Dante Harris was running. Running from an abusive past. Running from a messy break up. Running from the life he left in the small city of Round Rock Texas.
Somehow this small town boy has found himself in the busy streets of New York City, and in t...
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It was safe to say I had no words for what Sammy had just disclosed to me.
Literally none.
"I-" I started to say something, but caught myself. Luckily, Sammy came to my rescue.
"A lot to unpack, I know." He replied, as he finally turned the car on. "It's been many years now, and if it helps, my father was also a pretty shit person to begin with."
That was something I could relate to.
"People got their vices, and liquor was his. He used to throw my mum and I around a lot when I was growing up- real pussy ass shit if you ask me."
I was right now real time discovering that I hadn't known jack shit about Sammy until now.
"He was in business with Jimmy at the time, and Jimmy found out my father had cleared out their rainy day fund with his gambling/alcohol addiction. The night Jimmy came over to confront my father, was a night my father was particularly wasted on... A lot-"
Sammy paused a moment, as he pulled the vehicle out of the parking lot. I waited patiently until he was ready to continue.
"A lot happened that night, but things got physical between my father and Jimmy. Before I knew what was happening, all I heard was a round of gunshots coming from the backyard. When I went outside to take a look, Jimmy was hovering over my father. He wasn't alive at that point."
Surprise. Shock. Anger. Sadness.
I really just felt it all as I heard Sammy tell and almost relive this painful memory. His voice was leveled, but it was obvious that him disclosing any of this wasn't easy. At first, I wasn't sure what even compelled him to share. Sammy answered that question seconds later.
"I know it's all pretty heavy stuff. Like I said, it's been years since. I decided to open up about it and bring you with today, because of how little I've shared about myself." Sammy explained. "It's not that I don't want you to know me, it's just hard to admit I'm quite ashamed of my family. Grayson and Kas ended up taking me in after my mum passed, and I'd consider that to be my true family... so as far as I'm concerned, you've already met everyone I care for."
That last bit made my stomach flip in a good and not so good way.
Really, everything he said had.
It was hard to ignore this feeling of guilt. Sammy had been blatantly honest with me- something I hadn't been reciprocating.
Hearing about his family made my heart break. Just knowing he and I grew up in such abusive situations... that feeling was inexplicable. When I looked at Sammy all I could do was wonder where I went so wrong.
Sammy took that tragic background and made something for himself.
All I did was cycle out one abusive relationship for another.
