The weather is so shit atm, hailstones and wind. I've been cooped so I finished the story. :) Enjoy.
LovinHueyFreeman : You're little letter was touching loool & we all know that Tom isn't a fighter, even though he did try to act the part a few chapters ago. As for Rome, he just lucky his dad put the fear of god into Tom. & LOOL I agree Huey aint about that all that 'you hang up' 'no you hang up' BS some couples be on, they cool with it. The sandwich bit came to me cos my man tried this one time, I was all looking at him like he told a bad joke. It broke the tension though, so yeah s/o them snacks there. Well, Huey makes his decision here, so get to reading :P
Paige1292 : Tom aint really grasping what's going on, till its actually going on. I know it must suck to be him though, daughter don't respect you, neighbours too. Probably wife, lucky Sarah only got a small part and I aint have her cheating on his ass. He's lucky he didn't get beat the fuck up actually (ok now I'm getting ideas but the chapters written already damn, next time) Thanksss for reviewing as always :)
AkiraHassadah : Yeahhh there was no way Tom was going to get away with no one knowing what he did. Huey has a big decision to make, the blackmail is such a fun option. Thanks for your review.
Jazmine had been watching her dad over the last couple days and he seemed very anxious. More than usual actually, he was pretty jumpy too and a little dare she say it irritable. She'd never really seen him like this apart from his little episode a few weeks ago. She knew that it had everything to do with the conversation he had with Huey out on their driveway. Even her mom had picked up on her dads odd behaviour. He was spending a lot of time in his study and was constantly making phone calls. The doorbell went and she got up from her front room to go and answer it.
She saw Mr Freeman standing there with a smile on his face.
"Hey cutie, is your father here"
"Oh, he just went to the store" She informed him, Mr freeman accepted this easily.
"Oh well, just tell him I'd like to talk to him that's all, with everything that's been going on I haven't had a chance to speak with him properly"
"Didn't you guys speak the other day" Jazmine asked in disbelief, Mr freeman pulled a face indicating he didn't know what she was talking about.
"No" Mr Freeman replied, Jazmine was confused.
"Well I'll tell him you came round"
"Thanks lil baby" he said and walked back down towards his house.
Jazmine closed the door, why would her dad lie about talking to Mr Freeman. Then again he may just be mistaken, he was an old man after all. She shrugged it off and walked back towards the front room, she plopped her self back in her spot. She had been waiting for Cindy to get here for over an hour but she was sure her friend was too occupied with Caesar. Jazmine smiled, they were cute together she liked the fact they were dating. She didn't like the fact that Cindy had her waiting on her like a damn bus schedule though. Glancing at the clock, the door finally rattled open and she knew it was her father, she took the effort to look up as he entered the living room, probably assuming it was her mother in there. He didn't say anything; he was getting dark circles under his eyes. Seriously Jazmine thought to herself what was going on.
"Dad, Mr Freeman came round, he said he wanted to talk to you" Jazmine announced and didn't miss the suspicious and somewhat fearful look in her fathers visage as she delivered the news.
"How was he" Tom asked seriously.
"Um, ok I guess" Jazmine replied, not really understanding the nature of the question
"Jazmine can I ask you a question" Tom almost stuttered his words. Their relationship had been rocky to say the least.
"Um, ok" she replied cautiously
"It's about Huey" She sighed as her annoyance started to pend.
"Dad I – " then she begun to protest. She didn't want to talk or argue about Huey.
"It's not about you two, but it is about him. Do you think Huey's a good guy" That was an odd question to say the least and again she knew it had to with the conversation they had.
"What did you guys talk about" Jazmine asked, wondering if he would tell her. She was a little more interested now.
"Honey, is he a good guy" Tom didn't answer and that worried her as he dad sat on the sofa and looked at her seriously whilst awaiting an answer.
"He's um. Huey's just a guy dad"
"Just a guy" Tom said in a disappointed tone.
"Yeah, he might do good things, he might do bad things but I don't know he always makes sure he does his best to do the right thing in the end. That's all I can really say about it"
"That's what I thought" Tom said quietly
"Are you ok"
"I'm fine, just fine" Tom told her
"Jazmine I love you, I hope you know that" Jazmine then remembered something and she felt childish but she had to just say it
"But you think I'm Huey's bitch" Jazmine added, Tom gaped. Oh he forgot did he, she frowned
"I, I was angry when I said that" he excused.
