Page 132 of Chains of Obsession

“I bought this lodge long ago, when…” He coughs lightly. “I thought this would bring me peace. It did the complete opposite. It’s surrounded by everything I used to dislike.”

“Trees?” I laugh.

He goes rigid for a moment, but it’s quickly gone as he leads me into the middle of the sitting room. “Yeah.”

“Not a nature guy, huh?”

“Not until recently,” he replies blandly, eyes glued to mine. “I have to get our bags in from the car.”

“Don’t forget Sid!” I call after him.

He leaves to go back out into the cool air, leaving me alone inside. I walk up to the long shelf under the TV, where there are a few pictures of a little boy with a bowl haircut cuddled into a man that looks exactly like Xander. Running my finger along the shelf, not a single speck of dust picks up on my finger. It’s pretty clean considering he hasn’t been here for years. I lift up the frame and study the little boy and man who must be his dad. As if on cue, Xander returns with two bags and dumps them on the floor. He turns, revealing Sid sitting in the crook of his arm. I wasn’t expecting Xander to carry him in.

He spots me with the frame in hand, but there’s no expression on his face. He slowly approaches, gaze fixed on the picture I’m holding as he gently pulls it into his own hands. His thumb brushes over the frame.

“Your dad?” I ask. He nods in response, jaw clenched shut. “You look exactly like him,” I whisper.

His eyes water, and his mouth opens and closes a few times. I take the photo from him, placing it back in its rightful spot.

“It’s okay,” I whisper.

I know that feeling. The only difference is I don’t have any photos left of my mum. I had nothing after Luke burnt down my family home.

“He killed himself a year after my mother left,” he says, his voice strained.

“I’m sorry.”

His gaze stays on the photo as he continues. “He was always on my side when my mother abused me.” He pauses, pulling in a breath. “At the time, I thought he was just too sad about my mother. I was too. I was a kid. Now?” He laughs sarcastically. “Now I wonder. Why? Why did he leave me after protecting me all those years?”

I stand in front of him and wrap my arms around his waist, the lump in my throat growing as I feel his body relax and his arms wrap around me.

I peel myself away from him, wiping away a stray tear before picking up another picture with two young boys. One is Xander, but I don’t recognise the other with a shaved head.

“Who’s this?” I ask, looking for a change in subject.

A genuine laugh leaves him as he takes the picture from me. “That’s Jac.”

“No way.” My mouth widens into a grin as I study the picture. “Why is he bald?”