love and hate.

“You jerk.” Alyson muttered as she stroked his face gently. She missed him so deeply sometimes she was afraid she would go insane if she didn’t hear his voice. “You miserable, horrible man. I miss you.”

Simple Exchange of Words

It had been a simple exchange of words as Tommy mentioned the hotel behind them. She took his hand and led him across the street. Once in the room, Tommy drew the curtains shut while she sat down on the edge of the bed, her shoes off and bare toes pushing against the thin carpet. Alyson bit her lip and cringed at the sound of the metal rings scraping across the rod that held them up. She didn’t like curtains.

“You want the light on?” Tommy asked. He watched Alyson shake her head no.

And so the room had remained dark.

A talk with her father.

“Dad.” The name came out as a hoarse whisper. Alyson stood to her feet and went to kneel by her dad’s feet. She rested her chin on his knee and gazed up at him. “I wish I did more to make you proud.”

“Aly, you did everything! I am so proud!” He reached down and cradled her face in his big hands. “I talk about how wonderful you are to anyone who will listen, that’s how proud I am of you.”

There were no words left to say as Alyson tried her best to hold herself together. She was hiding behind the guise of a promotion to sneak away from everyone who knew and loved her, while they were left to think that she had been given the world. 

“I love you, dad,” she managed to choke out.

“I love you, Alyson. My precious daughter. No matter what you do, or what you don’t do, I will always love you.”

Alyson bit her lip as she heard the words. She knew he was proud of her, of that she was sure, but she couldn’t believe his promise of unconditional love. She had seen his face red with rage a hundred times as he shouted down at her for acting in an unacceptable fashion. Days of silent treatment would follow each time where Alyson would be forced to act like a stranger in her own house.