ATHENA

Chapter 13

"Gina," my dad cried into the phone. What could possibly be wrong with him.

"What's wrong daddy, where are you?" I asked.

"I-I need your help" he sobbed. He has never called me for something like this before, was this what my mother went through. He sounded so panicked and it caused me to worry.

"Where are you?" I asked once again.

"I don't know" he cried. He doesn't know? Is he kidding me? Was he being kidnapped or something?. There was no way I could find him without knowing where he is. Something struck my mind.

"Can you tell me if you see any store or any diner around there?" I questioned. I could hear some rustling and the sound of wind through the speaker of my phone.

"I see that shop we used to come to with your mother when you were still a little girl" he cried into the phone. I knew exactly where he was talking about but what was he doing there?

Making a u-turn, I drove towards the shop. He was still crying heavily into the phone while I drove. A long drive later, I pulled up to the shop and got out. My eyes immediately went in a search for him. After searching for a while, I finally found him. He was laying on the ground in a dark ally with blood all over his face, his lips was busted and he was shivering. He has been beaten badly but why?

"Daddy, what happened?" I asked in shock as I kneeled beside him. He looked so drained, he was still okay when I left home yesterday. I shouldn't have left him all alone.

"I'm so sorry baby. I know that I promised to stay away from drugs but it was very hard. I couldn't function properly without it. I really wanted to stay clear of it but it wasn't possible. I'm sorry" he sobbed.

I couldn't believe my ears, to think that I believed everything he said yesterday. To think that I believed that he was going to change for me, that I was going to have my father back.

"I went out to get drugs on credit from some guy, I was still owing him some money but I promised to pay everything as soon as I could. He wasn't taking it and he asked me to leave but I couldn't leave without it, so I stayed and begged him to give me that I was going to pay. He said okay, I thought he was going to give me the drugs as agreed but instead he called his other guys and they started hitting me. I was lucky they didn't take my phone. They were the one that dropped me here. I'm sorry baby" he explained

I helped him stand up and assisted him walking to my car. Letting him lean against my vehicle, I opened the passenger side door before sitting him inside of it. When he was done, I closed it and sat down in the driver's side.

"I need help baby." He sobbed "I'm ready to get help. I'll do anything to be a better man, to be a better father for you. I'm fucked up. If I knew this was how hard it would be to leave those things, I wouldn't have tried it at all. If I hadn't turned to cocaine when I lost my job, I might have been able to save your mother from dying. She would have talked to me the moment she started feeling those symptoms. I couldn't even stay by her side at the hospital because I was either high on cocaine or heroine or whatever drug it is as long as it will help me forget all I'm going through. I lost my wife due to my own selfish interest" he explained

Tears are falling from my eyes but I continued to drive. I would've taken him to the hospital but I knew he'd he too paranoid. I drove straight home.

"I called this rehabilitation facility and I think it's the perfect fit for you" I told my dad. He was laying on the bed after I helped clean his wound.

"You're just like your mother. She'll always care even when the person doesn't worth being cared for" he smiled.

"Go to sleep, dad. I won't leave your side" I told him. Tomorrow was the day he would start rehab and finally rid himself of the monsters. She drifted off and I slept on the small chair in the room. I won't leave your side.