When Trouble Comes ✔️ (Republished; Completed)

65 : Ripped and Bleeding

"Father, meet Alyssa Taylor. She's... The one I told you about."

Alyssa's wide eyes met Mr. Rios' and she was again struck with that aura full of intimidation and authority as she stood before him. For a second there, Alyssa merely gaped at him. While dating Jason, somehow she had almost forgotten the scary person his father seemed to be. She quickly composed herself again and said, somewhat unsure of herself, "Hello, Mr. Rios. It's nice to meet you again?"

"Again?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows. "Have we met before?"

Alyssa was surprised, before remembering that an insignificant meeting with a teenage girl had probably left his mind long ago - though he had somewhat threatened her. She thought it better not to bring up those old memories again. "Oh no, forgive my slight of tongue. It was a mistake."

After a moment of awkward silence, Jason sighed loudly before addressing his father. "Dad, she's the one I told you about. I need you to tell her."

His father glanced at Alyssa with an unsure gaze, but finally relented to Jason's wishes. "Well, if you're sure."

***

Jason had left Alyssa and Mr. Rios alone for the time being and hence Mr. Rios began talking to her. "You know, when Jason first told me about you, I was rather shocked. Mostly because he rarely told me anything about the trivial aspects of his life. Therefore, you must've been very important to him to have gotten him to open up to me."

His voice softened as he went further, despite Alyssa's blush at his previous statements. "When he asked me to tell you about his life, I knew there was no going back. Jason is - as much as I hate to say this - a mess. And the reason behind our numerous arguments is that he refuses to pull himself out of that mess. Perhaps that is why he asked me to talk to you about it, because he cannot do it without tearing himself apart."

Alyssa's heart chilled. She did guess - he must've had a hard life, he must've been so broken and unstable. Yet, hearing him from the person who had seen him grow up from birth, it seemed to become even more prominent.

"He was born to an unfilial mother, who left him at childbirth. He therefore, grew up with only me around. I believed I could raise him well by myself, and I did that without much effort. He grew up to be a brilliant child. However, it was already too late when I realized that I shouldn't have taken this child for granted -"

Mr. Rios looked so sad for a moment there that Alyssa almost wanted to ask him to stop. But she knew he had to go on. "We all make mistakes unknowingly," she blurted out, her voice coming out as a mere whisper, but she knew he had heard her.

Mr. Rios coughed, straightening his back. He looked uncomfortable for some time, before continuing, "I - thank you for that. Anyway, to go on, he started going out with the wrong crowd. Please do not misunderstand him because of this. I cannot defend him, but perhaps he had his reasons. He had a hard childhood after all, and he was a teenager.

Anyway, not a day would go by when he wouldn't come home drunk and demand to know about his mother. That was when he was in grade 9. He no longer remained the brilliant student he used to be. I thought that maybe, if he started caring for someone special, he would come back. So I urged him to date a daughter of my colleague, Nina Sanchez.

"Jason was unwilling, but as he later said, just to get me off his back, he started dating her. But a relationship without feelings was doomed to fail. It also sowed cracks in our relationship.

"I believe Jason and Nina were going to my office one day when they stopped at a bridge at Nina's request. Nina was in love with Jason, I suppose she felt like this was her last resort. When he refused to return her feelings despite the corner he was forced into, Nina jumped..."

Alyssa's breath hitched. She had not expected that. And now that she heard it, she did not know what she felt. Her feelings were conflicted. The more Mr. Rios spoke, the more the voices in her head started screaming. What the hell was he saying? A girl committed suicide because of love? That was unbelievable, yet true...

Alyssa's hands turned cold and clammy as she clenched her fists.

"Perhaps she expected Jason to hold her back. But he didn't," he finished, a grave note to his tone.

"Watching a person die and knowing that he was the cause behind it drove him insane. And I suspected - because I knew my son too well - that somewhere at the back of his mind, he had wanted her gone. And that was worse; perhaps his guilt was stronger than his regrets. On top of that, the police were suspecting him.

"His doctor diagnosed him with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. To allow him to seek help away from the influence of the media here, I sent him back to his birth-place, Spain.

"He was admitted to a centre to help him cope with his disorder and we'll, his newly acquired addiction to drugs. But it only worsened. From witnessing murder, he went to being abused at the centre. Abused by the very person who was supposed to help him."

By this time, Danver Rios had his face hidden behind his hands, and his voice shook. Nevertheless, he continued.

"Two years and I knew nothing of it. If only I had known before -

"He became a mess. Worse mental condition, worse symptoms, worse addiction. He was the shadow of the boy he used to be. Pale, skinny, down to the bones and with bruises covering his whole body."

He choked on his sons. Alyssa felt tears in her own eyes. She had never known the pain Jason had been through all those years. This was torture for her to listen to. She could not even bring herself to consider the amount of pain Jason was in.

It all made sense now. That night on the streets, his words to the boy, his bloodshot eyes; his fear of touch, the vulnerability and anti-socialness he was shrouded in. Everything fell into place.

If only she had known before.

Danver Rios continued, "I brought him back but I couldn't keep him in New York, the place of his nightmares second only to his own birth place. So I sent him to Mel's Town, where I knew Mr. Smith and his son, Jaden. Of course I did. After all, Jason's mother had also had a child with Mr. Smith for the same reason she had with me - all for money. Jaden is Jason's half-brother, yes. Though, neither of them know it and it's best that way. I would request you to keep this little secret from Jason."

Alyssa nodded, shocked. Jaden and Jason were - unbeknownst to themselves - half brothers? This was unbelievable. Even more than her and Larson's relationship had been. Though now that she thought about it, she wondered why she was so shocked? It made sense... In some weird and twisted way.

Mr. Rios said, "And so, Jason began his new life. Nowhere near his old self, but I would say it's better this way. I never thought - though I hoped - that he would fall in love, let alone be in a relationship after his trauma. I never thought Jason and my relationship would heal but it has all happened now, thanks to you. Jason has forgiven me for my carelessness, for his mother's a sense, for scolding him whenever he went out of track. And I owe it to you."

"You're a good girl, I can see that. Please take care of him," he said, a small smile gracing his lips. He didn't look like a scary man now.

He looked like a father who loved his son.

A/N : Eh um cat's out of the bag I guess -shrugs-

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