"He's trying to blame all of this on me! Saying it's my fault he's in prison, I… God, I just couldn't take it anymore." Lucas leaned up against the wall and ran his fingers through his hair, biting back angry tears. "He was bitter that I hadn't come to visit him in months, so I told him it was because I tried to kill myself, and he had the nerve to say I should've finished the job. I just… I can't…"
Melissa looked up at him, a sick feeling growing in her stomach when he told her. "That- that's awful… I- um…" She let her thoughts trail off, glancing down at the floor as she continued to pick at her clothes. Mr. Brennahan put a gentle hand on both Melissa and Lucas's shoulders before speaking up. "That is awful… but are you okay? You're bleeding, he wasn't able to hurt you, right?"
"I'm fine… he was behind glass, s-so he couldn't touch me…" Lucas slid down to the floor and rubbed at his eyes a bit, still trembling. He smeared a bit of the blood from his knuckles on his cheek, but didn't seem to notice it. "I… um… I told him that this was the last time he was going to see me… I don't want to come back…"
"You don't ever have to. You came for what you wanted to, there's no real reason to come back." Mr. Brennahan insisted, crouching down next to him on the floor. "Do you want to wait a couple of minutes before heading out to the car?" He asked softly, still holding onto his shoulder. Melissa stayed up in front of him, glancing over to the room where Lucas had been just a few minutes ago.
Lucas hesitated before nodding weakly. "Y-Yeah, I… I just need a minute… I'm sorry for dragging you guys into this…" He sighed shakily, starting to toy with his hair again to calm himself down. He was still seething, but at least his father couldn't yell back at him. "I um… I said a lot of… not very nice things to him…" He said stiffly after a minute or two.
"It's just fine, Lucas," Mr. Brennahan hummed softly, sitting down next to Lucas on the ground. He glanced up at Melissa, who was mindlessly looking around the room, shifting her balance from one foot to the other. When Lucas spoke up again a couple of minutes later, it caught Melissa's attention, leading her to also sit on the floor. "He…. he kind of deserves anything you said. I- I mean, he was terrible to you. He doesn't deserve to be spoken to in a loving way…" Melissa mumbled, pulling her knees up to her chest.
"I-I guess, but… I…" Lucas paused for a moment. "I called him by his first name because I said he didn't deserve to be called my father anymore…" He said softly. "A-And I told him that if it's anyone's fault Claus killed himself, it was his, not mine… amongst other things…"
"Well, he doesn't deserve to be called your dad," Melissa stated bluntly, receiving a look of surprise from Mr. Brennahan. He was taken aback by her pessimistic comments. "I mean, besides the fact that he technically is your father, it's not like he acts like it. And it wasn't your fault. If it is anyone's fault, it would be his." She shrugged after that, bringing her knees up to her chest.
Lucas winced a bit at Melissa's bluntness and fidgeted nervously, looking away. "I just… even though he kinda deserves it, I still feel bad… I-I don't think I've ever gotten that angry at somebody before. I… I was so angry that I wanted to… hit him…" He whispered, looking down at his bloody knuckles. "I don't wanna end up like my dad, Mel… I-I don't want to hit people…"
Melissa started to speak again, but Mr. Brennahan cut her off. "You won't, Lucas." He insisted, glancing over to Melissa who fell silent when interrupted. "Your concern about it has me sure of that. Do you think your dad cared? Probably not, right? But you do care. You don't want to be like him." He insisted, "You were angry and upset with him. From what I know, you're rarely angry like that. And if you are, you don't feel the exact same way, right?"
Lucas sighed shakily. "I-I'm not usually angry like that, no, but… I still punched the wall when I came out. Really hard, and…" He looked down at his trembling, bleeding hand. "…I couldn't control myself. That's what I'm terrified of. I'm not able to control myself when I hurt myself, and I… I couldn't control myself when I was really angry…"
Mr. Brennahan nodded a little, pushing up so he was standing again. "I understand that…" He stated softly, offering him a hand as he stood. "I'm not sure what I can do to help, but I'm willing to do whatever I can to help. The only thing I can say is to not worry about it. Worrying only makes things worse, and stresses you out. For now, I think we need to get you home and wrap that hand up."
