Dakota

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

The tension present was thick. Thick; like a smog with smoke-infilled air suffocating my already coarse throat. I gulped. But nothing cleared the dryness of it. I was finding it hard to breathe, struggling to even speak with this itching feeling; evidently making me shiver and twitch. 

Pale eyes were staring upon me. The very eyes I was accustomed to in my eighteen years of life. I blinked. They blinked too. Nothing broke it, not even the suffocating tension. We were both fixed upon each other, trying to decipher each other's motives but we were both clueless as to what was going to happen. 

It was not until a soft voice spoke that we tore apart from our gaze. "Noah ..." Dakota said softly. 

I then looked at her, realization that she felt completely lost and awkward had hit me and I suddenly felt awful for including her into my life issues. It was only then that she spoke did Richard realise there was another person in the room. He stared at her with soft eyes and smiled at her.

The nerve this guy had. Treating a complete stranger with more affection than his own son. 

She shook my shoulders, awaking me from my thoughts. She must have been speaking to me but I wouldn't know what about because I was far too occupied with the hatred I felt in my head. Not towards Dakota - never. But towards Richard. 

"I think I'll leave you two to sort this out." She said. I stared at her with a pointed look. She dared not leave me, but she did and I can understand why. 

But before she left she stood on toes to reach my ear and whispered quietly, "remember he's your dad. No matter how much you deny it, he still cares for you. Never take for granted the things you have that others do not." And then she left and shut the door. 

It was only me and Richard. The words that Dakota had spoken to me etched into my mind and at that moment I felt like an idiot. Dakota had neither parents and I - always - put my problems in front of hers. I feel selfish. Despicable even. She has no father. As hard as it is to admit it, I do; even though he's still not a good one, he still is somewhat a dad. And I am still somewhat his son. 

I knew that for some reason, I would eventually regret the words I was about to speak, but never in my mind would I believe that they came out as easily as they had done. I guess somewhere deep in the admist of anger I was always willing to forgive him.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

We clashed at the same time. 

I guess, father and son do think the same. No matter how different we are. 

"Noah. I-I know I'm not a good father."

"You are the crappiest there is." I agreed. His face saddened a little. "But I'm not a good son either."

And then he smiled. And I did too. I think right then we both understood our faults; none of us needed to explain for we already knew. Besides, if we had spoke of our mistakes then that would be remembering the past and we were both willing to forget that, move on and reconcile.  

Right then, we both knew what was the route to our troubled father-son relationship. Neither of us had supported one another when mum died. We lacked in the love back then, especially when we needed it the most. 

But it's safe to say that both of us are willing to restore it in the future. 

Suddenly, my dad started crying. I never cry but I started crying too and then we hugged even though my dad would say it is incredibly unmanly. And I would say I am not one for physical affections but we both did it nonetheless. 

And at that moment, I finally realized how much I had missed Richard. How much I had missed my dad. 

Afterwards, Richard began foretelling me of the hilarious incidents with work and how he had accidentally spilled coffee on his boss and he had fired him. And I had told him how I had accidentally spilled alcohol on this girl who slapped me in return. It was like this the whole night, we just talked and talked. And I don't know how we were able to do it but we were able to reconcile and it was just like the times before mum died. 

"So Noah ..." 

"Yeah dad." I said unknowingly. And once I had realized what I had addressed Richard to, he began to smile not with his lips but with his eyes. I didn't regret saying it either. 

"Who's that girl you were with earlier?" He winked, shooting me a knowing look. 

"Oh shit." I forgot that I had left Dakota. It had been hours since she left the room and I'm not sure if she had left or stayed. "Um .. no one ... just Dakota." I mumbled.

"Don't worry Noah. I approve." He laughed but I simply shook my head in embarrassment.

I then got up and decided to see where she had gotten off to before my dad could barricade me with more questions about Dakota. I found her in the kitchen. Laughing. With Klara [who's baby bump was even more so bigger than before]

"Oh hey!" Dakota waved at us. 

Richard immediately went to Klara and kissed her on the cheek. He then began to draw circles on her tummy. Klara laughed as she said, "Oh gosh she's kicking! Noah come feel." 

I waved my hands in a 'no' form, I didn't really feel well acquainted to Klara and I would have thought that she would've hated me for what I had done to her. But she didn't. Instead she was welcoming me and I wasn't really sure what to think of it. 

"Noah don't be silly. Come here." She protested with a giggle and forced my hand onto her tummy and I was going to immediately remove it if it had not been for the the little kick I had felt beneath my palm. 

"Look! She knows her brother is here." Klara said. I was completely shocked at her words. I didn't even think that Klara would associate me as one of her own, especially with the way I had treated her. Nor would I have realised that Klara isn't as bad as I originally had thought. 

Although the idea of dad being with another woman instead of mum frustrated me. It didn't annoy me as much knowing that this woman was as lovely as Klara. 

"Brother?"

"Well duh. Aubrey knows who her brother is. We've told her everything about our family." Klara explained. 

"Aubrey?" Richard questioned with a smile. "Is that her name?"

"Um yeah. Dakota gave me the name actually and it's rather fitting and sweet. Plus it's different. Don't you think?" Klara said. And Richard nodded happily in agreement. 

"Hi Aubrey." I whispered. "I'm your big brother Noah and I love you."  

She began to kick as I began to smile.