He Doesn't Remember Me

Chapter Fourteen

"My dad." He starts avoiding my gaze after whispering this.

"What?" I asked him wide-eyed, my voice was barely audible.

His father?

I didn't know his father but I just can't imagine a father hurting his own child in any way. That's just...urgh.

He just nodded and released a shaky breath in response. He was having a hard time forcing the words out of his mouth so I silently watched, waiting for him to continue. He didn't for a long time.

So I moved closer and gently cupped his face with my palms before pressing a feather-light kiss at the edge of his lips.

I was satisfied with my actions when his tense body started to relax under my touch.

"It's okay." I caress his cheeks and give him an encouraging smile to continue.

He swallowed a lump in his throat and took my hands from his cheek so he can interlace our fingers.

"My father, he wasn't a.....typical father figure." There was a certain bitterness in his voice, "Honestly, he was an......alcohol addict." I'm not liking this from the start. "First, it was just a lot of yelling in the house but after some months he got fired from his job - something about his aggressive behaviour in the workplace. He was frustrated and depressed so he....started using me as an.....outlet to release his anger." After a pause, he starts again. "He used to....beat me without any particular reason. It wasn't always bad either, he didn't use to behave like a dick whenever he was sober but.....those moments became rare as he lost starts to lose control and couldn't live without alcohol for even a second."

"He starts pestering me to do something, to give him money so he can buy some more alcohol. I didn't want to help him but I was....afraid of him back then so I did what he told me to do." I want to say something to take this pain away from his face but it's like I'm incapable of talking. "I got a job as a waiter at Almond's- I think.....Mr Almond took pity on me when he saw me struggling as a waiter. He taught me how to cook and then offered me a better job....as an assistant chef." He said with a small smile.

My hands were trembling by now but I still kept quiet and let him talk everything out.

A frown replaced his smile again. "I don't know what my mom or Susan saw in him, period." He shakes his head in disapproval. "When Raine was born I was scared that he would hurt her too but suddenly he starts acting like a normal dad.....for some months at least, after that he just flipped again."

It was getting harder for me to control my emotions.

He still doesn't stop. "He used to ask for money from Susan too. I guess, after some time she got tired of it and ran away. Personally, I was never mad at her for what she did but she could have taken Raine from this hell with her." He said with a tired sigh. Voluntarily, I placed my head against his chest - for both of our comforts.

"I remember one time he came home drunk off his ass and start looking for money. He was so careless that he almost threw his empty bottle at Raine, that was the first day I stepped up to him. I hit him hard on the face and he stumbled onto the ground. He stopped tormenting me after that incident because he knew that I would fight back. Then a few days later I got a phone call from the hospital regarding an accident. They informed me that his car was crushed by a truck and there were traces of alcohol in his blood. When they told me he died on the spot, that was the first time in my life.....I felt at peace." I peek through my lashes and saw him rubbing his temple to release some stress.

"Maybe it makes me a bad person to think like that, but I was just glad to know that he won't hurt me or Raine anymore." He sighed and closed his eyes, he looked entirely worn out.