Am I Still Your Son

"And you expect me to believe that crap? Come on, Dad. You should know me too well. I am not a kid anymore. I have outgrown that phase where little things can easily deceive me. To set the record straight, it's quite easier for me to sense when you are upset over the phone," Derek said, as he doubted George's explanation. His level of intelligence is so high and George is quite aware of that. 

"Derek, not now please," 

George called out in frustration. He knew the kind of son he had, he opted to prove stubborn.

His obstinacy couldn't save him anymore due to Derek's resilience.

The only option George had was to confess what happened just to Derek to take the pressure off his shoulders. 

"Get on with it, Dad. You're wasting too much time by playing mind games with me isn't going to solve anything. You know me too well. You know I am not going to let it slide for anything in this world," Derek giggled. He had fun penetrating his father. 

"You are not far from the truth, Derek. I am currently in the hospital as we speak. It's quite a complicated situation. Before you get mad at me, can you please let me finish?'" George finally bowed to pressure and explained.

 He wasn't done talking when Derek screamed over the phone. "Father, what did you just say? Why were you hospitalized? Who's there with you? Where's Dexter? Isn't he supposed to be there?" Derek tossed a thousand questions at George, leaving him confused.

"Derek, can you please take it easy on me? I recently suffered an attack that could have ended my life. Thank goodness, I am alive now. That's not all. I haven't completely healed yet. Some procedures need to be carried out by me to ascertain my recovery time," George explained just to get a grip of himself.

 Unknown to George, he accidentally shot himself in the leg with the explanation. Not only did he shoot himself in the leg, but he also gave Derek room to pop more questions.

"Now this is the shit I'm referring to. Unfortunately, you have proven stubborn to listen to me. To you, I wasn't making any sense. You had an attack, and I am just hearing about it? Am I still your son? Because I can't seem to understand why you chose to sideline me away from the family's affairs like I don't even exist. Oftentimes, I do ask myself if you're my biological father, or I was adopted." Derek wept like a pathetic widow. 

George wasn't there with Derek, but he thoroughly understood what Derek was going through. 

"Derek, you have got to stay calm. 

You blow things out of proportion, and it doesn't even make sense," in a soft tone, George conversed. The situation has completely overwhelmed him, causing him to lose his vocal cords. 

"Should I stay calm? 

Can you even hear yourself? 

How do you expect me to react to you having a heart attack? Throw a party to celebrate or buy myself a car?" Derek continued to rant tirelessly. It didn't seem like he was ready to stop anytime soon. 

Taking the phone off his ear, George mumbled in fatigue. "What have I done to myself? I shouldn't have told him about it. Now see the mess I've gotten myself into,"

What mess? 

What are you hiding from me?"

Derek called out. George had no slightest idea that Derek was paying attention to him. He could have sworn that he had ended the call already. 

"How did you hear what I was talking about? This isn't real. I mumbled in the lowest voice. It may take a miracle for you to hear," George freaked out. Nothing ever made sense to him. 

At that point, George was already regretting inculcating the ability to discern in Derek. Derek now does things that George didn't even expect. 

"Of course, I heard you. 

You taught me everything I know now, remember?" Derek teased George, with the hope that It would be enough to spice up the conversation. 

"How about you come over so we can discuss this? I would rather not have this conversation with you over the phone," 

George suggested. 

His suggestion made Derek more suspicious. "You don't want us to discuss this over the phone? Why do I have a feeling that Dexter has something to do with this?"

"Hell, no Derek. 

 I won't accept that from you

How dare you accuse your brother of such?" George fumed. He didn't hesitate to defend Dexter despite being responsible for his predicament. 

"There you go again, Dad.

Trying to cover up for your son's irrational attitude. You are the reason he turned out this way. He might be your oldest son, but certainly not the smartest," Derek sparked outrageously over the phone.

His voice was becoming louder and unbearable for George. He took the phone off his ear to stop hearing from Derek. It wasn't working. He could still hear Derek's ranting despite the distance between the phone to his ears. 

The moment George noticed that the tactic wasn't working, he got pissed off and ended the call. 

His palms and forehead were sweaty despite how conducive his ward was. 

Derek called again, but George ignored it. "What does he want to say to me again? I thought we were done having that conversation?" 

The call just didn't stop, as they kept trooping In. Confused about what to do, George got pissed up and switched off his phone due to frustration.

It wasn't his desire to switch off the phone, knowing that Kelly was most likely to call and update him about his meeting with Dexter 

Unfortunately, he had no choice. 

The pressure from Derek was worse than Dexter's. 

"Damn! I feel better now. 

Never for once, did I think I was ever going to get off the damn phone with him," George sighed. He felt rejuvenated again.

He lay in the bed, about to doze off, when a thought suddenly crossed his mind, forcing him to toss off the bed again.