Chapter 22: Runaway

I just came up with idea, so if you have any specific requests please tell me. I would love to write more for this story.

Jayden was feeling a little left out. His father payed attention and played with everyone else's kids, but he seemed to forget entirely about Jayden's existence. This was the third time this week James forgot to get Jayden up for breakfast, and for the past month, he sent the others to wake Jayden up. He didn't train or play with Jayden anymore. He didn't read him bedtime stories or anything else, which he wanted. Jayden decided he was going to talk to his father about this. He didn't want to overreact when it was really nothing... again. He just wanted his father's attention, that's all.

"James!" Shane shouted from the kitchen.

"What?" James called back from the couch. He was currently reading a book, and he didn't really want to put it down. He was so lost in the book he didn't notice Jayden standing in the hallway.

"Mike wants to go to the park with Jayden. What to come?" Shane asked.

"No," James said quickly. He was relieved. It was just Jayden. He didn't have to spend a whole lot of time on him. James just wanted to relax and read his book.

When Shane interrupted his peaceful reading again, he grew annoyed. "Really?" Shane asked, "I thought you would want to come hang out with Jayden. You haven't spent time with him in over a month. You must miss him."

James still didn't realize that Jayden was in the hallway, so he quite coldly said, "Why would I miss that brat? I have seen him every day since he was born. I wouldn't mind a couple of weeks without him." Jayden's heart shattered, and his stomach felt like waves were tossing around in it. He held back his tears. His father didn't want to see him for a couple of weeks. Okay, he could make that happen. So, the five-year-old boy snuck back into his room. When Shane came in to ask him if he wanted to go to the park, he hid. Shane left Jayden's room confused, but after looking for Jayden for an hour, he gave up and just took Mike to the park. Jayden stayed hidden until he was sure everyone had went to bed that night. He quickly packed his school backpack with clothes, his toothbrush, a spare tub of toothpaste, a picture of him and his dad, a picture of him and his friends, a picture of him and his father's team, and a blanket. He then grabbed a jacket and his favorite stuffed animal. It was a lion with a red bowtie around its neck. His father gave it to him for his second birthday. It was a little worn, but he didn't care. He loved and cherished it.

After he finished packing, the little boy snuck into the kitchen with his lunchbox. He filled the lunchbox with chips, cereal, crackers, juice boxes, and one small water bottle. He was now ready to leave, and he sadly snuck out into the courtyard. He quickly ducked behind a bush when he saw Shane sitting on a bench near the gate entrance. Ji came out about ten minutes after Jayden. Jayden was relieved when he realized that Ji had not noticed him packing or leaving.

"What's wrong?" Ji asked.

"I'm worried about James and Jayden," Shane finally said.

"Why?"

"James said he could go a few weeks without seeing Jayden, but Jayden is his whole world. And I haven't seen Jayden all day. I swear he was in his room, but when I went in there to ask him if he wanted to come with me and Mike, he wasn't there. I couldn't find him anywhere in the house or in the courtyard. I'm worried that he overheard James." Ji stayed silent for a while. "I don't know what to do. Why would James say something so cruel? And ddi Jayden hear him? I wish I knew what they were thinking."

"I know you do, Shane. I will talk with James tomorrow morning. It may have to do with the Nighlock you were fighting. I will try to determine if that is so. Please don't worry too much. There is nothing we can do until morning, so it would be better for you to sleep." The two of them entered the house, and Jayden waited until he saw the lights turn off and the house fell silent before he dared to move again. He ran quickly and quietly to the gate. He opened it just enough to slip through. When it shut, he was locked out. There was no turning back now. He hiked down the hill to the nearby town. He didn't know where to go, so he wandered around for a little while. He grew cold and tired. He was exhausted when he saw a little park. Jayden climbed into one of the tubes at the park, and he curled up. He used his backpack as a pillow, and he fell asleep underneath his small blanket.

LINE BREAK...

