This Road Is Ours
Summary: Alfred had a whole, bright future ahead of him. He's currently in college with a full scholarship for being the star athlete and being a constant dean's lister. He doesn't have to worry about applying for a job when he graduates, because companies will be fighting over him. He has the perfect life, and everyone wants to be him. But when he meets a man who is ten years older than him with a broken family and broken dreams, Alfred thinks that he could give everything up for him.
Chapter One
"Cheers!"
The room was full of laughter. Everyone was congratulating Alfred and giving him hugs or pats on the shoulder. He had just got home from campus a few days after the semester ended. His mom stood proudly beside him.
"I think I might just be the luckiest mom in the world," Mrs. Jones said, her arm wrapped around her son's waist, "with a sweet, loving, wonderful son like Alfred, I couldn't ask for more. And then he goes off to college with a scholarship, becomes the MVP and to top it all, being in the dean's list every semester. My baby boy truly is a blessing from God!" She then planted a juicy kiss to his cheek, leaving a lipstick mark.
Everyone erupted in laughter.
"Aww, Mom, I'm not a baby anymore!" Alfred said, a bit embarrassed, "But you know I love you so much, and my every achievement is your achievement too, because you're the one who brought me up with love and care. I won't ever let you down." It was then his turn to plant a kiss on Mrs. Jones' forehead. The room echoed with d'awwww.
The rest of the night continued with laughter and eating and drinking.
When it was about nine-thirty in the evening, there was an urgent knock on the door. Only Alfred was the one who heard it. When he opened the door, a little boy immediately pushed past him to get inside.
Alfred was confused. "Hey kid, show a little respect, huh?"
"Don't tell anyone I'm here!" The kid whispered angrily.
"What? Who are you? You should go home to your parents. It's already late." Alfred grabbed the boy's arm.
"I don't want to!" The boy shook himself from Alfred's grip and ran upstairs.
Mrs. Jones heard the commotion and appeared from the kitchen. "Alfred? Who was that?"
"I don't know," Alfred answered truthfully, "Some angry little kid."
"Oh, dear," she said and went upstairs to check in on the boy.
It took a lot to get the boy to talk. Mrs. Jones' delicious fried chicken played a huge role in it.
"What's your name, dear?" Mrs. Jones asked sweetly. They were in Alfred's bedroom. The boy was sitting in his bed, Mrs. Jones beside him, and Alfred standing by the door. Their guests have already gone home, the party over.
"Peter," the boy said as he munched on the chicken.
"Okay, Peter. What is the problem? Why don't you want to go home?" asked Mrs. Jones.
"I hate my dad," the boy said.
"Honey, that's not good," Mrs. Jones said. "I'm sure your Daddy loves you very much."
"No, he doesn't!" yelled Peter. "You don't know anything!"
This startled both Mrs. Jones and Alfred. Before they could respond though, there was another knock on the front door.
"Oh no, that's my Dad! Don't get it! Don't tell him I'm here!" Peter hid under the covers.
Mrs. Jones looked at Alfred and mouthed, "Go get it".
When Alfred opened the door, it revealed a man who looked almost exactly the same as the boy upstairs, but instead of Peter's blue, this man's eyes were green. Those green eyes looked very sad and tired as he spoke.
"Good evening. I'm sorry for the disturbance but have you seen this boy?" He showed a picture of Peter in his wallet. "He is my son and he ran away from our house."
Alfred looked at the man for a moment. Earlier they had been celebrating about Alfred's achievements in college and everyone was all smiles and laughter. Now there stood in front of him a man whose sadness is painted across his face.
He forced himself to speak. "Yes! Hello, his name is Peter, right? Come in," Alfred invited the man inside who now showed relief.
"Ah, thank God! Thank you so much! I've searched everywhere for him and if he wasn't here I would've called the police." The man wiped off his sweaty forehead, but Alfred wondered if he was just covering his watery eyes.
"No worries," Alfred gave him a small smile. "My mom is upstairs with him, trying to soothe him down. He looks like he doesn't want to go home, though."
The man let out a sigh. "Yes, I haven't been the best father to my son."
