Page 46 of Vows In Corruption

“Hey, buddy,” he says, waving me in as he puts in his cufflinks.“Are you okay?”

I give him a nod, not wanting to tell him about what I’m feeling in my stomach.

“Where are you going?” I ask, like I don’t already know. This party must be special because my dad only puts on his cufflinks when it’s special.

“Your mom and I are going to small gathering at a friends house. They just sold their company and they want to celebrate,” my dad answers, giving me a small smile.

“But it’s raining.” I’m not usually one to whine to my parents about where they go, but the rain is making me today.

My dad gives me a smile and forgets about his links as he crunches down to my eye level. “I know bud, but don’t worry. Mom and I will be back in a few hours and when we do, we can talk about our trip for next week. We can plan all the rides that we want to get on.”

A feel a smile form on my face.

For weeks I had been asking dad if we could go to the place with all the rides in California like we did last year. I kept telling him that I was finally tall enough to ride with him and Robert and every single time he would tell me that he will see with his schedule.

I didn't think he was ever going to say yes.

Until last week when he came home and gave me a laser toy gun and told me I was going to need it when we head out to California and not only get on the rides but meet all my favorite characters.

One more week and we are able to go.

“Can we plan to do only the fast rides?” I ask, almost jumping up and down.

“Only the fast rides? You don’t want to do the slow ones with me? I thought for sure you’d want to at least do to the carousel.” My mom’s voice sounds out and when I look up and away from my dad, I see her walking back into the room from the connected bathroom room as she puts on her earrings.

I think my mom is the most beautiful girl in the world. She doesn’t need earrings to make her even more prettier.

“That ride is for babies, mom,” I say to her and right away she smiles at me.

“You’re still my baby. So I’m requesting that you at least ride the carousel with me once,” she tells me, walking over to me and messing up my hair.

Especially when dad gives me a look that tells me that what my mom says go and we are to do everything to make her happy.

“Okay,” I respond, looking up at her with a smile. “If you go on a roller coaster with me.”

My mom narrows her eyes on me, almost like she is mad, before her eyes open up and she gives me a smile. “One fast ride and only one.”

“Deal.”

My legs burn as I let this treadmill take everything that I have. The memory that woke me over two hours ago has been replaying in my head on repeat. No matter how hard I run or how hard I want the nightmare to go away, it still ever so present.

Our family never went on that trip out to California.

My parents died that night and the next time I saw them was as their caskets were being lowered into the ground.

Out of all the memories that could have come back to haunt me, the memory of my parents happy and smiling was not one that I was expecting. I would have taken their funeral over seeing them smiling any day, but of course my subconscious doesn’t work that way.

Of course my mind decided to hit me with one of the most painful memories today of all days.

Gerald is announcing his retirement and me and his replacement.

This the day that I’ve been waiting for for years but only two hours into the day and I already want it to be over.

I should be fucking excited about the fact that my father’s company is going to finally be mine. I should be out celebrating and drinking from the most expensive bottle of scotch that I can get my hands on, but instead I’m dreading even stepping foot into the off and getting my title.

And it all has to do with my parents.

My father should be the one to be handing me this title, not some old bastard that didn’t deserve it in the first place.

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