I stared at the sky through the windshield as I snuggled in the warm blanket that was protecting my injured body.

My body jumping once my ears heard the sound of a door opening.

Noticing my father, I relaxed back into the seat, relieved that I wasn't in any danger.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" he apologized as he closed the door and sat a plastic full of medical supplies on my lap.

"It's okay" I assured him, my voice still unstable.

Its been approximately two days since the incident with Romano.

My father managed to rescue me and bring me back home safely.

I was admitted to the hospital for about four hours, as of now I just got discharged.

Of course, due the serious damages my body received, I was left with six broken ribs, a fractured nose and an awful black eye.

"Mia I think it's about time you tell me what happened" my father brought up and I scoffed.

"I don't feel ready yet dad" I told him, scared that he might judge me if I told him the complete truth.

Sighing he looked at me with sorrow, "Honey, I don't want to rush you but as your father I need to know why you left the country with a complete stranger"

"Crazy how now you want to be my father, where were you the times I needed you the most? Oh yeah you were at an important business meeting" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Come on Mia, you know how busy my job gets" he said and I kissed my teeth.

He puts his job before anything, sometimes it doesn't even feel like I exist to him.

"Too busy?" I scoffed. "Too busy to check on your daughter that was fucking shot! I...I could've died and you weren't there!" I expressed angrily.

I turned my head away from him, suppressing the tears that threatened to pour out.

Hearing no words leave his mouth, I tucked my lower lip under my tongue as I reached for the door handle.

I didn't want to be in this car with him for any longer.

"Wait!" He snapped and I let out an annoyed groan.

"What?" I glared at him, my face dripping with tears.

"When did you get shot? I don't remember being called by the hospital" he held a confused expression which made me believe what he was saying.

He wouldn't lie about that, right?

"What are you talking about? Your bitch of a wife told me you were too busy with work to come see me" I frowned.

My anger grew more remembering how she brutally kicked me out of the house.

"I promise you she didn't tell me anything, where did you get shot?" he asked, his eyes now wondering around my body. As if the wound would be visible for him to see.

"Doesn't matter" I huffed, "I can't believe that bitch!"

I knew she was psycho from the get go, along with her delusional son.

"I'm sorry honey, this is all my fault" he lowered his head.

To be honest, it wasn't his fault. He was blinded by love and I don't blame him for that. But I know myself and I'm not strong enough to tell him the truth.

"Damn right it is, I told you not to trust her but you chose a rat from the streets over your own fucking daughter!" I raised my voice at him.

His eyes widened at my statement before he spoke up. "Mia I know you're angry, but that doesn't give you a right to disrespect me. I'm still your father for God sake!"

"Sometimes I wish you weren't my father, that maybe you were the one that died in that fire instead of mom" I gritted.

My father swallowed the evident lump in his throat before his eyes were soon watery.

For the first time since the passing of my mother, my father cried.

My heartached as I now regretted the harsh words that I threw at him.

I watched as he started up the car, an uncomfortable silence taking over us.

I lowered the seat, adjusting it so I could lay down and hopefully slumber away the pain I was feeling.

The car began to move and I covered my face with the blanket, forcing my eyes shut.

Sadly, I couldn't sleep. No matter how hard I tried, the thought of my father being hurt weighed heavy on me.

I always told myself that I didn't love him, that he was just someone who provided for me.

But now, I'm realizing how much I care for him, and the sting in my heart backs that up.

"You know it's mom's birthday in two days" I heard the voice of my father and I immediately sat up.

As I turned to him, I noticed the faint smile he had on as his eyes stayed forward.

"I almost forgot" I said soflty.

Because of all this bullshit that I got myself into, I forgot the one day that meant the most to me.

"I never did, there's not one day I forget your mother, not even for a second. That's how much I loved her, heck that's how much I still love her. Even though she's gone" he expressed.

"I know you think I've replaced her with Maria, but that isn't the case at all. Mia you need to understand that life goes on, that you can't keep holding onto the past. The past does nothing but bring pain and unhappiness. And I know your mother well enough to know that she wouldn't want to see the both of us lonely and miserable. Trust me when I tell you the love I have for my wife and you will never change. You are our special flower, you mean the world to me and don't you ever in your life doubt that. I know I haven't been acting like it and I'm truly sorry for that, I was using work to block out the pain of losing your mother. You resemble her so much as the days go by and I wasn't strong enough to face you. But after almost losing you, I knew I had to change my ways and be a better dad for your sake. I understand if you don't want me in your life anymore, but just know I'm always and will always be here for you Bear"

By the time he was done, both our faces were damp with tears and I was a wailing mess.

"I'm s-so sorry d-d-dad, I'm sorry for everything" I sobbed.

"It's okay bear" he reached over to embrace me in a long and warm hug. It's like I could feel his emotions through the hug because I sobbed even more.

"I don't want you to leave me...please" I confessed, my head buried in the crook of his neck.

"Never" He whispered, rubbing my back.

I knew from this moment that I would cherish every second with my dad. Maybe I should open my heart to see what my mom saw.

••

"I've got it" I used the car door as support as I carefully lifted myself out the car.

We arrived home and we're ready to kick out Maria, for good.

He insisted that I stayed in the car and waited until he was done but I disagreed.

Obviously I wouldn't miss the opportunity to see the look on her face as she realizes that my father isn't under her spell anymore.

Limping to the porch, my dad pushed through the door and we both entered our quiet home.

"Maria!" He called to her, his voice leaving an echo.

I sat down on the stool, folding my arms as we waited for her in the kitchen.

"I'm coming my love" she called back and soon she was downstairs.

Once her eyes landed on me, she furrowed her brows.

Yeah, boo bitch.

"What's going on?" She chuckled nervously as her hand snaked around my dad's waist.

