Rivals? (MLM)

Chapter 6. It All Circles Back

But it was all going to circle back to my parents, wasn't it?

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After school yesterday, my parents called me to the living room to 'talk,' I believed it at first. But when I saw the furious look on my father's face, my heart sank. This has happened once before, and I decided it would never, ever happen again after that.

They told me it was a 'serious topic.' My heart sank as soon as I heard those words. I knew this wasn't going to be a normal family conversation. The way they said it; it was like they weren't even my parents. It was clear that we were about to discuss something terrifyingly serious.

My mother spoke, "Lucian, mind explaining what happened between you and Mayura?"

It finally hit me that the other day Mayura and I had a major fight in front of everyone. My gut feeling tells me this discussion is about that, huh...?

"Uhm, yeah, we argued..." I replied, sweating a bit.

"About what? She told us you were cheating on her... With a man..."

I blink exaggeratively, sweating even more, "I- What...?" What is she talking about? When did I ever cheat? If anybody in the relationship wasn't loyal, it was Mayura.

"Is it true, Lucian? Are you...?" Now she looked sad like she couldn't accept it. Even though it was all a lie, how come she looked like she didn't want to accept this as the truth, although she believes it is? This is so confusing...

"What? No, I was defending him -" My father cut me off, "Why were you defending him and not your girlfriend?" He crossed his arms, glaring at me like I wasn't even his child.

My body heated up, sweating even more. I bit my cheek, trying not to run away from this mess. "She was making fun of his heterochromia, and I got mad. It's that simple -"

My father didn't let me finish my thoughts, cutting me off again, "That isn't what she said."

I quit biting my cheek, embracing my anger and letting it spill, "So you believe her over your son? Is that how it is?" My blood boiled. How could they possibly believe Mayura over me, their son?

"She never lies, Lucian. And you are the rebellious type. Now, answer my question directly: Why did you defend your rival instead of your girlfriend?" Now she sounded harsh as well. It surprised me, as she's never this mad at anything. Why are they both so against me hanging out with other men?

I muttered quietly, "Why is he defined as my rival anyway? He's a cool guy..."

My father seemed even more angered by my approach, "Excuse you? He is not cool. He is your rival, and nothing else. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, but I don't understand you. He hasn't done anything to prove to me that he's a bad person, I don't even know what your problem is." I was still speaking quietly, but he heard me loud and clear.

My father's eyebrows furrowed obviously. It wasn't made to be subtle either. His voice sounded more irritated than ever before, "You are ridiculous, Lucian. We never raised you this way! I am starting to regret sending you to a public school. It's messing with your senses."

I scoffed accidentally, "What? You're regretting sending me to a public school because I'm becoming a better person? This is ridiculous!"

Both of my parents took a deep inhale and exhaled. Then my dad decided to speak after the moment of awkward silence. "Lucian, you're disappointing me here," he paused for a second, "I can't believe this is how you turned out to be..."

I felt a tear well up in my eye... I never thought my parents - No, my dad would ever talk to me like that... "W-What... You actually see me as a disappointment? After all I've done, after all the money I've made this family, you still think I'm disappointing you?! I never thought I could hate you as parents anymore..." The tear trailed down my face, but it didn't change my father's mind. He hated me. He thought I was a disappointment.

"Whatever, you're grounded. Go to your room, and you aren't having dinner tonight." My own blood, my father, told me I was a disappointment. All because I stood up for my friend, how cruel can this life possibly get?

I turned around, my head facing the floor as I started upstairs. But then I paused, "Wait... I'm not having dinner? Does he want me to starve?" I thought to myself.

I turned back around, walking back down the stairs while mustering up the courage to speak to my parents again, "I'm not having dinner? I'm going to starve if I don't eat!"

Those tears came again, pouring down my entire face. But guess what? My father couldn't care less. "Doesn't matter. This is your punishment and what you get for being a fatass."

I gasped loudly, blinking my eyes in disbelief and trying to get the blurriness out. "You want me to starve? And you think I'm fat?" My crying got worse and worse by the second, I could barely breathe because of all the emotions overcoming my body.

Are these really my parents? What happened to my kind and loving parents from before? Did they realize they hate me all of a sudden and want me dead? Is that how it is...?

This has to be a dream. No. A sick nightmare. That's it. This is all just a part of some deep slumber I'm having after a long day of school. It has to be.

There's no way my parents randomly turned into monsters, no way. Never has my father ever cursed at me or in front of me either.

So this isn't real. It's all some crazy nightmare...

Right...?

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Word Count - 988

Date - October 14th