Chapter 5: Ajax

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:4

Moonlight filled the night sky as it was full and bright enough to light up the streets even without the lamps already providing some for the few pedestrians that passed by. Zane himself was just on his way back to his fraternity room due to having a night class earlier when he noticed someone at the public fountain. Because he couldn't recognize the figure, he became somewhat tense as he feared that it was someone from his past and proceeded with caution. Fortunately, when he came closer to the figure, he was happy to see that it was just Hayley just sitting on the ledge of the fountain. and no one else. He breathed a sigh of relief as he was worried that it was someone that he didn't know, or rather someone he knew in the past but didn't want to talk about.

"Hi Hayley!" he called out to her with a wave, causing her to smile and wave back.

"Hey Zane!" she replied. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty well, you?"

"Oh same old, same old."

After another small silence, the 2 of them stood across from each other awkwardly while trying to lessen it to some extent. After another beat, Zane decided to break the silence before joining her on the fountain ledge.

"So, you had night classes too?" he asked out of curiosity, causing her to nod.

"Yep, it was pretty exhausting too," she said with a sigh, causing him to chuckle.

"Well, it is pretty late now. I was about to head back home," he said. "What about you?"

"Oh I'm just waiting for Lynne," she responded. "Her class should be done in about 10 to 15 minutes. Usually it's shorter than this so something must have come up. Hopefully she's okay."

"I'm sure she is," he reassured her. "Though I'm surprised that you aren't afraid to stay out here all alone despite the potential risks, you know?"

"True, but I know how to take care of myself and will defend myself if necessary."

"That's good to hear."

After another awkward silence, which seemed to be happening a lot between the 2, Zane decided to ask Hayley something that had been bothering him over the past few days.

"Say, Hayley?"

"Yeah Zane?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while. Ever since we first met."

This caught Hayley off guard as she blushed and wondered as to what he was going to ask. Oh no! Is he going to confess his love for me already?! She thought to herself in fear. I'm not ready for romance! Not this early!

"Why do you hate men so much?" he finally asked, causing Hayley to look at him in shock. This was definitely not what she anticipated.

"W-What?" she could only ask in a flat yet surprised tone. Zane then turned to her with an stare so intense that she began to blush even harder.

"Why do you hate men so much?" he asked again only in a more serious tone. "I heard you say that back at the party and was wondering if it had something to do with me or the boys."

"Oh. That," she said as she turned away in shame and embarrassment. "I didn't mean it back then, it was only in a moment of weakness that's all."

"Really?" he asked with skepticism. "Because it didn't sound like it was simply a moment of weakness. You also mentioned that you were afraid of being stalked before. Did something like that happen to you in the past?"

"WHAT?! NO! NOTHING THAT HORRIFIC HAS HAPPENED TO ME! HONEST!" Hayley cried out as she shook her hands frantically.

"Really?" Zane asked in surprise. "Oh that's a relief. I was worried for a moment there that something really bad happened to you to make you think that way."

"Well.... you're not wrong," Hayley said, causing Zane to turn back to her in surprise. "Something did happen to me. Back when I was just a kid."

"Did it involve a guy or something?" he asked worriedly, causing Hayley to nod in somber confirmation.

"Yes, it did."

"What happened?"

After another brief pause, only this time it was from hesitance, Hayley took a deep breath before revealing the dark secret that she had been hiding for years and only ever told Lynne and Tasha.

"My father cheated on my mother and abandoned me."

This shocked Zane as he did not expect that kind of answer. While he did have his personal theories and questions as to what could have caused Hayley to become so hostile towards men to the point of being a misandrist, he didn't think that it was her own father who caused her to hate men so much. That explains some things, he thought to himself as he tried to ask another question.

"But why?" he asked. "Why did he do it? Did he even have a reason at all?"

"He did have his reasons," she responded before scowling. "But they weren't very good ones."