He swiftly pushed her away from him and she gasped.

"Baby, why are you acting like this?" She questioned.

"You have no right to call me baby, especially after not telling me about what happened to Mia"

"Look what ever she told you Henry, is all a lie" she said, trying to sound all innocent.

"Oh really?" He shouted. "Well the wound on her stomach isn't a lie at all. So try again you bitch"

My dad was furious right and it honestly scared me. He was a whole different person.

Maria glared at me and I rolled my eyes. "The only bitch around here is your daughter, if only you knew all the stu- shut the fuck up!" My father and I cut her off in unison.

"I've had enough of your manipulation and lies. You have been using me and I was too blind to see that. But now...oh how clear my eye sight is" he said to her and she let out a scoff.

"If you must know then, yes I was using you. Who the fuck would want to be with a man like you that can't even get it up" she spat.

Who the fuck does she think she's talking to?

"Well if your pussy wasn't as loose as your wallet then maybe I would be turned on" he retorted, his statement shocking the both of us.

Amused, I spoke up. "Yeah, and your pussy stinks you dried up old whore" I clapped back at her.

"Don't even start with me Mia" she sneered at me.

"No, don't you start with her Maria, lay your filthy hands on her and I swear you'll end up in a body bag" he growled.

I stuck my tongue out at her as she huffed heavily, swallowing her words.

"Whatever, she's not even worth my time" she waved me off before placing her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, you'll need as much time as you can get to pack your bullshit, because I want you out of my house" he told her and her jaw dropped.

"Henry my love, y-you can't possibly to this to me. This was all just a misunderstanding" she panicked, her voice cracking.

She reached for his hand but he moved it away from her. "Don't touch me!"

"You're really doing this to me?" She shook her head. "All because of some minor information that slipped my mind"

"Minor?" My dad raised his brow in disbelief.

"Do you not have any shame you psychotic witch? After everything I did for you? I took you and your son off the streets and made sure you were fed just for you to mistreat my daughter!"

All Maria did was shrug, she was completely unbothered and that had me fuming.

Grabbing the closest object to me, I threw it at her head and she almost fell forward.

She saved herself and then looked up at me with devilish eyes. "Be glad that you are fragile right now because if you weren't, you would be dead along with your dumb mother" she said to me.

Hearing her blatantly insult my mother, almost made me want to strangle her to death.

And I guess that also pissed my father off, because unexpectedly he punched her in the face.

The loud sound of his fist connecting with her jaw erupted in the house.

I held my face, shocked at his actions as Maria fell to the floor.

"You're lucky I didn't do worse to you, like I said before...PACK YOUR SHIT AND GET THE FUCK OUT!"

He pulled his sleeves up before giving her one more dirty look and then storming out the house.

I hopped off the stool and stared down at her, chuckling at how pathetic she looked.

"Oh, and if you're thinking about stealing anything or damaging any of our property, just remember I'm the one witness your son needs in order to get out of prison" I threatened before leaving her.

Oh how it feels so good to put a bitch in her place. Finally she can leave our lives.

I entered the car, seeing my father's head leaning against the steering wheel.

"Dad, are you okay?" I asked, placing my hand on his back and rubbing it like how he did to me.

"I'll be fine, thanks" he replied lowly. Just by the tone of his voice, I knew the situation with Maria affected him badly.

"She doesn't deserve you, you're so amazing and I promise one day you'll meet someone that will treat you right" I consoled him.

Hopefully what I'm saying will happen...

"Yeah, maybe" He raised his head, forcing a small smile.

"You still have me though" I grinned and he laughed.

"Of course. Anyways, you're hungry? Let's go get something to eat" He offered as he started up the car and pulled out of the driveway.

"Sure, but I need to get my things from my friend's place first" I told him as I buckled my seatbelt.

"About that, your friend's parents didn't have a problem with you staying there?" He asked and I shook my head.

"They passed away, she lives with her older brother" I explained to him, remembering Matt.

I wonder how he's doing...

"Oh" he cleared his throat. "Life is so unfair" he said.

"Yeah" I nodded, biting on my gums.

I turned up the radio and we listened to music for the whole ride until we soon arrived at their house.

"Do you need any help Bear?" He asked.

"I'll be okay by myself dad, my luggage isn't heavy" I assured him before exiting the car and pushing through the door.

I would have knocked but I basically live here, well not anymore.

Walking through the passage, I made my way to the living room, looking for Matt specifically.

When I got there, I was surprised to see the both of them sitting on the couch.

I was about to say something until I saw their faces.

A weeping Makayla had her face full of tears, and next to her was her brother who looked pale with his eyes glued to the TV screen. They both looked like they just saw a ghost.

Frowning, I got closer to see what they were watching. Once my eyes trailed to their TV, my heart dropped.

A picture of Romano was plastered on the screen as the news Channel was playing.

I could feel all the memories rushing back as I listened attentively.

"...Police have identified the deceased male as a 48 year old by the name of Lorenzo Romano. According to them, he was the founder and CEO of Italy's biggest Trading Firm, LR Trading. Lorenzo's body was found in the river of the Maldives by a local. Details of his death are still unknown as forensics are still investigating the scene of crime"

I stood with my body frozen as I couldn't believe what I just heard.

Just when I'm getting my life back together, this bomb is thrown on me.

The thought of the police finding out that I killed Romano flooded my head.

What if my DNA is found on him and I get arrested?

What if they sentence me to life in prison?

I won't be able to survive that.

Another thing that crossed my mindis why Matt and Makayla are reacting this way. Are they just sensitive to death or its something else?

Looking back up the the two siblings, I noticed Makayla's mouth move as she spoke under her breath.

"Dad?" Her faint voice said and my eyes grew.

What the fuck did she just say?

••

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