Pov, Evander.
"Gorgeous. Is my grandfather living here?"
I look all around, and I'm amazed at how beautiful the countryside is.
I take a few steps, walking on the grass, entranced by the vibrant array of flowers I had never noticed before.
I'm standing in front of his little house. Its simple design is what makes it so attractive.
Harry knocks on the door, and I feel nervous because I'm about to meet my grandfather for the first time.The door opens, and a girl appears behind it. She stares at us with a puzzled expression until Harry says, "Is my uncle here? Tell him Harry's here to see him."
"Wait a minute."
...
I'm walking down the hallway, looking at all the beautiful small antiques, when I feel something soft rubbing against my leg. I look down, and my heart starts racing as I scream in panic and grab the back of Harry's jacket tightly. "Get it off me! Get him away from me!"
I hear a man laughing, so I look over at him as he picks up this strange hairy creature and hugs it. He says, smiling, "It's just a cat. It won't hurt you."
I swallow, staring at the black creature in silence, then at the man standing in front of us, his arms suddenly wide open, hugging his nephew warmly, looking very happy to see him. "Naughty boy! You don't come around much, so it's surprising you did this to your poor uncle!"
At first, he seems really nice. I smile a little, and he stares at me with his eyebrows raised. Then he asks with a smile, "Is this boy your friend?"
Harry smiles and sits on a couch in the living room, arms crossed, and says, "He's William's son. He's your grandson."
"My grandson?"
I bite the inside of my cheek, nervous as I watch his reaction. He stares at me with a shocked look on his face, looking at every detail of me with his mouth open, and then he says, a glint of sadness in his eyes, "But William didn't tell me he had a son. I had no idea he had a woman in his life."
A tense silence falls, and the three of us know the answer.
Then Harry, trying to lighten the situation a bit, says, "He knew about it recently."
I feel his warm hand on my cheek, and he smiles at me. It's like he's seen me before and missed me, or maybe he's seen a piece of his son in me. The bridge between them had collapsed so long ago, and they never heard from each other again.
"What's your name?" He asks.
I keep staring at his face, not saying a word. How could my father hate him if he was so nice?
Although I'm not fully informed, the situation is quite unfortunate.
"My name is Evander, sir."
...
"Do you like jam?" My grandfather asks me with a nice smile. He's sitting on the kitchen chair in front of me. I nod, not even knowing what jam is. The girl puts all kinds of delicious-looking food on the table in front of us and then leaves.
"Who's that girl?" Harry asks as he chews. I look at my grandpa, who answers without taking his eyes off his cup.
"She just works for me. I can't run the house on my own anymore."
Harry lets out an "oh," then he continues eating in silence. My grandfather suddenly says, and I notice his voice is shaking. "How's William?"
When Harry's about to answer, I jump in, without thinking too much, and say, "He misses you and wants you to visit."
They both stop eating and look at me with expressions that say they're shocked. I smile nervously, rubbing the back of my head.
He says with teary eyes, holding my hand with both hands. "Do you mean it? William wants to see me?"
He doesn't know I'm lying, but his reaction really gets to me.
I don't want my dad to hate him, and I can't stand the thought of him hating me either. It's worth a shot, right?
I nod, and the glass slips from Harry's fingers as he stares at me in disbelief.
I'm definitely going to get in trouble.
...
Pov, Harry.
"You're out of your mind! William will kill me if he finds out!" I address him in a calm but firm voice to avoid disturbing everyone, and I throw the pillow at the goblin, hitting him in the face.
I go over to him, and he's sitting on the bed looking at me like he didn't do anything wrong. I grab him by the collar of his jacket, and I can almost hear my teeth grinding together from the rage I'm feeling.
"Don't you know he hasn't seen his father in twenty-five years? How do you think he'll react when he sees him again after all this time? Instead of focusing on finding your grandmother, you made things worse. You lied to him, and he believed you. Now he's expecting us to take him to Winchester tomorrow to meet his son, who has no idea what we're up to behind his back!"
He blinks twice, and smiles broadly. "You're making a huge deal out of this, Harry. Nothing's going to happen."
I slap my forehead and plop down on the bed, stuffing my face into the pillow so I can scream in comfort.
Shit.
...
Pov, William.
Evander, you better not come back because I'll kill you when I see you, you and that irresponsible idiot!"
I scream, slamming my morning coffee cup on the table, threatening both of them with punishment on one side, and my aunt trying to calm me down on the other.
They left yesterday morning without telling me anything, and now I'm sitting here worrying about them.
Then, I hear the doorbell, and we exchange glances. I get up from my seat and rush to the door, which I open.
I'm about to hurl every kind of insult I know at them, but what I see makes my face freeze and my limbs stiffen.
Is it real, or is my dad standing in front of me?
The years have aged him, but I can still remember his features well.
I go quiet and just look at him.
All I can see is the tape of my childhood playing in front of my eyes, making my emotions turbulent.
I see him smile slightly at me as he comes closer, trying to hug me, and I just let him, staring into the void without reciprocating.
Has he returned to taunt me?
Or is he trying to make my life a nightmare again? I've gone through so much to get rid of it.What does he think he's doing?
"Get the hell out of here," I say coldly, feeling my eyes fill with tears. I don't want to get emotional in front of him so he doesn't think I want him.
But he doesn't move. He looks at me in shock, like he was expecting a warm welcome and the opposite happened.
I notice my son standing close to him, with Harry next to him. I know immediately that they are behind what had happened.
I'm very angry. I'm upset. I won't let anyone get in the way of me and my father. This is my problem, and I'll deal with it on my own.
I wipe a tear that runs down my cheek and ignore everyone. I walk away from the place, wanting to vent my feelings in a place out of sight.
But I end up at the hospital, where I feel like talking to my friend Leo about what's going on with me, even if he can't hear me. At least he's still around and I can hold his hand while I cry.
I'm walking down the hospital hallway when I see Clara, his wife, standing in a corner next to a door that looks like a storeroom. I look surprised when I hear her talking to someone, but in a whisper, as if she is hiding something.
I go up to them quietly, and I'm shocked by what I see. Clara is right in front of me, and she seems to be enjoying cheating on my friend with a nurse who looks even younger than her.
"Clara?" I say in a trumbled voice, not believing what I am seeing. As soon as she sees me, she gasps in shock and pushes the young man away. "William?"
She looks at me with fear in her eyes and says, "It's not what you think."
"It's not what I think?" I raise my eyebrows in disbelief. I want to turn the hospital upside down right now.
Suddenly, I notice a shiny ring in her finger. It looks like the ring Atlas was carrying.
"Traitor."
...