26. Forrest of Trees

Sky.

✙ ☠ ✙

When I wake up, my dad's already gone. I look at the time on my phone. It's 10 AM. I yawn and check my messages. Diana sent me a photo of her and Rose. I smile. I miss her. I'm happy to go back home tonight.

After brushing my teeth and getting dressed I make my way downstairs.

I'm relieved to see most of the family is gone. Only my grandparents, mom and dad are here now.

"There you are! I was going to wake you but I figured you must be tired from the trip!" My grandpa smiles.

"Yeah. I guess so." I join everyone at the table.

"I made some.. egg scramble and some bacon.." Grandma fills my plate with food.

"Yesterday we didn't get the chance to get to know you all that well. So many people over.. I was busy cookin' up a dinner, entertaining the guests.." My grandma watches me with her small beady eyes. I didn't realize how cute she was. I get the weird urge to hug her.

"Oh, that's okay. I'm really sorry about how I acted."

"No, we get it. You're a cityboy. I'm sure I'd be the same if I went to the Los Angeles. Fish outta water." Grandpa laughs.

My grandparents are nicer than I thought. I was such a jerk yesterday. Not completely unfounded of course. I look at my dad. Then I look back at them.

"So, are you guys okay with.. me being with a guy and all that?"

"Honey, when I was a youngin, my mamma told me one thing. She said only the Lord can judge you. No one else. Now I live by that." She nods heavily making her double chin wobble.

I smile. She's endearing.

"Amen." My grandpa kisses her cheek.

They're adorable. How the hell did they create my dad?!

"Are you ready for today? Me and uncle Tom are taking you hunting. It's gonna be wild." My dad says excitedly.

"No women, no nothing. Just the boys." He nods.

Yay. 'The boys'.

I try not to groan.

I take a bite from my food.

"What about you, mom?" I ask.

"Oh, grandma is going to teach me how to sew! I'm so excited!" She beams.

I chuckle. "Okay then." Is it bad I'd rather spend the day doing something as boring as sewing then going out and shooting animals?

The door swings open and in comes uncle Tom.

"Alright! We ready to go?" He says excitedly.

I put down my fork. "Thanks for the food, grandma."

She smiles full of delight. "You're so welcome, dear."

"Alright, let's go." Dad grabs my shoulder.

We make our way outside to the shed.

There's a slight drizzle and there's snow but mostly ice all around. The way over the tiles to the grass is real slippery.

"So, you ain't never been huntin' right?" Tom asks.

"Nope. This will be my first time."

"Of course. You didn't get no proper huntin' education up in those hills. But out here, the hunt is life. There ain't nothing like eating your own game. Ain't nothing like it."

No, I'm sure there isn't.

"Now it's the colder time of the year so it's pretty important we get some of that weather proof gear on." My dad opens the shed and throws me a thick jacket.

"Put that on.." He rummages through the shed.

This thing is way too big on me.

My dad laughs when he sees me.

"Look at you! You're drowning in that jacket!" Dad screams out. Uncle Tom starts to laugh too.

"I know. Hilarious." I say sarcastically. I cross my arms.

My dad wipes a tear from his eye and continues rummaging through the shed.

"Here," My dad places a pair of brown sturdy looking boots before me. "These were my old ones. I'm sure they'll fit."

I put them on.

Meanwhile dad and Tom get dressed too.

"And finally.. the beauties." My dad pulls out two long brown rifles. He hands Tom one and keeps the other himself.

"Tom, you go on ahead. We'll meet you at the car." Dad gives Tom a nod.

Tom walks away and dad grabs my arm.

"What are you doing?" I protest as he drags me away.

"Just wait." He says.

He pulls me towards a huge oak tree.

He looks from me to the tree with excitement on his face. He does that for about thirty seconds.

"What?!" I snap.

"This is a special tree." He says.

"Looks just like any other stupid tree here."

"Nope, this one's different. You know why?"

"You're pissing me off, dad."

He chuckles. "This one was planted when I was born." He looks really happy.

"And this one," Dad drags me to a tree further away from it. "This one was planted when you were born." He smiles.

It's substantially smaller than Dad's tree. But I have to admit, it's pretty cool to symbolize your life through a tree.

"So... what, are we supposed to chop yours down when you die?" I say listlessly.

Dad chuckles.

"You'll always have the tree." Dad puts his arm around my shoulders.

A tree to replace my dad. That works. Both are fucking useless.

"I'll become a tree-hugger." I say, sarcasm dripping off my voice.

"That's the spirit!" Dad ignores my obvious jab at him. "And look," He drags me to a spot next to my tree.

"I planted Rose's tree the second your ma told me about her." He smiles.

I look down at the dirt. I feel some sort of emotion in my heart. It pisses me off.

"You planted a tree for my daughter. I'm touched." I say sarcastically.

"Will you stop being an asshole? I'm trying to do something nice here and you just shit all over it."

