Daniel's POV (Melanie's and Dylan's son)

Checking the time on my phone, I realise that I slept over again. I abruptly get off from my bed and into my bathroom, taking a quick shower in the process. Once I get out with a towel around my waist, I see my phone vibrating on my homework desk, not that I really do homework unless it's really necessary, but I do other things on that desk, I'll let you figure out which things by yourself.

I walk over to the white wooden desk and see that it's my bro Max. He's more like a best best friend but I take him as a brother because there's not a day where we're not together, he basically lives in our guest room.

"Yo man?" I ask as soon as I put the phone on loud speaker.

"You slept over again." he says in a not-surprised tone. I was up all night yesterday, we were at this party that Christy threw. Some would say she's my girlfriend or whatever, some would say we're fuck buddies. It was fun though, we always have fun at hers, especially since everyone's throwing these different parties every Friday because high school's almost over so we're trying to make the best of it.

"Dude, it's your birthday today, you can't be falling asleep" he says once again when he hears me not saying a word.

"I'm getting ready for school, I can't talk, but see you there yeah?" I say as I make my way towards the desk again, wanting to end the call.

"Cool, I'll tell the rest of the guys you're on your way. Bye" with that I press the red button, ending the call and go straight into my wardrobe picking out white denim shorts, grey Hollister shirt and an olive green bomber jacket with some grey Timberland boots.

I stand in front of my big mirror, styling my hair with wax and a comb in my hand. My hair is the most important thing in my look, always is and chicks dig that. Some say that I'm a man-whore, ladies man but I say it's all in the skills.

I slide my phone into the back pocket of my shorts and start walking down the stairs greeting my mom in the process. She used to go to the same high school as me which is weird because it's like 20 years ago and a lot has changed.

"Dan, we have something to talk about today, so when you finish school come right home" My mom tells me giving me that look.

"Mom, Max is throwing me this party, I'm too old for surprises now, don't you think?" I tell her in the same tone bored tone, wanting to go to school already and as much as I hate school, I'd pick it over this talk any time.

"That's not what I was going to talk about. Aunt Eve and Michael are coming over today, we wanna speak about your father."

A sudden wave of anger builds up inside me and I can feel it building up from the bottom of my feet, quickly making it's way up to my chest.

"Aunt Eve? Why does she suddenly want to come to our house? it's not like she ever visits, unless she doesn't have business meetings with who ever she has them with-"

I instantly get interrupted from my mother talking over me, "Don't you dare talk about your aunt like that!"

"And why not? why are you defending her?" I ask in rage.

"Because she's your aunt and our only family."

"Oh really? because I think you forgot about your mom and dad, but they never care to make a visit either. Oh and my grandfather from my dad's side, he's a prick too, he never once came to my birthday, the only thing I receive from him is a card with a 100 dollar note inside it, how generous of him." I sarcastically spit because of the anger in my veins.

"So don't you dare teach me about family because they sure as hell ain't ours" I make my last point, breaking the silence.

With that being said I left the house, slamming the door behind me to make a statement. Just when I get to the school premisses with my car, I stop the engine in my usual spot and put my head on the steering wheel, unbuckling my seatbelt.

After thinking for a minute I realised my mom mentioned my father but I was too angry to think of anything else other than my fake family who want to see me because I'm 18, as if my other birthdays didn't matter.

My mom often talked about her days with my dad when I was younger. Now she doesn't really talk about him or anything that happened before so his death must've really gotten to her, but she has to understand that she wasn't the only one who it affected. Although it doesn't look like it, it affected me too.

I remember when I was just 4 years old and my dad didn't return home, I cried myself to sleep everyday, everyday I asked my mom when is dad coming back, everyday asked what is wrong with him and if he still loves us and what did I get in response? 'I don't know honey.'

I get it that I was too young to understand it then, but I'm not a little boy any more yet she still hasn't explained anything.

A lot has changed from what she described as 'her days'. The world is different, the people in it are different and I know that I disappoint her sometimes but she doesn't understand why. She still thinks that the world is full of innocent and nice people, full of happy smiles and generosity, it's not.

