Green Tides

20

Take a deep breath, Ty.

In...

Out...

In...

Out...

On the other side of this door was my father. A man I had only heard about but never met. A man who left before I was born. A man who denied my sister and I as his children and slandered my mother as a whore on his way out. A man who left my mother's emotional and financial stability in shambles. A man who didn't deserve the title of father. A man who wasn't a man at all, but a poor excuse for one. That was the kind of person that was on the other side of the door.

I placed my hand on the doorknob and waited until the metal turned from cold to warm under my tight grasp. Maybe if I waited long enough, he would simply disappear and I wouldn't have to deal with him. I knew that was ridiculous, it didn't stop me from hoping either. Just as I was about to turn the handle, a hand landed on my shoulder. I flinched and almost screamed until I heard their voice.

"I've been chasing you down the street and calling your name. Didn't you hear me?"

Keo.

When I didn't answer, he shook my shoulder a little. "Ty? Are you okay?"

I finally turned trying to keep my emotions at bay. "It's my dad. He's in there." I whispered. "I don't think I can face him."

"What does he want?" Keo asked carefully.

I shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't know how he found us."

Without a word, Keo lightly grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him. I hugged him tightly, never wanting to let him go. He rubbed a comforting hand around my back while I focused on trying to breathe and not cry. How could my father do this? How could he show up all these years later? I spent so many birthdays, holidays, and school events fatherless. I envied my friends who spent time with their fathers and had a good relationship with them. I had often laid awake at night wondering if I had done something wrong. Had I done something to make him leave? What I hadn't known at the time was that he was simply a selfish man. It had nothing to do with me, Elli, or our mother.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Keo asked when we pulled away.

Usually, in a situation like this, a normal person would tell him no and that they needed to sort this out themselves, but I wasn't normal. I needed Keo. I couldn't do this alone. If I went alone, I would absolutely lose it. I nodded and he instinctively grabbed for my hand. His other reached for the door and opened it. There, in the living room, sat Auntie Clove and Elli huddled close together. They were both glaring at the man who had his back turned to me. I couldn't see his face, but he already made me sick.

Auntie Clove and Elli perked up at my entrance, causing my father to turn around. We made eye contact for a split second. I dared not to look away. I wouldn't give in to him, nor would I let him win. However, his gaze fell on Keo and I's clasped hands. In a moment of terror and instinct, I tried to pull my hand away, only for Keo to grip it tighter. I didn't fight it and kept my hand in place. I had to remind myself that I had nothing to fear. If he wanted to judge me based on my preference, he could. His opinion didn't mean anything to me, but it didn't stop the small voice in the back of my head from nagging at me. My father stood and walked over to us. His eyes scanned over me and I saw the flash of disappointment that graced them before they glazed over with indifference. He hated me.

The feeling is mutual.

He was handsome, that much I couldn't deny. He had a thin face, but his facial hair compensated for it. He looked as if he could be on the cover of some kind of men's magazine. His hair was combed back and his suit and pressed and elegant. He seemed more like a corporate boss than a father. He loomed over me and I noticed he was quite tall, but Keo was even taller than him and I could tell he noticed that. He tried to stand straighter to appear taller, but it wouldn't work. Keo still loomed over him and that angered him.

"We finally meet, Tyde. You take after your mother."

He held his hand out of me to shake, but I simply stared at it. What made him think I would want to shake his hand-let alone even touch him? He disgusted me and I wanted him to know as much.

He let out an amused laugh at my lack of a reaction. "Your sister responded the same way. Bitterness seems to run your mom's side."

The hand not holding Keo's, curled into a fist. It took every bit of willpower not to hit him right then and there.

"We have every right to be bitter." I snapped.

He seemed startled by the outburst, but his expression remained cold and indifferent. I could already tell I was wasting my breath, but I didn't care. I waited sixteen years to say this. He could listen for five minutes.

"You had three people depending on you and you just left!" I yelled.

My voice filled the entire house and tears were starting to spill from my eyes. I was so angry I was starting to shake. For years, I often wondered what I would say to my father if I ever met him. Sometimes I would cry, sometimes I would yell, sometimes both. However, my imagination could have never prepared me for the real thing. The anger seemed to consume me and I had to continuously squeeze Keo's hand to calm myself down.

He glared at me. "A child like you wouldn't even begin to understand."

I glared back at him. "I understand that I have a duty to my family. I understand my priories and who comes first. I would never be as selfish as you."

He seemed amused by my words. "Interesting you should say that." He pulled a pair of envelopes from the pocket of his suit. He turned back to Elli before looking back at me.

"In these envelopes, are a considerable amount of Swedish money and two first-class tickets back to Sweden. I'm willing to give them to you and send you back to your mother significantly richer, but you should listen to the other option first."

I gulped. This couldn't be good. It was as if we were about to make a deal with the devil. He glanced over at Keo with a smirk.

"I understand both of you have become accustomed to Thailand and have people that are-" he paused as if he were searching for the right words, "-important to you. I'm willing to let you both live with me. You could get an extension on your student visas and stay here for university."

Was this his sneaky way of gaining illegal custody of us? What was the end game here? Was he trying to turn us against our mother? Behind him, Ell spoke up for the first time. She snatched one of the envelopes from his hand.

"I'll take the plane ticket back to Sweden. I'd take a plane to hell before I would stay here with you." She sneered.

He merely laughed as if she were some silly child. "Elliotte, you are just like your mother."

He looked over at me expectantly. "Well Tyde, what will it be?"

I was frozen. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I could only glare at him as hatred trembled throughout me. He observed my body language and slipped the envelope back into his suit pocket.

"Think it over. I'll be back tomorrow."

And just like that, he walked out once more leaving chaos and destruction behind him.