Searching For Answers (We Can Make This Work sequel)

Chapter 8

** Jacob's P.O.V **  

I stood holding the letters, almost too afraid to open them, in case of what I might find, but each and every one was addressed to me, the last one was sent 10 years ago on my eleventh birthday. Who the hell were they from?  

As I stood there, dumbfounded, I heard the door slam and suddenly snapped out of it. Casper came into the kitchen to be greeted by the mess I had caused, I had completely forgotten about him!  

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Casper roared 

I was speechless as I stood dead still in the middle of the room. 

"I-I-I got angry and I was just and then this and the letters and..." I stuttered, my head reeling from everything that was going on 

"This is none of your business!" he spat as he began trying to grab up the letters and throw them into the fire in the corner of the kitchen 

"What are you doing? They're mine!" I yelled as I finally started to realise what was going on 

"It's nothing got to do with you" he growled as he started throwing more onto the fire  

I still had one letter left in my hand, I decided to rip it open but at that Casper lunged forward and grabbed it out of my hands but not before I caught a glimpse of the end, and the two words that hit me like a sharp knife being driven into my chest. 

Love mom. 

I froze, pain starting to trickle through my body, but it wasn't a physical pain, it was an ache, an unending longing for something I couldn't quite explain. 

"You burned the only thing I have from my mother" I began in a low growl as I faced him with a wicked expression 

"She wrote to me every year, and you kept that from me!" I raised my voice 

"Where is she?" I questioned in a low tone 

"I told you she left when you were young for another man" Casper replied coolly trying to brush off the situation 

"LIAR" I yelled "Where the fuck is she?" I screamed 

"I don't know" he yelled back in my face 

"TELL ME" I roared as I pinned him against the wall 

"She's dead" he screamed as he hit me across the face to get me off him 

I stumbled backwards, unsure of how to react 

Dad took a step back and released a breath of air he had been holding in, he kept his distance, he didn't know how I would react to this. 

"She's dead since I was eleven and you never told me" I said as I felt anger boiling within me 

"She died when you were one. I wrote those letters because I was thinking of giving them to you over the years but I realised there was no point because I knew this day would come and I would have been lying to you even more than I already am" he replied distantly as he turned his head from me 

I wasn't quite sure if I was angry at the fact he has kept this from me or if I felt loved at the fact that he wanted to protect me from the hard truth. 

"I need to leave for a while" I started in a whisper "and I don't know when I'll be back" I finished as I turned my back to him and walked to my room to pack my stuff. 

I threw whatever I could find into a bag and grabbed up whatever money I could. I had no idea where I was going but I knew I couldn't stay here anymore. I walked to the front door and hesitated 

"I love you" I heard Casper mumble from the kitchen doorway 

Those 3 little words hit me like a ton of bricks. How could I reply to something like that? I decided there was nothing I could say so I just opened the door and left my father standing there.