Savior || E.D. ||

42: DAD!?

Loreen's P.O.V. 

I feel my heart beating as I approach my former living place, my former home. I dread going inside and talking with my father, even more since I am alone. I don't understand why I cam here without Ethan or Grayson. They would protect me if anything happened. I have my phone, I'll text them if something serious happens. 

The house seems quiet which makes me think that he isn't home. Maybe I should just leave and come back later with Ethan by my side. But I am a strong, independent, young adult and I don't need to rely on someone else for my safety. 

I walk up the sidewalk, noticing that the grass hasn't been mowed in a while. I stand in front of the front door and hesitate. Do I really trust myself and my father to be here alone?  Do I really believe that, if it comes to it, that I can fight my father off? 

I knock on the door and hear the silence that approaches makes me weary. I knock again, louder this time waiting for a response. Nothing. 

I try the knob, testing to see if my father was smart enough to lock the door. He always forgot when I lived here with him. 

The doorknob turns and clicks. He didn't lock the door. But should I go in?

I tell myself that I need to stop questioning myself. I am here to make sure that he is okay and then to make sure that he gets the help he desperately needs. I open the door the rest of the way and I am greeted with a horrifying smell, almost like someone left a dying cow in every room of the house for a month and just let it sit. 

I cover my mouth and cough a bit. I leave the door open to ventilate the house so it doesn't smell that bad. I can hear the front room T.V. on and blaring. The house is dark and creepy and now that I am more inside of the house I can smell the alcohol like a second smell to the house. 

Dying cow that has been sitting for a month and alcohol doesn't make a great smell. I head to the front room, my hand still covering my mouth as I yell, "Dad? Are you home?"

I round the corner to the front room and I see alcohol can/bottles everywhere along with pizza boxes. My father lays on the couch on the front room passed out but he doesn't look normal. He looks stiff like he has been laying there for a couple weeks.

A new smell hits me and makes me turn my head once I realize what it is. It smells like something is rotting and has been for a while along with piss and shit. I flip the front room light on and look at my father again. 

His skin is a bluish purple color and he doesn't make any moves. His chest doesn't rise and fall, showing that he is breathing. He doesn't twitch like he usually does when he dreams. He doesn't wake up and yell at me for turning on the lights while he is trying to sleep. 

All at once, everything clicks together as I understand fully that I am staring at my dead father. I turn my head and puke. It seems like even after everything is out of my stomach, I continue to heave. I feel the tears on my face and my throat is burning. 

Everything makes sense, now that I think about it. The grass not being mowed. The terrible stench of a dying cow that ended up just being my dying father as soon as I opened the front door. I stop myself from crying and take my phone out of my pocket.

I know I should call the police first but my fingers end up calling Ethan. The next thing I know Ethan is answering and I am sobbing over the line to him. 

"Eth - Ethan! Oh my God!" I sob over the phone. "Ethan you need to come here right now. I need you, Ethan. Oh, my God. Please come get me. Ethan, please hurry!" 

He tries talking over me saying, "Babe? Babe?! What's going on? Where are you?! What happened?! LOREEN?! WHERE ARE YOU AT?!" he yells. 

"I'm at my father's. I came here to talk to him," I say. 

"Is Trinity with you?" he asks. 

"No one is here but me. Trinity didn't want to go. Ethan, I need you to get here right now!" I sob again. 

"You're there by yourself?!" he says.

"YES! Ethan please just get here. I don't know what to do!!" I yell and cry. 

"I'm on my way there but I swear to you if he touched you, I'm going to kill him!" he yells. 

I just start sobbing uncontrollably because he didn't touch me but because Ethan can't kill him because he is already dead. 

When I start crying harder, Ethan probably takes that as a sign that my father did do something and he gets angry, "He is so fucking dead! I'm going to kill the son of a bitch for fucking touching you!" 

"No, Ethan. He didn't mess with me. I promise you. Please just get here," I cry. 

I walk out of the front room, hanging up on Ethan, and walk out the front door. I fall on the porch and cry harder. I don't have the courage to call the police and tell them that my father is dead. I came here to get help for him and found him dead. I should have come earlier. 

I don't know why I find myself so upset because he always treated me like shit but he was the only real parent I had left. 

Ethan pulls up to the house and jumps out of his truck. He runs up to me and he holds me tight, "What happened, baby girl? What is going on?" he asks hurriedly. 

"My father-he's-he's," I continue to stutter, not able to say the words 'my father is dead'. I turn my head a throw up again as Ethan holds my hair with one hand and pats my back with the other. 

"Where is he?" he asks. 

"Front room," I say. 

"Will you be okay out here by yourself or do you want to come with me?" he asks.

My eyes widen at the thought of seeing him again and I back away, "No! I don't want to go back in there!" I sob and hold myself. 

"Okay. Okay!" he says, "I'll be right back out." He lets go of me and turns around walking into the house that holds my dead father. The house is like a big coffin for him. I sob into my hands some more. 

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