Chaotic Resemblance

The house is cold. Not because of the lack of warmth but also the lack of life. Sited at the kitchen counter was Damien, his dirty blonde hair falling over his face as his head was bent forward. Unmoving in that position. He had nothing else to live for, no fight left in him Everything he loved, cherished, and cared for was gone. His first love, Lauren was now married to his ex-best friend Nathan, his fiancée, Jane was now dead because of him.

He sits upright, only to pick up his glass filled with alcohol as he lets it slide down his throat. He needed to not feel, that was all he wanted now. He slammed the glass on the table just as his phone rang. It was Luke, his private investigator, who connected the call on the last ring.

“Tell me you found something,” said Damien, with his voice rough and around the edge.

“I found something,” Luke said over the phone “And even more” he completed. Damien’s breath stopped for a minute in anticipation.

“Just sent the photos to your email, you might want to check those out,” Luke said, his voice distracted like he was looking for something”.

“Anything else?” Damien asked.

“Yes,” Luke answered like he was out of breath “It was Nathan that tried to kill you” He whispered, afraid of what Damien might do.

“You’re sure it was him?” Damien asked again, disbelief smearing his thoughts.

“Yes sir, I’ve sent the CCTV clip, you can confirm for yourself.”

Damien nodded absentmindedly, hanging up in the process. They might not be friends anymore, but Nathan wouldn’t intentionally want to hurt him. He was about to find out otherwise.

The first thing Damien check was the black and white video that showed Nathan entering his beach house in Malibu where Jane had been staying for the weekend. He watched masked men go in after him and, in a few minutes, they were all out. He shouldn’t have left Jane alone, Damien would never forgive himself as he watched the house blow up with Jane in it.

What caught his eye was the picture that was underneath the video. It was a picture of Lauren carrying a little boy with a smile on her face. He hadn’t even known she had been pregnant. But that was the problem.

It was the bright green eyes of the boy that stared back at him that were unsettling, down to the dirty blonde hair that was curly and sat at the top of the boy’s head. It couldn’t be. Damien was peering down at a little version of him, this had to be some trick. He traced the boy’s face and saw the mark he currently possessed. It was like a small crescent moon, burned close to his ear, the little boy had the same birthmark. This only meant one thing, Lauren had a child, and it was definitely his.

At that moment something woke up in Damien. He had to save his child from Nathan. If he had the mind to want him dead, then there was no telling what he could do to his son that was under the same roof with him. Or to Lauren even. He had to save the only thing that he had left in this world. It was time to pay his parents a visit.

In a couple hours, Damien’s private jet touched down in Seattle. He was torn between staying at his parent's condo and renting an apartment where he could keep an eye on them. He chose the first one as his driver turned towards the home where he grew up as a child.

He watched the buildings pass in a blur, his mind wandering back to the past when he was happy, and Lauren was right there in his arms where she belonged. He thought of her jet-black straight hair that would billow in the wind whenever they went for their evening walk in the park.

His memory went down to the time she had asked him to leave and to never see him again. It had been the worst day of his life. Lauren that loved and adored him so much had nothing but hatred towards him. It tore at his heart, how all the had could be crashed with just a few words.

He wondered if she would welcome him with open arms, he doubted it. She had made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. All he had to do was, get custody of his son and he would be out of her life, for good this time. He didn’t dream of coming back here since the last day he saw Lauren. Everywhere had a memory of them, each too painful to dwell on now. It was almost a year and he hated to admit he was still very much in love with her.

The car pulled into the large gate of his childhood home. He could tell his parents were home from the country music that was faint in the air and the scent of soup that wafted into his nose as he walked through the front door.

His father was spinning his mother as they danced to one of their favorite songs, so lost in each other they didn’t notice Damien walk to the burner and put it off. It wasn’t until the song finished that his mother jumped when she turned and saw Damien sitting there, with a smug smile on his lips.

“Damien! How did you get in here?” His mother asked, startled but walked towards him anyway, engulfing him in a warm hug. Damien didn’t realize just how much he missed his parents until now.

“I just got in” he answered brightly before shaking his father in greeting. The old man smiled at him but that was all, he didn’t show his emotions too much.

“I thought you would never come back here again,” his mother said, still holding unto his hand like he was a little boy, and she was afraid that he would try to leave.

“I thought so too” Damien muttered to himself. “Let’s have lunch first before I bore you with my story,” He said instead.

“Oh! I had something on the fire” she said, suddenly remembering she had been cooking before her husband whisked her away.

“Thank you!” Damien said laughing as his mother put the stove back on. She laughed as she continued cooking, at least they didn’t burn their house down.

Damien turned to his father who motioned for them to go outside. Damien followed him obediently until they reached the gazebo, away from his mother’s hearing. His father turned, looking at him with his piercing eyes.

Damien pulled up the photo on his phone and showed it to his father. He expected shock, disbelief, anger on his father’s face but he got none. Instead, the old man was quiet, like there was nothing out of the ordinary in the picture.