Road To Happiness ✔

FOURTEEN

A few days had passed since he stayed the night at Renee and Stefan's, and he was back home with his father. They sat in the living room while the news played, not saying a word. It wasn't unusual now. Since the last fight, Hugo's father didn't say much to him. The best thing he said was that he was glad Hugo was making friends.

It wasn't so bad, the silence, but he couldn't tell what his father was thinking. He was still angry about Hugo not speaking, but it wasn't any different to the last few years. It wasn't going to change any time soon, so Hugo decided to just deal with the silence instead of speaking and causing yet another argument.

He missed what he and his father had before his mother died. They got along well, talked about books and tv shows and just about anything that came to mind. When all his friends left him, his parents were the ones he went to when he didn't want to be alone. It sounded sad when he thought about it, but they were the only people he had left at the time.

But then his mother died, and Hugo had been the one to witness it. No child should ever have to watch their parent die the way he had, and it had rendered him mute not long after. The doctors and his father thought it would last a few months, a year at most, but when it didn't, his father didn't understand.

For that first year, his father had been gentle with him. They were both grieving. They both needed a shoulder to cry on. It was different to how they used to be, but it was still good. Then the year had passed, Hugo still didn't speak and everything with his father changed. The man grew angrier, convinced that Hugo needed to speak in order to do anything with his life.

That was when he started convincing him to go get a job and go to university, despite how much Hugo hated the idea. He couldn't be more grateful for Robert offering him a job at the computer repair place. But university had taken a lot more convincing, five years of it. But he wanted to fulfill his dreams and be an editor, it just meant doing what his angry father wanted.

Now the only thing his father had to focus on was his speech. What would he even do if Hugo did finally speak again? Throw a party? Give him a hug? Would things go back to the way they used to be? He doubted it. If anything, his father would lord it over him until the day he died. He wasn't going to stand for it. He loved his father, but he needed to start looking after himself, and that meant leaving.

He tapped on the wall to get his father's attention. The ageing man muted the television and stared at him in confusion. "I have something I need to tell you," Hugo signed, not looking his father in the eye. Anxiety raged within him and he was having second thoughts about telling him. He could take it back and run, but what would be the point? He needed to tell him eventually.

"What's up, kiddo?" his father asked. There wasn't any anger in his tone, rather curiosity and a little bit of worry.

Hugo fidgeted for a moment, debating the words over and over in his head. "I want to move out," he finally said, his hands shaking as he spoke.

His father took a moment to reply and Hugo could see the cogs turning in his mind. "You want to what?"

"Move out. There are places I can go on campus and when I'm finished uni I can move somewhere better," he explained. He hadn't really thought about anything after university, but he still had a few years to go.

"I- When?"

"As soon as I can."

"Do you even earn enough to pay the rent? Those places are expensive." His father was making valid points. He didn't sound angry, just worried for his child. It was going better than Hugo had expected.

"Not yet. I was going to ask Robert about giving me a raise. If that's not possible, then I can look for another job," he answered. It would be hard getting a second job if Robert didn't give him a raise, but he was planning on doing some freelance editing again when he moved out. He might just have to start it up earlier than planned.