'Get your hands off me, I'm your father,' Nick said as he struggled underneath Jamie's weight. Jamie was still smaller than Nick but his rage fueled him and he managed to get his hands around his dad's neck. He squeezed hard for a moment, not thinking.

'Jamie, no,' his mom yelled weakly tugging at his arm. Jamie looked into his father's eyes and he imagined squeezing the life out of him.

It would be so easy to do.

Nick flailed beneath him, his face turning red. Jamie knew he couldn't continue for much longer and yet his dad deserved no mercy. He briefly wondered how many times his mom had feared she would die when Nick's hands were on her. He tightened the pressure on his father's neck taking perverse pleasure in the panic that was in his eyes.

He was weak, struggling, probably on the receiving end of somebody else's brutality for the first time in his life.

He almost laughed but he reduced the pressure on his dad's throat before he did actually kill him. Not that it would be a great loss if he did.

'What the hell is going on in here?' 

Jamie jumped at the sound of Louis's voice, and in an instant, he felt arms pulling him away from Nick. He looked up at Louis's bewildered face, and then back down at Nick who was now sitting up and adjusting the collar on his shirt as if nothing was amiss. Andrew and Julia stood cowering in the doorway.

'What are you doing in my house?' Louis demanded, looking at Nick, his voice belligerent. Nick continued to fiddle with his clothes whilst Charlotte moved closer to Louis linking her arm through his.

'Do I have to repeat myself?' Louis asked gently pushing Charlotte behind him as he advanced on Nick.

'I have a right to see my son,' Nick said getting to his feet.

'Seems like he doesn't wanna see you,' Louis said the sides of his mouth twitching.

'That's right, I don't,' Jamie spoke up. 'Not now, not ever. I know what you did. I remember.' Louis exchanged a look with Charlotte and Jamie realised they knew exactly what he had remembered.

He wasn't mistaken.

'You've got it all wrong,' Nick said. 'You were only four when it happened. It was an accident.' He looked towards Charlotte for confirmation and she turned cold eyes on him.

'Keep telling yourself that,' she said. 'If it helps you sleep at night.'

'I sleep just fine, always have done.' Jamie did not miss the sneering tone and evidently, Louis didn't either as his fist tightened.

'It doesn't change the facts dad,' Jamie said squaring up to Nick again. 'You pushed mom, that's how she fell and that's how her baby died.' He glanced briefly at Andrew and Julia, their faces a picture of bafflement. He gritted his teeth. He couldn't go too far, not in front of them, they were too young to hear this stuff.

'You're as deluded as she is,' Nick said with a contemptuous look in Charlotte's direction. 'I guess it's genetic.'

In a second Louis had advanced on Nick, his fist slamming into his face. Nick staggered backwards raising his hands in front of him. 

'Louis don't!' Charlotte reached her hand out to restrain him.

Louis glanced at his fist before rubbing it as if it was dirty. 'I've been waiting a long time to do that,' he said grim-faced.

'So why's it took you so long,' Nick sneered, and Jamie guessed he'd worked out that whilst Charlotte and the kids were in the room Louis wouldn't go any further.

'You're not worth it,' Louis said his tone bored. 'Picking on weaker people is your speciality, not mine.' Jamie waited for his dad to retaliate but Nick's eyes were on the door, no doubt trying to work out how to leave with what was left of his dignity intact.

'You'd better go, dad,' Jamie said letting him off. 'We're done here.' Nick met his eyes and Jamie held his gaze until he finally headed towards the door. He paused momentarily.

'Jamie...'

'Just go. There's nothing more to say.' His dad raised an eyebrow questioningly him but he retreated through the doorway and Jamie breathed a sigh of relief.

'God,' Charlotte exclaimed letting out a deep breath.

'Mommy,' Julia exclaimed running towards her. 'Who was that man?'

'He's Jamie's dad,' Andrew said pulling a face. 'I guess he's a jerk.'

