Arriving back home, the first thing Sunny did after opening the door was for Bubbles to suddenly run up to him with bright eyes and a wagging tail. The beagle wasted no time jumping up and down in excitement, nuzzling his little head against his leg.
"Hi buddy!" He said, scooping the dog in his arms. "I missed you too," he chuckled, the dog's small tongue licking his face, the warmth and affection of the canine filling the void in his heart. "I know, bud! I love you to!" Giving a little squeeze to the animal, he kissed the top of the head.
Lei giggled softly at the wholesome scene unfolding in front of her. "Your treating him if he was your kid," she remarked, smiling at the sight of their deep bond as her eyes were filled with joy from the cute sight between man's best friend.
"He sure is," he answered before lowering himself down for Bubbles to jump off. "In a way, the dog is part of the family now," he added, watching as the dog scampered around the room, sniffing at the floor for any traces of scents.
"He was a stray when I first met him,"he continued with an absent smile. "I couldn't leave him out in the cold, so I brought him in, and the rest, as they say, is history." His heart swelled with a sense of pride and happiness in taking care of the once abandoned creature.
She leaned against the side of the entrance, her eyes roving across the familiar surroundings. "What are you going to do now? Especially since you skipped school," reminding him of the time he had left with Kara, "Nelson wouldn't be happy if he found out," she whispered, a hint of concern in her voice. "You should go and tell him; it will be a matter of time before he—"
Approaching footsteps interrupted her. "Sunny, Lei," a familiar voice called out to them, bringing a horrified expression to Sunny's face as he recognized the person coming their way. "What is the meaning of not going to school? They called and told me you weren't present in class." Sunny's father asked, a look of disappointment etched on his face as he stopped in front of them with arms folded together, demanding an answer.
"Dad," Sunny began, his voice trembling. "I...went out to play in the arcade with my new friend I made at the university, we ended up spending more time than I thought," he explained, a lie that came to him naturally. "I'm sorry for not telling you beforehand," he added, his eyes shifting to the floor, the guilt of lying to his own father weighing heavily on his chest.
Anger flashing in his father's eyes, disregarding the pathetic excuse. "I don't want to hear it, Sunny! You skipped school to do whatever nonsense you wanted to do," he barked. "This is the last time I'm giving you a warning, boy!" The tone of his voice was stern, a clear indication that he was serious about his threat: "I expect you to be at school tomorrow; do you understand me?" There were harsh words that left no room for negotiation.
Under any circumstances like this, Sunny would've just agreed to his father's demand without a second thought, but now, with the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders, he couldn't simply go back to his old life and say no.
Lowering his face to the ground, he showed defiance in an action so subtle that it could easily be mistaken for a simple act of submission.
"No."
Nelson was shocked; he never expected his own child to defy him. "Sunny, what is the meaning of this?" He said, unable to comprehend the change in his son's demeanor, "You are my kid! Just like any good child would do, they must respect and obey their parents!" He roared, the anger and frustration in his voice boiling over.
Lei, who remained silent through the entire ordeal, wanted to speak up in hopes of diffusing the situation but had no strength or words to do so, her mind racing with the possibilities of the consequences of her own actions if she sided with any of them. Not finding which of the two is correct in this tense setting they got themselves into.
However, something clicked in Sunny's mind. He doesn't know what it is, but it's a feeling he has to overcome. "I said no," he repeated, his voice resolute. "I didn't go to school for good reason," he declared, his eyes meeting his father's.
"There are things that I want to do, and I'm already a grown man now, so I have the right to make my own decisions," he added, the courage to stand up for himself growing stronger with each passing second. "I hope you understand that, dad."
His father's face turned purple with rage. "How dare you!" He exclaimed, "After everything we've done for you, you still have the audacity to disrespect me like this?"
Rage took over him like a storm, expressing the years of built-up resentment and disappointment in dealing with his son's nonsense: "I'm tired of you not being responsible with your life! You always find some excuse to dodge your responsibilities!" An aura of fury radiated from him, the veins in his neck popping out in a clear display of his growing anger.