"But you meant it" the comment still hurt, and she knew he meant it.
"I've just never had good experiences with guys like him" Tom grimaced at his child hood. Jazmine wondered if her Dad had forgotten all the good things Huey had done to help him in the past. She thought it was pretty selfish of him to dismiss that part of his character.
"But it's not you he's dating. Huey's good to me, he always has been" Jazmine told him. Tom sighed loudly at her subtle declaration.
"Honey loves a serious thing, you don't want to go giving it to someone who you can't even vouch for as a good guy" Tom explained.
"Dad"
"I'm your dad Jazmine, whether you like it or not. Whether he likes it or not these are the facts. I want you to be careful and I want you to know that everything that I have done I've done for you" Tom said, Jazmine paused for a moment. What did that even mean. She groaned
"Dad please tell me you're taking him to court again or hiring someone to kill him. This isn't a movie" Jazmine said, she missed Toms horrified expression at the mention of death.
"What did he tell you" he accused suddenly, she stared at her father in shock.
"Whoa, what" Jazmine eyes widened at the sharp tone that her father used.
"What did he tell you, whatever he said is a LIE" Tom started defending against god knows what. Jazmine groaned again why was he so dramatic, well at she knew she was his daughter in that respect too.
"Dad, what are you talking about" Tom looked at her with this unreadable expression on his face.
"Dad, what's wrong you're acting crazy and what would Huey lie to me about" she told him just in case he didn't know he was acting out of character. He chuckled nervously,
"Nothing , forget about it." he said making a quick exit
"But you just freaked out" Jazmine begun to protest, maybe her dad was loosing his mind. A breakdown maybe.
"Don't mind me I'm just tired" Tom excused himself and he could see she wasn't convinced by his excuse but didn't push him any further on the matter. Something he was grateful for.
"You're lying and one thing" Jazmine called out to her father who stopped.
"Huey would never lie to me"
Tom looked at the complete confidence his daughter held in that sentence. She really believed the boy wouldn't lie to her. And to be fair Tom knew he wouldn't lie to her either. He was afraid he had given himself away again but she didn't pry into what he was talking about. He sighed this was getting too much plus she said she knew he was lying, was he really that see through.
"Hey honey" Sarah said as she came downstairs, seeing him she gave him a small hug.
"I made some peach cobbler, so we're going to Freemans to see Robert and the boys"
"What for" he was skeptical
"Tom, I think it's time we put the past behind us don't you" Sarah asked, her blue eyes scanning his face.
"I'm tired" he moaned, he didn't want to go to the Freemans; he didn't want to see that smug revolutionary.
"Look it's time to mend bridges, so get your butt down here in half an hour" Sarah told him, Jazmine was also coming out of the living room. Tom complied reluctantly.
"Honey we're going to Freemans for dinner"
"Since when, aren't we the house of Capulet?" Jazmine asked casually as she passed her parents on the steps. (A/N Romeo and Juliet reference)
"Jaz," her mother said, Jazmine put her hands up as she stood at the top of the stairs.
"I'm just saying, anyway Cindy was supposed to be here. So I guess if I must get ready, I will" Jazmine pretended as if it was an inconvenience for her. Her mother shook her head at their daughter's flippancy.
"That girl is just something else sometimes" Sarah commented now looking back at her husband.
"I blame you" he simply said and walked up the stairs also.
"Sure, blame the white girl" Sarah called out as she walked downstairs to check on her cobbler.
Riley groaned as he saw the peachy mess inside the container and glared at Ms Dubois who smiled at him. She claimed to be getting better at making the peach cobbler but she was lying. She sucked at cooking.
"Ms Dubois what did I tell you about sinning" Riley asked her in a tight voice
"Boy hush, thank you Sarah" his grandfather sucked up to the white woman
"Riley you're so silly, I'm not sinning" Sarah said laughing at his serious expression.
