Please Take Me Back, I Beg You

Take me back, please
Mum, you really dont have to Daniel trailed off, unable to finish.
Elizabeth shook her head slowly, running her fingers along the arm of her battered armchair. The flat smelled of her perfume and dried lavender, which she kept in every room. But those scents would soon slip away.
Im not doing this for you, she said. Its for Michael. The boy needs a home. A proper onenot a rented shoebox someone could toss him out of at any moment. No matter what happens with you and Charlotte, love, the flat should go to Michael. Thats what I want.
Charlotte stood by the window, her hand resting on her sons shoulder. Michael fidgeted, not entirely sure why the grown-ups spoke in hushed, careful voices.
Thank you, Daniel managed, a lump in his throat. Honestly, Mum. Thank you.
Elizabeth brushed his gratitude aside and looked at Michael. Her whole face softened.
Come here, sweetheart.
Michael crossed the room and let his grandmother pull him close. Her hands trembled slightly as she cupped his chin.
Do you know, Michael? Youre the best thing thats ever happened to me. Youve got my eyes. My stubbornness. My dreadful taste in music.
Gran, Michael said, embarrassed, but pleased.
This flat is yours, Elizabeth said, a bit more seriously. Itll be in your dads name, just because you’re not eighteen yet. You’re why Im giving it away now, while I can. Were one family, Michael. I want you to be looked after properly.
Two months later, Elizabeth stopped breathing…
The three-bedroom flat swallowed them whole. At weekends, Daniel tore down floral wallpaper, painted over decades-old stains, and installed new lights. Charlotte rearranged their things, making space among the furniture his mum had left behind.
Michael dashed from room to room, thrilled by all the space. Finally, he had his own roomthe walls were his to cover with posters, no questions asked.
Dad, can I put the desk by the window?
Put it anywhere you like, son, its your room.
Daniel watched as the boy lined up his figures on the windowsill. Because of his mum, they finally had their own home. He was meant to be grateful and happy.
But instead he felt the walls press in. Same routine, day after day, predictable as ever. Wake up. Work. Home. Dinner. TV. Sleep. And so it would go, over and over, until the end…
A coffee shop near the office became Daniel’s hideaway. He started popping in after work, dragging out going homehalf an hour, then an hour longer. The barista knew his order by heart. That corner table by the window was his spot, unofficially.
And thats where he met her…
She burst out laughing at something on her phonenot shy about it at all. Her laughter drowned out the background chatter. Daniel glanced over his laptop, she caught his eye and, rather than look away, raised an eyebrow.
Sorry, she said, not sounding sorry at all. My mate sent me the worst joke Ive ever heard. Want to hear it?
He ought to have said no. He ought to have finished his spreadsheet and gone home to his wife and son.
Go on then, he said…
Her name was Emily. She worked at an advertising agency, hated her job, adored puns. Emily was lively, bright, real.
Youre drowning, she said on their third meeting.
Im not drowning. Ive got a good life.
But are you happy?
And three weeks later, they ended up in bed together…
Daniel told Charlotte the truth that night. He watched her face shift as the words sank in.
You slept with someone else, Charlotte repeated, slowly.
Yes.
Daniel stayed silent. Anything further would only make things worse.
Charlotte threw a towel at him. It hit his chest and flopped to the floora helpless gesture that only fuelled her anger.
You betrayed our family for some young thing? Fourteen years, Dan. Fourteen years of marriageand you got bored?
Its not about boredom.
Then what? Charlotte yelled. Explain, because apparently Im too stupid to understand why my husband decided to destroy everything we built!
Daniel rubbed his face with both hands.
I feel trapped, Charlotte. Every day the same. Work, home, dinner, sleep. I needed to feel something else. Something real, something alive.
Something real, Charlotte laughed bitterly, tears carving tracks down her cheeks. I gave you a son. Gave you my youth. And you needed to feel alive?
A door clicked quietly at the end of the hall. Michael was awake, hiding in his room. Daniels heart squeezed tightwhat had his son overheard?
Fine, Charlotte wiped her face roughly, smearing her mascara. Fine, Dan. You want to leave? Then lets divorce. I wont try to keep you. But lets talk about the flat. Your mum wanted it for Michael. She said so herself…
The flat stays with me.
Charlotte froze.
What did you say?
The paperworks in my name. Daniel couldnt meet her eyes. Legally, its mine. You and Michael will have to find somewhere else.
