Flirting With Death

Chapter 18

I rolled my eyes as we approached a familiar room. My room. Along with a familiar face I could've sworn I'd never see again.

"Hey sweetheart," spoke the familiar voice of my father, a very uneasy voice at that, "I was hoping you'd have shaken this off by now, you always were so strong, like your mother."

I heard a sniffle, but for some reason I couldn't move, my feet planted by the door hanging to every word my father said. I could hear Demetri shuffle around next to me, probably unsure of how to comfort me in this situation. Which is a strange thought considering how many times he has probably gone through this. 

"I know you're probably not going to hear this, but the reality is this is the only time you'll be around me long enough to hear what I have to say. You have to know that with all my heart, I am so sorry Mack," he whispered, holding onto the limp hand as his voice cracked throughout his apology. 

I tried to keep my wall up as he attempted to apologize for everything that had broken my heart just a few years back, unable to contain the tears that surfaced. 

A single question had been gnawing at the back of my head as my father lay his forehead on mine, watching as he silently sobbed over my unconscious body; would he have apologized this way, so full of regret and self-loathing, if I wasn't in a coma?

I stood there, tall and unbroken as I forced my tears back and ignored the strain in my throat that was threatening to choke out a sob. I didn't let myself so much as sniffle as I heard the man who left my family broken, with nothing to start a new life with another family. 

I turned around, grabbing onto Demetri's hand and nodding, letting him know that I had seen enough. 

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"I was about 14 years old when he left. He left me, he left my mom, he left James," I scoffed, shaking my head as my eyes focused on my fingernails, "How the hell do you leave your baby boy just like that?"

"We had just moved out of the apartment we'd been living in our entire lives, my dad had decided that we had outgrown that place and it was time a for a real home. He was beginning a new job at this law firm and everything seemed to be at a turning point for us. In a way it was, just not for the better." 

I glanced up for a moment to see Demetri intensely concentrating on what I was saying, which in a way encouraged me to continue. We sat on the bed in my room, it was as silent as ever in there. 

"A few months into his new job, we had just decided which house to buy, and everything seemed to be going perfect. Except it wasn't," I sighed, "One day I came home from school, and I saw my mom fighting with my dad, screaming about betrayal and lying, so I put two and two together. My father was a cheater. For a few weeks, my mom stayed silent about the situation, not knowing how to deal with it on her own, especially when she had a baby boy and a teenager to take care of. "

"Not too long after that situation, news came out about how the new fantastic job that my father had gotten himself into was a gigantic scam that he was a part of, which is how his salary almost suspiciously tripled. After that fell through, he decided that he needed to go on the run."

I took a deep breath and I know Demetri could tell that the worst part was yet to come. He held my hand, urging me to continue.

"And with that, he slipped out from underneath us. Took all our savings, every last penny, left my mom, James and me for dead and decided to run away with that bimbo of his," I tried to explain as nonchalantly as possible, which was the only way I could keep it together at that point. 

"A year later, he was found and tried in court for his little scamming act, and found not guilty, which only encouraged the bastard to go on and live his life to fullest. So he made a new family, and forgot us. Forgot me," I whispered, my chest feeling heavy as if I'd run out of oxygen, "How could he forget me?"

I'd realized that I wasn't holding in tears anymore, but instead almost hyperventilating as my tears ran free, feeling as though I couldn't breathe. 

Demetri quickly grabbed me by the back of my head, pulling me towards him and burying my head in his chest, wrapping himself around me as I let all my feelings out. 

It took a few minutes for my crying to stop and for the room to become completely silent. All I could hear was the sound of me and Demetri's heavy breathing as we sat there together. His arms were still holding onto me as though his life depended on it, when in reality, my life was depending on it. 

We pulled apart momentarily, and as much as I would've loved to have the courage to look him in the face, I ended up pulling away, and laying down on my bed staring in the opposite direction. 

Not a second after I moved, he quickly placed a hand on my chin, urging me to look his way. We sat there for a while, almost as though we were enjoying each other's presence, just content with our existence. 

After silence that seemed to have lasted forever, Demetri could only think of one thing to say, which somehow put my mind to rest;

"There's no way you're forgiving this bastard."

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wow gee haha it has been a while! Now before you all set me on fire, yes I have seen your comments and wow have i been meaning to write this chapter. 

TYSM for all of you who still (for some reason) still have clung onto this story and have been nagging me to update, 

yes you, 

you are the reason I am continuing this. 

The amount of votes and reads this story has gotten has gone above and beyond what I expected and I hope that continues because I think I'll try to update a lot regularly now. Keyword- try! lol

again, thank you so much for voting, it really encourages me to keep going with this, and also your comments make my day! 

also ignore any and all grammar/spelling mistakes, i'll go through those later, for now just enjoy! 

-wazzi 

p.s. 

demetri and mack are still going strong, don't you agree? hehehe