Spectrum

Chapter 1

The police station was quiet as the man of the hour, my fuming father made his way towards us walking past the lady at the front desk who had her lips parted to address him.

Our father was a tall brooding caramel-skinned thirty-eight-year-old black man who prided in his work and children. We were his prized possessions and meant the literal world to him but our, in his words ‘ delinquent ‘ behaviour was unacceptable. 

I took pride in defying my father while my brother did everything to keep the both of us out of trouble with the law but this was one of the few times where they had wanted to pin the whole arrangement on us but with one phone call to our father, all allegations were dropped and pretty soon we were sure that they would be sued.

“ Really? “ He asked, his oddly disappointed gaze boring holes into us.

We sat there quietly at us and at this point, we were both too shocked to say anything, I had caught it and I was sure that Mason had caught it too. The look of sheer disappointment clouded our father’s eyes, it was something the both of us were totally not used to.

I had expected him to be angry, for his eyes to be blazing with unquenchable fire but all I could feel at this moment was the ache in my heart as my father turned his gaze to meet my eyes shaking his head.

He sighed “ Nial is outside. “ As he said that he turned going to talk to the officers who had brought us to the station.

Mason got up pulling me with him to go outside where Nial was waiting by the car for us to get in.

“ I feel bad, “ I voiced to my brother.

“ Me too, I’ve never seen pops so disappointed before, we really messed up, didn’t we? “ He sighed leaning into the plush seats of the Rolls Royce Phantom.

This time, we weren’t so lucky. I hadn’t realized how this would look until it was too late. My brother and I caught staring at a spray-painted house alongside underaged teens under the influence of alcohol. Luckily, we hadn’t been drinking and smoking like they were but the officers had still tried to pin the blame onto us.

Luckily, one of Mason’s knuckleheaded friends had admitted to dragging us along with them to defer the blame onto us which had almost worked for them.

The car was clouded with silence as a few minutes my father opened the door to the passenger’s side of the car.

I knew what he wanted to say to us, instead of hosting an end of highschool party and trashing his house we should’ve been focused on choosing which college we were going to attend this September.

No, Mason and I weren’t twins, in fact, he was a year older but had been suggested to re-do his third grade year with me due to the fact that the school that he was transferring from at the time was behind a year which ended in the two of us in the same grade coming up ever since.

The rest of the car ride was deathly silent as my father tapped away on his phone no doubt making sure that news of this would never reach the press.

Soon enough we had gotten to our Foxhall mansion and our father was out of the car sooner than we could open our mouth to utter any words.

Nial came around opening the door for us helping me out of the car. The rest of the night and straight into the morning was spent in the same silence as before and it was then that we knew that our father, Michael Jerome Knox was planning something, something big at that and we surely weren’t ready for it.

The day was spent avoiding our father but that evening our helper Miriam both called up down for dinner with father which lead to my current predicament.

I pushed the green beans around my plate as my father sat at the head of the table happily eating as if he was immune to the awkward air surrounding the room.

He cleared his throat as Miriam came back for the somewhat empty plates.

“ Milan, you will be spending the summer at your mother’s. “ I could feel my face drain of any and all colour as those words left my father’s mouth.

“ WHAT! That’s preposterous! “ Mason loudly objected evoking no emotion from my father.

It was a common knowledge that Mason did not like nor did he respect our mother in any way, back when we used to spend time at our mother’s home he was a common victim to our mother’s addiction and as much as he had told me, she was not a very good person.

I barely had memories with our mother but from what I could remember, she never gave a damn about us, she never even wanted kids in the first place. For as long as I could remember, our father was always there for us, from when his parents forced him to work and earn for us and in those years, our mother had made no move to support either of us having an older child who she put all of her time and energy into taking care of instead of us.

Our father was our everything and the truth was, we had no reason to rebel, we did it for fun was what Mason and I had convinced ourselves but really and truly, we did it to relieve ourself of our mommy issues which had obviously not worked. Instead, we had torn our father to pieces in the process.

Every recital, play, sports game and musical our father was there, I could even remember my father arguing with my mother about her participation in our lives and her response was always the same, ‘ I’m Living Life. ‘ My first period, my father was there, he made sure that I had everything I needed in life and I had abused that. I couldn’t find it in myself to come up with a rebuttal at this moment as all of these realizations hit me like a tonne of bricks.

“ As I was saying, “ Father cleared his throat, “ You will be spending your summer there, I think you need to learn a little something about life, though, I will allow for you to carry a credit card with a minimum fee and it is your choice on how you choose to spend with it and as for you Mason, you will be spending your summer here, any objections? “

“ Yes, Objectio- “ Mason started

“ Overruled, “ My father replied rolling his eyes but Mason continued.

“ You can’t just send her there to live with that woman and her new family dad! I want to go with her. “ Mason said.

Dad pushed himself to relax deeper into his chair in deep thought for a moment before replying.

“ Initially, I wanted to separate you two but, I see what you’re saying, you can go with your sister, you leave on Wednesday“ With that Mason sighed sitting down.

In my state of unresponsiveness, it didn't even cross my mind that I wouldn't have the chance to throw a birthday bash for my upcoming eighteenth birthday, not that would have even been allowed if I was not being sent to my mother's.

Dessert was then served and after we were dismissed but my earlier thoughts had held weight over my heart and I then found it hard to sleep.

I pulled the covers from over my body adjusting my pyjamas as I opened my room door before making it down the hall and to my father’s bedroom.

I knocked softly not hearing a sound before a soft “ I’m coming “ made it’s way to my ears and soon after he opened the door noticing my state before letting me in.

He closed the door before raising an eyebrow at me. He was in a white s**t and black shorts, no doubt reading as the light was on at his reading desk was shining on The Great Gatsby.

“ I couldn’t sleep, “ I said rubbing my legs together embarrassed.

He walked over to the bed sitting down patting the space next to him.

“ Now tell me, what’s on your mind? “ He asked.

“ I-I’m sorry for disappointing you, I just, I don’t know, felt the need to act out and I wasn’t considering you or ou feelings in the process and I’m really sorry, you’re the only parental figure I have in my life and I don’t want to lose you. “ I said teary-eyed.

He stared at me for a moment his face blank before he sighed. “ Milan, I understand, you’re a teenager, I was a teen too and this is all apart of life and you don’t have to apologize, you’re my baby girl and I love you and no matter what you do you’ll never have to worry about losing me. “ He reached over pulling me into a tight embrace before kissing me on the crown of my head.

“ I love you too daddy, “ I replied.

“ But you’re still going to your mother’s though, “ And with that, we both shared a hearty laugh.

“ Can I at least bring one of my cars? “ He smiled nodding at me.

“ For old times sake, can I just stay in here until I fall asleep and you bring me back to my room? “ I smiled up at my father.

“ Sure, “ He smiled back and that night, I fell asleep in my father’s arms.