Youre kicking your own son out. Charlotte whispered, stunned. Your own childthe boy your mum meant this flat for.
Im not kicking anyone out. Youll have time to find somewhere. Ill help with the first months rent, anything you need, but…
Youre a monster. Charlotte gripped the kitchen counter. Not a husband, not a dadyou’re nothing. Your mum would be sick if she saw what youve become…
Next morning, Charlotte packed while Michael sat on his bed, staring at walls hed only just covered with posters. He didnt look at his dad. Didnt say a word. Just followed his mum out the door.
…The divorce was final after three months. Daniel paid child supportnot much, but enough to satisfy the court. Every Sunday he rang Michael, and every Sunday the call was declined. Messages went unanswered. Birthday gifts were accepted without any thank you.
Eventually Daniel stopped trying. The boys angry, he told himself. Hell grow uphell see adults face tough choices sometimes.
Emily moved in two weeks after Charlotte left. She filled the flat with candles, decorative cushions, and music that played round the clock. She cooked fancy, ridiculously expensive meals and insisted on shopping trips every weekend. With her, Daniel felt young, reckless, utterly, intoxicatingly free.
Six months on, his savings dropped to forty-seven pounds.
Hotels, restaurants, impulsive spreesEmily would spin out of changing rooms, twirling in dresses that cost more than Daniel spent on groceries in a month. It all felt lovely, and he hadnt noticed how bad it was until the bank account was empty.
We need to talk about money, Daniel told Emily that night.
Later, darling, lets talk tonight. Im meeting my girlfriends.
She pecked him on the cheek, grabbed her new bagthe one hed bought her last monthand swept out.
That night, Emily didnt come home…
And in the morning, she appeared and announced it was over. She found him boring, just suffocating, and saw no future in them. Emily packed up her things and left as easily as shed come.
For two weeks Daniel just wallowed in misery, wandering the empty flat in the same clothes, leaving dirty dishes in the sink, never opening the blinds. Everyone had left himor so he told himself. His son wanted nothing to do with him. His wife had taken all the good bits and gone. And Emily, carefree and beautiful Emily, had vanished the moment the money dried up.
By the third week, self-pity had curdled into something more desperate. Daniel scrubbed up, shaved, put on the cleanest shirt he could find, and trekked right across town to the address Charlotte had given in court.
The place was old, but respectable. An English block of flats with fresh paint and a working lift. Charlotte let him in without asking why he was there.
Michael, she called over her shoulder, your dads here.
Daniel stepped into the narrow hallway, taking in the modest space his family now lived in. Two rooms instead of three. Narrow corridors, tiny kitchen.
But the whole place felt warm and alive.
Michael hovered in the doorway. The boy had grown in the months Daniel barely saw him, and there was less softness in his face. His look at Daniel held no warmth at all.
Michael, I know youre angry with me, Daniel began. But Ive realised I made mistakes. I lost my way. But everything can change now. We can be a family again. Us three. Your rooms waiting, Michael!
Charlotte leaned back against the wall, watching her ex-husband indifferently.
People change, Daniel said, trying to reach them both. Ive had time to think, and I see what I lost. Ive truly learned.
You didnt lose anything, Michael snapped. You made your choice. You picked hernot us.
It’s not so simple, son.
Dont call me that, Michael stepped forward. You kicked us out of Grans flat. Our home. You threw me and Mum away for some Emily.
Michael, please
Why should we believe you now? Michael cut him off. What happens next? You meet someone else, decide youre bored again, and toss us out like rubbish?
Daniel tried to reassure them:
Thatll never happen again. PromiseIve changed.
Michael shook his head slowly.
I dont need a dad like that, he said quietly.
He turned and retreated to his room.
Daniel looked at Charlotte, desperately searching for any sign of support.
Charlotte, say something to him. Tell him I understand now, I really have learned.
She shook her head gently.
I wouldnt forgive you either, Dan. Not even if you begged. She headed for the door. You disgust me. Not because you cheated. Not even because you threw us out. But because you only came crawling back when she dumped you. When there was no one left.
Daniel couldnt remember how he ended up in the stairwell. He couldnt remember the journey home…
So Daniel remained alone in the three-bedroom flat, alone in the big empty space. His mum believed her family would live there, but no one was left. Hed pushed away everyone who loved him. And now nothing could be put right. Too late…