CHAPTER 3
CAPESIDE - FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Pacey arrived at his parents' house in Capeside to have dinner with them before going to Dawson's.
"Hi, Pacey! I'm so happy you're finally here", his mother welcomed him with a big smile on her face while opening the door.
"Hi Mom", he mumbled while stepping in. Inside, he noticed that also Doug was there.
"Hey", Doug greeted him with way less enthusiasm.
On the other side of the room, his father was watching TV, barely noticing he arrived. Pacey decided to ignore him too.
"So, not even a gift for us this time? A Rolex, a tiny diamond, nothing?", Doug mocked him.
Pacey sneered at him and then went straight to sit on the sofa without saying a word.
"Pacey, you're here! - his father finally decided to leave the TV and go greet him - How's work?"
Pacey glared at him, annoyed.
"I'm fine, Dad, thanks for always being concerned about my health first. You haven't seen me in three months but, of course, work is your priority."
"Hey, you like to talk about your work", his father replied, confused.
"Yeah, well, maybe tonight I don't", Pacey cut it off, before standing up, heading to the bathroom.
His father looked at him perplexed, then he shook his head and got back to the TV set. Next to him, also Doug felt disoriented, thinking that something was off.
In the bathroom, Pacey washed his face, trying to calm down again. Then, he took a deep breath and got back to the living room.
"Hey Doug, can we talk?", he whispered while sitting next to him on the couch.
"Sure...- Doug replied still confused - You okay, Pace?"
Before he could answer, his mother came out from the kitchen, looking for him.
"Pacey, could you help me with the sauce? You can make that Bernese which is so good..."
Pacey sighed.
"Yeah."
Then, he got up and walked to the kitchen.
"I'll help him, too", Doug said, following him.
"You? - his father felt the urge to intervene - You can't even cook an egg, Doug." Then, he laughed.
Doug ignored him and joined Pacey in the kitchen.
"It's okay, Mom, we're taking it from here", Doug said to have her go back to the living room.
"Okay, thanks, boys."
Once she left the room, Doug focused back on Pacey who was cutting some shallot.
"So, what's going on?"
Pacey stopped cutting and sighed.
"I'm in big trouble, Doug", he finally admitted, without looking at him.
"What kind of trouble?", Doug asked more worried.
"The kind that could lead you to prison."
"What? What the hell did you do, Pace?"
"It's a long story..."
"Well, make it short! - Doug insisted eagerly - I knew that there was something off with your work, too much money in such a short time..."
"My work was fine until a week ago and, even if this piss you off, if I made so much money was just because I was good at it."
"Yeah...and then what happened?"
"Then, Rich got tipped off about a huge deal on the Stepatech stocks. He bribed someone to have reserved information and made me sell all the shares before the info got public and their price dropped...they're gonna accuse us of insider trading, Doug..."
"Oh, my God! Are you stupid? How could you not think that they would find out about this? Insider trading is a serious crime, Pace, we're talking about years in prison!"
"Yeah, I know now, thanks. Plus, they froze all my money...I lost everything, Doug, my job included, of course."
Doug's anger was becoming hard to contain.
"This is unbelievable, Pace. You're unbelievable. I was almost starting to think that you've changed and you've grown some common sense, instead you screwed up everything like the old times."
"Wow, I can't imagine how smug you must feel about it - Pacey added with sarcasm - You feared that your role of the perfect son was at stake when I started to make three times the money you made, and now, finally, the roles swapped again and the black sheep one returned to his rightful owner...Lucky you, Dougie, all your hopes came true...Too bad mine crashed down to the deepest low, but, hey, that's my destiny, right?"
"Oh shut up, Pacey, just shut up! If you had spent half the time you spend commiserating yourself on something worthwhile, now maybe you would have acquired something lasting. But whining is easier, right?"
"Belittling others just to boost your own self-esteem is even easier..."
Doug glared at him when the kitchen door suddenly opened and their father got in.
"Hey, what's going on here? - he asked agitated - I could hear you screaming from the other room!"
Doug promptly intervened.
"Ask your youngest son, Dad. Ask him about how he lost his job and all his money and how he'll be accused of insider trading."
"What? Is it true, Pacey?"
Pacey stood quiet, just staring at Doug with contempt.
"Pacey, is it true?", the father insisted, angrier.
"Yes! - Pacey admitted - It's all true, Dad. Are you happy now? You too couldn't wait for me to fail again and here we are!"
"Don't you dare to put up that attitude with me! - The father's anger grew even more - You're a disgrace to this family, Pacey! You've always been...For a moment I thought that there was still hope with you, but no, you're still the hopeless idiot who cannot accomplish one good thing in life...Do you realize that this will fall on my head too? The Chief of Police with a son accused of a fraud crime! They'll say 'How can he think to stop lawbreaking when he can't even watch over his own son?' My career is over too!"
"Maybe if you had spent some time here and there through all these years to actually care about your son instead of continuously despising him and diminishing him, you would have known."
The father stared at him very impressed by his words.
"I may not have been the perfect father you wanted, but you have definitely been far from the perfect son."
"I know I wasn't the perfect son, but the point is...you have not been a father at all."
Pacey's father, furious, slapped him hard in the face. Pacey remained petrified, both dismayed and disgusted. Then, he slowly took a couple of steps closer to him.
"You've just proven my point - Pacey whispered to him with scorn - But I'll tell you one thing. I'm not a defenseless child anymore, so, touch me again and you're gonna regret it."
Pacey started heading to the door while his father suddenly brought his hands to his chest with shortness of breath.
"Dad? Are you okay?", Doug asked worried.
Pacey's father fell to the ground, still breathing heavily and not being able to talk.
"Dad! - Doug yelled again while getting down next to him - Call 911, Pacey!"
Pacey stared at them with a blank expression, shocked.
"Pacey! Call 911, now!"
"Yeah", Pacey snapped back to reality and left the room to get a phone.