Getting tired of his father's response and tone, he felt his own temper flaring: "This is my decision, and I'm not backing down, Dad!" He shouted, his voice cracking under the pressure of the confrontation, "I want to live the way I want, to decide my own future, and to fight for the life I want to have rather than someone else's!" Clenching his fists in determination, the words spilled out of him in a torrent of emotion to make his point.
"Ungrateful!" His father spat, his hands trembling with rage, "Have you forgotten what your mother would say if she were here to see this?" He asked, trying to invoke the memory of his late wife, hoping to break his son's resolve, "She would've never tolerated this kind of behavior from you!"
Horrified, shocked, and disgusted, Sunny had never become this angry before in his entire life: "Shut up! You don't get to use mom's name in this conversation!" The words biting like a venomous snake. "Mom wouldn't want you to treat me like this, or anyone else for that matter; she always believed in us to make our own choices, to follow our hearts, and to believe in ourselves." His pained voice was evident for all to hear.
His father's eyes widened in disbelief. "You are twisting her words to suit your needs!" Nelson was outraged: "Your mother was a good woman, and she would've never approved of the life you're leading!" Exclaiming loudly at the top of his lungs, the tension in the room rose with every word exchanged.
The two threw verbal jabs at one another, their voices raised in defiance, neither willing to back down. Bubbles lay down on the corner, whining fearfully at their raised voices, his eyes darting between the two. On the other hand, Lei was still a statue, unsure of what to do to help the situation.
All she could do was watch, a helpless spectator in the midst of chaos, and by this notion alone, she felt hopeless in the face of their argument. Neither side is wrong in their own way, making her feel guilty for not picking a side.
She looked at the arguing duo with so much pity, wishing there was a way to bring them to a truce, to a middle ground where both father and son could understand each other's perspective.
But she knows it's easier said than done, especially when emotions are running high and the stakes are this personal. "I wish my sister was here." Rubbing her other arm awkwardly, Lei felt very uncomfortable in this situation. "I'm sure Mei would've helped in calming them down," she muttered to herself, feeling weak in doing anything.
"Oh, so what are you going to do!?" Nelson asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Let life sort it out for you!?" Shouting in exasperation, "Is that what you've learned from your new friend? To disregard responsibility and follow your selfish impulses." The years of resentment and disappointment finally boiling over, "What kind of grown up are you to do something like that, huh?! Tearing apart the family and going against everything we ever stood for!"
With a display of overwhelming emotion, Sunny's face crumpled as tears began to stream down his face. "I'm not being selfish, Dad! I just want to live the way I want to, to experience the world, to find my place in it," he said, the trembling in his voice betraying the strength he was trying to maintain.
"I'm sorry if I'm disappointing in your eyes, but this is the only thing I can do right now; I need to do this for myself," he breathed out, the pleading in his eyes evident for all to see. "You understand, don't you, father?" Desperation was radiating from him after he said those words.
The air of silence filled the room as the father and son stood in a stalemate, the tension thick in the air and the weight of the moment heavy on their hearts.
No one moved, no one spoke, no one even breathed; it was as though the world had come to a standstill, waiting for the next move to be made.
It was a cold silence that left a bitter taste in the mouth, a silence that could make loved ones question one's own sanity, a silence that could break the strongest of wills when faced with such a challenge.
Lei finally broke the silence, stepping in between the two of them. "Please, stop, both of you," she begged, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Can't we find common ground here?" Her tone of voice was filled with despair. "Sunny, I understand how you feel, but you have to think about the consequences of your actions. Nelson, you have to be more understanding towards him; after all, he is your own son," she said, her own voice cracking under the weight of her own emotions. "We're all lost in this world, trying to find our way; let's not lose each other in the process, please?"
Another silence followed, but this time it was different; it was a silence of contemplation, a silence of understanding, a silence of healing, a silence that had the potential to mend broken hearts, and— "I'm so disappointed with you," Nelson interrupted Lei's plea, the bitterness in his voice clear.