Lucas hesitated before allowing Mr. Brennahan to help him to his feet, obviously still pretty tense and uneasy. "R-Right, that's… probably a good idea…" He looked down at his knuckles again and winced a bit. He regretted punching the wall, but he couldn't change what he'd done. "I was so stupid thinking that he might've changed while he was here…" He muttered, closing his eyes for a moment.
"How were you supposed to know?" Mr. Brennahan asked softly, getting Melissa to stand up too. Gently he led Melissa forward some, glancing back at Lucas. "Some people just don't change. Besides, the reason you came was to find out what he thought, right? Well, now you have your answer. And you don't have to come back." He stated softly, leading the three of them towards the exit.
"Right, yeah…" Lucas sighed softly and ran his fingers through his hair. "I definitely don't want to come back to this place." He followed Melissa and her father out of the prison. "At least I can put my mind at ease…"
Mr. Brennahan gave Lucas a gentle smile, nodding a bit as they made it to the door. Holding it open for both Lucas and Melissa, he glanced back over to Lucas. "That's true. You've got one less thing to think about." He agreed, unlocking the car before Melissa pulled the door open and climbed in the back.
Lucas got into the car with Melissa and fidgeted nervously with his hands. "I… um…" He started awkwardly. "I'm sorry if I scared you when I got so angry, Mel…" He murmured.
Melissa shook her head just barely, buckling herself in before quietly playing with her clothes. "It's fine… I'm fine." She mumbled in response to him, twiddling with one of her loose strands of hair. "You don't need to apologize."
"I just… I feel bad. I-I don't want you to be scared of me, Melissa." Lucas hesitated before taking Melissa's hand in his own. "That's the last thing I'd ever want. I would never hurt you."
Melissa looked up at him when he took her hands, body stiffening just a bit when he did. “I- I’m not scared of you. I- I just… it was… different to see you like that. And- I um… I guess I don’t know what to be thinking about right now.”
Lucas's face fell a bit when he felt Melissa tense up and he closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Mel… please… you know I would never do anything to hurt you."
Melissa looked up at him, a guilty feeling building in her chest. “Lu- I…I do. And- I um… I promise, I’m really not scared of you. I’m just… I’m just a little rattled. That’s all.” She insisted, rattling off reasons without much thought.
Lucas held a bit tighter to Melissa's hand, noticeably quivering. "I-I just… even if it was just for a moment, there was real fear in your eyes. Y-You were scared of me, Mel. And I can't blame you, b-but I just feel so horrible…"
Melissa looked up at him, her words falling short before they could even make it out of mouth. She was trying to think of something to say, but she didn’t want to straight up lie to him. He’d only feel worse if she did. “Lu- I… I’m sorry. Please, please don’t feel bad. I… um… please.” She whispered, hesitating before resting her head on his shoulder. “It’s… it’s not like I’m upset with you. I love you…”
Lucas held Melissa close and buried his face in her shoulder. "I-I want you to feel safe with me, Mel… I want you to be able to trust me and feel safe…"
Melissa looked up at him, curling up closer when he held onto her. “I do trust you, and I do feel safe with you… I promise you.” She whispered still, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
Lucas nodded weakly, holding a bit tighter to Melissa. "I love you so much, Mel… you know that, right?"
Melissa nodded a little bit, leaning into his arms even more. “Yeah, I do… and I love you too.” She mumbled, looking up at him and pushing up a weak smile.
Lucas kept his face hidden until the car stopped in front of the house. He then looked up and sighed shakily, his face still quite pale.
Melissa hesitated before holding his face in her palm. "C'mon… we should head inside," She whispered, kissing his forehead before starting to get out of the car.