The Hate Collective by James Powell (rom com books to read txt) 📕

to provide for the family he never imagined having.
However, fatherhood turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to Steve and the one thing in life which had been missing. He realised that this was an opportunity to achieve something, a chance to be a good father which was a luxury he had never experienced or expected.
The first few years were difficult as Steve was unable to spend much time with Daisy because of all the extra work he had to do to make ends meet. But now though, things were getting a little easier, and the long hours had never really bothered him. He was actually very proud of his role as a provider. He was working to support a family, and the fact that he was capable of doing this made him a very happy man, even if he didn’t get to see that much of the two women in his life. However, when the day was over, he always spent half an hour or so playing with Daisy, moments which helped to get him through the stresses of life, moments he lived for.
Despite never having had a father in his life, Steve did a good job raising Daisy, teaching her the things that he had never been taught himself. It made him angry, knowing that he had missed out on so many important life lessons, as well as guidance, advice and emotional support, all because he never had a dad. Was it really a surprise that he had made so many bad choices in his life? It was almost inevitable. But he was determined to make sure that history did not repeat itself and so spent as much time as possible with his daughter, teaching her good manners and the difference between right and wrong, praying that she wouldn’t go off the rails like he did in his formative years.
As a result of this, Daisy grew up a sweet natured and happy child, who started primary school full of excitement and the carefree joy of youth. Her teachers all remarked what an outgoing, lively and bright girl she was, which made Steve regret his own wasted education even more. He would make amends now though, as he would give Daisy the best possible start. She would go to university and have a career. Achieve great things. She wouldn’t end up like her father, working every hour God sends for the rest of her life, struggling just to get by and being forced to count every penny to make sure that all the bills were paid on time. Steve would do anything to give her a future. She could do whatever she wanted in life. She had hope. Then the accident happened.
It was a bank holiday weekend, and Steve and Jenny had decided to take Daisy on her first proper holiday. Jenny had been working part time at the pub to make a little extra cash, and Steve had done some overtime, so after months of careful saving, they had amassed a few hundred pounds which was used to book a chalet in a holiday camp for a few days. It was expensive, but they couldn’t wait to go away, and neither could daisy. They had taken trips in previous years, but had always stayed with friends or for one night only in a hotel. This felt like a real holiday, just the three of them, away from home for several days, and Daisy was very excited. As soon as she found out, it was all she could talk about, which meant that for several weeks, her teachers, relatives and classmates all heard about the incredible trip she was going on.
That weekend was a real adventure. The family got up bright and early to avoid the inevitable bank holiday traffic, and by midday they were sitting on the beach eating ice creams and enjoying the sunshine. Steve had never been so happy. He looked at Jenny, looked at his daughter and knew that they were now a real family and that finally, he had kept the promise he made while in prison. He was rightly proud of himself.
The next couple of days had all the elements of the great British seaside holiday- building sandcastles on the beach, eating fish and chips, and even some bad weather just to remind the family they were still in England. Luckily, the rain only lasted an afternoon, not that it mattered as the three of them had a great time sitting in the chalet playing board games. Even that made Daisy happy, and Steve decided to try and come away every year because this trip had been a resounding success. Three days was enough though, as all the activities wore Daisy out, and they were starting to get a little homesick, which was perfect timing, because they had to leave that evening. As they loaded the suitcases into the car, Steve reflected on how well things had gone, and even though Daisy was sad to leave, she soon cheered up when Steve promised that they would come back soon.
To avoid being stuck in traffic for hours, they drove home at night, so while the two girls fell asleep, Steve was left alone with his thoughts. Life had turned out pretty well over the last few years, and even though he wasn’t in love with Jenny, they were happy together, and she had given him a child, which meant more to him than anything in the world. He was a very lucky man, but he had worked hard and deserved the success.
The journey took several hours, but Steve liked the monotony of motoring, especially at night when there were no other cars on the road, and where the motorway lights could be seen snaking into the distance, giving the landscape a futuristic and slightly surreal atmosphere, strange yet inspiring. Eventually, the family arrived back in civilisation, and about ten minutes from home, they stopped at some traffic lights. ‘Wake up’, said Steve softly. ‘We’re nearly home’. Then their lives changed forever.
