The Driven

Chapter 29

Hank.

When his mom told him to pack their clothes because she was moving them to a new city to start a better life, Hank believed her. Why wouldn't he anyway? He was barely ten and was so full of hope. Knowing she acknowledged how poorly they were living gave him more hope. At least the drugs hadn't completely won.

Hank had thrown some of his favorite toys away so his most priced possessions could fit into his tiny box. He remembered he had abandoned his spider-man pyjamas as well. A new city meant a new lifestyle and that was sure to come with better clothes and toys, he consoled himself with this thought so he could detach himself from some of his things. He had no regrets whatsoever.

They had moved eventually but there was nothing better about the new city. According to his mom, she had saved enough money for them to rent an apartment on the safe side of town, only to find out that they were going to be sleeping in a mechanic's shop. She'd reassured him that it was just for the meantime but it wasn't. Where the savings went, he had no idea to this very day, so they had slept on the bare floor in the new city for months.

His mother still continued with her addiction, and he had to enroll himself in a public school he barely attended. He was taking classes his age mates were done with, that got him bullied and he ended up doing some bullying of his own as he matured. He oftentimes bullied before he could be bullied, he was notorious at some point and everyone knew to leave him alone.

The class had given him 'most unlikely to succeed', their guess was that he'd end up in jail or dead after secondary school. He had come close enough so they weren't wrong.

Hank rubbed his face as he relived his past. What had triggered it was Thea's text saying she was coming along with him. She didn't mind where he was going, she was adamant about not being left behind. Hank was more than excited. He had had his fair share of disappointments but something told him this wasn't one of them.

Thea was coming with him and they were going to make it work one way or the other. He was giddy, this was going to be one of the moments in his life where things worked out for good. Hank wanted to call her so they could talk all day but she was out with Jamal.

He was getting updates on how boring their outing was and he stopped himself from encouraging her obvious disinterest at Jamal's plans. When she showed up in the evening at his door step, he took her to the beach as earlier planned.

Apparently, Jamal had taken some days off work but still couldn't stop working. He had left Thea at the cinema to go attend to business in the office.

Thea wrapped her arms around him as they took a stroll on the beach. He rubbed her shoulder while they listened to the waves. They ended up sitting on the sand after walking for a while. Thea smiled at him and he ruffled her hair, she slapped his hand away then kissed him when he acted offended.

"Hank, tell me about yourself."

Hank rubbed his neck. He didn't know where to start from but it seemed fair for her to show interest, especially when they were planning on leaving town together.

Thea took his hand and squeezed. "You don't have to if you're not so comfortable with the topic. You said I could get to know you the other day and I want to."

"It's fine, it's just a lot. My mom didn't do things right while I was growing and most times, I was grateful I had no siblings. Imagining someone else going through the same hell as I did was too much to stomach."

"My dad was almost non existent in my life as a child but I had nannies, did you?"

"Nothing of the sort. We barely had food to eat and on some occasions, I did the parenting."

Hank recalled those times he had cleaned up after his mom, sometimes he pushed her to the bathroom so the cold shower would shake her awake. There was a certain evening he had concluded that she was dead, she was practically foaming in the mouth and he had had to shove a piece of cutlery into her throat so she wouldn't choke on her tongue.

His mom had pushed him to his limit on several occasions, and this had left him too broken to be positive. Joining the army had turned his life around and he had made friends that cared enough about him. Although they were mostly dead, they taught him about love and he had taken the lessons seriously.

Thea's head rested on his shoulder and he snapped out of his thought. "Life has taught me to cherish the happy moments because things could take a wrong turn with the snap of the finger."

"You're right, Hank. I think I'm trying to cherish the happy moments too. I've been stuck in a limbo for some time and you sort of shook me out of it."

"I'm not going to take credit for that, you'd have figured it out on your own."

"I doubt it. Anyway, I'm telling Jamal about my decision tomorrow, I hope he doesn't try to stop me. My dad already knows about us so it won't come as a surprise to him."

Hank sat upright. "Your dad knows?"

"He knows everything, and you don't have to worry. I need to grow up on my own and even if we don't work out, I'll still find my way."

"I don't think I'm worried. Surprised but not worried."

"Don't leave without me, Hank. We'll figure everything else out, but we have to start together."

"That's what I want also, Thea."

They swam in the cool ocean together and left when it got really late. Thea held on to Hank on their way home. The night felt like their last time together and he began worrying that she'd change her mind when tomorrow came.

Hank brushed the feeling aside. Even if she changed her mind, he still needed to find his mom before it was too late. He couldn't have her sick or worse dead while living in another city far away from her. Even with everything they've been through, she was still his mom and she loved him as much as he did her.