Chapter Cinq
Christian sighed as he walked along the path that led to the stream. When he got there, his surroundings didn't even lift his spirits.
The beautiful trees, the golden rays of light coming through the canopy of leaves…even the sound of the stream flowing didn't cheer him up. The thing that really bothered him, though, was the fact that he had only met Satine that day. How was it possible to care so deeply for someone who had just entered your life?
He sighed again.
He sat at the edge of the stream, rolling up the legs of his trousers and throwing off his shoes. He dropped his feet into the cool water and let them dangle there, closing his eyes. The water felt good against his skin and he relished in the feel of it.
The contentment was short lived. With his eyes closed, he saw her sobbing on the floor, blurting out words that made no sense to him.
That was what was bothering him! He wanted it to make sense, but she wouldn't open up.
He laughed openly, realizing that if he went to a physiatrist, they'd probably lock him up in a mental hospital. He was crazy!! Why on earth would someone open up to someone like him? He was too outspoken and he never hid his emotions…both facts giving his father more reasons to hate him.
A surge of anger rippled through his body. He didn't want to be thinking about his father, especially not when he had something as great as this on his mind.
He had a woman, who had obviously been abused before, in his house and he had to do something to help her! Thinking about the bastard he called a father was only going to cloud up his mind and make him do something irrational.
Standing, Christian closed his eyes and waited for the anger to subside. He always did that when he and his father got into a fight. If he hadn't learned to control his temper, he would have been disowned years ago.
He nodded as he opened his eyes, knowing that he was now thinking clearly. He also knew what he was going to do, and that was this:
Make Satine tell him what was wrong.
I realize that you have not heard from me in some time, but do not think, for a moment, that I have left this tale. It just has not been necessary, until this moment, to interject. I feel it is important for anyone reading this to know a bit about Christian's father.
He goes by the name of Thomas Oliver James. His father used to abuse him, both mentally and physically. At the fresh age of thirteen, he finally stood up for himself. When his father came to beat him that night, he raised a gun and pulled the trigger. The courts looked at it as self defense and he was not sent to jail.
It did not take Thomas James long to become bitter as his late father had been.
After he married, Thomas was given a son, whom he named Richard. This son grew up to be the picture of what a good son should be like, in Thomas's eyes. Richard followed in his father's footsteps and studied law. It was all too disappointing when Richard ran away from home…at least to Thomas.
His second son, Ryan, was not like Richard in many ways. He did study law, though, so Thomas approved of him.
Then came his last son, Christian. Even before Christian was born, Thomas hated him.
He had been an accident, the product of a night of intimacy with his wife while he was under the influence of alcohol.
As this last son grew, he showed no signs of defiance. He was raised as his other brothers had been and he seemed content with that life.
But then he started to become interested in literature. The boy threw out any ideas of law and, instead, replaced them with poetry and novels. He turned away from the path Thomas had laid out for all of his sons and Thomas grew to hate him more.
If this has not helped you, then I am sorry. It is crucial, though, for you to understand the relationship between father and son, though. Keep this knowledge in mind as you read further…
