Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(103)

What used to be lessons in what Garrett could be began to twist into lessons on how the Actuals were far superior to regular humans. Caitlyn hated seeing that Garrett had actually agreed with him on this point.

Young Garrett, although he thought them superior, still held a soft spot for the average human. He thought humans were still worthwhile, just that they were on their way to extinction. His father’s thoughts and notions became more and more insane as Garrett’s memories moved on. Garrett feebly tried to argue that we all started as humans, the potential was in all possibly. His father dismissed that possibility, stating that the normal humans would only continue to cause problems.

The final memory that Garrett showed of his father was one she would rather forget.

Garrett lay in his room, reading a book. His father burst into the room, the doorframe splintering as he shoved the door with enough force to knock it off its hinges. He held a note in his hand, shoving Garrett off the bed, his body landing with a loud thud on the floor.

“What the hell is this?”

Garrett eyed him and then the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. “Where did you get that?”

His father towered over him menacingly, making Garrett seem tiny in comparison even though they were the same height. “Doesn’t matter where I got it. I had told you when I first accepted you into this household that you were no longer to have any communication with anyone from the Trust.”

Garrett sat up, rubbing his head. “Dad, it’s just Isla. We’re friends. I wanted to let her know I was okay.”

“I don’t care who it is. You asked her to let your mother know you were alright.”

Garrett stood up, but kept his eyes securely on the floor in a passive manner. “I miss Mom. I was wrong to leave the way I did.”

Nathaniel’s tone became deceivingly sweet. “Do you regret seeing your father?”

Garrett eyes darted around the room, looking everywhere but his father. “No! I just know that Mom has been worrying about me since I left without as much as a note. I wanted to make sure she was okay. I love Mom.”

Young Garrett was not prepared for what happened next. Nathaniel flung back his fist and punched him square in the jaw. “Your mother was nothing but a dirty whore. The only thing she did right was bear me a son and then she proceeded to take you from me.”

A spark lit in the young man’s eye, defiance in his voice as he shakily stood up. “Mom is not a dirty whore. Don’t you dare say that.”

Nathaniel laughed. His laugh was cold and calculating, and his true persona came out. “No. I said was, son. It’s called past tense. Your mother, as your call her, is dead. She died from illness years ago right after you left. I think it was from a broken heart from her son leaving.”

“You lie! She is not dead! I hate you.”

“I don’t lie, Garrett.” His father turned from him, fingering some of the books that were on Garrett’s shelf. “If you are going to take over for me someday, you have to learn a few facts and it is time you learned them now. One, we are superior. We were made this way, we were made to be special and there is nothing wrong with feeling that way. Two, people are expendable. Whether it is friends, family, or just people in general. You need to be cold and calculating to be on top, Garrett. And finally, three, you may hate me Garrett, but never forget, you are exactly like me. In the end, you will turn out just like your father and live out his legacy the way it was always intended.”

“I will never be like you. I don’t have to live this life. I’ll leave, or worse, I’ll kill myself to make sure you don’t get the pleasure of having someone to hand your legacy to.”

His father turned and laughed at him. “Leave if you like, But remember this. If you leave, you will come back to me just the same begging for forgiveness and I will not be so merciful. And if you by chance happen to stay away long enough, I will come and get you, and let me assure you, the lesson I will teach will be much harder than you would wish.”

The scene turned into another, this one with Garrett standing with a suitcase, his head down in shame. Jonathan McPherson stood there with his hand on his shoulder.

Garrett looked up. “I was wrong to leave, Councilman. My father is evil. I know I do not deserve to come back to the Trust. My mother risked everything for us to come back here and I ruined it. But I am hoping that since you did so for my mother, you will show me the same forgiveness and have the Trust take me back.”

Jonathan’s voice was quiet. “I took your mother back because she wanted a better life for her son. A life that her son threw away.”