Sparta ~Tommy Conlon

Chapter 23: Hometown

Tommy's POV:

April 01, 2011

I had taken a leave of absence with the military and they all understood. Manny and Pilar were going to look after the house, I was walking down a dark street in Pittsburgh. I had my hands stuffed in my pockets along with a bottle of alcohol and my pain meds. I had walked until I recognized the familiar house. I glanced at it and sat on the front steps and waited. It was a Sunday and I was just waiting as the night grew longer. Finally, I heard the familiar sound of a car pulling up to the house. The door opened as I took another drink of alcohol to wash down the pain killers. He walked out of his car and looked at me for a moment. "Tommy?" I smirked at him since I was tipsy as all hell. "Jesus! What are you doing here?"

I tensed up, "Well, I was just passing through and I figured why not have a belt with the old man."

He chuckled, "Yeah."

I pointed towards the car. "She looks good."

"Yeah, she's hanging in there." He spoke while running his hand over the hood.

"Well, you always did take good care of her." He started walking closer while I spoke. "Paddy Conlon. Man of priorities." He started walking up the stairs while I covered my anger with a smile. "I got a little something for you." I reached into my bag and grabbed a bottle of Jameson. "Mom always said, 'Never go anywhere empty-handed'."

"She did," He spoke with an awkward laugh. "That's not for me anymore, Tommy."

"What? You changed brands?"

He grunted and shook his head. "Let's go inside, huh? Tommy! Come on, let's go inside." He walked up the stairs and passed me. He patted my back and anger surged in me. He opened the door and I followed him in. I set my bag down and started looking around. I took in a deep breath and examined my old home. The pills were making noise from inside my pockets.

"I like what you've done with the place," I spoke trying to keep myself calm.

He walked out of the kitchen with two glasses in hand. "Yeah, I appreciate that."

I kept looking and found a Bible with a pair of glasses on top. "There's not much of a woman's touch around here."

"Yeah, well... and no more women for me, Tommy."

I took my beanie off and looked at the photos on the mantel. "Yeah. It must be hard to find a girl who can take a punch nowadays." The alcohol was starting to take over and was converting to anger.

He handed me a glass. "Here you go."

I looked at the glass and gave him a confused look. "Coffee?"

"Uh-huh."

I gave him another confused look. "You haven't seen a guy in 8 years and you're not gonna have a drink with him? Come on." I said with a smile.

"I told you, I'm off it, Tommy. I'm coming up on 1,000 days." He spoke with a smile.

Mine began to fade, "Come on, it's just a drink."

"No." He walked away and sat down. I nodded and took another drink. I turned around and glanced at more of the photos. There was some of me when I wrestled in middle school and some with me and Brendan. There was one of baby me and mom. There was also one of me and Malia. My heart shattered into a million pieces and I felt anger towards her brother. I picked the picture up and stared at it. She was so innocent, her hair was straight, she was probably 7 at the time before it curled with time. I set my bottle down on the mantel and felt tears prick at my eyes. The last picture I saw, was of a man a little older than myself with a woman and a little girl. I set the picture of Malia and I down and lifted this photo. "He's a school teacher down in Philly." Immediately I knew it was Brendan. "Remember Tess? They had two beautiful little girls." I set the photo down and walked over to a wall with the alcohol in hand. I turned the lamp on and looked at the photos. It was young Brendan and myself, along with wrestling photos. I rolled my eyes and found another photo with mom and I. I picked it up and stared for a few minutes.

"So, you found God, huh? That's awesome. I think Mom kept calling out for him, but he wasn't around. I guess Jesus was down at the mill forgiving all the drunks, huh?" I turned to face my father who had a small smile on his face. "Who knew?" I set the photo down and kept my back to him. "So, you gonna ask about her, or you just gonna sit there all sober?" I walked to the mantle and grabbed my alcohol.

"I know."

I turned to face him with hate in my eyes. "Oh, you know? What do you know? Huh? Do you know it wasn't enough to drive west to get away from you, that once we hit the water, we drove north, too?"

"When I got sober, I hired a man to find you."

"And is that one of the 12 steps? Or does a guy like you get 24?" I took another drink and just stared at him.

"Just 12."

"Did your guy tell you what you needed to know?"

"Just that your mother died in Tacoma. But you were in the Marines. That was all. That was enough."

To keep my anger at bay, I whipped my nose, "Well, that's too bad," I sat down across from him, "Because you could've gotten some good details. You could've heard about her coughing up blood on her knees in a shit box with no heat. Having me rub her down with holy water, because, well, she didn't have no insurance. You know, Malia and I had 3 jobs to try and help get her treatment? All the time waiting for your pal, Jesus, to save her. Did your man tell you that?"

"I'm sorry, Tommy."

I rolled my eyes, "Well it's good to know that you're sorry, Pop. It goes a long way." I laid my head back and shut my eyes. Pop clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I think I liked you better when you were a drunk." My vision went dark and I dropped the cap to my drink that was in my hand.

Malia's POV:

I've been in Atlantic City for a few weeks and it's strange, it's a lot like Pittsburgh which makes me uneasy. We are staying in some hotel until Sparta, apparently, it's the same one that all the fighters are staying in too when the time comes. I was well taken care of, worst I got was slapped once in a while. I had a small variety of clothing to choose from which I appreciated but was still annoyed. There was a day that I tried to sneak out and run but I got caught. They tried to scare me by filling the tub and forcing me under, pulling me up for a few seconds and then pushing me back under. I hadn't attempted to run since it wasn't good for me or the baby. I kept the photo with me at all times, it was hidden and no one had seen it. I have felt a lot better now that I got the vitamins that are necessary. I missed Tommy so much, I hadn't talked to him since that night. I missed his warmth and the way his chest rose when he breathed. His smile was so perfect and his blue eyes were so bright and kind. I was just praying that I don't start showing before I get out of here, that could be a really bad thing...