Page 56 of Breakaway Heart
“I can’t call you dad anymore, Frank. You’re not fit. Everything I’ve done, you’ve undermined and put me down. And for what? Those two thugs that aren’t even yours?”
“You don’t know what I’ve done, Randall,” Frank sneered back.
“Oh, I do. I was there, Frank. I watched a small, bitter man ruin his family. No one called you out. No one told you. Now, I am.”
Frank stared back, wordlessly.
“I was terrified of you. But not anymore. All I see now is a frightened old man. If I have any weakness, it’s you. It’s all tied up inyou.”
“Don’t try and be a big boy in front of your girlfriend. I don’t think she’s very impressed. I could still thrash you, boy.”
“I’m not a boy anymore, Frank. And that girl? She’s more than you could ever be.You!You have no honor, no loyalty, no kindness. Just a sad old man.”
“Oh, and what now? You’re going to hit asad old man, are you tough guy?”
They stood, locked in a stare of contempt for each other.
Behind Frank, the two brothers appeared, and Randy laughed.
“You pushed me away forthem, and Frank, I gotta tell you, they don’t even respect or like you.”
“Maybe you should ease up there, Randy,” Bobby said.
Randall fixed his stern eyes on Bobby and Jake.
“You two made my life absolutely miserable! And for what?”
“We were just playing around, Randy, c’mon,” Jake said.
“Don’t you realize what that was like? I’d just lost my mum, and you made me suffer even more.”
Jake rolled his eyes, “Don’t be such a baby, you…”
“No.” Bobby interrupted. “He’s right.”
Frank and Jake both turned in surprise to Bobby.
“Randy, your dad came in and made our life hell too, y’know? Heisa piece of selfish crap. Just seeing him with our mum made me so mad. And yeah, we took it out on you, because we couldn’t say a word to him.”
Frank’s eyes narrowed at him. “Steady on there, Bobby.”
“Randy’s right, Frank. We’re not kids anymore. We don’t have to play kids’ games. You haven’t been a father to any of us. All you’ve done is bring us all misery. And yeah,” Bobby turned back to Randy, “Then we passed the misery onto you, Randy. I’m sorry for that. Really.”
Everyone now turned to Frank.
“I… I thought we were all having fun… I mean…”
“Don’t pretend, Frank,” Jake said.
Frank’s face had turned white. His sneering scowl had gone, and he shook his head, trying to shake the truth out of his thoughts, before covering his face with his hands.
“Oh God, what have I become?”
When he finally looked up, it was at Randy.
“Randy. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize… Okay. That’s not true. I did. But it was easier to just not think about. I loved your mum, really. And yes, I ruined it all, because Iwasa tired and bitter man who thought he deserved more than he’d got. And when you don’t shine things, well, they start to get dull. After she left me, everytime I saw you, I saw her, and I goddamn hated you for that.”
“Frank, I was a scared kid. I needed a role model, or at the very least, someone who would turn up. Instead, I got three monsters.”