Alfred couldn't stand the negative aura so he asked, "What's your name, mister…?"
The man replied, "Arthur. Arthur Kirkland."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kirkland! I'm Alfred Jones!" Alfred said with a huge smile as he offered his hand.
"Likewise", said Mr. Kirkland. "You have a lovely home."
"Thanks," Alfred said cheerfully, "My mom takes good care of our home."
Mr. Kirkland gave a smile that looked like a half-wince.
"Do you want some coffee? Or, uh, tea?"
"Tea would be lovely, thank you."
"I'll take care of the tea, Alfred," Mrs. Jones' voice came downstairs with a reluctant Peter trailing behind her. "Just stay here and entertain Peter and his dad. Hello, Mr. Kirkland," she greeted before heading to the kitchen.
Peter stood there awkwardly, refusing to look at his dad.
Mr. Kirkland tried to get Peter to come to him. "Peter, darling, come here, please", he held out his hands.
Peter did not move.
It pained Alfred to watch a father and son like this. He always had a good relationship with his parents. Especially with his father, when he was still living. He missed his dad so much; he would do anything to see him again. He couldn't imagine Mr. Kirkland being a bad father. Alfred was sure that whatever it is was just a misunderstanding.
Alfred stood up and tried to guide Peter into sitting on the couch. "Come sit down, Peter. Your legs will get tired if you just keep on standing there." Thankfully, the boy let him.
"Peter, I'm very sorry. Please forgive Daddy."
Alfred put his hand on Peter's shoulder. He didn't even know what Mr. Kirkland was being sorry about but he wanted to help him. "Did you hear that? Your Daddy says he's sorry. What do you do when someone says sorry? You forgive them, right? I'm sure he means it."
Before Peter could respond, Mrs. Jones arrived back holding a tray with a cup of tea and a plate of cookies. "Here's your tea, Mr. Kirkland. I hope it'll help you relax. And I have some cookies for Peter too!"
Mr. Kirkland took the cup of tea with gratitude. While he sipped it, and Peter bit through the cookies, and Mrs. Jones talked, Alfred just observed the man.
He looks about thirty, Alfred guessed. He was thin, and he had dark circles under his eyes and a gaunt face. He must be going through a lot right now, because stress was taking over him. It was like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He also looked like he was a smoker and a drinker, because of the color of his teeth. Alfred thought that Arthur Kirkland used to be a very handsome man. It was a shame. Still, Alfred was intrigued, and wanted to know more about him.
Mrs. Jones babbled on for an hour until Peter finally fell asleep on the couch. She talked about how Alfred's father died heroically in the war in the Middle East and how she struggled to bring Alfred up all by herself. Of course, she also boasted of Alfred's achievements in college, to which Mr. Kirkland expressed his congratulations. When they asked Mr. Kirkland about himself and his family, he only said that he was divorced and that was it.
When it was almost midnight, Mr. Kirkland picked up the sleeping Peter and thanked Mrs. Jones and Alfred for all their help, and started to carry his son outside. However, Alfred stopped him and offered to drive them home. "Are you sure you can carry him all the way from here? You look very tired and about to pass out too," he had said.
Mr. Kirkland tried to refuse politely, saying that he has imposed too much already, but Alfred was insistent. The drive was a very quiet one, Mr. Kirkland just stared ahead and only spoke when giving directions. Alfred just watched him and wondered what was going on in Mr. Kirkland's mind. He didn't even notice Alfred staring at him.
Alfred wondered, is this is also what's gonna happen to me when I'm thirty?
He wanted to help Mr. Kirkland, but how?
He hoped that Peter would forgive his father when he wakes up and that everything would be okay between them.
A/N: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for posting a new story when I should be updating WMWFA and OBBBL. Well, I had to write this story down when it came up to me so... not really sorry HAHAHA! Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who has been reviewing my fics, especially my recent update of OBBBL! It makes me smile that there are still people who wait on my updates even though I update agonizingly slow. Favs and follows make me smile too!
WMWFA will be up next, I promise!
Also, did anyone notice that I like writing angsty, sad stories? No one? Okay. There will always be a redeeming factor in the end, to make up for it! Let's see how this one goes.