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‘My father always knew what to do to make me happy. It was like he had a sixth sense.' Austin smiled to himself. 'Even if I was having a horrible day, he always knew what to say to make me laugh.'
'Would you say that he stood up to your mother for you?' Sofia asked as she placed her stack of papers down on the table in between them as she continued to stare at Austin. He looked down at the ground to avoid looking Sofia directly in the eye.
'He tried. Or at least he told me he did. My mother was quite a stubborn person. It was either her way or the high way.' Austin hesitated as he let the memories flood back into his mind. 'She did organise that party after all. For her it was a chance to show off. She hired the most expensive party planner she could find and had them decorate every inch of the house. Gold and silver balloons tied along every bit of fence surrounding the property. Banners hung all over the front of the house. Anyone walking past knew there was a party going on. That was exactly what she wanted. If anything it was just torture for me. I hated the attention and would always try to sneak off to some dark corner to be alone. I was always found though and dragged back into the midst of all the chaos.'
'Did she ever ask if you actually wanted a party thrown for your birthday?'
'Of course she didn't.' Austin scoffed. 'And she never asked every other birthday after that. My mother loved to pretend that I was the most adored and lucky child in the world on my birthday by throwing these massive parties but all it did was make me resent my birthday.' 213Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHn84LjSqT
'Is it possible that your mother thought she was doing a nice thing?' Sofia questioned. 'Maybe she believed you did actually like these parties.' 213Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqAa5NMLog
'Trust me, I made sure she knew I didn't. I hated the attention. Like I said, all I wanted was to spend time with my family and watch movies. Stay out of the public eye. My mother thought it was a stupid way to spend your birthday. She believed that you were supposed to show off on your birthday. Make a big show of it. My father on the other hand, he listened to me.' 213Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP67x5dkJeW
'How so?'213Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDjZSKWFky
'So long as my mother took up my actual birthday with her parties, my father would celebrate with me the day after. We would do whatever I wanted. I always just wanted to spend time with him at home. He made sure we did that. Sometimes he even went as far as to send my mother on a trip that day so we would be alone.' A small smile flashed across Austin's face as he remembered those days. Just him and his father sat on the sofa, watching old movies and eating popcorn and the sugariest sweets they could find. 213Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxs7xWjBYX6
'You definitely sound like you were close with your father.' Sofia watched him carefully. 'Was it always like that between you two? You and your father against your mother?'213Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDjMu1wuql
'I wouldn't say it was always us against my mother. There were times when he took her side over mine. Not often though.' Austin sighed as he looked at Sofia. 'He did what he believed was best for me and my health. Both physically and mentally. He stopped my mother from forcing me to do job after job. If she had her way, I would never have had a second to breathe. He also prevented her from making me leave school, though that one I slightly disagreed with him on at the time.'
'Why was that?'
'It was one of those posh private schools where every kid there has either a rich or famous parent. They all though they were better than everyone else. At the time I was furious at my father for making me stay at that place but now I'm glad he demanded that I stick at school. I needed an education. Probably could have gotten the same level of education at a public school but that part of my life is well over now.'
Sofia sat silently for a moment as she shuffled through the papers in her hands. As she placed them on the table, Austin leaned forward in an attempt to sneak a peek at what she was writing down.
'Here's the big question.' Sofia hastily grabbed the papers and placed them on her lap, away from Austin's prying eyes. 'Would you say your mother was controlling your life?'
'I wouldn't...' Austin stopped himself. 'You said you wanted the truth?'
'The truth would help greatly, yes.' Sofia nodded as she pushed her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose, causing Austin to look deep into her dark brown eyes so filled with questions that he needed to answer.
'Well then, to answer your question... I didn't know it at the time. But now, I would say that I have to agree with your summary about my mother. She was controlling every aspect of my being. Every decision she made was to better her own life, not mine. She wanted to live the life of a rich woman but she wasn't willing to work for it, so she made me.'
'Do you think your mother was selfish for that?'
'Of course she was. I didn't want any of that. She did. Simple as that.'
Austin glanced around the room and caught sight of himself in the mirror. His hair was sticking up all over the place making him look like he had spent his time sticking his finger in a plug socket and his usually bright eyes were dull and lifeless. People constantly used to say he had his mother's eyes. That got harder for people to recognise after all the changes she made to her appearance, including coloured contacts to make her eyes seem darker. He wasn't like her. He would never change his appearance. Austin was happy with the way he looked, one of the only things he actually liked about himself at this specific time.
'I wouldn't have said it then but moving into that mansion was the greatest thing my mother ever did for me.' Austin continued. 'Hell, she probably didn't even know it, she was only thinking of herself then.'
'Moving into the mansion was the greatest thing?’ Sofia said, a confused look on her face. 'A minute ago, you were complaining about it.'
'I did hate the house but if we hadn't moved there then I wouldn't have met Charlie. And Charlie was definitely the best thing to ever happen to me. He made me want to fight for control of my life. He's the reason I'm still alive.'
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