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CHAPTER 6 HAD UNDERGONE THE REPARATION PROGRAM: BATCH ONE

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“Explain yourself.” Aaron said curtly.

Aaron and Chase are currently sitting around the table in the dining room. The spear and bag are placed on the stone table like the evidence of a heinous crime. Aaron is the interrogator, and Chase is the suspect. With his knuckles going white with nervousness, Chase inhales deeply and presents his case.

“I went out and kil-“

“You went out to get killed!” Aaron slams the table with a fist. “Yes, I know! Despite the many times I told you not to put yourself in danger! What else had you been doing behind my back??” Aaron howls at his son, spittle spraying all over the kitchen.

“That’s because I was-“ Chase quickly tries to get a word in.

“Because you were not thinking about your own safety!” He hits the innocent table again. “You were not considering the fact that I care about you!” Blue veins are becoming more distinguished on Aaron’s temples, telling much of his current mood.

“I did take safety preca-“ Chase has not given up, he tries to explain himself.

*BAM* *krrrkk*

“Safety PRECAUTIONS? What safety precautions could you possibly have any knowledge of???” Aaron could not control his anger and slammed the table extra hard along with his outburst. Long, thin cracks spread out on the sturdy stone furniture.

Chase breaks off his eye contact with his father and stares at the ground. His body trembles like it usually does on the coldest of days, yet the current situation is heated in more than one way. He bites down his quivering lips to freeze it in place. The corners of his eyes begin to feel warm and wet.

Aaron does not care, he simply goes on and on, scolding his son one-sidedly. He is the adult here, he knows better. Everything he does is for the good of his own son, how could he ever be wrong?

“WELL THAT’S BECAUSE YOU NEVER TAUGHT ME ANYTHING!” The emotional dam Chase had built around his heart burst open, letting out his frustration and anger.

“JUST ONCE! I WENT OUT JUST ONCE! TO PROVE MYSELF TO YOU, THAT I COULD DO THIS!” His cheeks are wet, glistening with liquid sadness. “DID YOU EVEN CONSIDER HOW MUCH THOUGHT I PUT INTO KEEPING MYSELF ALIVE? DID YOU EVEN ASK HOW I WENT ABOUT KILLING THOSE GOBLINS?!” Aaron shrinks back, shocked by the unexpected retaliation.

“That’s –“ He attempts to say something.

“IF YOU TRULY CARED ABOUT ME, YOU WOULD’VE TAUGHT ME ALL ABOUT THESE NECESSARY SURVIVAL SKILLS YOU HAD BEEN NAGGING ME ABOUT! YOU WOULD’VE ASKED ME AND CONSIDERED WHAT I WANTED TO DO!” Chase releases his suppressed negative thoughts, accusations that he himself did not really mean, but what control does he have? It hurts so much that he could not even spare a thought about being considerate.

YOU’VE BEEN SO OVERPROTECTIVE OF ME THAT I DON’T EVEN HAVE A SINGLE FRIEND!!” Ten years of solitude. He endured it all, because he loves his father. “YOU THOUGHT I WOULDN’T EXPECT YOU TO SCOLD ME?! OF COURSE I KNEW, BUT I WENT ANYWAY BECAUSE THAT’S HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME!!”

It was Aaron’s turn to be silenced. His mouth remains slightly open, looking for words, sentences, anything that could justify himself.

“NONE OF THIS WOULD BE A PROBLEM IF YOU AREN’T SO HUNG UP OVER MOTHER’S DEATH!!”

Chase bites his lips, he knew he had said too much when seeing his father’s hurt expression. He did not apologize though. It is already too late to take it back when the sentence came out of his mouth. What has been spoken cannot be retaken.

“You-“

Aaron could not finish his sentence in time as Chase has already dashed off into his room and slammed the door shut with an ear-splitting bang.

‘Just what is wrong with him?! What was that about not considering about my own safety! What was that about me not considering about people who care about me!’ Chase thought to himself as he sat on his bed. The room is dark, none of his lamps are lighted. That hardly matters, because he is burying his face into his own knees.

‘Listen to reason, Chase! Think logically, don’t get overwhelmed by emotions!’ A perfect imitation of his father’s voice played out in his head. “Great advice, dad! You’re not even applying it!” Chase murmured under his ragged breath as he sits all alone in the shadow.

-Aaron’s perspective-

I opened the door, ‘Ah, home sweet home’ I thought. Sure, it is not as fancy as some of the houses I have seen, but I did buy it myself. Heck, I even worked with the builders to get a discount on the price!

That table Chase is sleeping at over there, bless the boy, he must have been studying so hard. Anyway, that table there, I remember the time when I made that flimsy desk. Iris said I could just borrow some money from her mother, but I gave her a firm ‘no’. I had to show her that I am a man through and through.