"Clearly not," he responded in a disgusted tone. He couldn't fathom the idea of cheating, adultery or philandering of any kind (especially if they turned sexual) especially since he had parents of his own who were absolutely in love with each other and would never do something so scandalous. Trying to be cautious and sensitive as he could, he continued to ask her more questions. "What were his reasons exactly?"

Hayley sighed before closing her eyes and opening them again as she continued her story.

"It all started when I was around 9 or 10 years old. I don't really know at this point, but I do remember hearing the yells and screams that came from the kitchen that night...."

9 years ago...

Hayley woke up in the middle of the night due to feeling thirsty and left her room to get some water. However, the moment she left her room and tried to close the door, she heard the sound of some glass breaking. She could only flinch at the sound of it breaking as it sounded more like it was being thrown at the wall by someone. Suddenly, she heard a loud screech coming from downstairs.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SLEPT WITH ANOTHER WOMAN! IN OUR FUCKING BED!"

Hayley's eyes widened at the sound of her mother screaming. Wait slept with someone? Who? She thought to herself as she quietly made her way downstairs, not daring to make a sound lest she give her presence away. She even made sure to avoid the more creaky steps of the staircase so she wouldn't interrupt her mother's conversation with whoever was downstairs. As she finally arrived downstairs, she saw a light coming from the kitchen where the conversation was apparently taking place and decided to approach it so she could understand what was going on. Her mother's angry screams and ranting continued to go on as she was still angry at whoever was in the kitchen with her. The moment she was right outside of the kitchen, she was shocked to hear who the other person her mother was talking to.

"SO WHAT IF I DID CHEAT ON YOU?! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU WERE A GOOD WIFE ANYWAY!"

Wife?! Hayley thought to herself as she tried to process the voice that she heard just now. Daddy?! Is that you?! As she took a small peak through the entryway into the kitchen, without making herself seen, she saw her mother angrily pacing around the kitchen with a scowl on her face while her father, Ajax Espinoza, sat on the small chair next to the miniature dining table that was placed near one of the walls. He looked mildly uncomfortable but didn't seem that upset by his wife's outburst.

"Out of all the stupid, reckless and selfish actions you have committed in the past, THIS has got to be your worst one yet!" Beatrice cried out in anger as she threw another glass onto the floor in anger.

"Oh stop doing that. You're being childish," Ajax responded in a mildly annoyed tone, causing her to turn to him with fury in her expression.

"I'M being childish?" she began in an even more enraged tone. "I'M BEING CHILDISH!? I'M NOT THE ONE GOING AROUND TOWN HAVING SEX WITH EVERY WHORE THAT COMES MY WAY AND WASTING MY MONEY ON JUNK!" As she said this, she threw a cup at her husband who nonchalantly dodged it while he continued to give her a calm yet indifferent stare.

"I'm just saying that this relationship was going nowhere at this point," he began. "Let's face it, our marriage was already on the rocks no thanks to your clingy and controlling behavior."

"Really? So you're going to blame this whole thing on ME!?" she cried. "What about the promises you made with me the day we got married?! That we'd always be together and that you'd always be by my side?! What happened to that?! Was it all a lie?!"

"In a way yes," Ajax said in a tone that was eerily calm yet cold. This caused Beatrice and Hayley to become stunned into silence as they heard this. The fact that Ajax was able to say something like that in such a cold-blooded tone made it worse. "I only agreed to marry you because I figured that you being a lawyer would let me live in the lap of luxury but clearly I was mistaken. It seems as though I picked the wrong woman to be my meal ticket for life."

"Is that all I am to you?" Beatrice asked with hurt in her tone. "Just a meal ticket?"

"Pretty much yes," Ajax said with a sigh as if he didn't callously disregard her feelings.

"But what about Hayley?!" Beatrice demanded. "How are we going to explain this to her?!"

"You can explain it but not me," he responded. "You're her mother, you're the one who's supposed to take care of her not me."

