Pov, Evander.
I'm watching the blonde man sitting in the chair next to me. It's sad to see my dad so down.
I still can't believe I'm finally standing here with my dad. I've always wanted to see him in person.
I'm ecstatic, even though we come from different worlds, and it feels strange.
I'm pretty upset that my mom didn't tell me. But I'm really happy I found him, so it wasn't just some random decision on her part.
I'm interrupted by the sound of the door opening, and there's a man in blue standing there.
"How is he?" William's voice sounds worried as he gets up from his chair and stands in front of the man.I don't follow him; I'm just standing there watching William's expression.
I'm hoping his friend is alright.
I flinch when William drops to his knees, hiding his face with his hands. The sound of his crying makes my heart beat faster.I hope it's not what I feared.
I run over to him and kneel in front of him, holding him by the wrists and moving his hands away from his face. He's just staring at the ground with empty eyes.
"He's in a coma, and it's unclear whether he'll ever wake up or not." He says in a low voice, I am in a state of shock and can't think of a kind word to say to console him.
"He'll be okay," I say, and he shakes his head. He wipes his tears with the sleeve of his shirt. "His injury is serious."
All I can do is hold him and try to make him feel better.
But he, uh...
He pushes me away and I lose my balance and fall on my butt, staring at him with wide eyes as his voice gets louder and louder.
"You're the reason for everything that's happened! If you hadn't shown up in my life, none of this would've happened! I hate you, Evander! I hate you so much!"
I stay quiet, absorbing every word he throws at me, and I lower my gaze when he stands up from the floor and vanishes from sight.
I'm used to him yelling at me, but this time it's different.
Why does my heart ache?
...
Pov, William.
I walk with heavy steps, weighed down by the emotions that are eating away at my soul. I don't understand why life keeps pushing away the people I care about and love.
I sit by the entrance of the house, my condition is pitiful. I stare at the moon in the center of the sky with its pale aura as my life.
I couldn't stay at the hospital for very long. I left him with his wife, who's taking care of him. I know she's in a worse situation than I am now.
For a moment, the ring that keeps flashing catches my attention. I sigh deeply and lift my head to the sky, contemplating the blackness of the sky.
Was I too hard on him?
I know he's crying right now because of me.
Then, out of the blue, I remembered what he said at school. Just hearing that word makes me feel all kinds of things—a father.
I want to ask him about so many things, I want to find out the truth.
There's something weird about this. I got married when I was twenty-six, and it doesn't make sense that he's my son. He looks like a teenager, like sixteen or seventeen years old, at most.
I exhale as I ruffle my hair, and I stand up and open the door, looking inside.
"Evander?" I call out to him after I get inside, but he doesn't answer.
He'll be back, though. Where would he go at this hour?
I don't really pay much attention to him. What could happen to a goblin anyway?
I go upstairs and lie down on my bed, but I suddenly freeze when I think about that vampire. I start looking for him in every room, but I can't find him anywhere.
I'm starting to feel anxious because I know that if something were to happen to him, I'd regret it.
I'm standing in the middle of the hallway, thinking, until I realize the last place I'd look.
The bathroom.
I slowly open the bathroom door and take a quick look, and there he is. He's asleep in the corner, arms wrapped around his body in a fetal position. He looks like a real innocent child to me.
I come closer and lean in front of him, checking him out.
His swollen eyelids are proof enough that he's been crying for a while, until he fell asleep in this place he always goes to escape me.
I like his childish features, and then I put my hand on his cheek and start stroking it gently. I don't want to wake him up.
I put my hand under his neck and my other hand behind his knees, then I carefully lift him off the floor and head to my bedroom, laying him down on my bed.
I gently cover his body with the sheet, and as soon as I do, his little fairy appears in front of my face, looking at me with extreme anger.
I take a deep breath and say, "Can I ask you something?"She folds her arms, looks at me with a blank face, and nods in agreement.
