Allow Me to Be With You

CHAPTER 6

Slowly, Nico opened the door to his room. Sure enough, this morning everyone had gathered in the living room, because it was Sunday. Nico should have stayed in the room.

Nico was unable to slide anymore, as father had already been hunted to see him and gave him a sharp look. So, just step outside the room, then sit at the dining table. He also sucked up the sausage and ate in silence.

Dad snorted as he opened the newspaper rudely after seeing Nico's bruised face. "When do you want to admit something useless?" he cried without removing his eyes from the newspaper.

Nico was silent for a moment. I'm starting to talk about this again. Nico just moved his shoulders, lazy to answer.

As soon as Nico didn't answer, I swiped at him. Nathan and I chose to be quiet. In their minds, soon there will be a fight, as is common on Sunday morning.

"You're his job tarnishing my father's good name" he said. The veins on his forehead had already begun to appear.

"Kc.. I never mentioned my father's name in a fight" replied Nico, not caring.

Dad threw the newspaper he was reading at the dinner table, then looked at Nico ferociously.

"Unless you're not a father's son, there's a fight!" he shouted with a loud voice. Nico looked back at father with a fury. The sausage he was holding felt soft in his hand. "Maybe only death can make you stop fighting." continued the father again, then sighed softly.

Nico grunting. "It's possible" he said, then went back to devouring his sausage.

Mother looked at Nico worriedly, then reached out to caress Nico's blue, swollen cheeks. Nico immediately shook his mother's hand.

"Wouldn't you go to the doctor, Co?" ask mom slowly.

"No need to." said father before Nico had a chance to make a sound. "Let's call him."

Nico chose not to respond to his father's words. Nico won't get caught with a light blow to the cheek. For a few minutes, silence crawled the family.

"Well, pinjem dong newspaper" said Nathan trying to melt the atmosphere.

Father then thrust the newspaper into Nathan's hands, glancing at Nico who looked disinterested.

"Try once you read the newspaper. His work can only be heard strange music continues. How do you gain knowledge, you?" satirize my cynical father to Nico.

Read newspaper. Nice work Nathan, thought Nico. Reading the newspaper was something Nico hated the most, apart from anything related to his father and Nathan.

It's not that Nico won't read, but Nico was sentenced to dyslexia five years ago. No one knew about it in his family, because Nico always managed to cover it up. All his life, Nico suffered and he had no idea what was going to happen to him. It was only after his teens that Nico decided to check on him without anyone accompanying him. From the doctor he knew that he turned out to be dyslexic, a neurological disorder in the brain that attacks children born prematurely or his brain lacks oxygen at birth.

Most likely, the second cause is what happened to Nico, because he and Nathan were born at the same time. This disease is what causes Nico not to be able to read, write or spell correctly. Although Nico's dyslexia wasn't so severe, he grew up to be an emotionally unstable child who was used to being told off by everyone.

For twenty years, Nico has been trying to match up with Nathan - who, unfortunately, is brilliant. Dad gave up on teaching Nico because he was slow at catching lessons and ended up thinking of him as more stupid than Nathan. Meanwhile, her mother could do nothing. It's not that mom doesn't love him, she's forbidden by me to help Nico, it's that dad does it to make Nico jera. Having no other choice, Nico learns to read, write, and spell alone at night.

Unlike Nathan, Nico does not really understand jazz music that prioritizes the precision of the tone. Nico is more familiar with hard rock or metal music.

His twenty years of struggle bore fruit. Now Nico is more accustomed to reading and writing, but he still does not like to see the small writing in the newspaper because he still has to think hard. Nico won't read anything unless it's necessary.

"Co! How bengong?" I knew I knew that rubbing Nico's hair, a thing she never did again for years.

Nico looked at mother grimly. In fact, Nico misses mom's embrace, and she misses her bedtime story, which had been stopped when she was just seven years old, shortly after her parents learned something was wrong with Nico's brain. Furthermore, only Nathan is still in the door and always told the story before going to bed, while Nico was beaten because he could not answer the right questions from his father.

"The job is so. Beard like a fool." said the father arrived while getting up to smoke a cigarette. "Try it, make something useful Nico. Just once, make your father proud."

Nico's eyes followed the father who immediately turned around and walked towards the front door. Nico felt his blood already boiling and rose to his head. Mother looked at her sympathy, then moved towards the kitchen. Nathan also got up and brought the newspaper to the front of the TV.

Always like this. It's always Nico who is behind.

*****

"Wow, how hot ahh!" a girl complains when she exits the airport. She pulled out her long, wavy hair, then wiped the sweat running down her forehead with one beautiful move.

The people who were around the girl looked at her in admiration. The girl looked to her right and left, intending to find a taxi.

He can't wait to meet someone. Someone who misses him so much.

*****

"Tomorrow, not where!" exclaim dad as dinner progresses.

Nico and Nathan looked up, then looked at the astonished father.

"What the hell is going on, huh?" ask Nathan. "Tomorrow I have college, I want basketball practice."

"Udah skipped college" said dad didn't care. "Some of this truant does not directly affect the value of you as well as Nat." continued the father again.

Nico gaped wide. He can't believe it, Dad told Nathan to skip college. This must be an emergency. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a beheading for Nico, and Nathan has to skip college so he doesn't miss it.

"Huh? Dumped ya? What the hell is going on, huh?" nathan urged, as if half-dead do not want to lose one day of college for the sake of things that are not really important.

"Just truant. I also asked for permission an hour and two from the office. Later you'll know too." said Dad, closed the conversation, then resumed his dinner.

Nico immediately thought of a way to arrange his escape tomorrow.