GONE

CHAPTER 15

His thoughts all ended when he felt something hit his head and he fell unconscious on the floor.

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"You ruined everything, you idiot," she thought "What were you thinking when you told him to leave you alone?"

That's all that Serena could think of while going home. She felt really bad for what she said but she knew that she would make it up to him somehow. After a while, she reached her home and entered to find her father still sitting on the couch thinking of something.

"You came home early"

"There was a fight and no one wanted to stay after it" Serena replied while going to the stairs to go up to her room.

She stopped moving when she found her father in front of her holding her arms "What do you mean there was a fight? Are you OK? Did anyone get hurt?" he said with anxiety in his voice.

"Don't worry, everything is fine"

"Who was it between?"

"Martin and Sam," she said feeling weird "Can you let go of me, now?"

He removed his hands "Why did they fight?"

"Sam was insulting me and of course Martin had to protect my image"

He smiled, "That's my boy"

"I will go to my room now"

"I thought that we were going to talk"

She raised her eyebrow, "I thought you would prefer to rest"

"I am not tired" and he ushered her to the couch where they sat.

I few seconds of silence passed before Serena asked "so?"

He looked at a point on the floor and then said, "I know that I have been putting a distance between us for a while now"

"Only twenty years"

He raised his hand "Don't interrupt me, please"

When Serena was arrested, Commissioner Walker thought that he lost his daughter forever and when she was set free, he swore that he would fix everything between them.

"I know that your misery was because of me and I am sorry" he continued, "Shutting you was the worst thing that I ever did but you have to understand that your mother's loss was so hard for me"

"So you decided that losing your daughter will make it easier"

"I never told you about how your mother died, right?"

She hesitated for a second "no"

He sighed, "When I was in Chicago, there was a very dangerous serial killer that I was assigned to his case. I started getting threats and telephone calls telling me to stay away but I never cared until..."

Serena was listening with a lot of interest "Until what?"

He swallowed hard "Until... until I got a phone call one day"

He stopped again, he couldn't say it. Remembering was hard enough.

"What was that phone call about, commissioner?" Serena said with grieve. She knew what he was going to say but she wanted to hear it.

"Your mother" he said between his tears "She was screaming so hard and after it was a gunshot and then he told me that he tried to warn me and that what he did was my punishment for not obeying"

With his last word, both of them exploded. They cried as they never did before, Commissioner James recovered before her, looked at her and said, "Do you understand why I was shutting you out all of those years?"

She didn't answer she only cried more and started shaking. He hesitated for a while and then took her in his arms and hugged her.

He missed that feeling. He missed her. He missed his little girl. The girl who used to laugh all the time. The girl who used to prank him and then run away. The girl who used to kiss him a million times a day.

She recovered a few minutes later and then broke the hug and looked at him "I am so sorry" she said "please, forgive me, I should have known but how could I? Please, please, forgive me"

He hugged her again and smoothed her hair "you are forgiven, my dear, you are forgiven if you forgive me"

"I do, I do"

All of this conversation was heard by Mr. Walker who was happy for their reunion but still so disappointed from his son, "Why didn't you tell her?" he thought, "She should know about her brother"