It's far from all of that. When I started my 9th grade, I got mixed up with a lot of bad people, did stuff that I'm not particularly proud of but no matter what happens or happened, it is now a part of me and it changed me to the person I am now.

Being in gangs and doing drugs is just a small amount of description of what we were doing. As I said, I'm not proud of it, but it made me who I am and I just have to live with it because at the end of the day whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger and so it did.

I unlock my door and head towards the school gate when a familiar someone says that famous line, "Hey handsome".

I turn around to spot Christy McDowlan, my supposedly girlfriend. I plaster a fake smile before walking up to her and bringing her to my embrace, she snuggles her head into my chest, then her eyes meet mine, "You okay?" she asks concerned.

"Yeah why wouldn't I be?" I try to play it off cool, but I don't think she's buying it. She knows me better than any girl, even though in my eyes we're not dating but in hers, well can't say the same thing.

"Dan. I know you since third grade, you really think that I'm gonna fall for the 'why wouldn't I be' line?" she cups my cheek in the palm of her hand, I shake the feeling off and nonchalantly respond, "It's just some things at home"

"You know you can talk to me, right?" she reassures me.

"Yeah. I'm gonna be late for practise so I'll see you later" I quickly say and let go of her, carrying on into the soccer changing rooms, leaving her standing.

"Erm Daniel when I am going to see y-" I hear her speak up again but before she can finish, I pull her closer to myself by her waist, my hand finding its way behind her neck, our tongues moving in sync.

"This is a school, Cooper, not a strip club!" I hear Miss Williams announcing behind us so we pull away and I have a full smirk plastered on my face. "I have a feeling very soon." I answer her question whilst wiggling my eyebrows.

As I make my way to the changing room, I stop to look into the glass cupboard with every trophy that this school has won. I look at all the trophies and see my dad's name on them. Dylan Cooper. He is a legend in this school and I get compared to him a lot, I even get the 'You're so much like your father' words.

* * *

After school, I get back home going straight upstairs, into my bedroom. As I walk in, I notice something unfamiliar on my desk. A brown wooden box with letters inside it. I pick it up and take it to my bed, chucking my shoes off in the process. I cross my legs, examining the first letter.

To: Daniel Cooper

I read inside my head. I turn the envelope to the back and see that it's plain so I decide to open it up instead. With shaky hands and nerves in my whole body, I finally collect the courage to unfold the letter. My heart sinks into my stomach when I see it.

Dear Son,

I don't know if Facebook and emails are still a thing so I decided to go with the most old fashioned way of saying hello.

I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone, you never were and you never will be. I know I missed a lot of your childhood and you probably hate me for that, but there's nothing that I could have done.

If you're reading this, you're probably old enough to know everything, probably have a lot of questions on your mind because if I was in your situation, I would.

Okay, here goes nothing. You may or may not know that cancer runs in our family, it's how your grandma died and it's how I'm dying too. A day before you turned 4 years old, I got diagnosed with stage two liver cancer so I went away and wanted to treat it, that's why I didn't show up at your 4th birthday.

Treating a cancer like mine is very hard to cure but because of you and mom I'm really trying, I don't know how it's gonna end, hopefully well but I'm not counting on it, I don't want to be making promises that I can't keep.

As for you, you must have grown up to be a good man, successful and talented. I wish I could be there to see you but life isn't easy and I'm sure you understood that by now.

I love you and mom endlessly,

Dad

P.S. Will you keep and eye on your mom for me?

Without realising, I swallow a gulp that formed in my throat, letting my tears slip onto the letter in my hands. All that was going through my head was why now? Why fucking now? Why not earlier or later, for when it wasn't my 18th birthday.

With anger rushing in my veins, I decide to open up the remaining letters, just scanning them up and down.

Dear son,

Happy 15th birthday. You don't even know how much I'd want to be there, I bet you already have a girl

Without wanting to read on, I tear the letter into pieces, opening up another one.

Dear son,

You're a big guy now, happy 12th birthday. I hope you're still looking after your mom

Tears are falling down like waterfalls making my vision blurry, I tear this letter apart as well.

