5. Memories I'll like to forget

He rang the doorbell and waited for a few minutes before it was opened by the maid.

“Good evening sir.” She greeted politely as soon as she saw him and he nodded his head in response. He was not the type of person that talked frequently. He preferred using gestures than stressing his mouth. He made his way inside the house behind the maid and saw his mom fixing up the table.

“Oh, my handsome-looking prince.” She exclaimed in delight, abandoning what she was doing to give him a tight hug. They stayed in the hug for a few seconds before he broke apart.

“That's enough for the day.” he joked and they both laughed.

“You are right on time, I was just setting up the table.” She said gesturing at the table where different food items were displayed. They made their way to the dining, chatting pleasantly. His father walked in with a magazine in hand.

“Hey, jack. How are you doing?” his father acknowledged his presence with a little wave,taking a seat at the dining table.

“I'm fine, thanks.” He responded curtly. He had a strained relationship with his dad. After his break-up that almost made him lose his mind, things got really rusty with his dad.

“Look at you, you look like you haven't eaten for a whole week.” His mother noted, noticing the tension that grew in the room and she was right. He hadn't really eaten in the week apart from his usual morning coffee and the few times he grabbed snacks during lunch.

“I'm fine mom.” He stated. ”But I miss your food.” He added and they both laughed. His mother had prepared a variety of meals ranging from broccoli, lobster mac and cheese, rice, chicken and salad, and fish tacos. He started digging into the meal as his mother watched him. “This is really good.” He commended, burying his face in the plate of food in front of him.

“That's why I'm the best chef around here.” she boasted and they both laughed again.

“How is your healing process going on?” his father's deep voice cut in, interrupting them and they all remained silent.

“Fine” He replied solemnly while his father nodded.

“You haven't returned to smoking right?” his father asked scrutinizing him with his eyes like a smoker tag would be visible on his face.

“No, I'm clean.”He responded, returning to his meal while his dad touched his for the first time.

That wasn't a topic he wanted to revisit anytime soon. After his girlfriend had broken up with him few days before his birthday, he became devastated and almost depressed. He resulted to drinking and tried smoking a couple of times. He stayed absent from work for weeks, over two months and this made the companies lose millions of dollars. His dad had seen a stash of weed on him and had instantly labeled him a smoker. Those were the worst times of his life.

He had been dating her for more than a year, he showered her with love, took her on vacations and spent a lot of money on her. He was basically the kind of ideal guy any girl would want. He had gotten into a little argument and he stormed home in anger. He got home and paced around. He decided to go back and apologize to her. He got to her apartment and found another car parked in the driveway. He waved it aside and got inside the house, only to be met with the biggest shock of his life.

On the couch, was his girlfriend who he had dated for over one year practically having sex with another guy. They both looked like they had seen a ghost when they saw the look of rage in his eyes. He had beaten up the boy so badly that he spent the next two weeks in the hospital.

“Why did you do this to me?” he had questioned in tears, but she was already in tears. “Fucking answer me!" he screamed, pressing his hands round her neck, choking her. She gasped for breath as he tightened his hands around her neck. She coughed and threw her hands in the hair fighting to be released but he held onto her neck in rage. He finally released her and she fell to the floor in a thud. She lay motionless for a minute before she started coughing and continued sobbing. It was really painful because he had planned to propose to her on his birthday that year.

He stared unconsciously at his plate of food as a tear slipped down his cheeks. He hadn't realized he had stopped eating and was thinking deeply until a hand was placed on his shoulder. He startled and turned to see his mother stare at him with loving eyes.

“It's going to be alright.” She soothed, drawing invisible lines on his back to soothe him while he wiped the tear that stained his cheek. He went back to his meal wordlessly while his mother glared at his father with threatening eyes in a way that urged him to drop the topic.

Dinner later went on smoothly. He informed his father about the deal he had closed with brooks automobile. While he tried to catch up on activities from his dad's company. He was the deputy CEO there, but he preferred to let his dad handle everything there by himself.

“You will be having a meeting with Mr. Tyrone. He wants you to meet his daughter.” His father informed him and he groaned loudly. “Not again dad.”

“Why do I have to meet her?” he asked, already feeling irritated by the mention of her name.

“For business” His father replied curtly and he gagged.

“Come on dad, Jenna has no business with her dad's company. She's just celebrity sl..” he had wanted to call her slut but stopped himself. It would be disrespectful to speak that way about her to others.

Jenna was a fashion model. Her father owned a fashion brand along with other businesses so it was natural for her to become a top-class model even when she didn't deserve it. She was pretty with nice hips and had that killer shape, but she was a cheap slut. She had gotten many shoots and contracts by sleeping around with the organizers. She had been involved in one big scandal the previous year that almost ruined her career but not for the powers her dad had. She was canceled in the industry and was riding independently now.

The dinner with his family ended quite on a cheerful note. After informing him about his meeting with Mr. Tyrone's daughter, they had joked about a few things before their discussion drifted to sports. They were both solid fans of the NBA. While his father supported the Cleveland cavaliers, he was a big fan of the Golden state warriors. The playoffs were around the corner and both teams were doing well.

“Fifty thousand dollars for the cavaliers to win the playoffs.” His father challenged.

“Are you making a bet?”he smiled, raising an eyebrow and his father shrugged

“Hundred thousand, then.” He agreed and they both shook hands. “Don't get broke cos of me.” he added and they both shared a hearty laugh.

They all spent time in the sitting room reliving past memories. The television was switched on, displaying an American fashion documentary. His mother's eyes were trained on the television, occasionally contributing to their discussion.