Chapter 3: Hang Over!
Red slowly opened his eyes; he couldn't remember a thing about what had happened the night before. Pain banged against his skull. He had a huge hang over. He stumbled downstairs to find a beaten and battered Eric crouched by the side of the couch. He was asleep, his head pillowed in his arms. Blood stained the kitchen floor by the door and a trail of it led to the couch where his son still slept.
"Eric...Eric" he whispered softly.
Eric awoke suddenly, jumping in the process. He must have been having another nightmare because he breathed slightly heavy and he had a cold sweat running down the side of his face. He looked up. Dried tears streaked his face. Bruises had formed all over it.
As soon as he saw Red, he began to mumble something that sounded somewhat like "I'm sorry....."
For some reason Red looked confused at this statement.
"Sorry...sorry for what?"
As soon as Eric fully awoke, he could sense a concerned tone of voice coming from his father. But he didn't understand why. His father never spoke to him like he actually cared, well, almost never!
"I'm...I'm sorry for ever being born" he stated, daring to look up at his father.
"Wh...what do you mean?" his father asked confused as much as Eric was.
Eric was completely lost for words. Was it a trick his father was playing on him? To act kind and actually worried about his own son and then when he wasn't expecting it...
He didn't even want to think about it. His looked at him again, the same concerned look etched across his face as he spoke.
"We need to get you to a hospital!"
Again Eric looked up at him confused.
"But sir, they...won't they want to know how this happened?"
"That's what I'd like to know!" and with that he took Eric in his arms and began heading towards the door.
"STOP DAD, don't you remember, you did this, why are you messing with my head like this?"
Red stopped. "What?" he whispered as he lowered Eric to the floor!
"I...I didn't do this Eric, I don't remember doing anything yesterday, I don't even remember yesterday. Bu...but I'm sure I would never, could never do anything like this to you!"
Eric still wasn't sure that what his father was telling him was true, but he figured that if his father were lying to him, he wouldn't have a chance to do anything about it anyway. Then he thought back to last night. His father had been so drunk that he almost collapsed at one point. It was possible for him to have been so drunk he didn't remember a thing about the day before. Then he remembered why his father had been so drunk.
His mother, his mother was in hospital and he didn't even know how well she was. Did Red remember that? Did he remember his own wife being hospital? If Red couldn't remember that then who's to say that his mother just accidentally fell.
"Wh...what about mom, do you remember what happened to her?"
"Oh...yes, your mother, she fell and I took her to hospital and then..." suddenly horrible memories began to flood into Red's head.
"Oh my God, Eric I remember, oh...Eric I'm so sorry...".
For first time in his life Eric saw his father shed tears.
"Da...ad , you're crying...".
"I know son, I feel so bad about what I did to you, if I could take it back, you know I would, I'm sorry, I know I don't say it often, well ever, really but...but I do love you!"
Eric looked up into his father's eyes and for once he didn't see anger or disappointment, he saw care and at last the love he'd been waiting for all his life.
"I lo...ve you too" he stuttered.
He wondered why after all the things his father had done to him, he would be so eager for his father's love. But the warm look his father gave him strangely seemed to make him forget all the horrible times and forgive.
"Right, we really need to get you to hospital!"
Eric had fallen asleep in Red's car and awoke to find he was in a hospital bed. He looked around. His mother lay on a bed to the side of him, her head bandaged. She lay very still, with only the movement of her chest slowly rising up and down as she almost silently breathed.
"Mom...mom"
Eric stared at his mother. He spoke louder.
"Mom!"
He knew it would be cruel to wake her, she was in hospital, she was ill! But he had to know if she was Ok.
"MOM"
Eric was getting scared, he got no reply. He slowly rose from the bed and stumbled over to where Kitty lay. He shook her gently and then slightly harder..... Still there was no reply. She was breathing but she didn't react to anything he did! Eric was now in tears. He was scared. Scared for his mother and scared for himself!
Just then he heard footsteps coming towards his room. They were getting louder and with them came the sound of two men talking. He recognised is father's voice.
"...I'm afraid she may never wake up!" said the other man sympathetically.
Eric tried to hold back tears as the two men entered the room. He managed just too keep quiet, when the other man who must have been the doctor began to change the subject to him. He laid there, his eyes tightly shut.
"...I mean I was worried, he said he'd just gone to shops, so I went looking for him and I just found him like that on the street, he must have got jumped or something, it just breaks my heart to see that somebody has hurt him."
What Red was saying seemed to really get on Eric's nerves, he was so good at lying, the same caring tone used as he lied to the doctor. If he could so easily lie about this what's to stop him lying to him. And his mother, she may never wake up. Red didn't seem to be crying, but Eric had to use all strength not to.