There was a sickening crash and the car jerked forward violently. Then a horrible silence. While Steve’s mind went into overdrive as he tried to process what had happened, pain shot through his body. Probably whiplash, but it was still frightening. He could move all his limbs though so there was no immediate prospect of death, which was a relief. However, this instinct for self preservation disappeared in an instant as he remembered the passengers. He looked across and saw that Jenny was slowly coming to her senses, shaken but relatively unhurt. Ignoring the pain, he then slowly turned to see Daisy. And was filled with despair when he saw the look in her eyes. Mortified. She wasn’t crying, but she looked utterly helpless, paralysed by fear.
‘ Are you okay?’, asked Steve nervously.
‘Daddy. I can’t see properly.’
On hearing this, Jenny suddenly became very alert, ignorant of her own physical suffering, and started screaming at the top of her voice for Steve to call 999. Obedient as ever, he got out of the car and went to make the call on his mobile. Once the ambulance was on its way, he calmed down a little. Until he realised that someone else was involved in all this. Someone had just crashed into him. Someone had hurt his daughter. That person had to pay. Steve saw red, and stormed towards the offenders car, intent on dishing out some swift justice. It wasn’t necessary though, as the poor guy had already paid for his sins. There was blood everywhere. This sorry sight brought Steve out of his madness, as he suddenly regained his sense of humanity and hoped that the ambulance would hurry up and help this man. He didn’t have to wait long, as the paramedics turned up moments later and promptly set about helping the victim as he was in a much more serious condition than Steve and his family. He obviously hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt, so even though the car hadn’t been travelling very quickly, his head had hit the steering wheel on impact, doing some serious damage. He was rushed to hospital, while one of the other medics examined Daisy. It soon became clear that there was no serious injury or concussion, but even so, she was unable to see out of her left eye, which meant that she too was taken to hospital, accompanied by Jenny, while Steve stayed behind to tell the police exactly what had happened.
An hour later, he turned up at A&E and soon found his family sitting at reception. Jenny was struggling to hold back the tears, but when she saw Steve, she couldn’t contain herself any longer. It was obvious something was wrong. Jenny took a couple of deep breaths and delivered the bad news. The doctors said it was probably a detached retina and that Daisy could be permanently blind in one eye. Steve was stunned. How did this happen?
The doctors turned out to be right, and Daisy did indeed lose sight in one eye, which doesn’t sound too bad, but it meant that overnight, she turned from a happy carefree little girl, into a shaky, nervous, painfully shy, withdrawn shell of a person, and being there to witness this transformation tore Steve apart. Jenny couldn’t handle it either, and suffered similar consequences, becoming very detached from the world, trying to take the pain away with a mixture of alcohol and antidepressants, leaving Steve to pick up the slack and run the household entirely by himself. He didn’t really resent this as keeping busy helped to take his mind off what had happened, and besides, he had no right to tell Jenny what she should be feeling and how she should be dealing with it all. It was different for mothers. Steve could never truly understand how it affected her. He hoped that she would get over it within a few weeks, and that things would improve over time, but it didn’t turn out that way. Life just got even worse.
A few days after the accident, Steve got a call from the police telling him that the man responsible for the accident, a Mr. Justin Green, was in fact over the legal drink driving limit and that they wanted to prosecute. They also informed him that Mr. Green had suffered a severe blow to the head, but he was fine now and would go on to make a full recovery. There was no permanent damage. This made Steve feel even more aggrieved, knowing that while his daughter had to suffer for the rest of her life, the guilty man had escaped unharmed, free to carry on as normal, unaware of how fortunate he was to avoid any serious injury. Where’s the justice in that?
‘So that fucker gets drunk, ruins my kid’s life forever and gets away with a bump on the head. Is that really how the world works? I’m gonna make sure he gets locked up for a long time’. These thoughts only served to fuel the anger Steve felt, so much so that he even considered finding out where Mr. Green lived and paying him a little visit, before stopped himself, afraid of what he might do when they came face to face. Daisy needed him and Jenny needed him, so he had to be strong and control himself. Strong enough for the three of them. He would do things the right way and make sure the law remained on his side and that Mr. Green suffered the humiliation of prison life, a humiliation he was all too familiar with.
Justin Green was an arrogant little prick who deserved to suffer. However, fate had decreed that he would go through life without a care in the world, treating other people like dirt and getting away with it. He was one of