One For The Road

Chapter Fifteen

As it turned out, my father didn't actually live in Troy. He lived in the town right next to Troy, one that was closer to his workplace, apparently.

When we arrived at his home, a very large two-story house that was like a mansion compared to my house, I looked over at Heidi, then at Just. I had explained how I had found my father in the cafe after Heidi was awake.

"I want you both to stay near the car for now," I said firmly. "You don't have to stay in it if you don't want to, but I don't trust my father enough with newcomers. I don't need him talking bad about you. I'll be back."

"But we—" Just began, but I gave him a glare that was harsh enough to shut him up.

"I'll be back," I repeated. "Don't come in unless I say you can."

With that, I opened my car door and stepped out of the vehicle. My father was waiting outside of his own car.

"So," he said slowly as he began leading me into his house, "what brings you here?"

"Funnily enough," I muttered, "I'm here to talk about the heartfelt letter you decided to send to us after not bothering to contact us for nearly a decade."

"Oh. That." He opened the door and let me step in before closing it again. "What about it?"

I seriously thought he was joking. "You had the nerve to ask us for money?" I demanded, staring him dead in the eye. "That was inconsiderate as hell to begin with, but you seem to be doing perfectly fine here on your own. Why would you ask my mom, who, by the way, works overtime to provide for the two sons you left behind for her to care for, to give you money?"

I knew I wasn't yelling; my tone may have been stern, but my voice wasn't rising. It still felt like I was screaming the words. They still weren't getting through his dense skull.

"Well," he replied sheepishly, "my boss has a project he wants to get done. We only need about $2,000 more before we have enough funding to finish it." He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I figured you might be able to spare a little bit for me. Hey, I'm going to go change into something more comfortable."

He started to turn away, but I grabbed his wrist. "No," I growled, "you're not. Sit down and talk to me. You haven't done it for seven years. It won't kill you."

I saw a flash of anger pass through his eyes, but he blinked suddenly, and it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. "Okay," he sighed. "Sit at the dining room table."

So I did, taking a seat across from him and studying him incredously. "So," I said slowly, "you mean to tell me you wrote to us for cash for a project that you need at your big fancy job that you get paid loads of money for?"

"It's not the best pay," he mumbled. I waved my arms in disbelief.

"Okay, but it's higher than minimum wage, and that's more than what Mom makes. And you could have at least specified in your letter— that thing was not fun to read, by the way— that you needed this for your worthless job in a worthless place."

"I was afraid that you wouldn't meet with me if I said that," he tried to reason. I snorted.

"Listen, we weren't going to give you money in the first place. I don't think Mom was even going to consider showing up at that cafe. You have no reason to come begging to us after all these years. You should know that. Doing that to us makes you a cruel idiot."

There was that flare of anger, longer this time. "Look," he said calmly, "I spent nine years of your life raising you—"

I slammed my hand down on the table, causing him to jump. "Don't give me that. Don't even try. You raised me for nine years and then left me with my mother like the inconsiderate jerk you are. You couldn't even stick around until Kaleb was born! I was the one who had to be there for Mom. No nine year old should have to go through what I went through!" My voice was getting louder, and I could feel my fangs protruding through my gums as my emotions began to skyrocket. "My family has so many problems, and you're the cause for almost all of them. If anything, we should be the ones asking you for money. You're living all high and mighty here, working for some huge office company and making loads of money while my mother works as a waitress almost every day each week and gets paid less than minimum wage. What made you think it was a good idea to do this?"

"Don't raise your voice at me," he warned, visibly tensing up.

"No!" I exclaimed. "You have no right to tell me what to do." I stood up, leaning over the table and getting as close to him as I could. "I want you to know that you should never ask my family to fulfil such an idiotic request again."

"Your family?" he growled, now on the edge of his seat, getting ready to pounce. "I think you mean our family."

"No. You aren't part of this family anymore. You chose to leave. Don't talk to us again. You have no right."

"I have every right. I am your father—"

"You are not my father," I argued in an incredulous tone. "You are my biological parent, but you have never been a dad to me. And you were a horrible husband to my mom."

That was when he snapped, leaping out of his chair and throwing off his suit's jacket. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled my as far across the table as I could go, sneering at me.

"Do not use that tone," he growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Never. I have authority over you. You think you're so high and mighty. I wonder how your friends can tolerate you."

There it was, setting my chest on fire and giving me the force to shove him off of me, to pry his fingers away from my shirt and point at him accusingly. "You shut up. Right now."

"Why? Because you can't find a better group of friends?" I turned on my heel and started walking, fast. I wanted out. I wanted to go home. I never wanted to speak to this monster again. "You'll never make any bonds with anyone with that anger and your God-awful attitude." I threw the door open, revealing Heidi and Just standing a couple of yards away, two pairs of worried eyes focusing on me. Eugene continued speaking. "I bet all of your friends are even gay. You'll never find a good group of people."

He didn't just say that. No way did those words just slip from his puny, dirty little mouth.

I turned on my heel and narrowed my eyes, stomping back to him. "So what if they were gay?!" I shouted. "Only an insensitive prick like you would consider than an insult! For God's sakes, I'm gay! If they were, too, why would it matter to me? They're good people who are friends with me because they appreciate me, and I appreciate them just as much. I guess you wouldn't know the feeling, you heartless piece of trash, but all that matters is mutual respect and love for one another. I hope you can get your freaking life together before another poor, innocent woman steps into your trap and ends up with a monster. You can b—"

I didn't even see the punch coming, but his fist connected with my nose, and I felt myself staggering backwards in shock.

"Get out of my house," Eugene growled, his hands still curled into fists at his sides.

"Never try to talk to us again," I spat, kicking one of the chairs over before storming out of the house and slamming the door. I could feel blood trickling from my nose as I stepped down from his porch to where Just and Heidi were, their eyes wide with shock and concern.

"Are you okay?" Just asked softly.

"Yes," I mumbled, but my voice cracked in the middle, and I could feel an unmistakable ache in my throat as my eyes filled with tears. "I-I just—" A sob escaped my lips and I bit my bottom one, my fangs digging into my skin. The image of Eugene's flaring eyes and his fists at his sides was etched into my brain, and I could feel myself crumbling under the weight. "Oh God."

And then the tears were streaming down my face, and I couldn't stop them. Heidi didn't even hesitate to bring us further away from the house, finally stopping next to our car and wrapping her arms tightly around me, whispering soothing words in my ear. Just was quick to join the hug, burying his face into my chest. The two of them stayed there as I blubbered and sobbed, unable to even look at his home without a shudder going through me.

I don't know how long we stood there, but we were long gone by the time I stopped crying.

•••

fun fact i wrote this in about forty five minutes,, and i wrote it directly after the last chapter but i wanted to wait to publish it hnnnn

anyways happy early Easter!