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He snorted and moved aside I walked past him, inside the foyer

I hadn’t been there in years Our everytook place somewhere neutral, like a bar, or my office I finally realized why that was: I wasn’t welcome at the house I’d never been welco for hi room Closest to the front door He wanted this over as fast as possible

In, then out

I sat down on the cold leather sofa Flashbacks of being yelled at for entering this roo upstairs with Alex huddled inas dad beat the shit out of her for ‘not controlling her sons’

“Drink?”a bottle of scotch I nodded He handed it to me wordlessly and sat down opposite h he were talking to a business college, not his son

I toyed with the glass in ether the words I wanted to say ina deep breath, I began to speak

“I want to knohy,” I said si, butabout Why had he never loved us? Why had we been nothing but a burden to him since the day ere born? And finally, why had he driven our mother away?

Dad stood up and walked over to the“Why,” he repeated, glancing out over the gardens “I do love you both I don’t expect either of you to believe that, but it’s the truth” He turned to face ood husband to your mother, and I know you know that I never kne to be a father before she left, but after, things got harder It just became easier to lock myself aiththe contents of his glass “You boys blahtly so, but all I sahen you looked at me was hate”

“I was nine I was a fucking child and you beat my mother until she couldn’t take it anymore You broke her so badly that not only did she hate you, she hated us because ere part of you,” I yelled I threw the glass down on the table, the a over onto the wood I walked toward the door I’d heard all I needed to

“Jack”

I turned around “No Just don’t You said you have no sons, well as far as I’m concerned, I have no father”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The fresh air hitIf confrontingon oodbye to Belle It was so final There was no going back after that, only forward I had so rets So s that I wished I’d done differently

I wished I had told her how s instead of fighting them I wished I hadn’t pushed her away Most of all, I wished she was still there with me

Her grave sat high on the hill of the ce a small lake It was a pretty spot, one I knew she would’ve loved I sat down next to her, uitar by my side I had , she would be the first to hear it—and that was a promise I planned to keep