Hey all! Happy Monday! I'm sorry for the month wait for this chapter. I'm not certain what the wait time is going to be for the next chapter. Please don't hesitate to PM me with any questions you may have regarding this story or any other story that I have ongoing that may seem like I have abandoned along the way.
Enjoy!
"Hey Jack," Lynn said, gaining her brother's attention. She's not sure where he had gone to in his head, but she let him go there while she thought a few things over. She doesn't know how he feels, because she hasn't had to deal with what he's going through, as she's still in high school. Her future is very much still up in the air on what she wants to do after high school. She thought when she was little that she would follow in her mom's footsteps and be a doctor, as she got older the drive to be a doctor wasn't there. Sports, they're not her thing either. She does love being around a large group of people and animals.
"Hmm," Jack hummed, shaking his thoughts from his mind, from where he went down the rabbit hole. He wants his dad to understand that he's doing this because he feels it is the best thing for him. He has thought about what has been right for him, for a while now. He's going to head back to his crappy little apartment in Sanford and start this next part of his life without having to lie about his grades. Coming home to tell his parents was the right thing to do, no matter how ticked off his dad is at him.
"I know that whatever you do next you're going to be okay," she assured her brother. "You're going to land on your feet, we always do," she nodded, giving her brother a small smile. "Dad will see with time that this was the right thing for you to do." Growing up with fights or no fights, Jack has always had her back and she's not about to abandon him. Jack has been her best friend and even if he won't admit it.
"Thanks, for that Lynn," Jack smiled. "I hope so," he sighed, dragging his hands down his face.
"Dad isn't one to stay mad at us for long," Lynn smiled, bouncing out of the room letting her brother have some time to himself.
Jack shook his head, not quite sure if he wants to believe what his sister is saying. Nothing they have done growing up was as bad as making it look like they were tossing their futures away. He's had a front-row seat to seeing how things between his Dad and Uncle Jesse have gone over the years. They may have made amends, but he can still see that there are some hostel feelings between the brothers.
Jack got up heading to the kitchen to get a drink of water, thinking of ways that he can make his dad see that he still has a good head on his shoulders. That he knows what he is doing. That he's not putting his future at risk over a sudden, stupid mistake. He knows that he can't leave before he clears things up with his dad. He wouldn't feel right leaving and still being on the outs with his dad. Proving to his dad that he knows what he is doing can't be done within a few hours.
"I didn't drop out to throw things in your face," Jack said, joining his dad in the backyard. He had seen his dad return, he did wonder where his mom had gone too. As much as he would have liked for his mom to smooth things over with his dad on his behalf, he couldn't allow that. He was the one who decided he wanted a different future than what he had once envisioned when growing up.
"I know you didn't," Wade commented, turning to look at his son. "I am proud of you and everything that you have accomplished in your life," he stated. "The last thing I want you to do is to throw your life away over a sudden urge or a thought," he sighed.
"I'm not throwing my life away, I know it seems like that since I don't have a definite answer on what my life is going to look like, but didn't your dreams change?" He asked his father.
"Constantly," Wade nodded. "But I hadn't worked my ass off to be accepted into a top-tier college, either," he pointed out. And he debated on what he wanted to do with his life; the second he decided on a course of action, it was his brother pulling that rug out from under him. His dream of what he wanted to do with his life changed for him.
Jack doesn't care that he spent more time studying than going to every party or hanging out with his friends every single day, or on the weekends. He still had a great childhood. And he's not the one complaining about the things he thinks he's missed out on because to him he missed out on very little. His time was spent on what he thought to be important at the time. He still had his friends, a few different girlfriends, and the love and support of his family. How could he think so little of his childhood, when it was everything to him?
"I wasn't happy," Jack sighed, toeing at the dirt beneath his feet. "The one thing I was taught in this house by both my parents is that if we're not happy, we find something else that makes us happy," he shared. "I want to do something that makes me happy, you can understand that can't you?" He asked, looking up at the sky that was turning a dark blue color. It wasn't going to be much longer and the sky will be stark black with stars coming out to light the night sky.
"We do," Wade sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "As your father, I don't want to sit here and watch your life implode because you weren't thinking straight. College is a stressful time," he stressed. He's heard it before from his friends and when they would complain about how hard their classes were, he was glad that he didn't have to go through all of that. A pang rang out deep within him because he wasn't given the choice, not when he had to stay in Bluebell to take care of his dad, Jesse having run the first chance he had.
"It's not imploding, I swear it," Jack stated, a real smile crossing his face for the first time tonight. "It's been in the works for some time now. I wanted to ask your input as much as mom's, but I knew that I would have been told to stick it out," he explained. "Everyone thinks college is the end-all-be-all, but it's not," he said shaking his head. "Look at you, dad," Jack said, turning to look at his father, seeing his dad's green eyes on him. "You didn't go to school and you own a bar/restaurant, you own your own house," he pointed out. "And you have a happy family, you made your life work without the need for a degree," Jack stated.
"I had to work hard for all of this, Jack," Wade sighed. "I didn't want you to suffer through life the way I had, that isn't a way to live. It's not just me that owns this house, I have your mom to thank for that as well," Wade stated, shaking his head. "Your mom is a huge part of having a happy family," Wade smiled.
"I don't have the answers you want," Jack sighed. "I don't think I will ever have those answers for you. What I know is that college wasn't working out for me. I want the chance to figure out what I want to do," he shared with his dad. They've all heard how their mom knew since she was 9 what she wanted to be growing up, but that's not him. He no longer gets excited about the thought of being an engineer.
"You're an adult so I can't stop you from doing what you want," Wade said, blowing out a huge breath. "It's your life and you have to learn what it is that makes your life meaningful, mistakes and all," he shared with Jack. He doesn't know if Jack is making a big mistake by dropping out of school. He can't say one way or the other because it's not his life. "Jack, you have a good head on your shoulders, and that's enough for me to know that you're going to be okay out there," he shared with his son.
"I know it's not what you envisioned for me," Jack started to say.
"What I envisioned for you is to be happy with whatever it is you choose to do," Wade said, interrupting his son. "And I haven't been doing that," he sighed shaking his head. Supporting his kids has been the one thing he has mastered over the years and here he is throwing that support right back into his son's face because he doesn't agree with what Jack is doing. "You have to figure out what it is you want," Wade nodded, taking a deep breath, admitting to what he is saying takes a lot of courage to tell your grown son. "College wasn't that, and heck, it might be later on. All I ever want for you and your sister is to be something more than just a bartender," he admitted.
"It's okay, I forgive you," Jack teased, knocking his shoulder into his dad's. "I don't know what the future holds for me, but I know that I am going to do everything I can to make sure I can look back on my life when I get old and be proud of the choices I made that took me through life," Jack shared with his dad. "Dad," Jack sighed, shaking his head. "You're more than a bartender, you worked your way up to owning the place, and I'd be more than happy to do the same because you showed me that I need to work hard for everything that I want in life, and that is what I'm doing," he shared with his dad.
"I have no doubt that you won't crush the rest of your life," Wade said, pulling his son in for a hug. He wants to make Jack go back to school, to get his degree then do as he wishes, but realistically, it's not the wise move to make and he has to suck up what he wants for his son and let Jack decide for himself what is best for him. Because they don't know what the future is going to hold for him or for Lynn. "I love you."
"Love you too, Dad," Jack says, returning the hug. Gone is the teen boy who thinks getting love and affection from his parents, is gross, instead, he's embracing it. He doesn't want to miss out on a hug with his mom or with his dad and the thought of not being able to have a hug from them again if anything happened to them, is a painful thought to have.