"Yo cobbler is a damn sin. I aint eating it" Riley told her and turned his nose up and then spotted Jazmine
"And YOU" he said pointing at Jazmine
"What did I do?" Jazmine asked innocently.
"You let her bring that shit over here, JAZMINE we sposed to be homies why you tryna take a nigga out for" Riley asked her, Jazmine shook her head as she walked up to him.
"Riley you're so dumb" Jazmine replied sounding similar to her mom.
"No, Ed & Rummy be dumb, Mr BEAN is dumb"
"Kk Riles" Jazmine patted his shoulder as her mom blushed at the usual treatment she got for bringing this particular dish to the house.
"Well I like the cobbler" Tom announced he earned an appreciative smile from his wife and eye roll from Riley.
"Nigga you like dick sucking too, it don't even matter it all taste stank..Not that I know or nothing" Riley replied, Jazmine put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him forward and away from her parents.
"Riley quit, you don't have to eat it" Jazmine informed him.
"Granddad gon make me, you know that" he whined
"It's because you're making a fuss about it, that's why if you just kept quiet and politely declined then he wouldn't"
"How do you eat it, you gon throw it up after aint you" Riley accused.
"Riley" her voice was now warning and he muttered instead as they walked away from the adults.
The adults stood in the hallway, a little awkward. Robert looked to Tom who looked towards the wall.
"Ok guys, I think we should call a truce"
"Well, I want an apology"
"An apology" Tom asked in disbelief
"Hell yeah, nigga you lost your damn mind you gonna drag my boys though your bullshit"
"What Hueyyy started this"
"No, nigga you started it" Robert shot back,
"Ok, lets acknowledge that it was Toms short sighted decision that caused this in the long run but Huey also played a part too"
"Yeah a part that almost got my daughter killed" Tom said
"By your own nephew, shoot that's a family problem. yall gotta do more meetings and stuff bring back the unity" Robert added, Sarah frowned
"You guys are supposed to be the grown ups, looks put yo ur differences aside our kids date remember" Sarah reminded them
"Yeah about that" Tom started but both Sarah and Robert gave him a cold stare
"Nothing, fine fine fine. I'm sorry Robert" Tom said in a childish fashion. Robert grinned
"Thank you, let's eat…BOYS" He yelled.
"Wait what about me" Tom asked as he followed him into the dining room
"What about you" Robert asked, Sarah pulled Toms arm down into the chair. Riley and Jazmine reappeared.
Huey was reading up on some case notes, even though he had pretty much caught Tom red handed. He just wanted to know the extent of his stupidity. All Huey knew was that if for any reason he fucked over a family member, there was no way in hell he was being pulled on a string after the fact. Huey would never get men like Tom; they were too far from his grounded rational mind state. He was torn between pressing charges and ruining Tom's career or taking the high road.
His mind split to being the bigger person when he was 10 and the head butt and broken nose he received from his ex best friend Cairo.
Being the bigger man is overrated
"BOYS" he heard his grandfather yell. He scratched his head and rose slowly; he closed his laptop and started for downstairs. He could hear some arguing going on between his grandfather and Riley. He heard a laugh that he knew all too well, walking into the dining room he saw the Dubois.
"Hey Huey" Jazmine chirped happily, he sat down opposite her.
"Wassup" He replied normally. Riley laughed at his brother
"What" he asked,
"You nigga" Riley said, Huey's questioning eyebrow was in its rightful position. He shrugged, and noticed Tom was watching him.
"Tom" he acknowledged, he had a small smirk play on his lips
"Huey" Tom said, this was getting old though.
"How are you Huey, I just couldn't believe what happened when Tom told me it's just crazy you could get ambushed by some thugs like that and dropped off in a different state too. I just say it's a good thing someone texted you Robert god knows what would have happened"
"HUH" Riley and Granddad said in unison. Huey didn't even know what to do, was Tom really that stupid. Tom clearly paled, Huey figured at this rate he wasn't going to have to tell anyone, they'd just figure it out.
"Well isn't obvious" Tom tried in a convincing manner. Sarah was happily eating completely oblivious to the stares going on around the table. Huey resisted face palming at this turn of events.
"How yall know about the message" Riley questioned, there was a silence and then Jazmine cleared her throat.
