Guyfriends ~ Luke Hemmings

Chapter 6

"What do you mean, show you around Amsterdam?"

"Yeah, just show me some interesting and important places. Maybe places that are important to you?" He adds, making me smile. I always get a little carried away when I talk about something that interests me, but I like how he cares enough to ask me this.

I walk towards a little, lonely park. Of course there is the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, but that's very big and there are a lot of people. This park had about the size of two or three football fields and the edge of it was littered with trees. It was actually just a little forest with a small opening in the middle and a very small lake next to the opening, a part of the lake under the trees and their leaves.

Not many people knew about it, so that's why it was always very quiet and I loved it. I came here whenever I needed some time to myself, just to think. Even most of my friends didn't know about this place, only Melissa, Anne and Jenna knew. Jenna is one of my friends from church, but I've known her before that. We're very close, more like sisters. I'll tell you more about her and my other friends when I have time. If you want to and also if you don't want to.

I mean, I'm the main character of this book. That means it's my story, not yours. That doesn't mean I don't love you though, whoever you may be.

"Wow, it's beautiful here." Michael gapes at the sight in front of him, making me giggle a bit.

"Right? I found it when I was about seven or eight years old. My parents just told me my father wasn't my real father, so I needed some space and accidentally ended up in this amazing place. It became my sweet escape. Whenever I wanted to think and be alone I came here to escape from reality."

"Oh, I didn't know that. How do you feel about it now, then?" He asked me.

"It's okay. I mean, at first I absolutely hated talking or even thinking about it, but it's reality, so I have to accept it. There are a lot of people who have it worse than me. My biological father is an asshole anyway. I'm glad with the man who is raising me now. He married my mom when I was 5, I think? He wanted to take care of us and he did, he still does. He loves us and he means everything to me. He put effort in looking after us and trying to raise us well and I'm so grateful for that. Unlike my poor excuse of a 'real father' who just ran away when mom got pregnant, twice, and never talked to mom, me and my sister again. We tried contacting him and we spoke a few times, but we just didn't bond. It was always coming from us, he never put any effort in it, so I just gave up. I have a lovely father now anyways."

Michael and I just sat on the grass together, both not saying a word.

"Sorry, it probably wasn't really nessicary to tell you all that. It just – when I begin about it, I just can't shut myself up. I guess I bottle my feeling up a lot and then sometimes it just pours out, you know?"

"Hey, you don't have to apologize. I understand completely. I may not know what it's like to have my own father ignore me like that, but I know that it can hurt. Just know that he has absolutely no idea on what he's missing out. You're an amazing girl and you don't deserve such a dick as a father. I'm so happy for you that your mother found a better man and that he takes care of you guys."

He hugs me from the side and we just stay there, me almost sitting in his lap. It was nice though, to know someone cares about you and will listen to you if you need it.

We were there the whole afternoon, just talking and talking, completely forgetting about dinner, but we didn't care. When the sun was about to set, we arrived back at his apartment from where I walked on towards home.

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It was Sunday today, so I went to church. I enjoyed going there, not just because I had fun and loving friends there, but also because it was everything but boring. A lot of people think of church as a big, boring building where you sit in uncomfortable wooden benches, singing to boring psalms with only an organ and having to listen to a long ass, boring preach from a boring preacher who only talks about 'being doomed'.