I guess I could show that I care a little more. I sigh.

"Alright. Thanks, dad. It's sweet." I say quickly, avoiding eye contact.

He smirks at me.

"Good. Now let's get huntin'."

We make our way to the car and drive off.

I stare outside the window as my dad speeds through the streets.

"Now, I'm guessing them deer are coming out from their little habitats now that the rain is settled down. It'll be the perfect lesson for you."

Woohoo. Deer.

We turn up at a forest with thin long trees. It's misty and kind of creepy here. As we step outside I notice how quiet it is. The wind blows past us making it even more eerie.

The frozen grass crunches under our feet as we make our way into the woods.

"Now, from this moment on it's very important to keep quiet," My dad speaks softly. "We don't want any animals to hear us and run."

I nod and follow him and Tom into the trees. I notice they're constantly looking around, spotting for animals, I'm sure.

It's incredibly boring. I'm yet again wishing I was home. Not only is it boring but despite my warm clothes it's freaking cold here. Guess I'm just not used to it.

"How long is this gonna take?" I ask.

Tom sighs annoyed.

"However long. Just trust the process." My dad grabs my shoulder. "You know, one time we were only here for three hours and we got lucky and caught an elk!"

"Three hours!" I exclaim.

"Shhh!" They both go.

"I'm supposed to spend three hours in the cold, looking for meat like some sort of caveman? Ever heard of a grocery store?"

"This ain't about no grocery store. This is about nature." Tom looks at me sternly. "Well it's not like you would get anything about nature, otherwise you wouldn't be—"

"Wouldn't be what?" I take a step closer.

"Settle down, boys." My dad stands in between us. "Nice and easy."

I sigh. This is such a drag.

We continue into the woods looking for poop, trails or other signs of animal life. I've never been this bored before. Or this cold. I'm sure by now we've been here for an hour. That's what it feels like anyway.

"Look, look, look!" My dad whispers excitedly, pointing to some dirt.

"What about it?" I sigh.

"Animal footprints." Tom gives me glare. "I'm guessing it was a deer."

"Good, let's follow it." Dad says.

I walk behind the guys and look around. I'm thinking now might be a good time to call Aron. I grab my phone.

My dad snatches it out of my hands. "Ah, ah, ah. None of that." He puts in his pocket.

"Why not?!"

"This is nature time, and bonding time in case you didn't know!"

"How is this bonding time when all you talk about is your stupid animals!"

Tom sucks his teeth.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" I scream.

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down." My dad grabs my arm. I pull away.

"Look, this isn't my thing. I'm freezing out here, I wanna go back!"

"Listen! You need to stop acting like a brat and try something new! Can't you see how hard I'm trying?"

"Trying to what? To love me?"

"Guys!" Tom whispers. "Take a look, they're here." He smiles.

My dad quietly makes his way to Tom and ducks beside him behind a tree.

"Sky, check this out."

I sigh and make my way over to them. My dad pulls me down. I follow their gaze and gasp as I notice a breath-taking group of deer striding in the field beneath us. Just as we catch them the sun peaks through the clouds and shines down on them. We're on top of a high hill so they're pretty far away.

"They're beautiful." I say quietly.

"I know." My dad smiles. "It was kind of worth the trouble, don't you think?"

"I guess." I smirk. Hate to admit it.

My dad slowly gets his rifle out of his bag. "Shootin' time." Tom and him laugh quietly.

"Wait, you're seriously going to shoot them? You just said how beautiful they were!"

"Yes. A beautiful catch."

"Wow." I say annoyed.

"Now, pay attention. Imma teach you how it's done."

"I really don't want to. Can't you just get it over with so we can go home?"

"Here," My dad holds out the gun to me.

"Dad,"

"Take it." He pushes.

I sigh and take the gun.

"You're holding it all wrong. You've never held a gun before, have you?"

I have actually. Not a very fun memory.

My dad adjusts my position and tells me to look through the scope.

"Now when you're ready.. pull the trigger."

I hate this so much. I can't believe I'm about to shoot something.

"Just do it, Sky. You'll feel better once it's over."

"Once it's dead, you mean?"

"Do it now before they start moving." Tom chimes in.

I sigh and look through the scope again. I find my hands shaking as I look into the face of a deer. I think of Neil when I held that gun to his head. I didn't shoot him that day. And God knows he deserved it. Then why would I shoot an innocent animal?

"Now!" My dad whispers into my ear.

Roger that.

I lift the gun a little further into the air and fire a few shots. The immense power shoots through my arm as I fire. It's crazy.

Just as I thought, the sound startles the deer and they run off in maximum speed.

"What the hell are you doing?!" My dad grabs the gun from me and he and Tom desperately try to shoot the animals running away but it's no use. They're all gone.

I smile.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Tom pushes me.

"I said I didn't wanna do it."

"You stuck up little brat, we've been following that trail for hours!"