"Oh Tom told me" Sarah said casually as she put a parsnip in her mouth.
"Robert you told me" Tom started, Sarah gave him a weird look.
"When?" His granddad looked confused as hell, he didn't protest and Huey was against Tom trying to fuck with his granddads already old mind.
"Anyway, are you OK Huey" Sarah asked honestly.
"I'm fine, thank you" Riley was glaring at Tom and he nudged Huey as they were all eating.
"Nigga he on this or something" Riley whispered into his ear as Jazmine watched them closely.
"I doubt it, its Tom after all" Huey said, he appreciated the effort from his brother but at the same time he realised something as he looked across at Jazmine. She was stabbing at her food, but for different reasons than him. He was stabbing at his because his granddad refused to cook his vegetarian meal separately. So he had to take all the meat out. She was stabbing at it because she was bothered. He observed the small talk going on between Sarah and his grandfather. Then Tom who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here and he didn't blame him. He could blow the top on his life right now if he wanted to. He looked back at Jazmine who too looked at him. She was asking him a question.
"So, do you remember anything Huey" Sarah continued to pry, Tom looked at him seriously. Even his grandfather looked at him for a response. He sighed.
"I need some water, excuse me" He said getting up from the table. Jazmine held a look of realization on her face and he ignored her stare and exited the room.
"There's...water here" Sarah noted as she pointed to the jug in the middle of the table. Everyone was silent and she shrugged.
Ok so maybe blowing the lid on Tom wasn't going to be as sweet as he thought. There was the potential collapse of his whole family structure breaking down, not just his professional life. Huey leant against the counter and thought about this again. What were the real benefits here, justice being served? Crooked representatives getting their just desserts, he remained rooted in telling the truth but he was wavering in one department.
He peeked back into the dining room and saw that conversation had resumed but now Jazmine and Tom were missing from the table. This intrigued him, so he made a detour and walked through and stopped short of living room.
"Did you have something to do with Huey getting hurt"
"No, Jazmine come on. I didn't tell you guys anything you didn't know already" he reasoned in his most rational voice, even though it was changing in a pitch slightly.
"Huey was surprised you knew he was out in Chicago you know" Jazmine continued with her interrogation.
"Jazmine stop it" Tom ordered
"I just want to know what the hell is going on because you've been watching Huey all evening" Jazmine voice crept a little higher.
"You really need to stop cursing young lady" Tom tried with authority, he kind of felt the eye roll Jazmine probably gave him and it amused him.
"I was wondering how he got his afro like that" Tom said lamely, Jazmine actually laughed but not with humor it was more of a mocking sound.
"Dad"
"Honey, there is nothing to worry about. I promise" Tom told her, there was a silence.
"Something doesn't feel right, and you've been on edge since you guys spoke" Jazmine told him,
"Oh, I'm not worried about Huey. It's just all the press this whole incident is receiving" Tom admitted, Huey rolled his eyes at this admittance. Screw ups that could have been avoided had he followed the law in the first place.
"The carelessness of the case and zero conviction rates" Jazmine stated as a fact. Huey smirked, she had a point.
"Well, we gave community service, the people are just hard to please" Tom mumbled,
"Ok Look Jazmine all of this really doesn't concern you. Shouldn't you just be happy you don't have talk to Huey through a glass window" Tom said as if it was a plus. Huey shook his head.
"Wow" Jazmine replied in disbelief of her fathers comment. Tom must have had foot in mouth disorder. This nigga couldn't say the right thing for the life of him.
"Honey, please don't worry", Tom said, and then he patted her on the shoulder and walked out of his living room. Startled to see him standing there, Tom visibly tensed up.
"I don't know what you're thinking Huey but don't ruin my life. Hasn't enough happened already. Don't you love Jazmine" He was speaking in a hushed whisper, Hueys eyebrow climbed.
"I'm fond of her" he replied monotonously, he saw no reason for him to make public declarations about Jazmine to anyone other than her. If he was being totally honest that is. Tom frowned clearly not liking his response, Huey just wasn't sure if he didn't like his response because it wouldn't benefit him trying to use Jazmine to appeal to better nature or because he wasn't exhibiting the same feeling she obviously has done for him. If Tom was smart he would note that Hueys actions had proved more than what he was saying. Tom wasn't smart though.