"But you're her father! Her other parent! You can't just expect me to tell her about what you did you bas-"

"Mommy?" Hayley finally said as she made herself known, causing the 2 adults to be nearly jump in surprise at the sound of her little voice. She shyly stepped inside the kitchen while looking at her parents with pleading expressions, as if wanting someone to tell her that this was all a bad dream. "Why are you and daddy fighting?"

This caused the 2 adults to look sheepish and embarrassed by the fact that they got caught, and by their own daughter of all people. Not wanting to escalate things even further, Beatrice decided to take action and try to comfort the young girl.

"Hayley, sweetie," she began in a calm and affectionate tone. "Mommy and daddy are just going through some things that's all. Nothing for you to worry about."

"Are you sure?" Hayley asked nervously, causing Beatrice to look worried before trying to put on a brave face.

"Don't worry about us, just go back to bed now," Beatrice said as she pat her daughter's shoulder.

"Okay," Hayley said as she went back upstairs as quickly as she could, the water being the last thing on her mind.

Back in the present....

"After that," Hayley continued with bitterness in her tone. "The fighting continued between my mom and dad as they couldn't stand each other anymore. Eventually, things had gotten so out of hand that my mother finally decided that it was too much for her and divorced him."

"Really?" Zane asked with shock and sympathy in his tone. "How did your dad feel about this? Did he try to fight back? Or at least try to work things out with your mother?"

Hayley scowled before taking a deep breath and sighing.

"No. He didn't," she snarled.

"WHAT?! How?" Zane cried out in shock.

"He didn't do anything to stop it. He agreed to it like it was no problem and didn't bother to fight back or even try to take custody of me. He basically allowed my mother to raise me all by myself while HE got to live out his own life like some party animal! He didn't even bother to say goodbye to me when he left our house the moment the divorce was finalized!"

"No!" Zane cried out in horror.

"YES!" Hayley shouted. "HE PRACTICALLY ABANDONED ME AND MOM TO THE POINT OF FLAT-OUT IGNORING ME FOR 10 YEARS! 10 YEARS, I HAD NO IDEA WHERE HE WENT OR WHY HE LEFT ME AND MOM BEHIND! ALL I KNOW IS THAT HE WAS A HORRIBLE EXCUSE OF A FATHER WHO NEVER BOTHERED TO GIVE ME A BIRTHDAY GIFT OR SHOW ANY SIGN THAT HE STILL CARED FOR ME! HE DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO STAY LOYAL TO MY MOTHER AND BASICALLY USED HER TO KEEP FUNDING HIS OWN PARTY LIFESTYLE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT!? TO HELL WITH HIM!!!" As she practically screamed out that last part, she didn't realize that she was tearing up and getting all worked up. She turned to Zane who could only stare at her in horror, sympathy and maybe a bit of pity. This made Hayley feel even more embarrassed as she turned away from him in shame over her outburst. "I'm sorry you had to see that, I'll be going home now. Bye."

However, before she was able to leave, Zane suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace which shocked her for a moment. Before she could push him away, he was able to stop her just by saying these words.

"It's okay, Hayley. It's gonna be okay," Zane said as he rubbed Hayley's back as comfortingly as he could. This was enough to make Hayley sniff with tears streaming down her eyes. Her lips wobbled a bit before finally letting out a cry of heartbreak, anger and misery that she had been holding in when it came to her father. She closed her eyes as she continued to cry into his shoulder, not caring whether any snot or tears will stain his clothes or not. After 10 minutes of crying and weeping, Hayley finally felt satisfied and calmed down as she laid against his chest and sniffed away any remaining sadness. The whole time, Zane continued to whisper words of comfort as he continued to console her as much as he could. This made Hayley realize that Zane was not nearly as bad as she thought he was and see that there were indeed good men out there. Though she was planning to go back to her dorm room, for now, she just wanted him to keep holding her just a little longer.