Derek said his prayers and gently opened the gate. The gatekeeper was usually not around; that never really bothered Derek as he began to hear the sounds coming from inside the house.
"Steven, me and you know it's not right." Derek knew they were at it again.
As much as he hated the fact that he had to endure this every single day, he always remained calm and unfazed during their arguments.
Because on a serious note, Derek had stopped caring.
He had never received fatherly or motherly love all through his life, and it really hadn't been easy for him.
He was already used to seeing his father beat his mom or his mom rain abuses on his dad.
At some point in the past, Derek could even remember his dad bringing women into the house, only for arguments to rise at midnight, which ended with his mom crying through the night while his dad made his way with the other lady.
But still, Derek had no sympathy for her. After all, she said he was a mistake, just because she didn't want to bear a child for him.
Derek finally made it to the front door and pushed his way inside.
At that instant, the argument ceased. Derek glanced at them briefly and went to his room, sparing them no words.
"You don't have to blame me for bringing in women or returning home late; that's not my problem.
If you want me to stop, then listen to me and don't behave as though your ear has been covered with wood."
Steve said with annoyance in his voice. Steve was a man in his 50s, though he looked a little younger than his age.
Steve had been able to store up some fortune in the past and believed he should enjoy himself with it.
Steve is a strong advocate of 'money answers all things.' While his wife, Miranda, is the opposite, she only agreed to marry him at the time because her family was finding it really tough, and she had run out of options.
"Look, enough. I am going to bed. I won't tolerate more noise from you this night. I am kind of exhausted," Steve said, walking to his room without looking back.
Miranda was left utterly speechless. This had never happened before. They normally argued deep into the night, but today seemed different. It seemed like he had given up on her or something.
Steve always tried to justify his actions, which made her believe he still had some feelings for her, but this night was different. Steve didn't even care to say those words: "Let's go to bed."
Normally, no matter how they argued, Steve never left his wife outside—except when he brought in a lady. He always behaved nicely after every argument, but this night things changed.
Back in the day, Steve really loved her. But because of his reckless behavior and nonchalant attitude toward life, she hated him. Yet, at the end of the day, she had to marry him.
No matter how Steve tried to satisfy her and gain her love, she refused and chose to hate him, even in marriage.
She hated him to the point of hating their only child. She just hated everything about him. But yet, she still felt she needed to be treated right by him.
Miranda sighed and moved to the seating room. It had been a very mild argument, but it had more effect on her than any one she had ever had.
She switched on the television and started scrolling through the list of channels, trying to find something to calm her tension.
---
Derek entered his room aggressively. He took off his clothes so quickly it was almost like he was trying to rip them off. Then he realized what he was doing.
Derek took some moments to calm down. When he was calm, he walked across his room to the windowpane, where he could visibly see the evening sky.
It really looked beautiful. But all that just didn't matter to Derek right now; he just needed air. But he would soon regret his choice, because soon parents and their kids started passing by.
Derek watched them; he saw how jovial and happy all of them seemed to be. Derek watched for what seemed like thirty more minutes. He couldn't tell when tears began to roll down his cheeks.
He was lost—lost in another world of peace and happiness that definitely couldn't be his. Derek pulled away from the window
reluctantly. He then reached out and picked up his clothes from the floor. He normally felt this way once in a while, but no one knew. After all, no one cared. Besides, his mom hated him.
And his dad—well, he was just too busy with work to really care about anything. He only gave him more than enough in terms of money.
He wished he could tell his dad how much he wanted to have parental love over the money he was showered with, but it wouldn't just add up.
Derek was about to dress his bed when the thought of Alison crossed his mind yet again.
But then he discovered something. This woman really cared—unlike his former school, where your problems were yours. Derek thought about it for a while and sighed.
How he wished this was his mom. Derek quickly got out of his bed.
It had really been long, and he needed some rest at least. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he remembered that he had an assignment to do.
He got up quickly to rush through his assignments. It was an easy assignment, so in no time he was done.
And then he decided to go down and get some water before he finally went to bed. As he quietly went down the flight of stairs, he couldn't help but notice that the sitting room light was still on.
He decided to go turn it off. But to his greatest surprise, he heard his mom talking with somebody on the phone.