He let out a slight sniffle, which alerted the two men that his was awake.
"Eric, are you alright?"
He opened his eyes and stared up at his father. He turned to the doctor who began to ask what had happened to him. He looked back his father for a second. He was getting another concerned, caring look.
"Did you get jumped or something, Eric?"
For a moment he hesitated, and then answered.
"Ye...yer, I got jumped by a group of guys, I don't really know what happened after that..." he lied.
His father's face was now turned away from him and he and the doctor left the room.
Later that day the doctor returned asking him if he felt like going home with his father now or staying that night. He still felt quite weak and so decided to stay the night. He fell asleep just after nine o'clock, he was still afraid of the nightmares he may have, but he felt so tired and weak. Unfortunately Red came to his dreams that night, bringing with him all the hurtful words and abuse that followed. Like all his nightmares, the one's which Red haunted, he could never get away from the blows, could never get away from Red!
The next morning Red came to the hospital to pick him up. His body didn't hurt that much now, it hurt more inside than it did on the out side. They were on their way back home. Eric was sitting in the front.
"Mom's never gonna wake up, is she?"
Red looked down for a second.
"Eric, we don't know that, she could wake up tomorrow!" "But ..but she could never wake up" Eric sighed.
Every time he thought of his mother he had to shed a few tears. They pulled up into the driveway. Eric got out and walked into the house, he managed to run upstairs, and let himself collapse onto his bed. He lay there for hours just thinking...
Later on, about two o'clock he left his room. His stomach growled and he needed something eat. Looking through the cupboards he found one, which held only booze, this made angry. Booze was the reason his life was almost ruined.
He began collecting it in his arms and running outside, throwing all of it into trash cans. His father must have gone out, because nobody tried to stop him. Eric decided he wasn't going to cry about his father any more, it was over. He still had to concentrate on his mother in a coma! That was the thing that really mattered, that was the thing that really made him cry.
He pictured his mother's face in his head smiling at him. He burst out crying, he wanted his mom back, he wanted her back in the house with him, but somehow he doubted that would ever happen again.
This is the end of chapter 3, chapter four should be up within a few days! Hope you're enjoying my fanfiction! Please give it a review and let me know what you think of it, I'll probably go on to do another five or six chapters, it depends if people like it! So give me reviews, please!
Red slowly opened his eyes; he couldn't remember a thing about what had happened the night before. Pain banged against his skull. He had a huge hang over. He stumbled downstairs to find a beaten and battered Eric crouched by the side of the couch. He was asleep, his head pillowed in his arms. Blood stained the kitchen floor by the door and a trail of it led to the couch where his son still slept.
"Eric...Eric" he whispered softly.
Eric awoke suddenly, jumping in the process. He must have been having another nightmare because he breathed slightly heavy and he had a cold sweat running down the side of his face. He looked up. Dried tears streaked his face. Bruises had formed all over it.
As soon as he saw Red, he began to mumble something that sounded somewhat like "I'm sorry....."
For some reason Red looked confused at this statement.
"Sorry...sorry for what?"
As soon as Eric fully awoke, he could sense a concerned tone of voice coming from his father. But he didn't understand why. His father never spoke to him like he actually cared, well, almost never!
"I'm...I'm sorry for ever being born" he stated, daring to look up at his father.
"Wh...what do you mean?" his father asked confused as much as Eric was.
Eric was completely lost for words. Was it a trick his father was playing on him? To act kind and actually worried about his own son and then when he wasn't expecting it...
He didn't even want to think about it. His looked at him again, the same concerned look etched across his face as he spoke.
"We need to get you to a hospital!"
Again Eric looked up at him confused.
"But sir, they...won't they want to know how this happened?"
"That's what I'd like to know!" and with that he took Eric in his arms and began heading towards the door.
"STOP DAD, don't you remember, you did this, why are you messing with my head like this?"
Red stopped. "What?" he whispered as he lowered Eric to the floor!
"I...I didn't do this Eric, I don't remember doing anything yesterday, I don't even remember yesterday. Bu...but I'm sure I would never, could never do anything like this to you!"
Eric still wasn't sure that what his father was telling him was true, but he figured that if his father were lying to him, he wouldn't have a chance to do anything about it anyway. Then he thought back to last night. His father had been so drunk that he almost collapsed at one point. It was possible for him to have been so drunk he didn't remember a thing about the day before. Then he remembered why his father had been so drunk.
His mother, his mother was in hospital and he didn't even know how well she was. Did Red remember that? Did he remember his own wife being hospital? If Red couldn't remember that then who's to say that his mother just accidentally fell.
