Chapter 20
"I don't understand why I have to come with you when I got suspended? Can't I stay with Cherry or Sammy?" Leon huffs as he and Axel approach the school gates.
"I told you, Cherry just got out of hospital, Sammy is taking care of her and Uncle Adam has a lot on his plate right now."
"Why can't I stay at home then? Blaze and Charlie are still there. If she gets sick again I can make sure she stays awake." Leon answers.
Axel pauses, taken back by his response. "What did you just say?" Leon's last sentence sends shivers down his spine.
The young boy innocently replies back. "When Blaze is sick, we have to keep her awake otherwise she could die".
"Who told you that?!" Axel crouches down with his hands around Leon's shoulders, questioning him with panic and worry on his face.
"Nobody told me. I saw it when I was dreaming. That's how mom became an angel because she fell asleep and never woke up".
Axel can't help but stare at his son in disbelief for a moment, as if he has just seen a ghost. He quickly pulls himself together as he puts his arms around Leon to give him a hug.
"Dad, are you ok?" He asks, feeling puzzled at seeing his father worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine kiddo. Listen, do you remember that time we talked about angels a couple of years back?"
"Yes, you told me my mom was an angel".
"Yeah. Well sometimes dads make mistakes because we're only human and sometimes angels are really the humans around us that make us happy and look out for us" he tries to explain.
"What, like Uncle Adam? Cherry is usually mad at her dad because he embarrasses her all the time but he always looks out for us."
"Yeah, something like that," Axel smiles.
"Mr Stone? Please follow me this way to Principal Ryder's office". Mrs Lewis, who they spoke to yesterday guides them through into the building.
"Sorry but Leon won't be able to go in there with you, the meeting is for parents only" she insists once they're inside.
"Do you think he could come back to the class for half an hour or so?" Axel queries.
"As much as I would love to bring him back in, I have to follow the rules. Perhaps he could wait in the library and catch up with some work?" She suggests.
"But can't I…" before Leon can finish his sentence Axel answers "yeah, that would be great!"
"Right then, I will take him over there now and a member of staff will bring Leon back outside once your meeting is done. I'm afraid you won't be able to pick him up yourself from the library" she replies.
"It's ok, you don't need to explain. I used to be a cop".
"Good luck then" she smiles before he enters the office.
"Mr Stone, thank you for attending this meeting at short notice" the principal shakes his hand. Axel then takes a seat at the large board-room-like table, noticing two married couples and another dad sitting around it, each giving him a cold stare. They are all dressed in smart business attire with the men in suits and ties whilst he is the odd one out, casually wearing jeans, sneakers, blue hooded jumper and a beanie hat which he quickly removes.
"As you understand, we are here because of the serious incident that occured yesterday." The principal starts.
One parent angrily interrupts her. "Our son had to have several stitches at the side of his head after he was thrown over a trash can! Tell me Mrs Ryder, is that something you witness here regularly?"
"I paid out almost 400 dollars yesterday for Bobby in hospital bills! This is no normal scuffle and surely this kid needs to be permanently excluded!" One of the mother's who is pissed off also has her say.
"Look, I'm sorry things turned out the way they did yesterday. I've had words with my son who feels really bad about the situation and I've agreed with the principal here to pay for any hospital bills. This won't happen again" Axel promises.
"Thank you, I think that once the boys have apologised to one another we can settle this matter" the principal replies.
"I'm not surprised to be honest that this happened in the first place. After all, this man here is a convicted criminal! No wonder his son is a danger to others. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the police and press charges" One of the other dads calls out, losing his temper.
"You wanna call the police for a fight involving an 8 year old? Good luck with that man! I might have served time but my old colleagues at the precinct will have a good laugh over this!" Axel casually answers, keeping his cool.
"My son came home with bruises all over his body!" The father sitting alone on the other side of the table speaks out for the first time. Although he is dressed in a suit that is slightly bigger than his fit, this parent however stands out from the others. His stubble and balding greasy hair give him a rough edge with a large scar running down the side of his cheek. If anybody here fits the stereotypical criminal thug, it's definitely him and not Axel.
