Page 58 of Infinity

I head into my Dad’s room but again he’s asleep. “Dad. Are you awake?” I wait for a moment and watch for movement but there’s none. I walk towards the bed worried.

“Dad?” I say a bit louder but still nothing. Getting towards the edge I pull the duvet back an inch or two, he’s lying on his back and I can see his chest moving up and down. I shake him gently. “Dad, wake up.” I say it a bit louder.

I lie on my side next to him on the bed and watch him sleep. All the memories come flooding back from my childhood. Dad tossing me around, carrying me around on his back. Laughing, joking, teaching me about cars.

The boys at school were so jealous of me because I could tell them the model of any car... but it also got me the wrong attention too.

Boys telling me I’m a tomboy because I didn’t like dolls. By the time I went to secondary school, I’d got over the idiots trying to bully me because I was different to the other girls it was like water off a duck’s back.

Dad moves so I try again… “Dad? Are you awake?” he slowly starts to open his eyes and looks at me.

“Oh hey, sweet pea,” he groans.

“You okay?”

“Yeah... I’m just tired.”

“Dad, you’re always sleeping. Maybe you should ease up on those tablets, huh?”

“No. They make me feel better.”

“How can they make you feel better, when you lie in a room with curtains closed twenty-four hours a day and all you do is sleep, you barely eat. Mum is a mess and me... well I just want my Dad back,” I tell him weakly.

A lone tear makes a path down my cheek until it reaches the corner of my mouth. “Please Dad.”

“Come here.” He says. I move closer and cuddle him. “Let me just have half an hour longer and I’ll get up.”

“I love you, Dad.” I tell him with a sigh. I move off the bed and realise it’s no good - no matter what I say he’s not getting up. As I leave the room I see him reach for his tablets and take another two.

Shaking my head, I leave the room and let him go back to sleep. I head straight for my room, drop face down on to the bed, bury my head into the pillow and cry to let the hurt out.

I hear a quiet knock on my door, I quickly wipe the wetness from face and shout out, “Yeah.”

The door opens and standing there is Adam. The dam breaks as he rushes towards the bed and wraps me up in his arms. Lying on the bed snuggled into Adam, I forget everything and I let him be my strength.

ADAM

I knew as soon as I heard her voice that she needed me. I hadn’t been in the house long so I quickly showered and livened myself up from being stuck in poxy meetings all day, I said a quick hello to Mum, grabbed my truck keys and headed out.

Christine let me in, her eyes red and puffy from crying. I kissed her on the cheek after she told me

Darcy was in her room then made my way up to my girl.

Lying here with her holding on to me tight, makes me realise I never want to lose her. I stroke down the length of her hair and shush her quietly. “Babe? Do you want to tell me what’s happened?”

“I think, I’m... losing him, Adam,” she sobs. “I think he’s given up,” she sniffs.

I’m clueless as to what to say to her, I don’t want to give her false hope but I want to say something to help other than that I’m totally at a loss. I hold her tighter to me and just let her cry it out.

* * * * * * * * *

A few hours later, blinking my eyes open, I look to the window and see it’s dark. We must’ve fallen asleep. Darcy is flat out still and I have a pressing need to pee. Once finished I get us a drink of water from the kitchen and go back to bed. I strip down, pull the covers from under Darcy and slide back in next to her. She stirs but doesn’t wake so I pull her back into me and rest my cheek against her soft hair and doze off with my girl in my arms.

We’re awake early the next morning. Darcy has work, but she’s quiet... barely speaking all through breakfast. I’m lying on the bed watching her as she gets dressed.

“I much prefer to see you taking those clothes off not putting them on.”

“That’s because you’re a perv!” She looks back at me smirking.

---