The Boy Who Didn't Love

45 - a game

"On the grounds that you, too, are a sociopath."

  Mr. Price fell silent.

  They watched each other as the tension grew between them until it reached an unbearable height.

  Then, ever so gradually—almost hauntingly so—, his innocent demeanor crumbled and was replaced by an icy look. There was no point in hiding it now, he had realized. After all, now that she was undoubtedly marrying his son and she already had her suspicions of him, he no longer had any use of her.

"How did you know?" he questioned, his voice lacking the emotion he had perfected throughout the years.

Ali remained unfazed and levelheaded; none of this came as a surprise to her because it had already been the subject of her contemplation ever since that day.

  She blew out a breath and scrunched her eyebrows in exasperation. "Why does that matter? What matters is the fact that you're trying to ruin your son's relationship simply because your own did not go as planned. And instead of using this experience to help our relationship prosper, you decide to discourage him, to anger him, then push him away entirely after years of doing it already. All the while you hid your shared condition from him, making him feel like he was undeserving of any kindness as if you were so different."

"It is better for him to feel alienated than to feel understood. He needed to learn how to blend in with the rest of society, just as I did, instead of grow comfortable with being himself since he was not alone," he argued robotically, and she let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Oh, I get it now. You belittle him because you belittle yourself. You don't see yourself as good enough, do you, Mr. Price?" Ali taunted him while he stared her down coldly. "And the second you passed down that mindset and viewed your son the same way as yourself, that was when you failed as a parent. I'm glad that I'm here now to reverse your teachings on Sawyer, who has only ever wanted to feel loved and accepted."

"My wife made me feel that way too, in the beginning," Mr. Price remarked as a glimpse of wistfulness flashed in his emotionless eyes. "You won't be able to withstand someone like us for too long, Ali. One day you'll grow tired and give up."

Ali chuckled quietly and shook her head. "You're wrong. Just because you and Sawyer have the same disorder does not mean you are the same person, along with me and your wife. Your experience is not universal."

  She paused, softening a bit as she remembered the numerous times she had seen firsthand how people treat those that are different. The man before her did not become this way on his own, and although this did not absolve him from all of the blame, it reminded her of his humanity.

  She sighed and let herself become less tense. "I truly am sorry about your wife, and I'm sorry about the events that led you to this perspective of yourself, but you will stop forcing your false ideologies on Sawyer from now on. I was the one that encouraged him to reach out to you, and I will gladly be the one to deter him from ever doing it again. Rest assured, either way, Sawyer will never lack any love or compassion in his life again."

  He observed her with great attention as she spoke, recognizing the tenacity behind her words.

  He did not agree with her words—he feared he couldn't even if he wanted to—yet he found himself faltering for a moment. Perhaps, he thought, she was right.

Perhaps for them, there was hope.

  Regardless, even now, he did not regret his marriage, due to the temporary respite it had granted him. He hadn't considered the fact that maybe his son would too.