Dear son,

It's your 17th. I'm sure you've grew up into the man that me and your mom always thought you would be

Not being able to contain my emotions in anymore, I tear every letter from him and toss it into the litter bin next to my desk, raging my way downstairs.

"Mom did you write all of these letters?" I ask with a raised voice, showing her the bin in my hands, tears still at the breaking point.

"Daniel, I would never-"

"Really? because last time I checked I went to his funeral at the age of 6. Did he write these letters from heaven?" I sarcastically spit back louder, the anger taking over me.

"I don't know Danny, maybe he pre-write them. I haven't read them myself either, he just told me to give them to you at the age of 18 because he thought you'd be more mature but clearly not" she says in a disappointing voice.

"Oh. You're disappointed, well great because I'm disappointed in you from keeping this away from me. How could you?" I ask in the same disappointing voice, drying my tears with the back of my hand.

"Oh Daniel, you still don't understand. Do you know just how much you remind me of your father?" she asks with that matter-of-fact voice that she always puts when she tries to be clever.

"No I don't actually because he was never here" I spit back with whatever comes to my head first.

I don't care that he wrote me some letter before he was dying, instead of writing that letter he should have been here with me for the remaining two years he had, saying happy birthday to my face and not saying happy birthday son, you're now 5 years old, through a fucking paper.

"I can't believe you just said that Dan, I really can't. Your father would be ashamed of you." he says, with tears in her eyes and that's when I realised I said that out aloud.

"Mom, get a fucking reality check. He was getting treatment that he knew was never gonna help him, he could have spent two years with me, two fucking years, that's a long time for me to get to know my father a little bit, he could have seen my first soccer practise, but instead he wrote 'I bet you're very talented' like that's supposed to make me feel any better about myself. Mom I needed a dad and when I needed him he wasn't here. Nobody fucking was, no one from our family cared about us because all of them are two faced people who only care about themselves, and that's the fucking truth!" Because I was so angry at him and at her for defending him and at everyone else too, I didn't see inside my mouth and blurted out whatever came to my tongue first.

"Who is your family if not us, huh? Your so called friends?" she shouts back, this time taking me by surprise, tears coming from her eyes like crazy.

I scoff, "When did our so called family visit us besides when they needed something hm? Why is 'our' family suddenly coming to my 18th but they couldn't make it to my other birthdays? Oh wait, that's because my other birthdays didn't matter. Nice fam we got here"

She doesn't say a thing because she knows I'm right, "I was doing okay with not having my family on my other birthdays, I think I can do just fine without them today as well." I inform her and start walking away, wanting to leave the house ASAP.

But before I completely go, I stop myself and decide to make one last point, "Oh and before I forget, my friends are my family, they mean more to me than who ever it is that wanted to come because no matter what shit I was in, no matter how bad the situations were, whether its when I got arrested or when I didn't have money for lunch, they were always there for me, not Aunt Eve, but Max and the boys"

I walk out of the room, putting my shoes and my bomber jacket on, quickly running upstairs to get my phone from the charge and slip in into my back pocket before texting Max I'm on the way.

"I won't be in until the next day, don't wait for me." I inform her and close the door behind me but then I remembered that I forgot my car keys from all the anger.

"Oh and don't forget to tell the guests that I'm deeply sorry about not being able to attend but I had an important study group to attend to" I say in a sarcastic voice because I know that my mom never tells anyone what's going on in this house, she makes it seem as if we were this perfect happy family, when in reality it's completely opposite of what she makes it look like to everyone who she talks to.

I slam the door behind me, taking my car and driving off to Max's house, ready to let lose. I don't care that we're rich but just because I'm rich doesn't mean I have to act that way, just because we have a family business doesn't mean I have to act like a business man who wears suits and ties.

A/N

You lot are probably gonna hate me for killing Dylan off and making their child a dickhead but not every story ends on a good note and that's just life.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I AM MAKING AN ALTERNATIVE ENDING WHICH WILL COME SOON!! BE PREPARED YALL

I really loved writing this chapter, hope you liked and enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT

Lots of Love

Dani xxxx