Chapter 15: Why

Eric woke up to see Taylor fast asleep next to him. He got up and decided to go and talk to his father about why he abandoned him like that.

Patrick opened the door and saw Eric standing there. "Hello, son," Patrick greeted.

"Look dad we need to talk," Eric informed.

Patrick closed the door and followed Eric to the bridge. "Why did you abandon me, dad? Why did you leave me out on my own?" Eric asked. He sat on the wall of the bridge looking at his father.

"Eric, it's a long story why I did what I did," Patrick replied.

"Try me," Eric insisted.

"Before we start, tell me what you've done. It's been thirteen years."

Eric got off the wall. "Do you really want to know?" Eric asked. Patrick nodded.

"Fine. This is what happened to me after you left, dad. I was passed from one poor foster home to another. I was sent to a prep school, but I dropped out because people treated me like garbage. A couple of years ago, I joined the Silver Guardians. A year after I became a Silver Guardian, I met and fell in love with Lieutenant Taylor Earhardt of the Air Force. She joined the Silver Guardians a few months after I dated her. I dated her for a year and then I met her parents. Her mother, greatest person you'll ever meet. Her father, hates my guts. I married Taylor and now I'm here," Eric explained.

Patrick was in disbelief. He couldn't believe that his son went through so much. "My wife is the most wonderful woman in the world. Mom would've loved her. It's your fault, you left me behind and I was forced to raise myself, really," he snapped. Patrick looked at his son. "Tell me, dad, why did you leave me?" He asked. Patrick placed his hand on the railing of the bridge.

"You don't understand, Eric. I never knew how to raise you. I didn't know how to raise a boy, especially a thirteen-year-old boy. Your mother took care of you. Then she got leukemia, there was nothing I could do to save her. Then I had to take care of you. I didn't know what to do. I panicked. I then met Chantel and the next thing I knew, I was married and had a daughter," he explained.

Eric just stared at his dad. "I don't believe you. You didn't want to take care of me. You went to Paris, married this Chantel, and didn't care about what happened to me," he snapped. Eric jumped off the wall and glared at his dad. "If you truly cared, you'd come back and take care of me," he snapped. Patrick watched as Eric walked away angry.

Taylor had come out of the shower when Eric came back. "Hey, where did you go?" She asked. Sitting on the bed drying her hair yet. She was only dressed in one of the hotel robes.

"I went to talk to my father," he replied.

"How did it go?" She asked.

He fell on his back on the bed with a sigh. "Horrible," he replied. Taylor lied down next to her husband and stroked his face.

"I guess both of our fathers don't care," she told him.

Eric held onto her hand with a sigh. "I don't care anymore, Tay, if my father truly cared, he'd come back and would've raised me like a father would," he told her.

"Look on the bright side, if your dad did bring you to Paris with him. You wouldn't have been a Ranger or a Silver Guardian. Not only that, you wouldn't have met me," she commented.

Eric smiled and touched her face. "You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me," he told her. Taylor smiled and kissed him. Eric kissed her back and ended up on her.

Patrick came home and Chantel looked at him. Chantel knew how to speak English, but not Charisse, because it was easier to teach Charisse to speak her mother's language than his. "You saw your son today, didn't you?" She asked. Patrick sighed.

"Yeah, yeah I did," he replied.

She walked over and placed her hands on his face. "You know why you left him behind. You lied to him again about not being able to raise him. Didn't you?" She asked. Patrick sighed and nodded.

"You left your son behind to protect him. Your job was dangerous. Why don't you just tell him the truth of who you were?" She asked.

"I'm afraid of what he'll think of me if I told him the truth. What would I tell him, Chantel? That on the side of being a successful businessman I was a spy? I spied on any kind of person out there. I quit because my son was in danger," he explained.

"Now, tell your son that, not me."

"He's just a boy."

"He's twenty-six-years-old. I think he can handle it. Now, go."

Patrick sighed and nodded.

That evening, Eric stood on the balcony wearing blue jeans, but no shirt. He looked over at Taylor to see her fast asleep. There was a small knock on the door and walked over to the door. He opened it to see Patrick there. "Eric, I need to talk to you, now," Patrick informed. Eric sighed and looked over at Taylor before grabbing his shirt and shoes before closing the door behind him.

Both men sat in the café down the street from the hotel. "Eric, I have a confession to make. I left for your safety," he informed. Eric looked at his father in confusion. "I was a businessman, but not the one I made you believe. I was a spy for the government. One day, the last mission I went on, the enemy threatened to kill you if I didn't quit. I turned him in. Then I realized that when that happened that my own flesh and blood was going to be in danger. So, yes I left you, but I left you behind because I wanted to keep you safe. I loved you enough to leave you behind to keep you safe," he explained. Eric was in disbelief.

"How could you do this? You couldn't at least take a second to tell me why you left me behind?" Eric demanded.

"I did it to protect you. As long as they didn't know where I was, they didn't know where you were," Patrick replied.

Eric sighed and then he stood up. "I---I have to get back to my wife," Eric told him. Eric then walked away in shock.

Taylor was sitting in a chair when Eric came in. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked. Eric sat down in disbelief.

"Taylor, my dad just told me the truth of why he left," he replied.

He told her everything that happened. "My dad put my mother and me in danger," he mumbled.

"He didn't put you in danger, Eric, that's why he left you. He was trying to protect you," Taylor assured him.

Taylor pressed her forehead against his. "He loved you," she repeated. Eric held her hand and sighed.

"I need it to sink in, that's all," he assured her.

Taylor nodded and kissed the side of his head. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he answered.