Receiving

Chapter 5

Riley POV.

One of the prison guards led Father into the room. Thomas, Luke and I are all seated on one side and he sits on the other. I know that Luke doesn’t want to be here but he is so that I don’t do anything stupid.

‘Thomas. Has it been a year already?’ he asks with a smile. This attention turns to me.

I feel his gaze on me. I had purposely chosen to wear a football shirt. It is the team one, blue with red and my name and number on the back, 73. He glares at me and I smirk.

‘Riley. I wasn’t expecting you. How are you?’ he asks with a tone that suggests that he doesn’t care.

‘Well, I’m part of the school football team’ I smirked.

‘What about dance, music and cheerleading?’ he asked.

‘I stopped that when I was eight. You should know that but it would mean that you actually pay attention to me’

‘What did I tell you about the football team?’

‘You told me never to play because you didn’t want me to get hurt’ I sneered.

‘I didn’t’

‘Yeah right. You never cared about me until it came to playing a man’s sport. Then you didn’t want me because you are an idiot’

‘Why couldn’t you be like your brother?’

‘Because to be like my brother I would have to have parents that cared about me and I never had that’ I snapped. I have been angry about this for about 12 years.

‘We tried Riley but you pushed us away’

‘Don’t Riley me. You didn’t even want me. Father’s that actually care about their child don’t hit them’ I snapped. Out of the corner of my eye I say Luke’s react. He looked shocked. I turned and saw that Thomas was too.

‘I wanted you. I know lots about you’ he smirked.

‘Fine. What’s my favourite colour?’ I asked.

‘Pink’. No hesitation.

‘Nope. Maybe if I acted like a girl but I don’t so’

‘Riley. Don’t be difficult’ he said.

‘Enough about me. Are you feeling remorseful for the murder yet?’ I asked with mock concern.

‘I have told you so many times. I did not kill your Mother’

‘That’s not what the medical advice said. What about the other two murders?’

‘I didn’t kill anyone’

‘And this is why I don’t visit you. It is someone that tries to sound innocence and then keeps insulting me and reminding me of things that I really don’t want to’ I said with an icy laugh.

‘Riley. I’m trying to be a good father, especially by making sure you don’t play football but I can’t if you don’t believe me’ he said. He may have said something else but I was already out the door.

Thomas and Luke stayed inside. Luke told me later that Thomas was telling him about football. I was quite glad I left. He said that he would have liked to leave but it would have been suspicious so he had to stay.

It has been awkward between me and Thomas all weekend. It is Monday now and he is still badgering me about the football thing. He is and always will be a Daddy’s boy. He believes that whatever comes out of his mouth is true. He is trying to make me stop playing.