Author's Notes: Now here's Sean's backstory for the Choices Creates #36 theme, "Non-MC's Past". Again, hosted by dopecatcollins and brittney-beaumont . Takes place before the actual event, obviously, and which is how I envisioned Sean's backstory. Kinda difficult since I didn't really pursue him as a love interest.
Rated: There are some mention of abuses in the story, so rated T…I guess?
Choices Book: Endless Summer
Character Introduced: Sean Marcus Gayle
Summary: Every day, every month, and every year, Sean reminded himself that there would always be a fresh start. Seeing how he has to deal with a rough life in the past is no different, knowing that there are still people he really care about.
Morning class was dismissed as soon as the lecture ended. By the time he exit the door to the hallway, Sean's phone rang and he smiled a little as he found out who the sender is.
Mom: Hey there, son. How's first year of college treating you? Hope you're doing well in your classes as well as tryouts for the football team. Try not to push yourself too hard.
The dark hair man found comfort from his mom checking on him, making sure that he's adjusting to his college life. He was about to text her back, telling her he was doing fine, until he got another one from her in a second, which put a frown on his face.
Mom: Your dad called again to ask about you. He says he misses you.
Sean sighed in annoyance at the most recent text and placed his phone back into his pocket before heading to his next class. As much as he loves his mom for all the love she gave him and his little brother, he didn't like the fact that she was checking up on his father who is in God-knows-where. And he preferred not to know. Not after all the hell that man had gave them.
Years of dealing with his father's alcoholic abuse definitely left an emotional scar for everyone, Sean himself included. He tried not to remember it, but he could remember how his dad changed after being forced to be retired from his football career and took his anger out on the whole family. Both physical and verbal abuses were involved. He and his brother had to hide in their rooms just to avoid the confrontation, and their mother had to deal with a majority of the mistreatment from his dad. Unfortunately for any of them, there was no running away from this tyranny. It got so bad to the point where Sean literally had to grow a backbone and kicked his father out of the house for good.
It was never an easy decision. Even though Sean won't admit it, he knew his dad was once a good person and they would do everything together, such as teaching the former how to toss and catch a football, how to swim, and some other sport activities. But that was in the past now. The father he once knew was gone and Sean knew he had to do this, otherwise, his whole family will fall apart.
It took seven years to heal that family's emotional turmoil. Every time, Sean made sure to put his family first before himself, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It was difficult, yes, but he kept on fighting to keep the people he really love together. Eventually, they move to another apartment to be away from their old house to not only remove themselves from the tainted memories but to also start something anew for themselves. And by the time Sean started college, his family moved to another apartment nearby the Hartfeld University so they can be close to him. Of course, Sean was happy about that because he wanted to be close to him, too. Just so he can keep them happy and protect them.
No matter what he did or the sacrifices he had to make to keep the family moving on, Sean would always remind himself not to hold on to the past for so long and look for the bright side of the future. Every day, every month, and every year would be a fresh start.