Splinters: Part One

Part One | 7

In contrast, it made sense as to how I'm not that smart. I don't think either of my parents even graduated high school, let alone college. Neither of them had extraordinary jobs. My dad worked in construction, I think. My mom... I don't know what she did. Sometimes, I'd wonder if they did illegal things to pay for everything. No matter how hard I thought about it, though, I never knew. If the two wanted to hide their destructive paths from me, they did it very well.

"Brayden?"

My eyes lifted towards Dr. Hamelon's. She was frowning at me.

"Are you all right?"

I hesitated.

"What was it like before you were adopted?"

A lump began at my throat and tears began to sting my eyes. I sniffed.

"You can tell me, Brayden."

I wiped my eye with the back of my wrist. "You'll tell Melissa."

She shook her head. "What we talk about stays between us."

I stopped and looked at her. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of need to let everything out started.

"How about we start from the beginning," she suggested.

I nodded. I slowly took a breath and closed my eyes.

"I lived in New York City... with my dad until I was seven."

"What about your mother?"

I shrugged. "She lived with us, too, sometimes, but she left a lot."

"Left as in..."

"I-I don't know where she'd go."

"Do you know why?"

I shook my head and let a few tears fall. With the bottom of my sleeve, I wiped my face. "No."

"When did she leave?"

I shrugged. "I don't remember really. All I know is that it was a little before my birthday."

"Was she a happy woman?"

I shook my head again.

"Did you get along with her?"

I shrugged. Usually, I did. "Yeah."

"Did your dad?"

Suddenly, my throat felt abnormally dry. A million memories flashed before my eyes. The countless arguments both my parents had and the numerous physical fights they'd have. It wasn't often that she hit him, but when she did, it was really hard. Just to get her to stop, he'd have to push her away. I hated it because she'd be gone for more than two days when they fought. Sometimes, I'd get scared because those were the times where I'd see my father cry. It wasn't his fault though. She'd hit him first, but he still felt terrible having to stop it. I knew he hated it.  

He'd tell me, "You know I love your mom, right? You know I love her, Brayden. I love her."

Sometimes it was like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince me. And the first few times, I believed him. I believed that he loved my mother, but then she'd hit him again and he'd push her again and everything would go down hill. Sometimes, I'd wonder why he loved her. 

"He, um..."

"I need you to help me if you want me to help you," Dr. Hamelon said. 

I stared at her and tried my very best to stay calm. Telling her about my mother... It's... It's one of the hardest thing I'll ever do. It's almost impossible. I took a deep breath and spoke.