'Yeah, he is,' Jamie said with a hollow laugh and Louis patted his shoulder.

'Are  you guys alright?' Louis asked.

Charlotte nodded reaching her hand out to him. 'Could you go get Andy and Julia some ice cream, Jamie and I need to talk.' Louis met her eyes and Jamie could see the silent communication going on between them. No doubt his mom would tell Lou the full story later.

'Come on kids,' Louis said his tone jovial. 'Who wants ice cream?'

                                                           ~~~

'Are you okay mom?' Jamie asked nervously sitting down beside her. 'I mean dad hit you.' He cringed thinking he really didn't want to call Nick dad. 'Why didn't you tell Lou when he was here?'

Charlotte rubbed her cheek self consciously. 'I'll tell Louis later but that wasn't the right time. Nick would probably love nothing more than to see him lose control, then he could tell himself he was no better.'

'I guess,' Jamie said uncertainly. 'But you should tell him.'

'I will, I'm through with keeping secrets.' She met his eyes. 'So you can ask me anything.'

Jamie looked at her not knowing where to begin. All this time he'd had so many questions but now most of them were answered. He thought back to the words he'd read in her diaries.

'Why did you even get together with dad?' he asked looking past her head and trying not to blush. 'I mean it seemed like a disaster from the start.'

Charlotte took hold of his hand forcing Jamie to look at her. 'I was in awe of your father, I was totally infatuated when we got married.'

'But you didn't love him?'

'I did. It's not easy to admit that now but I did love him. Maybe I was on the rebound or whatever you want to call it but from the start I loved Nick. He destroyed that. And he nearly destroyed me.' Her voice broke and Jamie squeezed her hand. 'I would have done anything to make it work with him, I tried. I put up with his moods, his bad temper, his other women but it wasn't enough.'

'It wasn't your fault,' Jamie said with feeling. Of that he was certain. Something was broken in his dad, something beyond repair.

'Maybe not. I mean the abuse, there's no excuse for that. But other things, I wasn't easy to live with either.'

'No, you're making excuses, he knew what he was doing.'

Charlotte nodded, her face weary. 'Yes, he did.'

'And it was his fault my sister died,' Jamie stated boldly.

Charlotte winced. 'If I'd thought for one moment you remembered that I would have told you. But more than anything I didn't want you to be hurt by my mistakes.'

'They weren't your mistakes mom, they were his. You shouldn't have let me think he was anything other than what he was.'

'I wanted you to be happy, and if he was a decent father to you then that was enough for me. I didn't want you to be burdened with this,' Charlotte said imploring him to understand.

Jame's face broke into a smile. 'But mom, I knew he was a jerk anyway.'

Charlotte laughed. 'Yeah, I guess he's demonstrated that all by himself over the years.'

'So do you forgive me?' Jamie asked not daring to look at her. 'I mean for what I did, for reading your diaries.'

'There's nothing to forgive,' Charlotte said and Jamie gave her an incredulous look. 'Okay, I was pissed off about that, like way more pissed than I've been about anything you've ever done.' Jamie couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips since she rarely swore. 'But of course I've forgiven you, I wish I could have found a way to tell you myself that would have made it alright.'

Jamie smiled. 'Nothing could have made it alright, and it wasn't down to you to try and make it into something it wasn't. This is on dad, not you.' 

Charlotte reached up to him, pulling him into her arms. 'I don't want you to ever feel hurt by this,' she said her words muffled against him as he was now considerably bigger than she was.

'I understand mom, honestly, I do,' he said hugging her back.

And it was the truth, somehow he could appreciate where she was coming from. He could understand her lying or lying by omission. He could see she'd been trying to do that right thing, not like his dad who was content to live a lie. His mom loved him, and she'd put him first, she might have made mistakes but it was only out of the best of intentions. Ultimately that was all that mattered.

                                                              The End

Thank you for reading. I very much appreciate all the votes, comments and support I've had for this story. It hasn't always been easy to write ❤