It's been four years since I got my father arrested.
Staying at my grandparents house wasn't as bad as I thought.
Both of them were a lot different than.
Since they raised him, I thought they'd be the same as him.
But surprisingly they were nice and respectful.
They even apologized to me for what my dad did.
Grandpa Gladwin told me that both him and Grandma Serina didn't raise him right.
That probably meant that they were like my dad in the past, but probably fixed it growing older.
Other than the fact that they were nice, they had a pretty nice house.
It was clean, well kept, it was even decorated in some areas.
It was the polar opposite of the house I lived in with dad.
Tomorrow was the day of my 14th birthday.
My grandparents asked me what I wanted from them but I shrugged.
I wasn't really sure what I wanted.
I mean most guys would maybe ask for games, toys, or maybe something special.
Me on the other hand didn't know what I wanted.
Seeing their faces it was a given that they'd give me something random.
I shrugged it off and went to my room.
I got on my bed and laid there staring at the ceiling.
During that time the police investigated my father.
The officer I recognized noticed that the gun was a BB gun.
That officer looked at me realizing that I essentially framed him of a false crime.
After recognizing what I did, he walked up to me and crouched to my height.
Did you buy this with your dad's money? he asked me in a questionable tone.
I nodded without really hiding it.
He then gave me a lecture, telling me that lying about crimes is also a serious crime.
We may have found the crimes that he truly did commit but... lying about something is not a laughing matter. He told me in a serious tone.
His face showed a kind but menacing look.
Almost like the look your father gives you when you did something wrong or got in trouble for something you did by accident.
He wasn't mad; he was probably relieved that I was just a 10 year old child with an abusive father and an absent mother.
But that's enough of that.
On the next day, the day of my birthday.
My grandparents had woken me up from my sleep.
It was five in the morning.
I wanted to go back to sleep but then again I didn't want to ruin my relationship with my grandparents.
They brought me to the living room with a box wrapped as a present.
Looking at the size of it I could probably guess that it was a game console.
They wanted me to open it so I did.
It was one of the newest Xbox versions.
I think it was called an Xbox Series X or something, I wasn't sure until I saw the name on the box.
I looked back at my grandparents.
Their faces lit up brightly, their smiles and happiness looked like they grew younger despite the many old wrinkles all over their faces.
And for the first time in my life I smiled.
Thank you. I said to them with a genuine smile.
When they both saw me smile for the first time, they were surprised at first.
But after some time they accepted it and hugged me.
They told me a happy birthday in a both somber but joyful voice.
I wanted to see them in a good light.
But... nothing could've prepared me for what happened to them.