Burning Coldness | BXB

Burning Coldness 30: Lone Wolves

|LONE WOLVES|

“Andrew, mi hijo,” he addressed him.

“Si padre?” he tried smiling at his father.

Alexandre Harriet was at home this month more than usual. Andrew guessed it was because of the holidays. He didn’t complain however. He had much better relation with his father than his mother.

Despite always being away, he would often try to compensate it somehow. As if knowing he neglected his son made him more affectionate to him during the rare times he was around. However, Andrew noticed he was in his suit, meaning he was getting ready for another business trip. The break was obviously over.

“That was a beautiful rendering,” he clapped a couple of times. “But why do you play Labios Compartidos so much? You’ve been driving me crazy with the song, mi hijo.” he smiled at him teasingly, his accent much thicker than his mother’s.

Andrew didn’t respond, he just stared at his father as if debating what should he say.

Seeing his son looking serious, his father straightened, getting the feeling that something is wrong. Andrew never seemed so distracted, and melancholic. He knew his son was a ferocious little thing and he definitely had high hopes for him.

He was always strong and brusque, a perfect picture of a leader. But now, he just looked like a teenager. Vulnerable, confused, and lost. He noticed the bags under his eyes, and a sad glint to his usually sharp green eyes. He felt a pang of regret for not noticing this earlier, for not being better parent to him.

“Pero qué te pasa, Andrew?” he asked, his voice lower, tentative.

After another painful moment of silence, Andrew finally said so quietly that he almost thought he misheard him. “Labios Compartidos... it reminds me of my love for him.”

His father pursed his lips in confusion, not quite getting what his son is saying. “Who’s him?”

“Nathaniel,” Andrew whispered. “I don’t play the song because of its title, although it is a funny coincidence.” Andrew chuckled humorously.

“You love a boy?” Alexandre asked him gently.

Andrew looked at him in the eyes and nodded. His father notice the emotion in Andrew’s eyes, and realized he was not teasing him in any way.

“So what happened?”

“Aren’t you going to ask me how can I love a boy?” Andrew asked him a bit confused that his father seemed unperturbed by the fact that he just confessed his love for a boy to him.

“No necisito, hijo. Your life is your life, and both of your mother and I had experimented in our youth so we would seem like hypocrites if we opposed,” he said, reacting for Andrew’s cold pale hand. Andrew mustered a small honest smile. Despite being more away than not, he loved that sometimes they would have these father/son moments.

“So, tell me what happened with your Nathan?”

“Nathaniel daddy, his name’s Nathaniel.”

“Well then, there’s two of us...” Andrew whispered, trailing his index finger over the keys, his attention drawn to piano again.

“I lost him daddy, because I’m conceited, self-centered idiot.” he said not looking at his father.

Alexandre moved to sit by his son on the little bench, turning his face towards him. His eyes were glistening with tears threatening to spill out.

“My son, love is never easy. But I can tell you one thing, if you love someone, you should do your best to show it to that person,” he paused briefly as if thinking of something.