I saw a miniscule movement from Chase at the corner of my eyes. ‘Is he shivering? Oh my God!’ I thought. It was a hot day, not sweltering so but hot nonetheless but who am I to judge that frail, defenceless boy of mine? I hurried myself to grab a blanket for him.

*Bonk*

‘Ouch! What did I hit?’

I looked down and saw a bag and some sort of spear lying on the floor. The bag had sticks poking out of it. I took a closer look and opened the bag. It was filled with similar sticks, as expected. At least that was what I thought at first. Upon closer inspection, they were all goblin clubs. I ran my hand on the wooden surfaces, feeling the dried blood caked on some of the clubs.

‘I pity the poor saps who got beaten to death’ I thought. It must have been a long and torturous thing, being killed by these flimsy little sticks. ‘I wonder how many hours it took to end his or her life’ The idle thought filled up my mind for a moment.

‘Did a visitor come by and dropped this off?’ I frowned, trying to recall any acquaintance of mine that would have this sort of hobby. Quite a few, actually, but they should not have any reason to drop by on me and leave so suddenly.

‘He left his weapon behind, too. What happened to hi-- ‘ The thought was pushed away as soon as I examined the spear. ‘This… this is my dagger isn’t it? There’s fresh blood on it…’

Then the situation clicked in my mind. I lifted my head and stared at Chase. ‘Chase!’ A sense of dread crawled up the back of my neck.

I ran over to check his pulse and looked closely at his body to scan for injuries. The steady beat under my fingers felt slow and stable, maybe because he was asleep but it was nothing abnormal.

‘No wounds, phew…’ I did not see any bruises or cuts on his skin, and his clothes seem to be fine except for some patches of brown dirt here and there.

‘Thank god he’s safe… but what the hell were you thinking, Chase? I strictly prohibited you from putting yourself in danger! Ten goblin clubs! Ten goblins! That’s certainly impressive but what the hell, Chase?!’

I could feel strings of heat rising off my head as I silently stared at Chase. A faint smile formed on my son’s mouth, as if he was mocking me.

‘Oh, you must be having some good dreams of your life-threatening adventure, huh?! Well just you wait Chase, I’m going to scold you like there’s no tomorrow…. Sometimes being strict is a must’

I waited for Chase to wake up while sitting on another chair in the living room with my arms crossed. I put the bag and spear at my feet, ready to be picked up at any moment.

After ten minutes, Chase began to stir. I lifted the bag and spear and stood in front of him. Mustering up all my anger, I spoke ominously.

“Chase Blackstone, you and I need to talk, now.”

The conversation carried on into the dining room and it ended in a disfavorable manner with Chase leaving in tears and me silenced by his arguments. I was left in the kitchen with my mouth gaping open, still grasping for words to respond with. Chase had hit a sore spot of mine, the fact that I was still hung up over Iris’ death.

The image of Iris dying before my eyes, with me powerless to do anything floated up to the surface of my mind. I felt so weak after her death. I spent months mechanically taking care of Chase like a soulless golem. Those days were the worst, Iris was a part of me, and I lost her! It was all thanks to Chase that I recovered... I witnessed him growing up, the moment he started to walk… the time he spoke his first words… when he learnt how to read. Slowly, but surely, I regained my joy in life.

I vowed to never let him get in harm’s way, I diligently trained my body every morning before sunrise so I would not influence Chase to venture on the same path that I took. Never again shall I lose someone who is dear to me.

‘Now my son hates me…’ I looked at the goblin clubs and makeshift spear I laid on the table. With my head cleared of anger, I started to think.

‘He made a spear… why?’ I gripped the pitiful weapon in my hand and inspected it. ‘The dagger was wrapped with a roll of bandage to the stick’ Surely an improvisation made in haste.

I swung the spear around a few times, taking care not to hit anything. It felt comfortable, like a real polearm. ‘ The balance is nice, and the dagger is wrapped firmly ’Having it the tip of the blade extended a little over a meter from me, I understood. ‘He must have realised the short reach of his arms… so he crafted a spear’

I tossed the weapon aside and turned the bag upside down, emptying it of its contents. A wrapped piece of meat, a roll of bandage and almost a dozen clubs fell out. ‘He brought along a roll of bandage in case of receiving injuries… ‘ I thought as I held the item on my palm.

‘These clubs…. Now that I look at them properly… some of them are broken by blunt impact’ I deduced after examining the jagged ends.

‘If he was using a spear, then how did these clubs break?’ I pondered, a broken half gripped in each of my palms. ‘Of course… He must’ve fought from a higher ground… probably on top of a tree! He utilised the long range given by the spear and knocked them down!’

‘He was back here before me, and he woke up ten minutes after my arrival…. Which means he did not go too deep into the forest’ Which means… ‘He must’ve planned his retreat as well!’

