Adonis Past III

Cara wore a puzzled expression. 

"If your parents left together, how come only your father was found dead? And where is she now?" 

It didn't make sense to her. The circumstances around the death seemed sketchy.

Adonis peeked down at her, stroking her wild brunette hair, which resulted from their recent vigorous activities. 

He found it hard to comprehend the situation.

How did they get here? 

From having silly daily bickering to their love-hate relationship... feelings can be very scary.

Feelings? Does he feel for her? 

She got him to do what no one has ever done.

Open up.

His grandfather tried. His therapist tried. They all tried to bring back the free-spirited, playful little boy he once was, but nothing worked. The closest to him being normal that they could achieve was when he met Luca—the talkative boy. It took a while to let him in, but Luca made him a better person.

Before then, he was basically scared of everything. At the littlest sounds, he'd lock himself up in a closet. He didn't know how to speak up for himself. He was worried that anything he did would incur a punishment—a beating.

But now he felt more relaxed. The burden on his shoulders had slightly lightened. His mind had been in shambles. He needed help but was unable to ask for it. To get help, he needed to do the very one thing he didn't know how to do.

Talk.

But Cara found a way for him to show it instead.

She tucked her hand under his arm and blinked up at him, waiting for a reply.

Adonis smiled. Not a smirk, not a curled lip, but a natural smile. 

"What?"

"I asked you a question. What's going on in your head?" She huffed."I asked where your mother disappeared too. Shouldn't she have been found with him?"

Adonis nuzzled his head in her nape.

"Nonno said she wasn't there when they went to collect my father's body. Nor was his debit card or car." He let out a dry laugh. "I guess that's what she had always wanted. Everything expensive was gone. Can you imagine she dared to empty his bank account? In the search for her, they found the abandoned card at the last place she used it. My grandfather had thought she was kidnapped at first or something, but that was an eye-opener. He decided to let her go. " 

Cara paled at his response. "Did she kill him?" She breathed out.

"No. He died of an overdose. Should have known being a junkie never pays. As a child, I thought he didn't love me. Why else would he leave? But as I grew, my resentment grew. Especially when I found out the reason behind his actions. If he truly cared about me like my grandfather said, he'd have gotten his act straight. His wife wasn't his only family." Adonis sat upright with a disgruntled look. "I was also his family. Me," he slapped his hand against his chest. "He left me all alone. He was a weak man. He endured disrespect and pain because of a flimsy emotion. I refuse to be like him." 

Cara was lost. He was beginning to get angry again, and she didn't know what to do... the right words to comfort him. She contemplated the irony of his words.

To some people, love was a liberating feeling. It brings out the best in them and makes life worth living, but to Adonis's father, it destroyed him. The love he received was cruel. He had so much love to give, but it was to the wrong person.

From Adonis's narration, she could tell he loved his son so much. He just allowed the obsessive love he had for his wife to overshadow it. It made her understand Adonis better. Why he was arrogant and brutal... he didn't want to be like his father. 

But what happened to make him a shell of himself? He'd been living with the trauma for years and was manageably fine. What triggered his recent actions?

She decided not to ask. If he ever decides to share it, it'll be his choice. 

"I know you went through a lot. Honestly, your physical scars may have become better, but your emotional scars might last a lifetime. I would not lie to you and say time heals. Time never heals me. But you can find something worthwhile and look positively at the situation. I can't imagine what your grandfather would've gone through. He lost his wife, and then his son." She encouraged him, and he turned over his shoulder to look at her.

"He did go through a lot. He had to be there for myself and himself. He loved his son dearly and still believes he tried his best till today. It's infuriating. I feel no action of my father is justifiable, but I don't know what to think anymore,  Cara." Adonis breathed out in a small voice.

"What is it? Tell me."

"I feel like I've been lied to my whole life. What else do I not know?" He stood his feet and began pacing around the room in deep thought.

Cara got off the bed, pulling the covers with her.

"Adonis... It doesn't have to make sense. You don't have to let it all out at once."

"No!" He snapped, but she knew it wasn't at her. The situation was making him tense. She'd just barely gotten him to be calm; she didn't want him to lose his cool again.

With a heavy sigh, she helplessly watched him pace around the room. A tense, silent atmosphere hung above their heads. 

Suddenly he halted his movement.

"Nonno knew. I'm sure he knew but didn't say a word on purpose." 

It was hardly above a whisper, but Cara heard him. She went over to him, one hand holding the sheets to her chest and the other on his arm.

"What do you mean? What did he know?"

Adonis's bloodshot red eyes met Cara's anxious ones.

"It wasn't an overdose. It was suicide."