The Debt

Chapter 1-part 2

My father is an exterminator. How does being an exterminator get you in prison? It doesn't. They caught him drug trafficking while carrying a gun.

I feel so stupid because now when I think of it: everything about him screams sketchy! He always worked at night, got a lot of weird phone calls and I always wondered how he got so much money.

"Linus, don't provoke me." He's always had a short temper, he sounds pissed already! He also sounds serious so for once I decide to listen.

"Remember what I told you? About the drug deal?"

Why does he want to talk about that? He never talked about the reason he got arrested. For a while it was all I could think about, I couldn't eat or sleep. I couldn't believe my dad was a criminal, I became obsessed with it. My dad's in prison and everybody knows it. They would look at me weirdly when I walked down the hallway and talk about my dad behind my back. My grades fell and my hate for school grew. Through time the talking became whispering and everything was almost back to normal.

Well as normal as it could be, he was still in prison and I didn't want to talk to him or visit him. One day tough, my mom wasn't home and the phone started ringing. I knew it was father but I couldn't bring myself to hang up. He told about the drug deal.

'Everyone knows we don't struggle to pay the bills, I knew some bad people and they hooked me up, told me I'd get a lot of money. It was a onetime kind of thing.' He never explained the gun and I know it wasn't a one time.

"Y-yeah, I mean yes, I remember." I try to sound unaffected but fail.

"Since the police got the drugs there was no profit. Now I owe them and you have to pay the debt."

My first thought was: My father is an idiot.

"Mom's been working overtime and double time and I have to find a job just so we'll be able to pay the bills, so sure dad do you want that in credit or cash?" I reply sarcastically. His words clicked a switch in my brain.

There's a silence.

"What did you just say?" he asks with a voice full of anger.

"I said no."

"Linus you don't understand, you have to pay it." His voice was low.

"No dad, you don't understand. We're in a financial crisis and you're asking me for money. I'm going to hang up now and we're not going to talk about this again. You won't tell my mom what you just told me and you'll figure it out." I hang up before he could answer.

I've had weirder conversations.

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Hello, it's me.

Thank you for making it until here! It does get better I promise! I would like to inform you that all "the good stuff" starts happening in the next chapter. 

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See you next time!