"That's bullshit man! Leon punched your son in the face once when he was defending himself!" He begins to lose his patience.
"Well maybe you should teach your son some discipline at home then!" The man argues whilst clenching his fists.
"Maybe your's should learn not to try and bully kids younger than him! You set a great example yourself- all the signs of a crackhead!" Axel argues back.
The man then turns his gaze towards the others in the room. "I don't know what ya'll here think but his kid needs to have a permanent exclusion from this school. Daddy here is just as violent, probably that's why the mother left."
"What did you say?!" Axel angrily snaps, slamming his fists into the table as he rises to his feet.
The other parent also quickly stands up, ready to fight.
"Bruce! Axel!... Please! If the two of you don't sit down right now I will have you both escorted off these premises!" Principal Ryder demands, trying to maintain authority even though she is having to deal with parents right now instead of children.
The pair hatefully stare at each other for a moment before returning to their seats.
"Now I think everyone here has had their say. If you don't mind, I'd like to make a couple of suggestions myself before these hospital bills are settled and the situation is closed" she continues.
Leon sits in the school library staring out of a window facing the sports field with his chin resting on his hand. After 20 minutes, he has already finished catching up on the small mundane task set by his teacher. All he wants to do right now is go home to train or play more poker with Blaze and hang out with Charlie. Being in school even on suspension has never felt duller for him.
Out of nowhere, he hears a knock on the window behind him catching him off guard. Leon cautiously glances around the library appearing to be near-empty with one member of staff paying no attention to him so he decides to get up and investigate.
"Kid, it's me!" He hears a familiar voice outside.
"Uncle Max?! What are you doing here?!" Leon answers, pleasantly surprised.
"Come outside and I'll tell ya!" Max encourages him.
"Ok." With minimal effort, he climbs out of the window above.
"Thunder!" The boy excitedly runs towards Max to give him a fist pump. "I ain't seen you since dad's birthday party! I missed you" he smiles up at the familiar face, this time giving him a hug.
"I missed you too Leon" Max guiltily smiles back. "Shouldn't you be in class right now?"
"Well, I got suspended for fighting. Now dad is in the principal's office talking to the other parents, I think I'm in trouble but it doesn't matter" Leon explains.
"I actually stopped by to speak to him, figured he'd be picking you up from school soon but I guess he's busy so I can find him later. What's that drawing you got there?" Max tries to make conversation.
"Oh this is my new best friend Charlie! He's a Springer Spaniel and he's really smart".
"Your dad got you a dog?" Max raises his eyebrows.
"No, one of his old work colleagues came to stay with us yesterday. She's so awesome! I made this for her because she got sick."
Suddenly Max realizes Leon is talking about Blaze when he remembers bumping into her a few days ago with her dog.
"I'd better go back inside before I get into trouble" he says to Max.
"Before you go back, there's something I need to tell you. But you have to promise me you won't say anything to your dad. It's very important" Max kneels down and faces him.
"But dad and I never keep secrets from each other" Leon frowns.
"Did your dad ever tell you about your mother then? What really happened to her? Because he's keeping that a secret from you". Max explains.
"But mom went to heaven".
"No she didn't" Max shakes his head then looks directly into his eyes. "Leon, your mom is alive. Would you like to meet her? I can tell you all about her if you like?"
The boy's pulse immediately races as he stares back at Max with a mixture of shock and hope on his face.
"How…? Are you sure?" He asks, feeling puzzled.
"Your dad has kept the truth from you for a long time but I've found her! If you really want to see your mother and know more about her, come with me and I'll take you to her myself."
"Ok..." Leon nervously nods, trusting him. "But I can't come right now at this moment, it's gotta be later!"
"Why?" Max frowns.
"All the drawings I made, I want to give them to her but I gotta go home first to get them….. Please?" He begs.
Max sighs, "Ok. But your dad can't know about any of this. You'll get grounded for sure and you won't be able to see your mom if you say anything to him."
"I won't, I promise".
"Ok, I'm trusting you kid, don't let me down. After dinner tell your dad you're going to bed early around 9. I'll send up a rope to your room so that you can climb down and meet me outside the house. We'll be back by morning so he won't notice a thing."