He side stepped so Tom could walk past him looking defeated and uneasy with his latest interaction with Huey. Then as Jazmine was finally coming out of the living room he grabbed her hand and pulled her back inside the room.
"What's wrong" he asked her,
"What are you hiding from me" she went straight for kill, whilst lacing her fingers with his.
"You first" Huey replied, she rolled her eyes at him
"You and my dad I saw your argument, what was that about and today he starts saying not to believe you. He's been acting really strange. And just then, when my mom asked you if you remembered anything, he looked like he was going to throw up" Jazmine detailed for him.
"Right" Huey replied in his normal monotonous tone.
"What that's supposed to mean", he shrugged because he wasn't sure what he wanted to do but he also knew that Jazmine was very used to this sort of behavior
"You're dads a good guy right" Huey said, he wasn't sure where hwas going with this. But she groaned in frustration and he was confused
"What" he said.
"He's already asked me this question today, about you. Ok Huey. I'm going to ask you a question and don't lie to me" she dismissed his own question and continued.
"Do you remember what happened to you"
"Not really" and that was the truth. He had some images and some sounds but nothing in full. So all he could do was to connect the dots and they were leading him to Tom.
"You remember something about my dad" she asked. Huey thought about something then.
"Oh so you niggas think you slick, trying to duck out before the poisonous cobbler was served up. Left a nigga by himself" Riley voice boomed through the living room. Huey never really would have thought he would be relieved to hear his brothers voice, but he came just in time. Jazmine was not impressed at all.
"Riley me and Huey are talking" her voice stayed even and she kept her eyes on Huey.
"Whatever nigga" Riley shrugged and didn't leave.
"Come on, lets brave this cobbler together" Huey said, looking between a disbelieving Jazmine and a resentful Riley.
The rest of dinner went smoothly, Ms Dubois was a little tipsy so she called it a night and left early. Jazmine obviously wanted to finish grilling him but she was forced to keep up conversation with his grandfather. This gave him a chance to make an exit. He was walking up the stairs and Riley was coming downstairs
"Riley, I need to ask you a question" Huey stopped before his brother,
"What ?" Riley was uninterested in whatever Huey had to say but he didn't really care.
"Blackmail or damage control" he asked his brother plainly.
"Blackmail nigga" Riley didn't even think about it and Huey should have known. Then as they were completely past each other.
"Mr Dubois did this didn't he" Riley then called back up the stairs,
"He's a puppet in this" He replied
"If you blackmail the nigga, you think he can get my boy out" Riley asked, Huey threw his head back in disbelief of his brother. There he was thinking they were having one of those rare moments where they were just brothers with each other. Riley smirked and he just turned away and went up to his room.
He felt pretty tired; it was as if these pain killers he was taking were just messing with his endurance. He felt a little stuck but Riley had a point, it was a little twisted but Huey could always get one over on Tom. He said he was against anyone pulling his strings, but he didn't mind doing the string pulling. It might come in handy one day. There were a lot of possible scenarios floating around in Hueys mind such as if he ruined his career, he might not be able to get work in the area. That would mean they would have to move, he wasn't feeling a long distance relationship either. Or Tom could go to jail, then he'd get raped. Jazmine might blame him; he really couldn't deal with another fall out with her.
Ultimately, Jazmine would be heartbroken if her dads lack in judgement and careless errors were brought to light. Did he really want to be the guy who broke down her family whilst kicking down her hero. He let out a large sigh, why Tom was such a, he searched for the words but couldn't find any that fitted.
"Huey" he turned around,
"We're leaving. I just came to say bye" her voice was quiet and she didn't smile at him. Huey went over and took her hand and pulled her into him gently.
"I'm alright, nothings going on between me and your dad. I was just pissed they let Rome off" her green eyes blinked several times
"That's what you guys were talking about" she sounded surprised, just as surprised as he felt not saying the real topic of conversation.
"Yeah, he killed someone and I got community service for a damn speech. That's fucked up" Huey told her, she looked relieved for a moment.
"But how did he know about what happened to you" Jazmine asked him innocently.
