After day has passed, Nelson sat alone in the kitchen with his head in his hands, still trying to comprehend the gravity of the situation. His mind was racing with thoughts of what he had done and how he could have handled the situation better.
He was haunted by the image of his son's tear-streaked face and the haunting words that will forever echo in his mind, as he could only wept in pity over himself for his reckless actions in hurting his own son. Having gone so far as to actually hit him.
"I hate you."
He felt disgusted with himself; the fact that he was going to do that made him shudder with shame. The weight of his own guilt was crushing him; the unbearable feeling of remorse, regret, and sorrow was choking him, leaving him gasping for air.
The pain was so intense that he could hardly breathe. But he sat down with a composed posture, not wanting to let his emotions take control of him. He took a few deep breaths, the first step in calming down and the second in doing something about it.
Thirdly, he needed to apologize serenely to his son with all his heart to make amends for his wrongdoings. He knew that would be the hardest step, but he was willing to do whatever it took to fix the damage he had done.
For his own child, he felt a pang of guilt in his heart, knowing that he had failed as a father and as a human being. And it hurts him deeply—the pain of seeing his own flesh and blood in such a state—not because he was himself angry or disappointed, but because he had hurt someone close to him.
Will he forgive me? Nelson thought grimly, his heart aching with each passing moment, "I feel like a piece of shit." Sighing loudly, he leaned back in his chair, his eyes clouded with grief and self-loathing over the horrid turn of events that had unfolded yesterday.
Staring at the ceiling, he couldn't believe that he was going to hit Sunny. He never wanted to imagine it being true when his own emotions got the best of him. It was like a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. He felt like a failure as a father—a complete and utter failure.
The thoughts of the past, the present, and the future all swirled around in his head like a chaotic storm, leaving him dazed and confused. Where did he go wrong? How could he have prevented this from happening? What did he do to deserve this pain?
Anger flashed before his face as he swiftly brought down his fist on the table, causing cracks on the surfaces. "Why did it have to come to this?" He muttered to himself; the bitterness in his voice was as clear as day. Breathing heavily, he clenched his fists tightly.
Having the urge to break something was growing stronger with each passing second. The more he tried to suppress it, the more it consumed him. And it was this rage that he had to face about himself and its consequences that caused this rift between him and Sunny.
"Nelson?"
The voice of Mei startled him; he hadn't even noticed her enter the room, as he was too occupied with his own thoughts. Mei was a gentle soul; she always had a way of comforting someone like him with her kind words and warm smile.
She was like an angel sent from heaven to bring a little light into the darkest of his days. "Your hand...its...!" She trailed off, her eyes widening in horror, when she saw the cracks on the table, the sight of them making her feel concerned at the bottom of her heart.
Glancing at his bloodied hand, he cursed himself for not realizing the damage he had done to the table and himself. The force he put in his fist was enough to cause a small crack.
"I'm alright," he reassured her, his voice tinged with a hint of sadness at having to face the aftermath of his recklessness. "So what brought you to this fine day, Mei?" Putting a forced smile on his face, he tried to lighten the mood, hoping to ease the tension that was still present in the room despite being clear that she wasn't buying his act.
"Your not alright, Nelson," she frowned with concern, approaching him with a gentle touch on his shoulder. "What happened here?" Her eyes darted from the cracked table to his wounded hand in anticipation of the reason for having such a horrific sight, unable to pinpoint the source of the pain in making someone do something like this without second thought.
"I..." Lowering his head down in shame, "me and my son had an argument," he admitted, his voice low and full of remorse. "I lost control; I didn't mean to hurt him, I swear!" His whole body was shaking to the core; he had never felt so guilty in his life.
"I'm just so disappointed and hurt by his actions, and the anger got the best of me," he explained, his words barely audible. "I don't know what to do anymore, Mei; I just feel like a damn monster for going so far as to put my hands on my child," his voice cracking under the weight of his own emotions. "I don't know if he'll ever forgive me."
She stared at him in pity. "Come on, Nelson, let's talk about this." Her voice was soft and soothing for his ears. "A conversation can work wonders when it is just the two of us." Then she stepped away, moving to the appropriate cabinets where they store the first aid kit and other medical devices.
"Let's clean your hands; you need to take care of yourself right now," she said, her voice calm and collected. The concern in her eyes was evident. "We'll figure this out together, okay?" Taking out the kit, she walked back and sat down next to him.
"Give me your hand."
Nelson was still too ashamed to look at his own hand. "No, no, it's nothing," he mumbled, trying to brush it off. "I'm fine, really," he insisted, his voice trembling with emotion.
"I don't need any help from you," he added, his eyes avoiding hers. "I just need to be alone for a while." However, his excuse didn't fool Mei, who was smart enough to see through his facade.
Shaking her head, "You need to let someone in," she said, her voice firm but kind. "I'm here for you, and I won't leave until you're ready to talk about it. Now give me your hand," extending her own hand towards him. "I promise I won't judge you, but I will listen," she assured him, her eyes filled with compassion in her attempt to reach out to him in his time of need.
It was in this moment that Nelson realized that he couldn't go it alone; he needed the support of his loved ones, and Mei was the one he could turn to for comfort.
Taking a deep breath, he finally relented, his hand slowly reaching for hers, the contact of their skin sending a wave of warmth and comfort over him.
"Mei," he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion. "I don't know what I would do without you." A small smile graced his lips when he began watching her patch his injured hand with gentle care. The tenderness in her movements was like balm to his soul.
