The Ways of Patching Up | ✓

Thirtieth

Lawson showed no desires in letting Elliot go, even though some people attempted to disrupt their bonding, to no avail.

As his son practically flung his body towards the man and hugged him like nothing else mattered, he instinctively cuddled him back with similar strength. The child subsequently trembled within his grasp, and from there, Lawson could feel how helpless and vulnerable he was, compared to a grown adult like him.

"I'm sorry, Els... I'm sorry..." he repeatedly whimpered as hot tears continued skating out of his sore eyes, flooding his face and trickling down his lips. "I'm sorry for hurting and forgetting you..."

What the fuck is wrong with me...? Why did I do something so idiotic...? He internally wailed, bellowing at his foolish self for succumbing to the overwhelming temptations. He should have been throwing those beers away and not turning back towards them, but instead, he found himself finishing and gulping the contents. His consciousness then came in and out like a flickering lightbulb as he found himself on the floor, unable to move and breathe properly.

Elliot said nothing however, but Lawson could hear his hitching breaths as his tiny arms that wrapped around him tightened. Well, he didn't have or need to say anything; his mere actions were more than enough. I wish I can fix all of this...

For the first time since Renata disappeared from his life, Lawson gave no flying fucks about her anymore. Her absence and her sharp last words always took a huge toll to his scarred heart, splintering it to thousands of pieces, but this time, he managed to suck his feelings up and endure the throbbing pain he was forced to confront.

If anything, he was far too exhausted to even ponder about her implausible return... especially when she never interacted with him since the day she left. Right now, he just wanted to stick with his precious baby son, all healthy and brimming with life, giving him back all the colors and love he desperately needed. I don't give a shit... I just want Elliot to be with me, that's all... I don't care about her anymore... it will just ruin me further...

Elliot, on the other side, was hit with gargantuan waves of hope and solace, to the point it brought water into his eyes, indicating that his tear glands had properly functioned. Dad, I'm so glad you're fine... Please don't leave me again, I really need you so much...

Meanwhile, Mr. Zheng and Ms. Fairchild stood in front of the doors, watching the reconciliation between the two alongside the doctors, who didn't dare to make further advances. While the latter remained on the sideline as a faint smile crossed her lips, the former had his eyes narrowed into slits conspicuously infuriated.

An exasperated sigh escaped from his throat as he approached the family, abruptly breaking the sentimental silence, "Lawson, just what do you think you are doi—?!"

"Sir," Ms. Fairchild cut his outburst off almost immediately, grabbing his arm and preventing him from heading straight towards them. When he glanced towards her direction, she shook her head, opposing his moves. "Please let them be."

"But—"

"You can talk with him later. Right now, they really need some time to be together," convinced Ms. Fairchild, "you can't just interrupt a reunion between a parent and his child."

"I... well..." Mr. Zheng's voice trailed off into the air as he couldn't find the proper rebuttal. There was no way he would object with her statement, as he could somewhat relate the situation to his own children as well. He decided it was for the best to zip his mouth shut, although the strong urge to yell at Lawson for his stupid doings was at its peak.

Elliot, on the other hand, made a promise to himself that from now on, he didn't want to be separated from Dad again. It was such a gut-wrenching and terrifying experience, especially when he dreaded for the worst to come, despite reassurances from his counsellor. However, putting those problems aside, at least Dad was fine, and that... there were no weird people taking him away.

"Els...?" Dad rasped, and Elliot quickly looked up at him, where he observed the tears dripping down from his chin, staining his face. "I'm such a bad father, am I...? I wasted my life away and never paid attention to you when you need my help... I was so selfish about my own problems... and I kept running away from my own responsibilities..."

Elliot wasn't able to process some of his complicated words, but he somewhat got the gist that Dad was placing all the burden to himself, and that he was a bad person. Disagreement ensued, as he furiously shook his head and proceeded to squeeze him with his minute but strong embrace.

"No, you're not the bad guy, Dad! You'll never be one," Elliot proclaimed, "you shouldn't hurt yourself... but you've been really sad and angry, so I get it. Also, I should be the one not pushing you so hard!"

"Els..." he mumbled, "but I neglected you. I rarely talked with you ever since..."

"I don't know what ne.. negleted means," Elliot chimed in, struggling to pronounce the unknown word, "but I still think you're a good person! Like, like on the weekends, you did lots of great things and then... and then you helped me lots during dinner too! Also, Mr. Zheng says you've been doing good too!"

Lawson was speechless as he gawked at his own child, who stared straight at him with neither signs of doubt nor fear. It was nothing but pure innocence, especially when his brown pools glittered. What... What did I do to deserve such a little boy like him?

"But Dad... I kinda have something to say," Elliot lowered his tone to a whisper as he planted himself against his father's chest, "if you wanna be sad, let's be sad together, okay? Maybe... you know, we can become much happier later on—"

Elliot never anticipated in a million years for his father to squeeze him further with his toughening grasp, knocking most of the air out of his lungs. The child impulsively attempted squirming out of it, as it was extremely cramped, but he promptly stopped when Dad started speaking out.

"Els... I promise I'll be a great daddy from now on," he sobbed quietly as he caressed his son's hair and back, "I promise I'll change... I won't turn back to my old ways, and I'll get as much help as I need... I promise I'll be there if you need anything, and I promise... I won't leave you ever again... I promise... I'll love you no matter what."

Dad... Elliot closed his eyes, feeling the affection flowing through him. He's really trying his best this time... I trust him. I know he can do it.

Listening to all the commitments Lawson mumbled out, Mr. Zheng was clearly unable to contain his delight and amusement. As the need to berate his friend to death burst out in flames and reduced to ashes, he slowly ambled into the scene. This time, Ms. Fairchild didn't halt him on his tracks, as she had known what his true intentions were.

"Thought I was gonna go all ballistic at you, huh, Lawson?" Mr. Zheng folded his arms as the young man peered at him. "The truth is, I'm still mad at you for not listening to me, but now... I can't just get angry after you finally decided to take care of Elly properly."

Dad didn't reply, as he wiped off the tears with his sleeves before he gently buried his head in Elliot's shoulder. Taking a sharp inhale, he mouthed out the words that the boy had been yearning to hear for ages, "I love you, Els."

"Love you too, Dad," the child replied back with no more regrets.

Thus, all of these events marked the starting point of their ways of patching up.

***

a/n: ahhh Patching Up is finally coming to an end as Elliot and his father finally make amends... TAT the epilogue of this story will be up by next week.

Thank you so much for all the reads and your awesome support, as it helped motivate me to write more ^^ I'm actually sad to see this go, as I often updated this once a week that it had become a routine. I'm so gonna miss Elliot and the gang T_T

Hopefully you enjoy this last (kinda) chapter, and wish you a great day/night ahead! ^^