I decide to keep my mouth shut. I've said everything there was to say.

"Unbelievable." Tom mutters before walking away.

"What's the matter with you?" My dad asks. "Are you trying to sabotage our time together?"

"This is hardly spending time together! Why don't you get it! I don't care about hunting! I want to know you! But every time I ask you a question you make a joke out of it!"

"Sky—" He reaches for me. I pull away.

"No! You just had to wait until you were dying to see me!" I feel a lump rising in my throat. I suppress my tears. "You should've just stayed away."

I turn around and walk into the other direction.

"Where are you going?" Dad sounds tired.

"I need to be alone!"

I walk deep into the forest. And very unsurprisingly my dad doesn't follow me. I sit down on a rock and put my head into my hands. I sob quietly and it begins to drizzle.

Why can't my dad just talk to me? I barely have any time left with the guy and instead of letting me close he just tries to distract with stupid jokes and dumb activities. I want to know why he left us. I want to know why it took him so long to come back. What kind of dad does this? How can my mom say he's a good man?

I wipe away my tears and reach into my pocket. I need to talk to Aron.

My pocket's empty and I remember my dad has my phone. Dammit!

I shiver as the cold wind whips past me. I wanna go home.

I step through the wet leaves and ice, trying to find my way back to where we were but every direction looks the same. A tree here, a tree there.. As I walk on, I wonder how people find their way through these woods.

And I wonder that for hours.

"Dad?" I yell into the dark.

The moon is covered in clouds and the trees block most of the light.  There is little to no light guiding me. It's scary. I don't know what kind of animals are out here.

I'm shivering and my teeth are clattering. I'm extremely cold. And just then it starts to rain. It just pours down. I pull up the hood of my jacket but my face still gets drenched in water.

"Dad?" I yell again.

"Oliver!" I hear my dad's voice from far away. Some other men seem to be screaming my name too.

My heart begins to race.

"DAD! I'm here!" I yell.

"Keep screaming!" I hear.

Soon I see two lights in the dark. I run towards them.

"Sky!" My dad sounds relieved as he wraps his arms around me. "Dammit! I was so worried! Where did you run off to!"

"E-everything looks the same." I'm talking slow while my teeth clatter from the cold.

Dad shines the light into my face. "Look at you! You're completely blue!" He sounds so worried. Tom and four other guys join my dad's side. One of them drapes a water proof blanket over me.

"I'm fine." I say very unconvincingly.

"I'll be the judge of that. Come on." My dad grabs my hand and leads me through the woods.

In some weird way I feel happy I got lost. Now I'm holding hands with my dad and it seems like he actually cares about me. Something I'd been doubting all this time. If he really didn't care he wouldn't have been so worried. Sad as it might seem, the reassurance is comforting.

When we reach home my mom immediately flings her arms around me and holds me close. "I was so worried about you! Oh, you're freezing!"

"Get him inside. Get him some warm clothes." Dad says.

× × ×

Everyone was worried about me. They helped me inside. I changed into a few different layers before going to bed. They even had a doctor look at me to make sure I was okay.

My mom just brought me some tea and now she's in the hallway outside my room with my dad.

"What the hell were you thinking? He's not used to this cold! You can't just take him out for hours and then leave him to find his way alone!" I rarely ever hear my mom this angry. Especially about me.

"Well, it wasn't exactly the plan to leave him alone, Lisa!"

"You should've watched him! But no, you're as unreliable as ever!"

"I know I've screwed up in the past."

"And you're doing it again! He could have died, Oliver!"

Silence.

I hear a door slam shut. My dad sighs.

He comes into the room.

"How you feeling, bud?" He sits on the bed. His voice sounds calm but his eyes are filled with pain and shame.

"I'm fine, dad."

He ruffles my hair. It feels nice.

"Were you guys fighting about me? You can tell mom I'm okay.."

"No, don't worry about that. Your mom just... She wants what's best for you. And let's face it, nine times out of ten that just ain't me." He sighs with a sad smile.

He seems so heartbroken. All this time he's been smiling but now for the first time he looks really upset.

"Sometimes when you love someone, you fight. Though I'm sure you'll find that soon enough, being engaged and all." He chuckles.

He stares out the window for a moment. Then he looks back at me.

"That Aron takes good care of you, doesn't he?" He asks.

"Yeah." I chuckle. "He's the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Good." My dad caresses my head. "Then I'm happy for you." He looks me deep in the eyes and grants me a smile.

Somehow his blessing means a lot more than I thought it did. Knowing he supports me and Aron is surprisingly like a weight off my shoulders.

"Thanks, dad." I smile.

He pats my chest. "Good. Now lets get some rest." He gets up.

"Oh, I need to text Diana that we won't be home on time."

"Your mom took care of it. Diana's glad to spend more time with Rosie." He turns off the light.

After getting ready for bed he crawls in next to me. I hold onto him tightly and fall right asleep.