40. Grandchild

Connor's POV

A few days passed, and I had barely seen Benji anywhere since our conversation about Varian. I know that he's probably holed himself up in his room to work on a plan, but I wish that he would come out. I just want to see him more; is that so much for me to ask? I want to be a good friend to him, but I know how hard that will be for me. I know that I'm unstable, but I want him to rely on me. I hope that I can support him the same way that he does for me. When the time comes, I don't want him to feel like I've given him nothing.

Larp has been making a steady recovery, and today was the day that he could finally get out. The doctors had decided that there wasn't anymore risk for disease, so I could bring him back down to hell. I don't want to have him below the earth with no family, but there isn't much I can do... Unless...

I changed my direction to talk to my father, but I had a feeling he wouldn't be willing. I know that my son can be a bit of a handful- he definitely got it from me- but I want him to know his grandfather. On top of that, I could really use the help, and it's not like Oliver is doing much. He's probably still moping around in his room, not making an effort to join into anything. I don't want to say anything negative about my father. However, the man can be really lousy sometimes. Especially when he's dealing with things emotionally, he shuts down. That was one of the most annoying parts of having him as a father; he was never there for me in tragic times. It makes me sound really needy sometimes, but I just wanted someone to support me.

I knocked on his door gently, and there was a quiet shuffle of the other side before it drifted open for me. My father was standing in the open door, his eyes just as dull as ever. I wish that he would at least make an effort to smile sometimes. If not for him, for me. "Hey, Connor. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to ask a favor of you; may I come in?"

"If you want to." He stepped back away from the entrance, and I went inside. The room was an absolute pigsty, and I would clean it up for him if I didn't have so much going on.

"So, how have you been? I haven't seen you for the past couple of days."

"I've been quite busy between organizing things for Benji and the family situation."

"How has that been going for you? I know how much stress it can cause if you don't deal with it appropriately."

"It's alright. Varian told me the full story the other day. I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but I can understand where he's coming from."

"Where is he coming from?"

"He was raised a hunter, and we all know that it can be hard to break out of the way you were born. I mean, I was raised to be a leader, and look at me now. I want to be at the top, but there's no way for me to get there. They just don't respect me enough for me to make any difference."

"That's where you and I are different. You give up when that happens to you, but I would force someone to respect me. I know that there's a difference in the way that we were raised. You were nurtured, and I was forced to work for every ounce of anything I had. My mother showed me love, but I had to work for my father's... He still hadn't given me the time of day when he passed away."

"You say that like he wasn't a bad person that needed to be disposed of."

"I know that he wasn't the best, but he was still my father. I wanted his approval more than anything else in my life."

"I get how it feels... Sometimes I feel like you wish you had a better son. I know that sounds crazy, but it's how I think. Please don't make fun of me about it."

"I won't tease you about something so serious. You are the best son I could have ever asked for. I would be happy to give up my position for you whenever the time comes. I'm confident that you wouldn't destroy everything I've worked for if I meet my untimely end at some point soon."

"Don't talk like that; you aren't going to die."

"You never know if I will or not. Anyways, what did you come here for?"

"Oh, I wanted to ask you if you could look after my son. Benji will be done with that plan any day, and I'll be busy helping him make preparations. Because of that, I won't have time to take care of Larp. I know that you aren't really fighting in battles, so will you please keep him safe while I'm away? I don't want to send him to Hell alone since he's never been."

"Larp is my grandchild, right? I haven't really had the chance to meet him."

"Yeah, he is. I wanted to bring him over, but of course, we weren't allowed near each other. That has to have been my most hated rule, especially since we were family. I wanted my son to get to know both you and papa, but oh well."

"I would love to take care of him as much as you need me to. Just promise me that you'll visit him when you can. From what you said Varian did to him, he needs to know that at least one of his parents cares about him. It can be a lot for a child to handle when his parents aren't happy with each other. That and the act of leaving an 8-year-old child alone is something no loving parent would ever consider."

"I agree with that, and I promise to come as much as I possibly can. I'm not shoving my son on you so that I don't have to see him; I'm just trying to make it so that he's never alone again. I want you to be there for him when I can't be so that he doesn't have to feel as if no one loves him. You can be an amazing grandfather if you try hard enough. I want you to give him what I never had from your side. I mean, I always had papa's grandparents, but they were slightly insane and scarring half of the time. I mean, who kisses in front of a 6-year-old without even thinking anything of it." My father laughed at the comment. I felt the atmosphere come back to a positive one, and it was like the world was going back to normal. I know that nothing will ever be the same, but I can hope. It's starting to look up!