XLVIII
"What the hell are you doing here?" Dad growls at the coach, who simply smiles.
"Sorry, Daniel, I'm just taking back what's always been mine."
I try to pretend I didn't hear his words, but I can't when my dad lounges at him with full speed.
"You motherfucker, who the fuck do you think you are?! That's still my wife!" dad shouts, bashing coaches head into the floor with full force.
I gasp, sure that he knocked him out, but coach simply flinches and immediately throws him off himself.
"Don't do this, Daniel, even if you were sober there's no way you'd ever manage to beat my ass." He says and I can't help but like him even less than I did before.
He just shows up at my house, acts like he owns the place and now has the audacity to act this way towards my father?
Who the hell does he think he is?
"Hey, show some respect." I frown at him, making him look at me with an expression that says he doesn't know what to say back to me.
However, my dad does. He snorts:"Yeah, you're the one to be talking about respect."
"Watch what you're saying." Axel says lowly next to me and father rolls his eyes.
"Don't speak like you actually have something over my daughter, or me. You were just a fucking fling, get over it." He says, and a sinister smile appears on Axel's face.
"A fling, huh?" He says and I know he's going to tell him about everything. I hate it, there are much better ways to tell him, but I know it's too late to stop Axel from telling him.
"Then why is she moving with me to London, if it was just a fucking fling? You wanna know why? Because she's fucking pregnant with me, you asshole. You lost this game, face it. Despite all of your efforts to break us up, you failed and probably actually brought us closer together, and now you're a old guy without his daughter and without his wife, living on your own, while I'll have all the best things in the world. Do you see where all that fucking asshole attempts have brought you? And it is all your fault."he finishes his speech, with dark and cold eyes and with a sinister smile.
I let go of his hand in shock at his criel words. Yes, he is right, but that is still my father. The same father who taught me how to drive a car, the same father who took me to playgrounds as a child. All he wanted was the best for me, and he didn't deserve this.
"What do you mean, without my wife?" He asks with small voice, like he is close to breaking.
Mum sighs, bites her lip and isn't exactly sure where to look at, as she whispers the reply:"I'm moving as well."
Dad gasps. "So what, you're all just gonna leave me here? Just like that?!" he's yelling towards the end of his sentence.
"Don't make such a big deal from all of this. You and Beatrice are getting a divorce, and Sophie wasn't even living here till a few weeks ago. Don't act like this wasn't inevitable." Axel says again and I turn at him with wide eyes.
"Will you stop being this mean? That is my dad!" I almost shout at him and he raises his arms up in defence.
"I'm sorry but I'm just giving him the attitude he used to give me." Axel tries to justify his actions.
I don't say anything in reply.
"So when are you all leaving?" Dad asks all of us.
"Tomorrow early morning. Our plane's at seven a.m." coach says. "Me and Axel need to return back to work."
Dad just nods in reply absentmindedly. "What about the house? And Sophie's school?"
"We're leaving you the house. You paid for it, anyway." Mum says. "And we'll email the school, it's shouldn't be much of a problem escpecially considering hers and Axel's position, with the pregnancy and the boxing thing."
Dad nods again and looks at me. "So you're pregnant, huh?"
I bite my lip. "Yes. Wasn't expected, but I'm not having an abortion, so it is what it is."
Dad purses his lips. "The money won't be a problem, right?" He asks, glancing at Axel, who shakes his head.
"Well, if it is, you know where I am; just ask and it's no problem at all to give you some." Dad offers and I smile.
"Thank you." I say and he nods again.
He staggers on his feet awkwardly, like he dosn't really know what to say. "You take care of her." He finally says to Axel. "You take good care of her. I know I haven't been fair to you, but please don't cut me out of her life. I need to know my grandchild."
Axel doesn't do anything, or say anything, just simply nods.
Then dad just looks at me, and shrugs. I feel a lump growing in my throat when he comes closer and wraps his arms around me.
We stay embraced for a few seconds and I can feel his harsh breathing. "I love you, Sophie." He whispers in my ear.
"I love you, too, dad. Take good care of yourself, okay? I promise I'll call." I say, tears pooling in my eyes.
"You have to. I don't even know when you grew up, but now you need to watch yourself even more than I watched you. Make sure the baby will be fine." he says and takes a step back from me, and I feel like it's time to leave them alone, so I softly tug at Axel's hand and we leave the living room to give them some space.
"Let's go for a walk." he whispers and I nod, following him to put on our shoes and coats.
We walk hand in hand for a while in a very familiar direction, until we stop at a place where it all began.
Axel takes a deep breath. "It's time to say goodbye." he says, pulling out the key to his old house.