Using the available tools from the first aid kit, she cleaned his wounds with antiseptic, applied ointment, and bandaged them carefully, her fingers deftly working the fabric around his hand.
"Care to tell me what had gotten you into hurting yourself?" She sternly questioned. Mei always had a way of getting him to open up, and today was no different in making him spill the beans.
"Didn't I tell you me and my son had an argument?"
She nodded understandably. "Yes, you have, but it doesn't explain to me why you were acting like this," Mei asked, her suspicious hang in the air as if it were like a tangible thing.
"What did he do this time, Nelson?" The curiosity in her voice was recognizable, and her interest piqued in wanting to know what had caused such a separation between father and son from a loving family to a broken home in mere moments.
At first, Nelson wanted to stay silent in fear of what had truly made him fall into this horrific state of depression.
But he knew better to keep it forever than to inflict more pain on himself without finding a solution. "I was physically so close to hitting him in the face," he answered with a tone of sadness and horror at what he had done.
"I couldn't believe I was going to do that, Mei," he sighed, his voice cracking as he recalled the memory of the incident. "It was so out of character for me, and I couldn't bear to remind myself of that."
"I was so angry and disappointed by his decisions and his choice of doing what he wanted; I just couldn't take it anymore," he continued, not stopping to think about how much he was hurting himself from having this conversation.
"I was so focused on the anger and disappointment, I didn't even realize I was raising my hand to hit him; it was only when Lei pulled me away that made me return to my senses," he answered with a shudder, the vivid memory still fresh in his mind.
Mei frowned sympathetically as she finished patching Nelson's hand. "I'm so sorry, Nelson," she murmured, her voice laced with sympathy and concern. "That must have been terrible for you," she said, gently rubbing his arm to provide some comfort while using the other to hold his patched hand.
"But there is something else I wish to discuss." The expression of Mei quickly morphed into one of coldness and seriousness. The sudden change of tone had made Nelson shocked to see her like this.
"What?" He was confused by this change of topic. "Is it about Sunny?" That was the first thought that came to his mind.
Being clearly focused on his own terrible actions from yesterday and worrying about their damaged relationship had him only focused on one thing, and that was finding a way to resolve their problems without making things worse for themselves.
"What's wrong, Mei? Your acting strange all of a sudden," he observed, his brows furrowing in concern as he tried to make sense of her sudden shift in behavior.
Averting her eyes from him, she silently contemplates whether to tell him or not, but finally, her reason for coming here in the first place overtook any possible consequences it might bring down on them as long as it could solve their broken relationships with one another.
"He is the one responsible for his deaths two days ago." Mei answered cautiously, feeling too nervous about having to build the courage to speak the truth. "You need to know about this, Nelson," she insisted, her voice quivering slightly. "I've seen the evidence myself, and there's no denying it," she said, her eyes meeting his.
As expected, he became astonished at hearing this coming from her mouth: "What?" Bitterness tainted his voice, his body shaking with disbelief. "You think my son is the one who killed those guys?"
He was shocked; the thought of his own son being a mass murderer had never crossed his mind. "How can you say something like that?"
"Nelson, listen to me. I had a talk with Singularity, and she showed me everything in regards to those deaths! If you let me explain further, I can—"
"I don't want to hear it!" Nelson retreated his patched hand in one go, his heart filled with conflict and betrayal at hearing this from someone he had grown to trust.
"My son is not a serial killer!" he insisted, finding her explanation absurd. "If this is some sick joke to cheer me up, then I'm leaving," he said, standing up with determination, his eyes narrowed in fury.
"Don't ever speak of this to me again; do you understand?" His icy voice echoing in the kitchen, tension surrounded them, and the weight of the accusation was almost unbearable.
"You have to hear me out!" She pleaded, her eyes welling up with tears. The pain of having to betray the trust of her crush was evident in her eyes. "This is for the betterment of us all! To fix this infighting between you, your son, and me!" She continued, holding back the tears from going further.
"I know it's hard to believe right now, but please, just hear me out," she begged desperately. She was willing to do anything to mend the broken relationship that was falling apart before her eyes.
Including their safety.
He was disgusted at the very thought of his son being a murderer, especially when the claim is obviously false in his eyes.
"You just came to me for the purpose of accusing him in being responsible for those murders while I was in a bad state? Did you even care about our well-being or were you just selfish to get us to separate more?" Nelson said, his voice shaking with anger and confusion, "You're a traitor, Mei, always thinking about your own good and never ours," he muttered, his heart aching in saying those awful words to her.
"Just..."
Nelson then let out a sudden hurt laugh. "No, I can't do this, Mei," he said, turning away from her, his eyes refusing to meet hers. "I'm sorry, I need to step away from all of this mess; it's becoming too much for me."
He couldn't handle anymore of this; the stress was building up in him that he needed to get away from this situation. "I'm going to bed." Turning around, his heart beat faster than before. "See you, Mei," he said, then left, leaving her alone with the weight of her decision in her hands.
Watching him go, she bit her lips to prevent herself from crying. "I'm a fool," Mei watched as her hands clenched tightly on her thighs while visibly shaking from the feeling of her own stupidity. "I'm a fool," she repeated, her voice barely audible.
Tears streamed down her face, letting out a sob while her own body trembled with regretful sorrow. Crying once more, her whole world crumbling down with the actions she had taken to cause the destruction of the family she had come to love.
