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Chapter 27: Cale

I arrive home, my energy drained, my body stiff and painful. I feel tired out... I learned new things about Maya. We're more similar than we both thought. But then she doesn't know anything about my problems. But now I know some of hers. She doesn't have a good relationship with her mom. She called her 'that monster' and now she's going to be alone.

Darren that half-assed bastard! How could he do this to her! Even if he knew they weren't true siblings, if Maya thought they were then that meant they probably grew up together. He must care about her at least a bit to want to stay behind for her. He only has till the end of the year, then he can do whatever he wants. He could have stayed just for Maya, especially if he knew she was miserable.

My view on Maya has greatly changed in the few minutes I spent with her as she cried into my shirt. That facade she kept up, that smile of hers... It wasn't reflecting her own happiness, it was a way for her to show other people that they should be happy.

That part of her angers me. She thinks about others before herself. If she needed to sacrifice something precious of hers because someone else needed it, she would give it away in a heartbeat, no matter the sentimental worth. She should take the time to care for herself more rather than always worry about others.

I take out my keys and unlock the door to my house. It's big. Just as big as Maya's, if not, bigger. As I open it, it leads me to the main entrance. A big space where parties used to be held before I am faced with my huge staircase which leads to the rooms.

I still regret all the things I made Jack go through during my younger teenage years. Experimenting with girls and alcohol without caring how Jack would perceive that. Having parties until very late in the evening when my mother was gone in order to release all the tension and stress building in me, without caring that Jack stayed awake those nights because the music was playing too loud and without caring that he saw what making out was for the first time thanks to me.

I turn left to go towards the living room, hearing the tv turned on on its usual channel, this time Tom and Jerry playing. Then I look down at the sofa and find my father with Jack on his lap.

"What are you doing here?" I question immediately.

He looks up from Jack and gives me a pained smile.

"Hello to you too, Cale." He says continuing his smile.

"Jack come here, I'll read you a story."

"Yay!" Jack exclaims, jumping off of my father's lap and running towards me to grip tightly at my leg.

I hoist him up and hand him in my arms.

"Getting a little big for this ain't ya!" I saw playfully, almost forgetting my father's presence.

"I can walk now you know! I'm big already!"

"Of course!" I say putting him back down.

He smiles up at me revealing a missing tooth.

"You lost a tooth?" Jack nods vigorously. "Good job!! Remember to put it under your pillow! The tooth fairy will come tonight and give you some goodies!"

He smiles cheekily.

"I know the tooth fairy doesn't exist!" He says proudly.

"Already!? You're becoming so big Jack!"

"Can I still have the goodie bag then?"

"Of course, now head up, I'll be right up there after you in a minute."

He dashes up the stairs until I can no longer hear his loud and clumsy footsteps then I turn towards my father-in-name-only.

"You've grown up quite a bit Cale." He says his voice low with regret but I don't care. He's the one who chose to abandon me.

"That's because last time you passed you saw me was when I was 7, remember? You left me. Then you came back to give mom a quick fuck before leaving again without passing by to say hi to me, correct? That's why you came to see Jack right? To see how much he's grown. If you really cared you would have stayed."

"Cale... Your mother and I weren't on very good terms..."

"Bullshit! You just found a hotter younger model so you could fuck her all day long!"

"Cale, your language."

"You don't get to talk to me about my language! You don't get to order me to do anything! After all you aren't even my father! You weren't the one to drive me to school! To come to my sports competitions and games! To instruct me the dos and don'ts before partying! To ride me back home when I was a little too drunk! And most of all you weren't there to protect me from my so-called mom! You weren't there for all that! So you don't get to come and pretend nothing changed the whole time you were gone!" I yell at him, anger and pain building up endlessly inside me.

It feels good to let all that pressure off my chest, but seconds later, I just feel shitty all over again.

"Excuse me, I'm going out for some fresh air. Go read a story to Jack and try to make up for the time you've lost with him." I spit coldly the last few words at him.

I take my keys and put them in my pocket as I head out again. I don't want to drive or anything. I just want to take a walk in the cool night air to calm my system down. I get way to worked up at the mere thought of my father. It angers me so much how he based his decision which impacted my life on boobs. It's disgraceful, disgusting, horrible. Women are always at the root of these problems. Maybe if that model weren't so hot and tempting he wouldn't have left mom and she never would have come after me for sexual pleasure. I shudder at the mere thought of her touching me.

Then there was Daisy. The one I gave my spiritual virginity to, because my actual one was long gone before that thanks to the person I call mother. She had sentimental value to me. I didn't just like her for her impeccable looks. I mostly liked her because of her personality. I trusted her. She just clarified any doubt I had at the time about whether I should or not trust women. She left. Without a word into the night to climb onto a plane and never return. No text, no call. For the entirety of that year she left me stranded as if I was nothing but a dirty gum at the bottom of her shoe that she decided to finally scrape off.

That's when everything changed. My somewhat open and happy self completely shut down to become a closed off and dismissive person. It helps me deal. My grades got better because I had nothing else to do at home apart from training, which helped deal with stress and release any pressure.

I look ahead as I continue to walk through a park close my house. A look out towards a cliff. I can see the moon shining brightly, showing it's crater. Even something as beautiful as the moon isn't smooth and flawless yet it shines brightest at night. I sit at the edge, my legs dangling off the cliff. I'm not scared. I used to come down here often to deliberate and think about dilemmas and thoughts I can't quite place.

Tonight, I'm here to just enjoy the view, something I didn't take the time to do previously. The view is absolutely gorgeous, dark blue everywhere, like a blind placed covering the sky, the streets covered with shadows and uncommon shapes. The streetlights and rooms glowing brightly like little stars on the ground.

I find that the world is prettier at night because it resembles me; dark and mysterious.

---

Hey guys!

So now we really get a sense of who Daisy is and what she means and meant to him. You also see how Cale takes the arrival of his dad and how he feels some sort of hidden jealousy of Jack's fondness for his dad and somewhat neglect towards him.

He needs to cool down his thoughts so he goes outside and I love him a little more.