Daddy long legs
Summary:
Max waited for his father to come home late at night. It has been three years since his mother died... or murdered. He missed her a lot.
"Give daddy a kiss, or don't you recognize love me anymore?"
The first thing Jack Payne spat out of his hoarse mouth after a whole day leaving Max alone in their rotten apartment. Max flinched, facing the door, focused on the sugar rusted spots glued on his father's boots. A rustle of a heavy coat and a creak of the wooden rack were good enough for a five second distraction to gather the words up his throat, but not enough to make him disappear from Jack's peripheral vision. It was unbearable for a kid of Max's age. He almost believed the dogs skittering past his legs could kick his feet and have him fall head first down to his mother's grave.
"Look, the dogs are happier to see me, you should learn a thing or two from them, Max." Daddy said, unbothered by the dogs humping like maniacs on his tattered week-old jeans. Max's expression was stone cold. There were more legs on the floor now. His mind was somewhere else...
[Continue on AO3]