"Ok, that's fine!" Leon agrees.
"And this conversation we had? I was never here ok? If your dad suspects anything this wont work and you won't be able to meet your mom".
"I swear I won't say anything!" Leon nods.
"Good." Max scuffles his hair. "I'll see you later kid!" He forces a smile as Leon climbs back through the window.
"Uncle Max?... "
"Yes?"
"Thanks..." He excitedly smiles back before Max makes his exit away from the school grounds.
Once the wrestler has left and has turned a corner, he reaches for his cell phone.
"So? Is the boy with you then?" Ms Y probes on the other end of the line.
"He will be tonight. I have a plan that will work without any confrontation with Axel. He won't realize a thing, just trust me on this," Max answers.
"Good. In the meantime Diva is waiting for you outside the arcade. She has more of those pills you're craving for".
"I'll see you tonight at Y Tower" Max replies before hanging up. A passer by is startled when he notices the wrestler standing fierce with red in his eyes. All of Max's judgement is currently clouded with hate and addiction. The sound therapy he has daily to relax as well as the drugs have only made matters worse over the past couple of days. All he can think about right now is getting Axel in that ring. He is constantly fixated on winning and getting hold of those pills he can no longer live without. Max's intentions are not to harm Leon but they are to make his father suffer. Axel is no longer his friend, he is exactly what he started out to be, an opponent and his enemy.
"I would suggest that each of you leave this place in a staggered manner before there is any more conflict today" Principle Ryder sighs.
"I couldn't agree more," Axel nods, standing to his feet. He is the first volunteer to walk out of her office.
"If you could please wait outside of the building by the gates, I'll bring Leon out in a couple of minutes" Mrs Lewis then escorts Axel outside.
The fresh Winter air couldn't have come sooner as Axel paces back and forth, annoyed and feeling a sense of injustice against him during the meeting. No wonder they're children turned out like that.. He thinks to himself, even contemplating on the idea of moving Leon to another school after today. The worst thought of all is feeling like he's failing his son especially with everything that went down this morning with Blaze. Yesterday was one of the happiest days for them in a long time. It just goes to show how quickly everything can change and today is just one when nothing is going right. When low moments like this come, they hit Axel hard.
Just as he feels he's reaching rock bottom, to his complete surprise he glances up towards the gates noticing Blaze standing there giving him an anxious smile.
"Hey," she awkwardly says, understanding that the meeting probably didn't go too well from the look on his face.
"Hey," his mood immediately changes. Just seeing her there is enough for him to forget all of the things that ever went wrong today.
"I er… didn't wanna wait for you and Leon to come home. Before I opened that box I was so scared. I'd accepted the fact that my baby had never made it out of that hospital. So to find out that he's alive almost 9 years on, I just….didn't know how to handle it. I still don't know! Plus realizing that the person I fell in love with still exists but I had no memory of us… I can't explain it. All the feelings I had for you I think are still there, I just wish I could remember the past" Blaze explains.
"I understand. And if all of this is too much for you, we'll still be here when you're ready. I shouldn't have given you an ultimatum like that" he replies, feeling guilty about pressuring her for a decision earlier.
"I get it. You were just trying to protect Leon. You don't wanna let him down and I don't want to either. When I opened that box, so many amazing memories came back to me. It's so weird. I feel like nothing has changed in terms of my feelings, they are still the same but my whole life has turned upside down. I've realized that I wanna try to make this work and gain the rest of my memory back. I've missed out on almost 9 years of Leon's life and yours too. So if it's ok with you, I don't think I wanna miss out on another day. That's the decision I've come to". Blaze nods, sure of herself.
"If it's ok with me? It's so much more than ok! Hearing you say that makes me so happy! You and Leon mean the world to me. I promise you I'm never going to let you down and we're gonna make this work". He gives her a warm smile as they put their arms around each other, tightly holding one another and not letting go.
"I can't explain how much I've missed this," Axel says with his arms around her waist, burying his head down towards her neck.