"You always were late with understanding the bigger picture, always caught up in your own little world, never seeing the consequences of your actions," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I am disappointed with you, Sunny."
Grinding his teeth, Sunny never felt this level of pain in his heart coming from someone he considers to be his father.
He felt a lump form in his throat, making it difficult to breathe when Nelson said those awful words that made him feel worthless, low, and insignificant, coming from someone he had known ever since he was a baby.
Just by Nelson's mere words, it was as if he had stripped away the last shreds of self-worth he had left, leaving him hollow and empty inside.
"Fuck you."
He whispered the curse loudly under his breath, the words coming out like a hiss, a venomous snake spitting its toxic venom at his prey, making the words a physical blow to his father's chest as the impact was like echoes of a thousand daggers piercing through his chest.
The room fell silent for a third time, the weight of the curse hanging in the air and the words echoing in the ears of everyone present. Until he had the courage to start walking away to his bedroom with empty eyes, his heart was still bleeding from the pain of saying it.
Just as he passed over his father's side, he felt the sudden, firm grip of Nelson's hand grabbing his shoulder. "What?" Sunny asked, his cold voice barely above a whisper and his body tensing up at the unexpected touch after everything that had happened. Turning around, he was met with a fist heading straight to his face. Luckily, Lei was quick enough to hold Nelson back from inflicting any harm on Sunny.
"Stop it, Nelson!" She yelled, horrified by the sight of the impending violence, "Is this really what you want to do right now?!" Tears streamed down from Lei's eyes as she watched the two men she loves most in the world fight. "Please, enough of this craziness!" Her voice was cracking from this terrible ordeal: "Please, I'm begging you, just stop and talk like reasonable adults! It's the only way to solve this!"
Bubbles started barking from the corner, sensing the tension in the air. The dog's instinct was to stop the argument from going any further. But to his dismay, he could only shout at them to get their attention, hoping that they might listen to his pleas.
Nelson's eyes were red with anger and disappointment, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, "I'm...oh god," and his entire face was drained with all color after seeing his son's expression, full of fear that he had unintentionally caused.
Calming his breathing, he slowly gathered his bearing by taking a deep breath. "Sunny?" Looking back at him, he was met with the same face gazing back at him—another one filled with a mixture of hurt and anger.
"Mister Nelson?" Letting him go, Lei was relieved that the young man's father had regained control of himself. "I think we all need to sit down and have a serious talk, don't you think?" She looked back at Sunny, only to see a face she had never seen before, a face she couldn't recognize, a face that was lost, a face that was broken, a face that was so filled with anger and pain that she was almost afraid to approach him, risking making things worse for themselves.
Sunny didn't say a word to them; the sounds of Bubbles barking mercilessly were all that filled their ears—the sound of his own heartbeat thundering in his ears like a freight train, the world spinning around him, his vision blurring, his hands trembling, and his heart pounding from this terrific conversation they recently had.
Then, without warning, he turned and started walking away, ignoring the calls of his father trying to reach out to him.
"I'm sorry, son; I didn't mean to hurt you," Nelson urgently begged, cracking with emotion. "Please look at me; I'm begging you; don't leave us; we need you; we love you; let's reconcile this; let's make it right," using all of his effort to maintain his composure, "I'm asking you, as a father, as a family, let's sit down and talk it out to—"
"I hate you."
With his voice almost breaking like glass, Sunny muttered the words under his breath for all to hear. The gut wrenching anger was evident in his statement. "I never want to see you again; I hope you rot in hell," were the final words he said as he left the area in quick-paced strides.
The sound of doors slamming shut could be heard across the building. Leaving a silence so heavy it was palpable, the room was filled with nothing but the lingering scent of heartache and the echoes of broken dreams.
Falling down on his knees, Nelson cried quietly. The pain in his chest was too much for him to bear. He cursed himself for his reckless actions in going so far as to physically harm his own child as his own tears fell like raindrops.
The sadness in his heart was evident in the way he held his own head in his hands, causing the weight of the world to crush him under the burden of guilt.