Ji was fairly certain that the Nighlock had cast some indifference spell on James, because he just shrugged when he heard that his son was missing. Not only was it discovered that Jayden was missing, but it was obvious he had packed. James didn't care in the least that his son had ran away. It was only speculative why he ran away, but both Ji and Shane were certain he had overheard James's words from the previous day. The Gap Sensor had gone off before they had found Jayden, putting everyone, with the exception of James, on edge. The entire team was off their game, but they managed to defeat the monster. After the Megazord battle, James passed out, and Shane carried James back to the Shiba House with the help of Joseph.

When James woke up, he had a killer headache and a lot of confusion. He groaned, and Joseph jumped up. "Are you okay?"

"My head hurts," said James, "Where's Jayden? What happened? I can't remember anything for like a month. Did we defeat the Nighlock?"

"We did defeat the Nighlock, but James..." Joseph hesitated before sighing. James had the right to know, and he would find out sooner or later. "Jayden ran away last night."

"Ran away?" James sat up quickly, and all thoughts of his headache flew from his head. His son was outside of the Shiba House somewhere.

"Yeah, the others are looking for him as we speak, but so far, we have nothing."

"I want to help."

Jame's determined look made Joseph sigh. He wasn't going to win this one. "Alright, but you have to take this medicine first." James took the medicine without complaint, even though it was disgusting. Then the two of them were joining the search for Jayden. James thought that maybe Jayden had gone to Tommy and Jason, so he quickly went to their new pizza place.

"Hey, James! How's Jayden?" Jason asked as James entered the restaurant/ martial arts studio.

"I was hoping you could tell me that," James said with a sigh, "Jayden ran away last night."

"We'll help you look for him," Jason said immediately.

"No, you guys have this place to look after," James argued.

"We were closing early today anyways," said Jason, "Let me go get Tommy, and then we'll start looking."

LINE BREAK ...

Jayden woke up to the sun in his eyes, and he shifted wondering why he was so uncomfortable. Then he remembered what happened last night. He ran away. Jayden wondered if they were looking for him yet, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that. His father he knew wasn't, but the others might be. Or they might be happy he was gone like his father. He wasn't sure anymore. He quickly changed clothes, and he realized he had nowhere to brush his teeth at this park. Jayden walked to a nearby store, and he brushed his teeth in the bathroom. When he was done, he noticed someone was watching him. He turned around and stared at him. The man was wearing jeans with a blue long-sleeve button up shirt and black glasses.

"Hello. May I help you?" Jayden asked politely.

"I was wondering why you were carrying a backpack full of clothes and brushing your teeth in a store bathroom," the man said.

"I ran away from home," Jayden answered. His father told him to never lie, so he told the man the truth. Oddly enough, he felt safe with this man, even though he was a complete stranger.

"Why?"

"My father got tired of me."

The man fell silent, but then his cell phone rang. "Excuse me? I have to take this." Jayden washed his hands, while the man talked on the phone. "Hey, Toms, what's up?"

"Hey, Billy. Me and Jason are going to have to rain check with you," Tommy said a little panicked, "One of our new friends from here is looking for his son. He ran away last night."

"How old is the kid?" asked Billy, glancing over at the boy.

"Five. He's got brown hair, brown eyes, and usually wears red. His name is Jayden," Tommy said.

"I might have found him. Hold on," Billy said, and he walked over to the boy. He kneeled down in front of the kid, and he asked, "Are you Jayden?"

"Yeah," Jayden said, "How'd you know?"

"One of my friends called. He's looking for you. Do you want to talk to him?" Billy asked, and Jayden hesitated before nodding.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Jayden?" Tommy asked, "Oh thank god! Where are you?"

"I'm at Sam's grocery store," said Jayden.

"Okay. Stay there! Me, Jason, and your father are on our way there right now," Tommy said.

"My father doesn't want me." A silence fell over the phone. He heard some whispering before it fell silent again.

"Jayden?" a new voice asked.

"Daddy?"

"I love you, okay? I know I said that I could go without seeing you, but I can't. I didn't mean it, baby. The Nighlock hit me with something, and it changed my personality," James said.

"You promise?" Jayden whimpered out with tears in his eyes. He had wanted James to say that he loved him for a month now, and now that he was saying it, it felt too good to be true.

"I promise."

Hope y'all enjoyed it. Please review and request. See ya next time.