Chapter Text
“Chase, love, please go to your room.”
“But mum, daddy is almost home…”
“Chase please, go to your room.”
The small four year old allowed his mum to usher him back to his bedroom and tuck him into bed, even though they both knew that it was way too early even for Chase to be going to bed. His mum smiled kindly at him, but there was something else in her eyes as she locked the door. He could just see a split second of his mum’s face as the gentle smile slid off her face and the door closed with a click. Chase immediately flung off the blankets and climbed out of his bed and walked towards his bedroom door.
He pressed his ear against the door, and he could hear the sound of the front door being opened. He desperately wanted to open the door so he could go greet his daddy, but he could hear his mum and daddy’s voices growing steadily louder as they began to argue. Chase realized why his mum didn’t want him to greet his dad. He had done something bad again, like he had the other day, and the day before that. He could fear tears welling up in his eyes. His mum wouldn’t tell him what his daddy did wrong, because if she did then Chase would try and talk to him.
He kept hearing his mum yelling something about a baby, how his dad had to think of the baby. He wasn’t sure if she was referring to him or to something else.
But the yelling died down like it always did, and Chase quickly unlocked the door, scrambled back into his bed,pulled the covers up to his chin and closed his eyes, pretending like he was asleep in time to hear the door creak open and for someone to walk in. He cracked his eyes open to see his dad.
“Daddy?”
“Sorry, did I wake you up?” He asked kindly, very different from the voice Chase had heard outside as he sat down on the edge of his bed.
Chase shook his head and sat up. “Are you and mum okay?”
His dad grimaced at that, but kissed Chase’s forehead. “We just had a bit of a row, nothing bad.” He stood up. “Chase, how do you feel about having siblings?”
Chase stared at his dad before shrugging. “I guess? Am I getting a little brother or sister?” is that why his mum kept repeating something about a baby?
His dad nodded. “Don’t tell your mum I told you, she wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Oh…” Chase nodded, and his dad smiled at him before closing the door behind him.
That was the last time Chase saw his dad. His mum acted like nothing was out of place as the days stretched out longer and longer and his dad still never showed up. Then they had to move out of their house into a little flat, and Chase had to sell half of his toys. His mum had to drag him to the new house as he cried and cried for his daddy and kicked and punched as much as he could at his mum. He wanted everything to go back to normal, like it was before. He wanted to see his daddy again even though he knew now that his daddy wasn’t coming back.
It wasn’t until he was well into high school did he even remember that he never got a sibling either.
“How do you even live with so many people surrounding you?” Riley asked, looking around neighborhood as they walked down the streets. “And why are you always walking around with your skateboard even if you’re going to walk?” He added jokingly, lightly tapping the skateboard in Chase’s arm.
“I swear, you ask the same thing in Amber Beach. You’re just not pleased unless you live in the middle of nowhere and your only neighbors are pigs.” Chase joked, wrapping an arm over Riley’s shoulders. “And because it gives me cool points.”
“Oh, cool points huh? And not just pigs, pigs and horses. Some cows, and chickens too. And Rubik of course.” Riley corrected, grinning at him.
“Oh, well I apologize then, Mr. Ranch boy. We can’t all live in the beautiful countryside as you do.”
Riley shook his head. “It’s really pretty here in New Zealand though, even if you do live in a city. I don’t think my family’s ranch is anything compared to this.”
Chase leaned in and kissed Riley on the forehead. “Your place is perfect. You get to be all wild and free when you’re at home.”
Riley laughed, but stumbled slightly as Chase stopped suddenly. “Chase? What’s wrong?”
Riley looked up at Chase’s stoic face and he followed Chase’s gaze to the house that he and his mum were living in, and that they were standing in front of. There was an older man standing in front of it, just staring at the door.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Chase called out, his hand sliding off of Riley’s shoulder as his stepped forward to face the man. “Didn’t you fuck off and become a tree or something?”
“Chase, who is that?” Riley asked quietly, but Chase didn’t respond.
The man turned around in surprise before grinning in what was meant to be in a friendly fashion. “Chase, long time no see! Last time I saw you, you were only about this big!” The man said, holding his hand down low to indicate a height.
“Well yeah, you never saw me because you decided to shoot through and leave me and my mum alone to fend for ourselves.”
His dad waved his hand, as if he were just brushing off a small mistake. “But I’m here now, aren’t I? And look at you, you still have the skateboard I gave you for your fourth birthday.” He grinned at Chase, who recoiled.
He tightened his grip on the skateboard.“Only because we never had the money to buy a different one.”
His dad just nodded, and his eyes slid over to Riley, whose face went red at the sudden attention placed on him. This man didn’t seem like a nice man, not like his own dad. He just felt manipulative, and it was all in that smile.
“Who is this?” Chase’s dad asked, leaning forward towards Riley, lifting a hand up to drag a finger down Riley’s cheek. “Chase, I didn’t figure you’d grow up to be a fa--”
That was the snapping point for Chase. Before the word even left his mouth, Chase had lifted his hand up and punched his dad square in the jaw. His dad stumbled to the side, rubbing his jaw as Chase grabbed Riley by his sweater and dragged him behind him. Chase was glaring daggers at his own father.
“Leave.”
“That’s not something you can say to your own da--”
“You aren’t my fucking dad, my dad wouldn’t have fucking left when I was four!” Chase screamed at him. “Now go the fuck away before I call the fucking police, and leave my mum alone.”
His dad wasn’t smiling anymore, he looked pissed off. He moved forward before Chase could react and grabbed him by the collar, throwing him forcibly onto the ground. “Ungrateful little fuck. I come back and this is how you greet me?”
He walked off, leaving Chase trying to regain his breath with his face in the dirt. Riley kneeled down next to him, lifting him up off the ground and onto his lap. “Chase...Chase are you okay?”
Chase couldn’t stop the tears that were falling down his cheeks, just like the first time his dad had left. He cursed and lifted his scraped hands up to his eyes and rubbed away the tears angrily. Riley didn’t know what to say. His dad was rarely home, but Riley always knew he’d come back. He always did. So he just ran his fingers through Chase’s hair as the Kiwi continued to sob and angrily wipe away the tears.
“I always hoped he’d come back.” Chase sputtered. “I took care of my fucking board stupidly hoping that he’d come back so I’d show him how well I’d taken care of it while he was gone.”
Riley was quiet, looking at Chase.
“But now I don’t give a fuck anymore. He could go die for all I care. I don’t need him.” Chase sat up, rubbing away the last of his tears. “I have my mum still, and I have you.” Chase looked at Riley with so much need. “You and your weird southern family.”
Riley cracked a half-grin. “You’re always welcome with us.” He drew Chase back into his arms, and Chase buried his head into the crook of Riley’s neck, still shaking slightly.
They both stayed like that, sitting in Chase’s yard as the shaking slowly stopped.