Carter's Beloved

Surrender Helplessly

Carter P.O.V

Father shifted uncomfortably under my gaze. He glanced towards me while his grip tightened on the glass. The whiskey jumping inside.

“You know how I hate talking about this. Still?” Father says bitterly, and I lower my gaze. I did not mean to make him uncomfortable, but I need to know the truth. Especially after seeing the bones I found. I nod slowly and hold my breath.

“As you wish. Your mother,” he hesitates slightly but continues, “she was sick. When the time came for her to go, she was not prepared. We left for the hospital in the dead of night and I came back in the morning to get you ready for the funeral. I don’t know what you saw, but it wasn’t me.” He defends himself and I sigh.

I wanted this to be a simple conversation, but it all went southwards fast. Father is not used to confrontations and ever since Mother’s death, has been sensitive. I would do anything to avoid this conversation but have to find out the truth.

“Fine. Then why couldn’t I see her body? Why couldn’t I keep any of her belongings?” I ask somewhat aggressively. I must have talked to him in the wrong tone because he frowns and his jaw clenches.

“I thought it would be too much for you to handle. I admit it wasn’t right for doing this, but I couldn’t handle losing you.” His voice faints to a whisper and in a few moments sobs. I’d never seen Father that way. He endured many hardships. It had been a long time since he cried.

I awkwardly stood up as he made his way of the door after taking his belongings. A surge of guilt enveloped me and I stood frozen, watching father cross the street wiping his tears.

I walked back towards the table, still laden with food. I looked around on the seat and on the ground until I found what I was looking for. The cup of whiskey placed on the table with Father's fingerprints on its rim.  I place it carefully into a box and head towards the laboratory.

“I got his fingerprints, how long will the results take to come in?” I ask Alex desperately, but he shakes his head. After discovering the bag of bones, I immediately went to meet Alex and ask him to do a DNA test. To do that, I needed to get Father’s fingerprints. The rest was easy, invite Father to lunch and use his glass.

“3-4 weeks. Could be longer, but I know how important it is to you.” He tells me while putting medical gloves on and carefully takes the cup out of the box. I frown and cross my hands, thinking. If Father finds out that I suspect him of Mother’s murder, he’ll be furious. Alex glances at me and keeps the glass down.

“It will be okay, trust me. I bet this is a false alarm and soon you’ll know too. Your Father is not a criminal, and he loved your Mother.” He tries to reassure me, but it fails.

“What if he is? Why didn’t he show me her body or tell me her cause of death? All the dots are connecting.” I explain. I lean towards the counter and fidget with the box.  The laboratory is deserted. No one around to hear my crazy accusations. I can’t believe myself for declaring Father as a murderer.

Just as I thought I had a new beginning and would change my life for the better, I suspect my Father. I press my forehead, trying to stop the headache. I remind myself that Madison invited me on a dinner and she’ll be pissed if I do not attend. Something about her personality makes me feel like I’ve met her before. But when I try to remember her face, it all goes blank.

A few hours later, I’m sitting across Madison in a coffee shop sipping tea. She stares at her phone and quickly slams it down.

“Can you believe it? Only one month left and my stepbrothers are hosting a gala for all our shareholders. I’ll never win this way.” She says in an agitated tone, pressing her hands together. Her thick brown hair is tied in a bun and she’s dressed formally. Madison has been stressed lately, she snaps when asked a question and avoids speaking to people.

“Don’t worry, everyone knows what you will go above and beyond to do anything for the company. It will be you.” I comfort her and she nods. Gigantic clouds float overhead and block out sunlight. She looks down at her phone again and scoffs.

“The first thing I’ll do when I inherit is to destroy it. I’ll destroy what Father’s love the most so he can writhe in pain as he tries to deny the truth. That’s the day I’ll be proud of myself.” She confides in me. I ask her to go to the amusement park, which is located right next to the shop, and she agrees.

Soon, we’re waiting in a large line to go inside. She stamps her foot and complains while I roll my eyes. The 10 minutes we waited, she complained non stop. Fortunately, the wait is over so go we sit in our seats. She screams at the top of her lungs when the roller coaster drops and her hair fly in my face. After the ride ends, I stumble out thanking god that it’s over.

“I had so much fun. Do you want to go on the elephants next?” She points towards the flying baby elephants, but I violently shake my head. I will not tolerate anymore of her impatient nature. We sit on a bench near the lake, watching the sun go down.

“Ever since my mom died, I’ve had this void in my life. Father’s drinking and parties made things worse. I never had the best childhood.” She explains to me. This is the first time she has opened up about her feelings.

“I can understand. I had a friend which experienced the things you did, although she didn’t cope up with them well.” I tell her and she nods. Her expression changes when she looks behind me. I glance behind me, but only families picnicking near the bank of the lake are visible.

“Really? What happened to her?” She asks curiously. I wonder if I can trust her by telling her one of the most important things to me, but I change my mind.

“She died.” I say and look at the sunset. The light is fading away, and people are heading home. Madison’s shocked, but I laugh it off.