My Bestfriend's Brother

Chapter 14

I decided to pay my father a visit in prison today. I don't know how it's going to go but I need answers. I've put this off for two weeks since I've been taking care of Liz with her parents and Josh. I haven't even spoken to my mom! I bet she doesn't even care about me anyway...

I silently leave the bed and make sure I don't wake Liz up as I get dressed. I put on something basic; a skirt and a tank top. I put on my airforces and leave the house. I text Josh while I'm in the cab: going to visit my dad at the prison. I'll be back in a couple of hours. xoxo. The drive isn't too long but I get bored when we're almost there. What am I going to say? Does he even deserve to explain? Thoughts flood my head as I pay the cab driver and step into the prison. Before I give the guard my bag, I see a text on my phone, it's from Josh and it says: good luck :). That's exactly what I needed to hear. I give the bag and with Josh's support, I ask the guard to bring me to my dad.

I'm brought to a room full of rows with booths. I'm not alone; there are 2 other women and 2 teenage boys in the other booths. In each booth, there's a chair, a window, and a telephone on each side. The guard points at a booth and I sit down in the chair as I wait for my dad. Will he be happy I'm here? Will he even want to talk to me? 

When I see him walking towards me I almost gasp in horror. His face is full of bruises and scabs and he has a cast on his right arm.

"Dad!? What happened?" I ask when he grabs the telephone on his side.

"It's nothing. Don't worry. Just some guys beat me up at the food court but I'll live," He says.

"Why'd you come?" He asks.

"I wanted to give you a chance to explain yourself," I admit.

"Oh. Are you sure you want to hear my explanation?" He asks and I nod.

"It's long, so be ready to stay here for a while. So as you know, your mother and I were getting divorced. She told me she no longer wanted to be married to me 3 or 4 weeks ago. She stayed with me during the trip to the lake because she didn't want to hurt you while you were on vacation. The night we got back we got into a huge argument and we knew that dad that we needed to tell you because it just wasn't working out anymore. The fights kept getting worse every time and when you left after we told you, your mother blamed me. She told me I was a worthless piece of shit and that I ruined your life and that she shouldn't have married me in the first place. Those words hurt me a lot and so I was so mad at her and you that I decided to find you and kidnap you so that she didn't divorce me," He looks up at me and continues, "I know it was a bad idea but I was really angry and when I couldn't find you, I went and found someone that would hurt you," 

"Liz," I say with an angry look on my face. "Why would you do that to me?"

"I was broken and after I took Liz and beat her up I finally felt normal again, until I realized what I did..." He says and I can tell he's ashamed, "I really hope you can forgive me, Emma. I didn't mean for it to happen this way and I regret what I did to her. By the way, how is she?" He asks.

"I can't forgive you, dad. You hurt my best friend in the worst way possible! And you know what!? She was so hurt the first few days she wasn't able to sleep and we had to put cream on her bruises and bandages on her cuts to help heal the damage YOU did!" I say, out of breath from yelling.

"I don't think I'll be able to forgive you for a long time. I need to go." I say as I get up and leave the room. I can feel everyone staring at me but I don't care, I just need to get out of this damn place. I politely ask the guard for my things and call another cab. 

The ride home is quicker than I expected and when I get to Liz's house I jump in the shower straight away. It feels like I practically live here now. I haven't gone back home in a while, but I'm planning on going to get my things after I shower. I rinse my body with warm water and aloe vera body soap and dry myself with my towel. I put on sweatpants and a hoodie and walk to my house. 

Thankfully my mother isn't home. I go upstairs and pack my suitcases with my laptop, my chargers, my clothes, and all of my belongings. I drag the suitcases on the sidewalk back to Liz's home. I enter the house with the keys they gave me and bring the suitcases up the stairs and down the hallway into Josh's room. When I enter he's playing video games and I ask him if I can stay with him for a while and he nods.

I unpack my loads of clothes into the free space in his closet and put some of my things on his desk. I shove the empty suitcases into his closet and lie down on the bed. I'm so tired, today was a long day and I don't think I'll be visiting my dad for a long long time...