To Us

17

Kris' POV

I have been here for two weeks and I know that in another two weeks' time I'm going to have to go back to school. I am rich, I know that, but going to school has never been about the money. I really want to be a pharmacist, my grandfather was a pharmacist but that's not really my biggest motivation, I don't know what it is but I know when I look into my future I definitely see myself doing drug research and synthesizing drugs that will make a change. I have been here for two weeks and I think it's high time I visited my father.

I get out of bed and head for the bathroom, I need a long shower to calm my nerves and to mentally and emotionally prepare myself for this meeting. I know he will be at home, it's a Tuesday today, he is always at home every Tuesday come what may. There is a possibility that things have changed in the past three years but my father is a man who doesn't like change so I am pretty sure he will be at home today. I tell people that I don't have parents, technically I do have a father but I stopped seeing him as such five years ago. If it was up to me and grandpa wasn't such a meddler I would keep it that way but I have to talk to him, so my grandfathers Will can have meaning and so that Chris' Orphanage can get the money it rightfully deserves. I know that grandpa said I can give the money to any charity of my choice but him and I both know that the orphanage is where I will take it, he knew when he wrote that Will that it is the only way I would ever talk to my father, his wife and his son. His adopted son.

Half an hour later I make my way out of the shower. Room service already brought my breakfast up so I sit down and eat before I dress up. My phone rings and I look at the caller ID. It is Xander and I am reminded that he is staying in the same hotel as me. I let the call go to voicemail, grab my phone and head for the elevator.

As soon as the doors open in the basement I head for my rented car, taking a deep breath I start it and make my way through town, to the house I grew up in, to the house that the naïve younger me used to call home. Driving into the street that the house is located in, I force myself to take deep breaths, to calm my nerves, telling myself I am here for a good reason.

I pull up and the gate is open, a black limo is parked close to the fountain that is central in the driveway. My father kisses Ruby before she gets into the car and he closes the door after her. Instead of entering the gates I reverse my car and make my way back onto the road. Reminded of the day that my whole world was shaken out of existence, replaced by a colder, less forgiving world, I start to hyperventilate. The scene is all too clear in my head and I cannot stop the memories from running wildly in my head.

It was a Tuesday and I had gone to school but had left earlier than usual because I had a headache and one of my friends dropped me off at home. My house was situated in a way that from the front door you could see a person or car approaching but you couldn't necessarily hear them until they were relatively close. Suzy dropped me off at the gate, she had to go back to school before break time finished so she didn't drive in. Walking into the driveway I spotted the black limo that Hunk, the guy who drove me to and from school, used on special occasions. I was intrigued, who was using the limo? Getting closer I saw my dad standing in front of a lady, whose back was to me. She was in a very short red dress. It wasn't my mother, this lady was curvy and my mother was slim. I looked on and a few seconds later my dad and the lady kissed, passionately,before they both entered the car. At that time I thought I had been staring ,shocked ,for a lifetime but it must have been a couple of seconds because as soon as the limo started I quickly moved to hide behind one of the huge palm trees that lined our driveway. As soon as the car left I rushed up to the house and found my mother standing in the hallway. She looked a bit startled when she saw me but quickly recovered her composure, as always.

"So you saw them?" She asked me crossing her arms.

"W-who?" I stammered, heart beating wildly against my chest.

"Don't be childish. Your dad and his mistress." She stated matter-of-factly.

My heart sank to the floor, I had hoped it was someone else, that my headache had made me see things, anything but the reality.

"Don't look so shocked, you will get over it, at least I did." She said making her way to the sitting room.

"But...but..." I fumbled for words.

"But what? Why aren't you at school anyway? Is everything okay?" She asked me turning back to look at me.

"Does Christian know?" I asked her ignoring her question.

"He is in university. Far from here, he doesn't need to be worried with such petty issues."

"This is a petty issue?"

"Yes. Wipe away those tears please, it's not your husband who is unashamedly sleeping with his mistress in your own house." Then she walked away. Leaving me crushed, with a broken heart. Every night after that I had nightmares and panic attacks that lasted until the very day I left home for good.

I don't know how I manage to stop my panic attack from passing me out. I tell myself to breath and after a few minutes I am able to start my car and move from the side road to drive back to the hotel. Remembering the day both my parents let me down, my father with his cheating and my mother with her insensitivity. I was only fifteen for crying out loud. I park my car and head for my room in a dazed state. However when I get to my door I can't bring myself to swipe the key card. Instead I head for the next suite. I stand there for about five minutes, telling myself to breathe in and out. Ringing the door bell I wait and a few seconds later Xander stands in front of me with a smile that quickly fades when he sees my disheveled state and hears my heavy breathing.

"Kris?" He asks worriedly.

"My father is the first person, the first man who ever broke my heart." I blurt out before collapsing in his arms.