Page 11 of Forever Home

As if my life has slowed a little giving me a chance to recharge before my next adventure.

The drive to my parents from the hotel isn’t long enough. The moment I ring the doorbell, I hear the tiny voices from the other side.

“I’ll get it!”

“No, you’re too little! You know Mom and Dad don’t let you answer doors.”

Chuckling, I shake my head. That has to be my sister Avery’s kids arguing who will let me in. The last I can recall Ava should be about three years old but thinks she should be able to do the same thing as her older sibling, Adam who is six.

“You guys go back to playing,” my mom calls out to them, the sound of her moving towards the door coming closer. “I’ll answer it.”

The door doesn’t open slowly, as one might think. Instead, it’s yanked open and my mom’s aging figure appears in front of me. Her hair is a mess, sticking out of the bun on top of her head and her eyes wide with shock that quickly furrow at realizing who’s in front of her.

“Jaxson? Wh—what are you doing in town?”

There isn't any excitement when she sees me. Not a sense of joy that her baby boy is home. Instead, I’m met with confusion and a frown that I should have anticipated seeing. It’s honestly been a while since I’d seen or spoken to them.

But they sure call to thank me when I send them money.They never missthatcall.

I’d thought for a split second that they’d be happy to see me, but by the look on her face, it’s clear she isn’t. “Just business… I thought I’d stop by to see you guys. Is it a bad time?”

She gives me a distracted wave of her hand and steps aside to let me in before immediately taking off.

The house is full of kids; my oldest sister Avery’s four kids, ranging from two years to six years old, and my older brother Connor’s three kids are here too, ages six months to five years old.

Which makes me understand a little of why she is so frazzled by everything.

Thankfully though, my younger sister Zoey, who’s eighteen, and Hannah, who’s seventeen, are here helping Mom herd the kids. They don’t take notice of me at first, and it gives me time to look around, noticing that my twin brothers Carter and Corbin don’t seem to be here, and my younger brother Daniel is probably up in his room gaming.

Being stuck in the middle, one of eight children, I’ve always felt left out or unnoticed. It’s not as though I don’t like my brothers and sisters, it’s just that I’ve never been close to them. When we were younger, Mom and Dad always seemed to try to be interested all of us equally, but they only had so much time and attention, and somehow none of it fell on me. It was like I slipped through the cracks or something. I guess I was always looking for ways to get their attention, their appreciation of me, and at the same time was jealous of the time they gave to my brothers and sisters.

With the younger ones, I was already out of the house and on my own, so we never had a chance to become close. But I still love all of them. They are my family after all.

Following my mom into the kitchen, I stop here and there to play with my nieces and nephews. Their excitement over seeing me causes nothing but chaos as I maneuver through the house towards my mother who disappeared into the kitchen.

All I want is a few moments to talk to her, but the moment she sees me stepping into the kitchen, she scowls. “I hope you’re not planning on staying here while you’re in town. You get them all riled up when you’re here. Then I can’t get them to keep their bedtime schedules.”

Ouch… hello to you, too.

“No,” I scoff slightly, shaking my head. “That isn’t why I’m here. I actually got a place at the hotel in town.”

She nods and turns her back to me. The sound of a knife rapidly cutting through vegetables draws me closer to her. “You know how hard Avery and Connor work. They don’t like to get off work and have cranky kids on their hands.”

Shrugging off her complaint, I join her at the stove.

“Spaghetti?” I ask, and she nods. “I can help.”

“No, no, I’ve got this,” she retorts in a snappy tone that I try to dismiss.

“Mom, you know I’m a chef, right?” I say jokingly. “Let me help you cook so you don’t have so much to do.”

She doesn’t like my offer though. Instead, she turns to me with a glare, flinging a kitchen towel over her shoulder. “Jaxson, you know I don’t like anyone in my kitchen.”

Right. Because seeing your son is a burden you don’t want to bear.

“I know. I’m actually just heading out. I know you’re busy, and I’m guessing Dad’s at work?”

Her cold, calculating eyes meet mine with clear exhaustion. “He is.”

---