"Wh...what about mom, do you remember what happened to her?"
"Oh...yes, your mother, she fell and I took her to hospital and then..." suddenly horrible memories began to flood into Red's head.
"Oh my God, Eric I remember, oh...Eric I'm so sorry...".
For first time in his life Eric saw his father shed tears.
"Da...ad , you're crying...".
"I know son, I feel so bad about what I did to you, if I could take it back, you know I would, I'm sorry, I know I don't say it often, well ever, really but...but I do love you!"
Eric looked up into his father's eyes and for once he didn't see anger or disappointment, he saw care and at last the love he'd been waiting for all his life.
"I lo...ve you too" he stuttered.
He wondered why after all the things his father had done to him, he would be so eager for his father's love. But the warm look his father gave him strangely seemed to make him forget all the horrible times and forgive.
"Right, we really need to get you to hospital!"
Eric had fallen asleep in Red's car and awoke to find he was in a hospital bed. He looked around. His mother lay on a bed to the side of him, her head bandaged. She lay very still, with only the movement of her chest slowly rising up and down as she almost silently breathed.
"Mom...mom"
Eric stared at his mother. He spoke louder.
"Mom!"
He knew it would be cruel to wake her, she was in hospital, she was ill! But he had to know if she was Ok.
"MOM"
Eric was getting scared, he got no reply. He slowly rose from the bed and stumbled over to where Kitty lay. He shook her gently and then slightly harder..... Still there was no reply. She was breathing but she didn't react to anything he did! Eric was now in tears. He was scared. Scared for his mother and scared for himself!
Just then he heard footsteps coming towards his room. They were getting louder and with them came the sound of two men talking. He recognised is father's voice.
"...I'm afraid she may never wake up!" said the other man sympathetically.
Eric tried to hold back tears as the two men entered the room. He managed just too keep quiet, when the other man who must have been the doctor began to change the subject to him. He laid there, his eyes tightly shut.
"...I mean I was worried, he said he'd just gone to shops, so I went looking for him and I just found him like that on the street, he must have got jumped or something, it just breaks my heart to see that somebody has hurt him."
What Red was saying seemed to really get on Eric's nerves, he was so good at lying, the same caring tone used as he lied to the doctor. If he could so easily lie about this what's to stop him lying to him. And his mother, she may never wake up. Red didn't seem to be crying, but Eric had to use all strength not to.
He let out a slight sniffle, which alerted the two men that his was awake.
"Eric, are you alright?"
He opened his eyes and stared up at his father. He turned to the doctor who began to ask what had happened to him. He looked back his father for a second. He was getting another concerned, caring look.
"Did you get jumped or something, Eric?"
For a moment he hesitated, and then answered.
"Ye...yer, I got jumped by a group of guys, I don't really know what happened after that..." he lied.
His father's face was now turned away from him and he and the doctor left the room.
Later that day the doctor returned asking him if he felt like going home with his father now or staying that night. He still felt quite weak and so decided to stay the night. He fell asleep just after nine o'clock, he was still afraid of the nightmares he may have, but he felt so tired and weak. Unfortunately Red came to his dreams that night, bringing with him all the hurtful words and abuse that followed. Like all his nightmares, the one's which Red haunted, he could never get away from the blows, could never get away from Red!
The next morning Red came to the hospital to pick him up. His body didn't hurt that much now, it hurt more inside than it did on the out side. They were on their way back home. Eric was sitting in the front.
"Mom's never gonna wake up, is she?"
Red looked down for a second.
"Eric, we don't know that, she could wake up tomorrow!" "But ..but she could never wake up" Eric sighed.
Every time he thought of his mother he had to shed a few tears. They pulled up into the driveway. Eric got out and walked into the house, he managed to run upstairs, and let himself collapse onto his bed. He lay there for hours just thinking...
Later on, about two o'clock he left his room. His stomach growled and he needed something eat. Looking through the cupboards he found one, which held only booze, this made angry. Booze was the reason his life was almost ruined.
He began collecting it in his arms and running outside, throwing all of it into trash cans. His father must have gone out, because nobody tried to stop him. Eric decided he wasn't going to cry about his father any more, it was over. He still had to concentrate on his mother in a coma! That was the thing that really mattered, that was the thing that really made him cry.
He pictured his mother's face in his head smiling at him. He burst out crying, he wanted his mom back, he wanted her back in the house with him, but somehow he doubted that would ever happen again.
This is the end of chapter 3, chapter four should be up within a few days! Hope you're enjoying my fanfiction! Please give it a review and let me know what you think of it, I'll probably go on to do another five or six chapters, it depends if people like it! So give me reviews, please!