Return II

Chapter 9

Prince's POV

After what Blanket had said to me about an hour or so ago, I cannot stop thinking. I can't believe such a thing could or would come from him. I know that he is the kind to speak his mind and he is not afraid to say anything, but I never thought he could be so heartless as to say something negatively about Natalie. Last time I recalled, he was getting angry with anyone and everyone who spoke of her in such a way.

"That doesn't matter, 'cause she won't be here anymore." My little brother's words overthrow my every thought. I look into the rear view mirror at my brother and he is staring at me. When our eyes meet, he looks directly to and out of the window. I focus my gaze back on the parking lot as I back out and pull into the highway. 

After a few minutes of silence, Paris sighs. "Why are you two so quiet?" she asks, looking between Blanket and I. Neither of us speak up, so she continues.

"Did something happen between you two? Seriously, what's up?" Blanket sighs from the back seat and I stay silent. I cannot think of how to come back to her, and I'm sure Blanket can't either, so I just turn on the radio to ease the tension and break the silence between the three of us. 

Paris sighs once again and rolls her eyes. I can't help but smile as she turns her head to look out of the window. 

Country music fills the car and Blanket shoots up. "Change it." He demands and I laugh. I look at him through the rear view mirror once again and he gives me a shy smile. Better than nothing, I guess.

I change the radio station to pop and Blanket begins to sing along to a weird song that I do not know the name of. Paris begins to sing as well and I can't help but smile and chuckle. 

The song eventually ends and the car fills with the sound of the radio talk show hosts.

"Is it dad?" Paris asks after a few moments of listening to the boring voices. "Dad." I say, smiling a fake smile and nodding. "What a damn show, right?" I ask and she snaps her head in my direction. She glares at me and I pause, then nod again. "What a damn show." I mumble again.

"What do you mean by 'show'?" She asks and I shrug. "Exactly what 'show' means. You know the only reason why he came back was because of Natalie. If she were fine, he would have never came back. He would have never tried contacting us or coming to see us, and you know it. Hell, we all know it. It's ridiculous." 

The words fall out of my mouth before I can even process them. Paris is a huge daddy's girl. Always has been and always will be. She opens her mouth to speak, but closes it as soon as I turn to her. She does not know how to respond to my explanation and I'm glad. I don't want to listen to her rant right now and it's better that she has nothing to say.

It's true though. My dad leaves my brother, sister and I and doesn't contact us for two whole years. But the second he gets a call saying that his youngest daughter got into an accident and could possibly be lying on her death bed, he comes running. He didn't even come back after Paris's suicide attempts. And when he sees us, he hugs us and tells us how much he loves us and how much he missed us. That is a show to me.

I look at Blanket through the rear view mirror again and he has a shocked expression on his face. I guess he hadn't expected Paris and I to argue about something so small.

"You sound like such an asshole." Paris says and I roll my eyes. I try to ignore her, but she keeps talking even when I tell her to stop. "How could you say such a thing? You're not even grateful that our father came back all the way from God knows where to see us and you think it's all a joke."

"I didn't say it was a fucking joke, Paris." I fire back and she glares at me again. "I said it's a show. He only came back for Natalie, and we all know it. If she was fine then he'd still be gone."

"If he would have never came back, none of us would have gotten close!" Paris yells and I nearly slam on the brakes. "Shut up," I say calmly. "Just shut up and stop talking."

"He's kind of right," Blanket mumbles quietly. "Dad didn't come back when you were in the hospital." Paris's eyes widen and I can tell she is about to cry. She couldn't force herself to look at Blanket, only me. 

When I pull up to my grandparents' house, I see that Blanket is clutching the door handle for dear life. As soon as I stop the car and put in in park, Blanket is out of the car and standing at the front door. I look at Paris and she rolls her eyes before exiting the car and jogging up to our youngest brother. "Damn it." I say to myself under my breath and exit the car. I walk up to the doorstep and toss the key to whoever can catch it. Blanket does, and he moves to unlock to door as quickly as possible. 

As soon as my siblings enter the house and close the door behind them, I walk toward the back of the house. I explore the gardens my grandmother put together with my mom right after my dad left. They said that as long as the flowers bloomed, my dad would be safe and in good hands. 

"One for each of the kids." My mom had said with a smile. "They smell beautiful. Prince, come here!" My grandmother calls for me and I stand quickly. I slowly walk to the two women and sit cross-legged next to my mom. She places her arm around my shoulders and I smile at her. 

That had been the first time I had seen her since I was about three or four. I haven't seen her since. I kind of miss her. For the longest time, she did not want anything to do with Paris and I, and she admitted to it, too. It hurts to know that now, but at the time when I was young and she left, it didn't know any better. My daddy was all I needed.

Dad.

What a man he is. Really. I admire him. He's a great, kindhearted, talented man who cares about anyone and everyone. He's a great dad and a great man. However, the day he sat Paris, Blanket and I down at the table, I knew something was wrong. 

I was only about eleven, and I remember that the nannies and other women prepared a very large breakfast. When the plates were set in front of us, I did not want to touch my food until I knew for sure what was going on. My dad insisted I get some food in my system before the conversation begins, but I refused. Paris and Blanket had their faces buried in their plates and they paid no mind as to what it is that our dad needed to talk to us about, or if he was going to talk to us at all.

When he finally explained, I played it off as though I was okay with it. I even told him that it was a great idea. He said a lot about getting hate and discrimination from the outside world, but I didn't really understand at the time. He told us that this would just be a long vacation and I told him that I was happy for him. I told him that I loved him and I wished him a good time. 

I didn't eat my food, though. Deep down, I was very upset with my dad. With the many times that man has told my siblings and I how much he loves us and how much we mean to him, and that he would never leave us no matter what, and that he'd always be here for us whenever we need him, I couldn't help but feel angry and betrayed. 

But the second he finds out that his youngest daughter is dying, he comes running. I cannot explain how badly that hurts me. He would not have even tried contacting any of us if Blanket had never found out about Natalie.

Kudos to my baby brother.