Tristan’s POV
When I reached my house, I was still livid with Mr Parker. Why couldn’t he just get someone else to look after Eric or take him after what happened to Eric’s mother? People like that make me angry. I know I may not be the greatest person, but I have love in me when the people I care about are hurt. When I even see someone get hurt that I do not even love, it does break my heart. I am a human who feels these things. I can build up my walls and have no emotion because I learned that after my wife passed away. But Eric is someone that I have gotten to care about in this short space of time as if he was my own son.
I opened the front door. Eric winced, “You still need to get checked out at the hospital,” I said as I let him enter, and then I followed after him.
“I will be fine. It’s nothing that I can’t handle. I have been through this countless times already.” we walked down the hallway.
“I will not take no for an answer. If that still persists tomorrow, then we are going. No arguments.” I stated.
“Yes, Sir,” he replied. The more I spend time with him, the more I like this fella. He was about to turn into Cris’s bedroom.
“You won’t be sharing a bedroom with Cris. Your bedroom is further down the hall,” I said, and I walked past him as he looked confused. I stopped at the far end before it reached the bigger section of the house that I had abandoned since Estelle passed away.
I opened the bedroom door and entered. It was clean and everything was white. Sometimes I hire a cleaner to just clean when it is needed. But the bigger side of the house is off-limits to her. I don’t want her to touch anything in that part of the house. It was left just the way it was since that accident. Except for the piano that I played and the study room where I f^cked Elona.
“Thank you,” he said as I placed his things down in front of the cupboard.
“Let me know if you need anything,” I said as I walked out of the room.
I could see that he was not himself, but he still had those manners. He needed to see a doctor. I will give him some space today, but tomorrow is a must.
“If you need anything, please let me know. You are welcome to use the kitchen freely too,” I said as I shoved my hands in my pants pockets.
“Will do,” he said, and then I left him alone.
Hours passed as I decided to do my work in the lounge that I had to do at work today. The front door opened. “Hi, Dad. I thought you were at work today,” Cris asked, her brows furrowing.
“Well, I changed my mind because of Eric,” I nodded in the direction of the hallway. “He will be staying with us from now on. He is in the guest bedroom,” I said. She was so confused, and then she walked down the hallway.
Sighing, I dived back into my work. I wanted to see Elona since she walked with Cris after school, but this work just kept me buried in them. Cris came back, her expression had changed drastically as she plopped down on the recliner across from me.
“Are you okay?” I asked as she looked at nothing.
She shook her head, no, “I didn’t know that… he went through that. He-he didn’t need to tell me anything. I understand why you took him in. Is his father that evil?” she shifted in the recliner, her eyes finally finding mine. There was sadness in them.
“Yes, I went to go and have a word with him. The bastard doesn’t deserve Eric. Hell even Eric doesn’t deserve to be in that environment and to be treated that way. I had to help him. That is the least that I could do for him.” I held her gaze.
“Thank you for that and for doing this, Dad. You sure do have a huge heart. I just wish that he had told me sooner. It makes perfect sense to me now…. that time when he wasn’t around because he was beaten up. He was in pain, and we were just going about our days as if nothing was wrong. I am a shitty girlfriend, Dad,” tears welled up in her eyes.
“Cris, we all didn’t know about this. He chose to keep it a secret for a reason and now that we know about it, we are able to help him.” I was trying to fight my own tears.
“As long as we know what has been going on, and we can help him accordingly,” she blinked her tears away.
“Yeah,” I choked up.
“You care about him a lot,” she had a little smile, as if she loved the fact that I was opening up more to Eric.
“He is like a son to me, a son I never had. I would treat him as such,” tears welled up in my eyes.
“Oh Dad, I get why you feel that way. Maybe someday you will be able to…” She sucked in a breath, “I hope that you find someone to move on with. It may not be Maggie because I can tell that you don’t like her. But I hope someone that will treat you right.” she gave me a small smile.
“Yeah, someone that is everything that I want and more.” That is Elona.
“You deserve that, Dad,” there was a hint of suspicion in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything further, and I hoped that she wouldn’t even try to ask me anything. “So, can Spooky sleep in my bedroom?” she asked with hope in her eyes.
” I guess you two have already done that. I think it’s best that you give him some space tonight. What he went through was not great, and he just needs to recuperate. Give him that space and then maybe tomorrow or whenever he is ready to share a room with you, then by all means, the rules are to have condoms in your bedroom-”
“Dad!”
“Better be safe than sorry. I have raised you better than to make me a granddad. You are young and so is Eric. Focus on both of your careers. Finish school first. Make me proud,” I stated.
“Fair enough,” she lifted her hands up in surrender, and then she stood up. “Let me see if Spooky needs anything.” she walked away down the hallway.
I reached for my phone and I typed a quick text to Elona.
Me: Can you come over for dinner tonight?
I hit send and my phone chimed immediately. It was her.
Elona: I will be there.
That caused me to smile like a little kid. I was happy to know that she would be here, not just for me, but for her to be here with her friends. I didn’t want her to feel left out, and I’m sure that Eric would appreciate it. I wanted to invite David over too, but I guess he has his own things going on, and I hope he steers away from Maggie. That one is a piece of work. I want the best for David too, but not with her in a million years.