"I can't tell you how good this feels" Blaze smiles, looking towards the sky with her arms wrapped around his neck and her chin gently resting on his shoulder. All those familiar feelings and memories including their first hug together slowly start to come back to her as they stand there embracing each other in the moment.
Out of the blue, Axel suddenly hears Charlie next to them growling.
"What's wrong?" He slowly releases his arms around Blaze then turns around with a look of concern on his face.
"Isn't this sweet? One big happy family reunited!" His new enemy has taken his turn to leave the principal's office.
"Bruce?! What the hell…" Blaze reacts surprised.
"You know this guy?" Axel asks.
"This waste of space is always trying to sell drugs in the next block to the kids. And he keeps innocent animals to make money out of them fighting. He even tried to steal Charlie from me once!" Blaze replies annoyed.
"You tell that kid of yours to watch his back!" Bruce smirks at Axel.
"You think you can get away with threatening my boy like that?" He immediately steps forward ready to fight.
Bruce shakes his head, tutting at the fighter with amusement. "It's only been a couple of months since your sentence finished. Everyone in this area knows who you are. Lay a finger on me and you'll find yourself back inside before you can even blink!"
Axel can't help but stare at him with hate as his cheeks redden whilst he clenches his fists trying his best not to lose his cool.
"Don't bother, I got this" Blaze puts her hand on his arm to try and calm him down.
"What are you gonna do sweetheart? Give me a hug too?" Bruce cheekily grins at her before she walks forward.
To his surprise, she punches him hard in the stomach then drags him by the collar, forcing him over to a quiet corner of the playground out of sight from the surveillance.
"Wait, please!" Bruce holds his hands up. After a quiet moment, he attempts to stab her when he sneakily pulls out a knife from his pocket.
Blaze reacts quickly, ducking to one side before kicking him across the face. Bruce immediately falls to the ground with his nose covered in blood then she repeatedly kicks him again and again to the stomach.
"Don't you EVER threaten my family again!" Blaze aggressively shouts in his ear.
"I'm sorry… I'll tell my boy to stay away from Leon from now on!" he pleads with his hands in the air.
"You'd better pray he does cos I wont hold back next time!" Blaze promises as Bruce painfully rises to his feet, stumbling out into the street.
"Looks like you came to my rescue on the right day" Axel teases, grinning at her.
"That asshole had it coming to him! Contact Adam and I'll text you Bruce's address. I reckon if they raid the block he's in, the police will find enough to put him away for a long time".
"And this is why you're still one of the best fighters I know," he replies.
"Really? Why's that then?" Blaze smirks.
"Cos you don't take shit from anybody" he replies, leaning forward to kiss her.
"Dad?!... What's going on?" To their surprise, Leon looks up at them in shock with his teacher standing next to him.
The pair quickly pull away from each other embarrassed.
"Mr Stone, your son can attend school again from tomorrow. I've left the class notes from today in this folder so that he can catch up by then", the teacher awkwardly explains.
"Thank you Mrs Lewis" Axel quickly takes the folder whilst clearing his throat.
"Hey Leon! Charlie seems so excited to see you and thanks to you and your dad, I'm feeling much better now!" Blaze smiles, seeing him happily greet and pet the dog wagging his tail.
"That's good," Leon answers, avoiding her eye contact.
"So what do you want for dinner later? I was thinking about your favourite - cheeseburgers!" Axel enthusiastically says to Leon as they walk back.
"I don't mind," he shyly answers.
"I'd better head back home and grab some stuff. I also gotta teach a class later this afternoon but Charlie and I can make it back here around 7?" Blaze suggests.
"Well Leon has training this afternoon in the city. Once a week we go to Chinatown so we could travel down there and back together if you want?"
"Sounds good!" Blaze smiles.
"I don't wanna train today" Leon sulks.
"But you don't have a good enough reason not to! Sensei is expecting you in 2 hours, you can't just fail to show up without a good enough reason" Axel replies.
"Fine!" Leon huffs in a mood.
The rest of the afternoon goes according to plan with Leon trying his best to act as normal as possible when really deep down he is feeling a sense of betrayal from his father. He watches the clock, counting down the hours until he gets to leave home tonight with Max.