Law Of A Godfather

When Sheriff Martinez learned that Fred almost killed Elias he immediately went to their house to talk to his old friend. Fred was lying on the couch with a swelling bruise on his right cheek. The stench of alcohol is so strong Sheriff Martinez thought Fred was still drinking. He shook his head when he saw what life turned out for his friend. Fred was the nicest man he knew but the death of his wife changed him for the worst. He pities Elias so much for getting all the blame for something he doesn't have control over.

"David? What are you doing here?" Fred asked him with his eyes closed. He's still drunk.

"We need to talk Fred. Not as a sheriff and a constituent but as two old friends." He said sincerely.

"About what?" Fred groaned.

"About how you've been treating Elias since Jacky died. You know it isn't his fault Fred. Why do you continue to treat him like this? He's your son for god's sake!" Sheriff Martinez always cared for his godson because Elias was the son he would never have.

Sheriff David Martinez was the luckiest man in Thorn when the most beautiful woman in town fell in love with him and agreed to marry him. But fate has a dark sense of humour. Three months after their marriage, Olivia was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer. Only two months after the diagnosis the woman died in her sleep. Her head resting on the shoulders of the man she loved the most. Sheriff Martinez never had any sort of romantic relationship since then.

"David, I'm still sleepy. If you come here to talk about the bastard, you're just wasting your time." Fred answered nonchalantly.

"Why are you like this towards your son? What has he done to you to deserve this kind of treatment? Don't you see you're ruining his life!" Sheriff Martinez can longer contain his emotions. For six years, he stood by and stayed quiet because it was none of his business. But he can't take it anymore. Elias had a bright future. He was a nice kid. But Fred turned him into something unrecognizable. Fred made him the man he is today.

"My son? Ha! I wish he was my son!" Fred blurted before a glass of beer into the wall.

"What? What are you saying, Fred?" David became confused by what Fred said.

"Elias got sick right after my wife died. He needed a blood transfusion. And guess what? Either I or my wife was compatible to donate for him! Don't you think I loved him? I did, David! With all my heart! He was my son! Then he isn't!" None of what Fred is saying makes sense to him. He thinks his friend is delusional.

"That's impossible, Fred. I was there when your wife gave birth to Elias. He's your son. You have to stop treating him like this! You're ruining his life!" David insisted.

-Flashback-

"David! Jacky's water broke! You have to help me!" Even though David's not with his close friend at the moment, he still felt the urgency and got rattled. His godson's about to be born!

"What!" He can't even think about what he should do. "Wait! Ah—" It's like his brain suddenly left him.

"David!" Because of confusion, David couldn't think straight.

"Hold on! I'm calling for an ambulance!" David was about to end the call when Fred shouted.

"Get your ass here, damn it!"

David almost made his car fly just to get to Fred's house in time. When he arrived Fred's wife already looked like she's in so much pain. He helped Fred carry Mariz to his car and immediately drove.

"Wait a minute, why did you call me when her water broke?" After the panic was over and they both calmed down a bit. David suddenly remembered. "Why didn't you bring her to the hospital right away?" He almost laughed when he saw his friend's reaction.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Fred acted innocent?

"Why did—" David was not able to complete his question when the doctor came out, smiling. It was their high school batchmate, Dexter.

"Congratulations, Fred. It's a healthy baby boy." Dexter announced.

------

"Jacky only had an ultrasound once. It was in her right month. She didn't even want to know the gender of the baby." Fred stood up and took out another bottle from the fridge. "But I insisted because I want our baby to be born with everything he or she needed to be perfect. It was a baby girl, David." Fred chugged the beer at once. "I was supposed to have a princess."

"Maybe the ultrasound was wrong, Fred." David still tried to reason with his friend.

"I thought so too." Fred smiled bitterly. "When I saw his jet black hair and brown eyes, I thought, he looked just like my father." Fred took another beer and drank from it. "I thought, this kid will grow up to be a great man." David can feel the loneliness from his friend's voice. "But how could you explain his blood being incompatible with my blood or my wife!"

David doesn't know what to say. He can feel that Fred's not happy with how his relationship with Elias turned out to be but the knowledge that he might not be his friend's son will be like a dagger in his heart. But he thought it was not Elias' fault either. He shouldn't be blamed for something that doesn't even know about.

"Have you talked to Dexter?" He remembered asking. "He was the one who attended Jacky back then." David knew that Dexter no longer lives in Thorn but maybe, just maybe, he could shed some light on the truth about Elias.

"Dexter died the day after they moved out of Thorn." Fred at his friend's eyes. "Under suspicious circumstances."

"I will take Elias. He will live with me." David finally decided. "But once I did that you can't hurt him anymore. You hear me?" He waited for Fred's answer.

"I've been waiting so long for him to be out of my life." Fred said emotionlessly.

------

Elias feels safer whenever he's with Zel. He feels like Zel will always care for him as a mother to her child. He never felt that to anyone before. Not even with his father. Every time they're together, they would laugh and tell stories and be merry. Sometimes, Elias would wonder will his mother be like Zel if she's still alive?

"Sheriff Martinez's here," Zel announced as soon as she entered the room where she placed Elias temporarily.

Shock and confusion filled Elias' mind. He doesn't remember doing anything that would merit a visit from the Sheriff. Yes, Sheriff David Martinez is his godfather but he's also the town sheriff so and Elias never actually became close.

"Sheriff!" Elias greeted him sarcastically. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I talked to your father, Elias and he agreed to live with me," David informed his godson directly.

"Ha! So he's finally kicking me out, huh?" Smiled laughed. If he was hurt, even just a bit. He hid it very well.

"No, he didn't. I insisted." David said seriously. "As your godfather, it is my responsibility to take care of you. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner."

"He's old enough to decide for himself, Sheriff." Zel butted in. "He can come with you or he can stay here with me " Zel looked at Elias with a smile on her face.

"You have no relation to him or his family, Zel." David contradicted.

"Family? You're kidding, right?" Zel scoffed. "What family? You mean the father who almost killed numerous times?" Then her face turned serious. "And who has any relation to him and his family? You? Where were you when Fred threw Elias across the park and broke his arm?" Zel pointed an accusatory finger towards David. "Of when Fred locked him in a busted freezer? Where were you that night when Fred slammed Elias' head on the wall?" Her voice raised a bit because of anger.

"I did everything—"

"I'm staying here, Sheriff but thank you for the offer." Elias interrupted before the conversation turned into a heated argument then went back inside the house.

Elias went to the room and locked himself in. For six years, he tried to be strong, to be stone cold. Just so he wouldn't feel the pain of knowing that his father would rather see him dead than love him. But no matter how hard he tries to push those feelings down they kept crawling back up. Wanting to be noticed. Wanting to be felt.

But then he realized, he already did everything to gain his father's love. There's nothing more he can do about it. If he wants him out of his life then so be it. He's old enough now. He can take care of himself. He promised to himself that from now on, he's officially orphan.