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As the days passed, I eagerly awaited the day when Errol King would return to visit with his son. He visited regularly. Despite his busy schedule, Errol King did managed to show up at the Academy more and more, mainly to see how his sons were doing. He seemed to genuinely care about Axel and Kobe.
That was good that he did show up at the Academy, although he had others managed the school for him. Axel seemed to have a deep wound which he had been carrying since childhood. The way he cried out, the tears streaming down his face, made my heart ached just thinking about what he went through. No child should have been through what he’d been through to affect him so profoundly that even as a young adult, he’d still harbor nightmares. The more I thought about what Axel said during his nightmares, the more I’d come to think that he’d been abused as a child.
And that had to be at the hand of his father, Errol King.
It had to be.
Axel was extremely intimidated by his father. He’d even entered the cooking competition every year just to keep proving that he was the best...that he was indeed Errol King’s son.
That pressure to be Errol King’s perfect son took its toll on Axel.
What a tyrant of a father Errol King must have been to Axel growing up.
What kind of mental, psychological, and physical abuse did he inflict on poor Axel?
When Errol finally came by, he spent an hour sitting with Axel, talking to him and making sure that everything was alright.
Although he seemed concerned about Axel, I couldn’t help getting angry.
As he left Axel’s room, I fell in line behind him, unable to hold my pent up anger any longer. “Mr. King,” I said. “I was wondering if I could have a word with you.”
“Sure thing,” he said without missing a step as he headed down the stairs. “But make it fast. I have to be at a meeting at the academy in fifteen minutes.”
“Mr. King,” I said, trying to capture his gaze. “I think that Axel has been through a very trying... traumatic time.”
“The fever was bad,” he said. “But that’s all behind us now. He’s getting better and should be back at the academy in no time.”
“No, sir... what I mean is...” Oh, damn it. This wasn’t going the way I’d planned. “What I mean is that I believe that Axel may have been traumatized as a child.”
Frowning, Errol looked at me. “What are you talking about?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
“I’m afraid I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Axel cried out during his nightmares. He cried out to someone who was touching him, begging them to stop. He was weeping, too. Like a child. Something horrible happened to him. He may seem strong and in charge most of the time, but when he was feverish, he became like a small and injured child. He regressed to that time in his life when he was hurt. So hurt that he internalized it for years. Until it physically broke him down.”
Errol King stared at me with his brows furrowed.
I finally asked him point blank, “Mr. King, what did you do to him?”
Errol looked at me with disbelief.
“Do to him? I’ve never done anything to him.”
“You never beat him?”
“What? Beat him?” At this he stopped and turned to look squarely into my eyes. “I assure you, young lady, that I never laid a hand on either of my boys. I may not be the best father in the world, but I certainly would never even consider striking them, no matter how naughty they might have been.”
Stunned by his decisive response, I just stared in silence as he opened the door and walked out.
Chapter 21
