Reborn

Chapter Twenty Two

"I'm sorry."

In the four years that my dad used me as his personal punching bag, I had never heard those words come from him. He had never apologised, not once, for continuously hurting me. He had never apologised for making me fear him, for making every step feel as though I was being stabbed repeatedly. It was like an apology was no longer something he remembered how to do, something he didn't even want to do.

It was because of that that I was unable to actually reply, gawking at him in absolute silence. I half expected him to burst into hysterical laughter and tell me that he wasn't sorry at all. That would have made more sense. That would have made a whole lot more sense than him actually apologising - and seeming to mean it too.

I think that shocked me the most. The fact that he had apologised after all this time, after so much had happened. I just had no idea what to say. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I wasn't prepared for this conversation, not in the slightest.

That in itself was a ridiculous thought. The fact I could face hybrids and not my own dad was ridiculous because the latter was so much less dangerous now. Yet as I stood there in front of him, more than aware that I was alone in the house with him, it was like I was a human living in constant fear all over again.

What the hell?

"You have every reason to doubt me," He started to speak when he realised I was too stunned to say anything. "But I mean it. I am sorry."

"Don't you think you're a little too late?" I asked softly, smiling sadly. I was angry, far too angry but I managed to contain it. Yelling wouldn't make me feel any better about the situation, after all. "The right time to have apologised would have been the first time you hit me, not after all this time..."

He sighed, turning on his heel and heading over to the sofa and sitting back down. I followed after him and he motioned for me to sit down too but I remained standing, waiting for him to speak again. I took solace in the fact Vince was only outside and would burst back in through the door if he thought the conversation was taking a negative turn. It didn't matter that I was a vampire now because I still wasn't sure I could hurt him if it came down to it.

Pathetic, I know.

"Violet," His expression turned pleading as he glanced up at me. "I... there are no words to... I mean, I know I wasn't... shit, this is hard."

"I didn't come here to talk about the past," I said. "I only came to tell you about mum."

"But the things I did to you... I was too far gone. I was just so hurt and so so angry that I-" He broke off suddenly and I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. The look of remorse stunned me all over again because it wasn't something I ever expected to see. "I'm sorry, Violet. I'm so so sorry."

"Sorry doesn't mean a thing anymore." I took a shaky breath before continuing. "You always used to call me your angel. Your perfect little angel that brightened up your life. But you broke me. You broke me into little tiny pieces and I just- I can't forgive you for that..."

"You'll always be my angel." He spoke softly, wiping his eyes. "But even though I put you through hell, you look... well, you look better. Happier. You're not broken, you never have been."

"No thanks to you." I couldn't help but say. His words reminded me of what Shadow had said to me all those months ago, that even broken wings could fly away, that I wasn't broken and never had been and that I'd only been lost. The fact they'd both said the same thing was difficult for me because it would have been so much easier for me to cope if my dad had never felt guilty at all. "All I was to you was a punching bag... You even threw a knife at me once! How could I ever forgive you for the things you put me through? How?!"