"I don't know, maybe my granddad did tell him. He's an old man, he probably forgot" her brow furrowed.
"Don't look at me like that" he told her after seeing her skeptical expression. She sighed deeply.
"Desperate people do crazy things" Jazmine stated
"They do" he concurred with her on that much.
"My dad was desperate" she told him as if she was trying to excuse him for something.
"I know" Huey responded, then Jazmine let out a half laugh as she got something from his two word responses.
"Ok" her voice was accepting and at that point he wasn't sure what she believed or what she had come to a conclusion on. She sighed and pecked his lips softly.
"Bye" she said, Huey nodded at her as she stepped out of his embrace and turned out of his room.
Huey rubbed the back of his neck and yawned. Ok he was done with those pills; they were killing him from the inside.
Tom was waiting for Jazmine at the bottom of the stairs, when she finally emerged she looked at him but he couldn't read her expression. He feared Huey had told her what had transpired and he was about to lose everything.
"Ready" if she knew anything she didn't let on that she did. Tom tried to analyse her before saying anything but couldn't read her so he just said yeah and they left. He looked at her now and again, as they walked in silence.
"Jazmine are you ok" he just couldn't resist asking, he had to know what she knew. Her usually bright green eyes seemed a bit dull.
"I'm fine Dad" she assured him firmly.
"Honey about earlier, I reall-" Tom started to explain not really knowing what he was going to say but he was cut off
"Dad it's ok. I get it" she said simply
"What" he was shocked.
"I said I get it" she replied as they approached their house. Tom was confused
"Mr Freemans pretty old, he can't be expected to remember everything" she continued. Tom let out a breath of relief and chuckled.
"You're right" he said as they entered the house. She was starting for the stairs
"Besides just because you do a bad thing doesn't mean you're a bad person right you might have been forced or threatened I refuse to believe good people do bad things out of stupidity" Jazmine added. Tom took back that breath eh let out and stared at her.
"Uhh, um." Tom was sweating now, as she opened her mouth to say something else her eyes flashed with mischief.
"Night" she said and walked up the stairs.
Tom was confused, what the hell just happened. What did that boy tell, he leant on the wall and slid down in despair. He strongly considered his resignation and moving state. A life filled with knowing smirks from Huey Freeman, knowing he could drop the ball at any moment didn't sound very promising.
Jazmine plopped down on her bed. What a weird evening. Huey may not of lied but he didn't tell her the truth. However Jazmine wasn't slow, she figured she play with her dad a bit. He was pretty funny when he was freaking out. She couldn't really hide her disappointment though, it was her father the fact that he would reduce himself to such things upset her. Huey could have died, but he didn't and she had no idea what her dad thought he would achieve, it was just stupid. She'd never expect such a thing from him, he really messed up he was lucky he hadn't been caught. She lay back on her pillows. Well she figured Huey would be using this whole incident as leverage for her hand in marriage one day with her dad.
"You better be Huey Freeman" Jazmine voiced out loud, not really understanding why he wouldn't say anything.
Or maybe he would, she was a little confused. Her mom was none the wiser and Mr Freeman. There was just one too many pot holes in the whole thing. Something still didn't feel right about it, it was too malicious for her father and she doubted he dreamt it up by himself or even thought of it. Her dad wasn't really the boss type if she was honest. Maybe she'd call him on it one day, maybe her dad would crack and turn himself in. All she knew was that she was tired of the whole thing and personally didn't need to hear her dad protesting his innocence when all the signs were there. She also didn't need her boyfriend going on another crusade against the justice system. It hurt all the same that one person you looked up to, just fell from grace so rapidly. Jazmine would never see her dad the same again, she knew their relationship was pretty much done apart from formalities. She didn't believe he was a bad person, she did believe he made bad decisions that effected everyone unnecessarily. There wasn't much she could about that, but it seemed like everything had come to a close. Huey seemed to understand what she was saying back at his house. Sometimes stating the obvious wasn't necessary with the two, they shared a bond deeper than that. So you could say Jazmine was somewhat pleased, they were all in agreement for now.
Enough was enough.
Hold that thought, last chapter is up too :)
Enjoy