Road To Happiness ✔

TWENTY

"Then I'll do it tomorrow."

Hugo groaned. "Fine."

There was a beat of silence as they walked back to the open truck. "You're making more noise now, you know," his father finally said, and Hugo froze. He should have expected something. He didn't get a chance to say anything before his father continued. "Does that mean you'll be talking again soon?"

"I don't know, dad. I don't think so," he replied, his mood plummeting.

"And why not?"

"Because I don't want to. I don't have anything to say that can't be signed." He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly tired. He just wanted to get everything in his apartment and relax. He didn't want to have to deal with anything his father said, he already had enough on his plate with Renee and Stefan.

His father shot him a look he couldn't decipher. "Look, I know I say this a lot, but it's because I care for you," he said, and Hugo resisted the urge to call him out on his bullshit. "But even you know there are some things you can't do if you don't speak. You can't work a normal job. Hell, Hugo, you told me you had to write down everything you said while you were meeting with the landlord.

"How do you expect to be able to look after yourself if you don't speak? I know you want to be an editor and a lot of communication in that is via email, but you will have to go to meetings and stuff and speak."

"And I'll have a translator if I need it," Hugo replied, exhausted.

"And if you can't get one? What do plan to do then?" his father asked, anger beginning to lace his voice. Hugo knew that any minute he'd start yelling.

"I don't know," he answered honestly and winced when he saw the anger on his father's face.

"You don't know? Hugo, are you sure you're ready to be out on your own? You don't even know what you're doing!" he yelled.

Hugo went to reply, ignoring the prick of tears in his eyes, when a voice interrupted him. "Excuse me?" It was female and more familiar than he'd like, but it was better than whatever fight he was about to get in with his father, especially in public. He'd probably break down and cry like the baby he was.

He turned to see Renee standing by her car, a familiar face waiting in the passenger seat. Hugo blanched and tried to take a step away, but his father stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "What can I do for you?" his father asked.

"I'm Renee, a friend of Hugo's. The guy in the car is Stefan. We're here to help him move in," Renee asked tentatively, her gaze switching between Hugo and his father.

"Good," his father said, taking his hand off Hugo's shoulder and stepping away. "You can deal with him then, I'm getting lunch. Text me when you're done, and I'll take the truck back. I'll check on you next week. Make sure you build that damn bed." In the blink of an eye, his father was on the other side of the parking lot and he was alone with two people he'd rather not talk to.

Stefan got out of the car but looked anywhere but at Hugo. Renee clicked her fingers, bringing his gaze back to her. "Your dad's a piece of work," she said and placed her hands on her hips. "I suppose that's where you get it from."

"Renee," Stefan scolded.

"Oh, don't you get angry at me, he's been ghosting us! He went off at you for no reason, someone needs to tell him off," she argued. Hugo ignored them and hopped in the back of the truck to get another box. "What do you have to say for yourself, Hugo?"

But Hugo didn't bother answering. He couldn't answer, his hands were filled with boxes. He jumped down from the truck and made his way towards the apartment building, Renee yelling behind him.

"Don't just walk away, Hugo, say something!"

At that, he turned, a snarl of his face, and threw the box to the ground. He had no idea what was in it and he didn't care. "If you're going to be here, you're going to help me. Or you can fuck off and get lunch with my father!" he snapped, gesturing wildly. Renee folded her arms over her chest and looked unimpressed, but at least Stefan looked guilty. He wasn't in the mood to deal with them. He wasn't going to speak and he was sick of people asking him to.

He didn't check to see if they were actually helping him, just picked up the box again and took it to his apartment. He was moving and he knew it was stressful, but he didn't think it would be this bad. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and he looked up to see Stefan with a box in his hands.

"Put that with the rest," he directed, watching as the man walked past him to put the box down. He resisted the urge to reach out and grab him. As though the man read his mind, he looked up at him and Hugo sighed. "Can we talk once we've got everything inside?"

Stefan sighed. "Of course," he replied, "Is everything alright with your dad?"

"Yeah, that's just what he usually does," he answered with a nod.

"Oh... No wonder you're moving. I was hoping that the night you stayed with us was just a once-off. Has he always been like that?" Stefan asked.

Hugo debated telling him. He'd told him about his mother and then he'd gone and messed it up by getting drunk. He wasn't going to make that mistake again, but he wasn't sure if telling Stefan anything was a good idea right now.

But he couldn't help it. "It started after my mother died." He wasn't going to go into any further detail, he couldn't. He told Stefan that by walking away, all the way back to the truck, where Renee was slowly stacking things on the parking lot so they wouldn't have to go all the way into the truck.

Together, the three of them made quick work of Hugo's few belongings. The boxes and the bed frame ended up in the bedroom with the mattress when they tried to bring the sofa and tv in, which was the biggest struggle. Stefan even helped him put the bed together so he wasn't sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

He didn't bother opening any of the boxes except the one that was labelled 'DVDs'. Stefan and Renee wanted to watch something. He didn't have much in the way of movies, but it didn't take them long to find something. Their biggest struggle was getting the tv to work. None of them had realised how difficult it could be to sort out a television. Hugo was just glad that he had already sorted out the power and water.

Renee called for some pizza and the three of them waited in impatient silence on Hugo's second-hand couch. Robert had given it to him so that he wasn't sitting on fold-out chairs for months on end. His boss was far too kind to him. He'd never be able to find a way to repay him.

"So," Renee said, stretching out the word. "We're finally done."

Hugo's stomach growled painfully. He didn't want to have to explain himself. He was far too embarrassed and ashamed of himself, but there was no delaying it now. They had come that far just to talk to him. Or to yell at him. He wasn't sure which it was.

"Don't you start, Renee, I'll do it," Stefan said with a sigh. "You'll just upset him. Look, Hugo, we came here to help, but we also came here to talk to you. We haven't spoken since my party where you just... You went off at me and I don't understand why. I didn't do anything to you unless there's been some kind of misunderstanding..."

Hugo said nothing. The lump in his throat also seemed to be blocking his hands. They didn't even shake, they just sat in his lap, completely frozen. Renee sighed angrily and glared at him. "Please, Hugo," she said. "Just bloody talk to us." And at her words, tears spilt down his face.