"H-he.. what?" You said in disbelief.
Flashback (Age 5)
You woke up to the sound of somebody throwing up. You rubbed your eyes and rolled to the side of your bed, getting onto your feet. You heard the noises coming from inside the bathroom. You opened the door slowly, and saw your father throwing up blood. "D-daddy?" He turned his head a little to look at you. "Sweetie, go back to bed. I-I'll be al-" he turned his head back to the toilet and threw up some more blood. Your eyes watered and you ran back into your room, slamming the door behind you.
(Age 8)
You walked down into the kitchen and saw your father holding a knife. "..Dad?" No response. "Hello?" No answer. You walked up to him and pulled on his pants, and he jerked around to look at you. His eyes were.. black.. "D-dad? Why a-are your eyes black?" He shook his head and his eyes returned to normal. He looked down at the knife he was holding and put it on the counter, then bent down to your height. "(Son/Daughter), what you saw stays a secret between the both of us, alright?" He held a deep sadness in his eyes. You nodded your head profusely.
(Age 9)
You were walking towards your room until you heard two males talking from your parents' room. One voice was your fathers', and the others' voice was deep and raspy. "-them." The raspy voice said. "But they're my family!" Your father argued. "҉I҉ ҉g҉a҉v҉e҉ ҉y҉o҉u҉ ҉a҉n҉ ҉o҉r҉d҉e҉r҉.҉"҉ (I gave you an order) Your father was hesitant to speak, and it came out as a stutter. "F-fine, I'll do it by midnight." You then heard something that sounded like wind, and ran into your room, closing your door as quietly as possible. "Them what?" You whispered quietly to yourself.
(Later that night)
You decided to stay up all night since your father said something about midnight. And as if on cue, your parents' bedroom door opened and closed, and footsteps walked down the steps. You opened your door as quiet as possible and looked down the steps, to see your father at the front door, holding a bag. You immediately ran down the steps and clung onto your father like your life depended on it. "Woah, (Y/n)? What're you doing up this late?" Your father said, yawning. "Where are you going?" You said, letting go of your father. "I'm just- I'm just gonna drop this bag off at a friends' house." He said, bending over to kiss the top of your head. "..I'll be back later" He said, walking out the door and shutting it behind him.
..But he never came back.
End of flashbacks
"(Y/n)? You've been silent for ten whole minutes. You alright?" Liu asked, snapping you out of your thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." You said, your eyes watering. That's when it all clicked. He never came back because he wanted to protect you and your mom. "I.. I'll be right back." You said, getting up and heading towards the bathroom.
. . .
You shut the door behind you, and walked towards the bathroom sink. You turned the faucet on and splashed some water on your face, and looked at yourself in the mirror.
Flashback (Age 6)
"Look, dad! It's a lion! Rawr!" You shouted excitedly on his shoulders, pointing at a lion. "Haha, yes, (Y/n), that indeed is a lion." "Babe, I think it's time to head home." Your mother said, taking her head off of your dad's shoulder.
End of flashback
Your breath hitched in your throat as you remembered your moments with your father.
Flashback (Age 7)
"Dad- haha- stop!" You shouted, your dad tickling you. "Not until you tell me where you put my phone!" He said back, continuing to tickle your sides. Your dad was on his phone, not paying any attention to you, so you decided to hide it. "No!" He traveled up to your armpits and started tickling lightly, causing you to squirm. "Dad- please- haha- mercy!" "Tell me! And why did you hide it!?" "Ok, ok! It's under my pillow!" You said while squirming. He stopped tickling you and got up, heading towards your bedroom.
End of flashback
Tears started to run down your face, and your shoulders started to shake. You fell onto your knees, hands on your face, and started to sob. Liu must've heard because he freaking burst open the bathroom door. You jumped, startled. "What the- (Y/n)?" He knelt down beside you and you turned away from him, shoulders still shaking. "Please just leave me alone." You said, face in your hands. "..." "I said leave me alone!" You snapped, looking up at him. He noticed the tears on your face and his expression turned to shock and worry, and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around you and made you lean on him.
"W-why did he have to leave?" You said between sobs. "..He probably left for a reason, (y/n)." Liu said, rubbing circles into your back.
. . .
Once your sobs stopped, he got up and offered you a hand, which you took. Once you got up, he let go of your hand and said; "I think it's time for me to go, it's getting late." You looked down at your watch; 8:00. You wiped your eyes with your sleeve. "Dang, you've been here this long" "Apparently so. I'll see you tomorrow?" He said, looking straight into your eyes and walking out of the bathroom, you right next to him. He put his hand on the door handle. "Sure." You said, giving him a small smile. "Alright." He opened the door and was about to shut it until you called after him. "Wait, Liu?" He turned around at the sound of your voice. "Hm?" "Thanks."