Pangs of guilt hit me heavily with each discovery I made.

‘He did give a lot of thought into this… ‘

Chase’s words came back to me.

‘JUST ONCE! I WENT OUT JUST ONCE! TO PROVE MYSELF TO YOU, THAT I COULD DO THIS! DID YOU EVEN CONSIDER HOW MUCH THOUGHT I PUT INTO KEEPING MYSELF ALIVE? DID YOU EVEN ASK HOW I WENT ABOUT KILLING THOSE GOBLINS?!’

I feel stupid, so foolish. The more of Chase’s retort that I recalled, the dumber I felt.

‘I need to make up with him’ I decided on that without any hesitation. It was the right thing to do. I put the wrapped piece of meat back into the bag and slung it over one of my shoulders. I grabbed the spear and immediately headed for my son’s room.

*Knock* *Knock*

My knocks were met with silence.

“Chase?” I said, an ear pressed against the door. No response came. I waited for a bit before speaking again.

“Chase? Can I have a word with you?” I put on the gentlest tone I could produce.

“W-w-what do y-you want?” A shaky voice responded, my heart ached as I realised that I have made him cry. My own son, Iris forgive me.

“Can you open the door? Please?”

“….”

The quietness was disquieting. I felt my heart wrenching and twisting, punishing me for being a jerk.

I heard the sound of the bed creaking followed by footsteps approaching the door. With a soft click, the door was unlocked and Chase swung it inwards. He walked back to his bed and sat on it. He rested his head on top of his knees with his hands wrapped around them. His eyes were red. He was staring at me with the expression befitting of a hurt animal.

I slowly walked over and sat down at the corner of his bed while leaving some distance between us. That gap was emotional as well as physical. There was something there, something unpleasant that tried to cleave our bonds.

‘….’

“I’m sorry” I said.

Chase did not interrupt me, he just continued to stare.

“I know I said all those hurtful things before… I’m sorry for not letting you explain yourself properly” I gazed at the mattress because I did not know where to look at. “I’ve checked the stuff you brought back; I saw the amount of preparation and thought you put in”

I lifted the items and presented them to him. Why did I do that? I don’t know, maybe I just wanted him to believe that I was really apologizing, that I really felt bad about myself.

Chase’s expression did not change. My heart grew heavy, it felt like it could drop down into my stomach at any moment. My eyes felt hot, and wet. I remember this sensation. It was just like that time, when Iris left me… No, when I let go of Iris.

“Chase, p-please don’t hate me?” I begged. Pride did not deter me from pouring my heart out.

Chase’s eyes lit up, a hint of surprise showing on his face.

“I was just worried about you, I don’t want to lose anyone I love ever again…” Never, definitely never. I have no one left, it was just Chase and me now.

‘Damn it, a teardrop just fell… I must look so pathetic right now’ I thought to myself.

Chase’s expression finally softened. His previous scowl lost its hard edges as he reached out a hand and patted my shoulder.

“Hng?” I was startled by his action.

“I’m sorry too… I should’ve tried to persuade you more before I recklessly went to the Forest” Chase said.

“B-bo, you wereb bot reckless at all, you wouldn’t hab ma-aged to persuade this stubborn old ma-n” My words were now incorrigible because of my nose being blocked with mucus. Damn it.

Chase pulled me into a hug with his small hands.

“I love you, dad”

“Guhehhh!? Urgh!! Uaaaaaaaarghhhhh!” I started to sob uncontrollably, I have no idea how I looked like but it must be unsightly to see a big muscular man being consoled by his ten year old son.

Chase continued to pat me on the back and I stopped crying after a minute.

*Srott!* *Sroottt*

I sucked my dangling mucus back into my nose.

*Pfft*

“Hahahhahahahahahahaha!” Chase was laughing hard on the bed while looking at my pathetic visage. It was the first time ever for me to see him laughing so freely and sincerely. Without being able to control myself, I started to laugh as well.

“Hahahahahahahahahaaaa!”

It took a while for both of us to stop laughing our hearts out.

“Chase, you haven’t had your lunch or dinner, right?” I spoke while rummaging inside the bag I brought along and procured the wrapped piece of meat.

“Would you mind eating with me?” I tore off the meat in half and gave it to Chase.

“Mmm!” Chase nodded while smiling softly. The smile looks just like the one Iris used to make.

“So, would you care to tell this old man all about your adventure today?” I asked him. His eyes gleamed with eagerness and he instantly launched into a narrative about his battle.

We stayed up late that night, sharing stories of our adventures together.

Without realising it, the gap between us had closed.

‘Everything is fine now’ I thought with a smile.

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Leave comments/suggestions/corrections/whatever down below. Thank you for following this story so far! :blush:

Releases would slow down considerably after I release Chapter 6 as my final exams are approaching.

I love philosophical questions!ArmusOn to the training!