Page 7 of Rhet

“Give that to me,” My father says as he enters the room. He pours the bourbon in the crystal glass.

I gulp down the drink and begin to gag, wanting to throw up all over the floor. Pressing my hand against the wooden walls, I bend my head.

“How could they do this to me father?” I ask, one hot tear sliding down my cheek.

“Do what son? Who hurt you?” Father asks, his brows drawing together.

“I can still hear her moans in my head,” I whisper.

He pours more bourbon in my glass. “Whose moans?”

Dropping my hand from the wall, I throw the rest of the bourbon back and slam the glass down on the bar.

“Charlotte. Dad, she was fucking Barrett in the library upstairs.” I wait for my father’s wrath to appear.

He sighs and reaches for his cigar case on his table. He pulls out a cigar, smells it, snips the cap and passes it on to me.

“What is this for?” I grab the cigar.

“You just became a man, it’s time to celebrate.” he exclaims as he taps for his lighter.

“Dad. Did you hear me? Charlotte cheated on me with Barrett,” I repeat once again.

Dad holds his chest as if he is having a heart attack. “Oh no, Rhet. You were cheated on. What are we to do?” A deep sinister laugh erupts from him. Dropping his hand, he digs into his pocket and finds his lighter. He ignores me as he ignites his cigar.

Father’s reaction pisses me off even more.

“Wipe your tears boy.” He pushes a handkerchief toward me. “Here is the deal son, good men don’t make history. Who do people remember more, the man who discovered Polio or Hitler?”

What the fuck is he talking about right now? “Hitler.”

“Exactly, both men most likely had dark sides, but Hitler embraced his and he became—”

“A villain,” I interject.

Father laughs. “A legend. Forget your morals and all that happily ever after bullshit.”

I shake my head, still trying to understand. “You want me to become a villain?”

“No, my boy. I want you to embrace the darkness that is happening inside you and become a fucking legend.”

I exhale and shudder at the thought.

“All your new inner demons? Don’t fight them. Fuck them and make them your bitch.” Father pulls my head to his. “Look at me boy, the only people you can trust is yourself and your family. Remember, blood above all else.”

He pushes me away and walks to the door. “Now you wipe your tears and from tonight become the legend that I have been grooming you to be.”

I exhale, feeling the dark side of me creeping into my soul. The part of me that is like my father. I’ve done everything in my power to ignore it. I yearned to be like Trent, but my father is right. I should stop fighting who I am and claim it.

Breathing in my new personality, I exhale my old one. My shoulders roll back and I stand taller.

“What about Charlotte and Barrett?”

“Dear boy, nothing changes. Whether she is a whore or a nun you’re marrying her.” He chuckles.

“Dad I’m not—”

Father raises his arm to cut me off. “I want Carson’s empire, and you’re my key to it.” As he turns the doorknob, he looks back at me and says, “Get yourself a mistress maybe that will help.”

---