My Son Calls His Father “Alpha” Now Chapter 06
Bruce drove straight to the amusement park
The traffic was a nightmare, an endless river of cars.
His hands were slick with sweat on the steering wheel.
He called Avril again and again. No answer.
He knew she must be angry, so he started texting.
[Avril, Tony’s fine. I’m on my way now.]
[Don’t leave. I’m almost there.]
[I’m not breaking my promise this time. I’m really coming.]
Still nothing.
Bruce’s hand trembled as he held the phone. A dark premonition coiled in his gut.
Avril had never ignored him like this before.
He tried calling Leo’s phone. It was off.
Bruce’s heart pounded in his chest. Panic, like a cold vine, coiled around his throat.
He suddenly remembered last night.
Avril’s cold expression as she said, “We’re going far away.”
Thinking back, her tone hadn’t sounded like she was talking about a trip.
Bruce slammed on the gas, running one red light after another.
Messages from Fiona kept popping up.
[Bruce, Tony won’t stop crying.]
[His wound is bleeding again. Can you come back and check?]
(I really can’t do this alone.]
Then, a few pictures of Tony’s scraped knee.
Before, Bruce would have turned around in a heartbeat.
This time, he glanced at them and set his phone to Do Not Disturb.
At 3:10 PM, he finally reached the park entrance.
He slammed the car into park and bolted out before it had even fully stopped.
The crowd was full of parents with their pups.
Laughter, music, and the calls of vendors filled the air.
Every time he saw a mother and son who looked like Avril and Leo, his heart would leap.
And then sink in disappointment.
He stood in the middle of the crowd, dialing Avril’s number over and over.
“Avril, pick up.”
“Please, just pick up.”
He searched frantically.
The pirate ship, the carousel, the gift shop…
He ran to every single place Leo had ever said he wanted to go.
He stopped for a long time in front of a display of “Little Wolf King” toys.
That’s what Leo had wished for on his sixth birthday.
“Dad, I want to go to the amusement park and see the Little Wolf King.”
What had he said then?
That’s stupid.
Too many wolves. Too much trouble.
We’ll go when you’re older.
Now, he finally wanted to be here with his son, but he couldn’t find him anywhere.
Bruce sagged to the ground on the side of the path, burying his face in his hands.
He was just now realizing that some wounds don’t just fade away.
They’re recorded, one by one, tallied up like a debt.
Waiting for the day it all comes due, with interest.
As evening fell, he saw a mother and son by a restaurant.
The mother wore a white shirt; the pup had a blue backpack.
They looked just like Avril and Leo from behind.
Bruce’s eyes lit up. He ran toward them, shouting.
“Avril!”
“Leo!”
The pair turned around.
They were strangers.
Bruce froze.
The woman, startled, pulled her child back.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, his voice hoarse and unrecognizable. “I thought you were someone else.”
He waited at the park until it was dark.
The park lights came on, and fireworks exploded in the sky. Pups all around him were screaming with joy.
Bruce stood in the crowd, clutching the three crumpled tickets.
He finally understood.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t waited for him.
It was that he had missed his chance with them too many times.
So many times that this time, they just didn’t want to wait anymore.
