He would have kicked in the door, but since he is in a wheelchair, that would be hard for him to do. Anyways, when he came in, my little brother, Taylor, told me that he was scared. Well, my dad heard that and didn't like it very much, and he acted like he was about to come after Taylor with a knife, but I put myself in front of Taylor, and attempted to wrestle the knife out of my dad's hands, but instead of succeeding, my dad dug the knife into my arm. That's how I got this scar." After clearing his throat and clenching, then unclenching, his jaw, Slade took a deep breath for the first time. It honestly felt good to tell someone about what happened. 

       Lacey took a deep breath, wanting to say something to Slade about how sorry she was that he went through all of that in his childhood. No one should ever have to experience what Slade had. She was sad that it took this much, but she had finally realized why it was so difficult for Slade to talk about his past. Running a finger over Slade's forearm, she stared down at his scar.

       Slade followed Lacey's gaze down to his arm. Resting his hand on top of Lacey's, he said, "You asked about my tattoo the other day? Well, I have never been able to forgive my dad for everything he did to me, my mom and my siblings. The verses are a reminder that no matter how hard it is for me, I have to forgive my dad. And not just once, but 70 times 7. I just pray that one day I will be able to forgive him because I know that that is the only way I will be able to fully move on from my past." 

            Lacey stared into Slade's eyes that were only visible thanks to the porch light. Slade let out a small chuckle. "I've never told anyone that before." Reaching up, he caressed Lacey's face with his right hand. Slowly, his lips closed over hers in a long kiss. After the first once, Slade pulled back, and rested his forehead against Lacey's, keeping his hand on her cheek. 

           Lacey fingered Slade's hair as she whispered, "Thank you for telling me." Falling against him in a hug, Slade wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead, laying his chin on top of her head. He never wanted to let her go. 

            At least an hour had passed before headlights lit up the driveway. Slade and Lacey still sat silently on the porch swing in each other's arms, even as Lacey's parents parked the truck, spilling out of the cab. Willie and Ryder were the first ones onto the porch. Ryder didn't even acknowledge the couple as he ran inside; the kid never ran out of energy. Willie gave his greeting before following his hyper little brother inside.