We're both in the living room. I sit on the couch, and she's flying in front of me, waiting for me to talk. I feel like my words are stuck in my throat. I'm thinking, "Why did Evander say that I'm his father when it's temporal impossible."
"It's true. It's not impossible because goblins don't grow up the way humans do. Your world and our world don't have the same time passing procedures. They grow up faster than you think." She replies, and she looks like she's not supposed to tell me.
I'm torn between feeling happy about having a beautiful copy of the only woman I loved in my whole life and feeling sad that my relationship with my son is already over, even though it hasn't even started.
"But why didn't he tell me? "I ask, feeling my heart beating fast, I don't want to hear that Luciana asked him not to tell me about us having a kid, and it's hurting me more than her leaving me.
She frowns and says, "When he first came here, he had no idea about that. He only found out recently when he found a picture of you with his mom in your bedroom."
"What?" I say in a quiet voice, staring at her. I realize I can't get rid of anything related to her, and I'm trying to move on from the past. I'm also trying to understand how contradictory I am with myself.
"He also wanted to know why Luciana sent him to you out of all the people," she says, and I get startled when I see Evander standing a few meters away from us, staring at his little fairy with a clear anger on his face. I stand up.
He starts walking toward her and says, grabbing her from her wing, "I told you to keep it a secret. Why did you break my order?"
"Why did you want to keep it a secret? I have a right to know the truth, since I'm your father." I feel like I want to cry, so I swallow hard.
He looks at me with a blank expression. His eyes aren't as bright anymore, like he's lost the warmth in them. He says, "I didn't want you to be afraid of me. I just wanted to stay near you, even though you never know the truth."
His eyes well up, and I feel a lump in my throat. I feel like I'm beating myself up for everything I said to him. I know I'd hurt someone who I just discovered was closer than I thought.
I try to approach him, but he takes two steps back. Now it's him who he's afraid, but he seems more angry with me than afraid. It's pretty disheartening.
"Evander," I say in a soft voice, and I want to approach him again, and as soon as I do, he wants to run away from me, but I grab him by the arm to stop him, and I say in a tearful voice. I can't stop the tears.
Maybe they're tears of longing.
"Don't go and leave me, too," I say, as if begging him not to make me relive the pain of losing a loved one for the fourth time. It's exhausting.
But he wants to get rid of me. I keep my grip on his arm, and he becomes agitated. Then he starts pushing my chest hard while crying like he's in so much pain. I'm like, "Let go of me! You told me to get away from you! Why do you want me to stay?"
"You hate me! Why are you acting like this?" He's yelling at me, but I'm staying calm and hugging him tightly. I'm doing this to get him to calm down so I can say what's on my mind.
"I don't hate you, Evander. I never did!" I start crying and I cup his face with both hands, saying, "I said that in a moment of anger, and I'm very sorry. I didn't mean it. I don't want you to go. We'll protect each other and overcome all difficulties together. Just stay with me, please."
Out of the blue, the place goes quiet, and he stays for a second looking at me with a teary-eyed look on his cute face. He grabs my wrists and gently takes my hands away from his face. He slowly moves away from me and keeps staring at the ground, which makes me very nervous.
Did he forgive me? Will he leave?
He looks up and stares into my eyes for a bit, then says, tears still streaming down his cheeks, "My mom used to say that my dad was the one mistake she didn't regret."
His words hit me like an arrow through the heart, and I'm left speechless, staring at him. I gently kiss his forehead, smile a little, and say, "Next time you see her, tell her I said the same thing."
I finally see a slight smile on his face, and my heart races as I think of Rose smiling warmly at me.
Her smile is truly beautiful.
It's a good thing her son has her smile—he's got a lot to live up to.
I give him another warm hug, run my hand through his raven-colored hair, and feel his arms wrap around my body. I close my eyes and feel a warm liquid running down my cheek.
"I love you, son."
"I love you, Dad."
Those words sounded so beautiful in my heart.
...