Page 76 of Rematch
Janelle hopped up from her seat and rushed in front of her son. More than a head shorter than him, she effortlessly pushed his arms back to his sides and pinned them there. Her tone was firm as she whispered to him. “You are allowed to be angry, but you’re not allowed to take it out on others. He came here with good intentions. Don’t let your attitude screw that up.”Releasing him, she added, “Now, go sit down and talk to him like you’ve got some sense.”
Jayden frowned, but did as he was told. He took his mother’s seat at the adjacent side of the table. Crossing his arms, he threw his back against the chair and avoided my gaze.
“I’ll be down the hall if you boys need anything,” she told us.
“Thank you, Ms. Janelle,” I told her.
She gave me a smile. “No, thank you, Max.”
As she exited the room, I turned my attention back to Jayden. “Fix your face and look at me,” I demanded. “Now.”
Jayden reluctantly raised his gaze, now glaring at me.
“How bad are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s not what I asked you.”
He sighed. “Black eye, busted lip, and a few bruised ribs. Nothing to worry about.”
“Where’d it happen?”
“On my walk home from work yesterday. I was zoned out, listening to music, when somebody came at me from behind. I tried to fight back, but…” His gaze lowered. “There were just too many of them.”
“Who did it?”
“I don’t know. It was dark, so I couldn’t really see.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. Who the fuck did it?”
He held his arms tighter against his chest, still hesitant to tell me. “It was those guys from the courtyard: Clyde and his boys. When they were done beating the shit out of me, he pushed my face against the concrete and put a gun to the back of my head.”
He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. “I heard him pull back the security latch. For a second, I thought he was going to kill me. I thought I was gonna die. But, he…he didn’t pull the trigger. He told me to remember whose leash I’mon, and he hit me one last time -hard- like he was trying to knock me out.”
“Hm.” I couldn’t muster anything else. The heat of my blood rose with every word he said. By the time he finished, it was damn near boiling underneath my skin. The fact that the bastard put his hands on Jayden was enough to piss me off, but to hold a gun to his head? I was practically seeing red.
“They left me alone after that,” Jayden continued. “My body hurt like hell, but I managed to make it home in one piece.”
“And who else, besides your mom, knows about this?”
“My uncle, but only because my mom told him.”
Nodding, I rose from my seat. “Good. Keep it that way.” I turned on my heel and headed back towards the doorway.
“Wait, where are you going?” Jayden asked. His chair scraped against the floor, and a moment later, his footsteps were trailing behind mine.
“Like you said: you’re fine, so I can go now.”
“Hold on,” he said. He grabbed my arm, trying to cease my steps. “I didn’t mean it.”
Reluctantly, I stopped and looked over my shoulder at him. “Then why’d you say it?”
He cast his gaze to the ground. “I was just…I was embarrassed. I didn’t want you to see me like this. I didn’t want you thinking I was weak. Especially with how much work you’ve been pouring into me. I didn’t want you thinking you’ve been wasting your time. I didn’t want you to give up on me.”
I sighed. His words reminded me of ones I used after spazzing out on Tony when I was younger. The only difference was instead of fearing being perceived as weak, I was afraid of not being good enough. Of being discarded and traded for someone new - someone better. I pushed his buttons on purpose to prove to myself that he was going to leave. That he was nobetter than my father. Yet, every time I did, he gripped my ass up and reminded me he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Don’t worry, kid,” I told Jayden, reciting the same words Tony used to tell me. “You’re stuck with me - whether you like it or not.” Somehow the words felt stronger knowing there was blood shared between us.
