"Thanks Cherry for watching the kids. We'll pay you extra when we get back." Selena told the babysitter.
"Oh, it's no problem, Mrs. Mercer. Your kids are the only ones who don't try to kill me. I actually like them, unlike those rugrats across the street." Cherry snarled.
Selena held back a laugh as she pulled out thirty dollars from her pocket. "This is for dinner. Order pizza if you want. The kids usually share a small pizza, you can get your own if you want."
Cherry smiled wide as she took the money. "What time will you be back?"
"We'll probably be back tomorrow morning. Just call if you need anything."
Cherry nodded and sat on the couch. "Will do." She grinned.
Jack came downstairs and stood by the door. "Selena, come on. Let's get this over with." He groused loud enough for her to hear.
She walked around the corner and into the hallway then stopped at the bottom of the curved staircase, calling for the kids.
Dylan and Naomi ran to the bottom of the stairs then stared up at Selena. "We're about to go now. We'll be back tomorrow. If you need to talk to us then just get Cherry to call. Don't give her a hard time, okay?"
The both of them nodded. Selena then smiled and wrapped the both of them in her arms, squeezing them. "I love you guys." She pecked the both of their heads once they said it back.
Jack walked over to them and hugged them as well. "Be good you two. We'll see you soon. Love you." He kissed them before leading out the door and into the car.
Selena's nails grazed up and down on the back of Jack's neck as he drove them to Oakland. "You sure you wanna do this?"
Jack nodded, but didn't respond otherwise.
"Just try to hear him out at least then. We don't wanna repeat what happened last time."
"Okay." He mumbled, honestly not wanting to, but he felt as if he had to. He was filled with so many questions that weren't answered last time.
Jack never went on any quest to search for his parents because he had all the love of a mother and family in the house he grew up in, and that was enough. It took more than a few weeks to love and open up to his family, because the fear of being hurt stood in the way, but he overcame it and was okay.
It took hours to get to Oakland, even then, Jack still wanted to turn the car around and forget about everything, but he couldn't. This needed to happen.
Jack and Selena sat silent in the car, staring at the diner in front of them. The blue paint glowing from the illumination of the neon pink and blue sign that read, Cosmos Diner.
He grabbed his cigarettes off the dashboard and lit one, releasing the built up stress.
Jack then told her as casually as he could. "I swear to God if he looks at you any kind of way or says something I don't like to you, I will fucking kill him." He then tossed the pack of cigarettes back on the dashboard.
Selena bit down hard on her lip at what he said. "Don't say that. I don't want to start taking that literally." She laughed nervously.
Jack's head turned towards her with a stern look on his face. "You need too."
"You wouldn't seriously kill him would you?"
"Not if he doesn't tries anything like last time."
Selena shook her head in disbelief. "I am not letting you go back to prison again over something stupid."
Jack chuckled bitterly. "It's not up to you."
"Look at me." Selena reached over the console and took his chin in her hands. "Lose the attitude. You have kids to worry about. If he ends up pissing you off that damn much then we'll leave and never speak to him again. That alright?"
Jack gave her a sarcastic smile. "Swell." He took one last drag and opened the door, throwing the cigarette to the ground then getting out and stepping on it.
The both of them made their way to the front doors. Even from the outside they could see that there was a nostalgic vibe to the inside as well.
Black and white tiles designed the floor, led lights that matched the outside sign stretched around ceiling, and red stools were spread around the counter.
They stepped inside and instantly Jack seen the callous bastard. He was in a booth in the back by the window, drinking out of a mug.
He was dressed in an army jacket, blue shirt and jeans. The fluffy beard he once had was now trimmed and the hair that wasn't visible before, now was which was a bit darker than Jack's and perfectly combed.
He cleaned himself up, and now it he looked like he was a whole other person. But it has been eight years since then, so it gave him time to get his shit together.
Jack and Selena made their way over to the booth where he stood up and grinned widely. "My boy! It's good to see you." He pulled Jack in for an awkward hug as Selena slid into the booth.
Jack pulled himself out of the hug as quick as he could. "Let's see if you get the privilege to call me that cause trust me, we aren't there yet." He slid into the booth next to Selena, holding her hand under the table.
Jack could see himself in the man sitting across from him. And he didn't realize how much a void of an absent father was eating away his insides until now where he had came face to face with the very issue.
"Congratulations on the fame. I hear you on the radio and I tell everyone that you're my son. Of course they know, that you're grown and I wasn't there, but I let them know that I'm proud of you cause I am. And I know you have two beautiful kids. I'm glad to see that you and Selena are still together."
Jack only nodded. All the words he planned to say to his father, evaporated. No emotion was there and even if he wanted to, he couldn't feel anything.
No surge of anger. No need of tears. No sense of relief.
The longing pain that he felt when he was a kid and teenager has weakened with age. How could he recapture something he never had in the first place? And even when he attempted to, it only damaged him even more.
"You look good. The both of you do. How's life treating you?"
"What's your name?" Jack asked, ignoring his last question.
The man laughed, his shoulders shaking. "You don't know my name? I thought the last time we met I told you."
"No." Jack grumbled.
"It's Vince."
"Oh." Jack squeezed Selena's hand harder on instinct. She rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand, trying to comfort him as much as she could without making it visible that he was stressed.
"How come you're in California?" Jack asked him, watching him intently as he finished whatever was in the mug.
Vince began to twist his ring that had a lions head on it. "When your grandmother died, me and your uncle were in her will and your moth-"
Jack interrupted him. "Don't say 'your mother'. Just say her name. I shouldn't have to go into detail about why, but just don't."
Vince looked as if he was about to scold Jack, but then he only nodded and continued. "Ava and I took the money and moved here. We kinda ran out of the money a little bit after so I'm staying with some friends down the street at an apartment on Grove. Apartment twenty-one, feel free to stop by any time."
Jack once again ignored him, and blurted out another question. "So why'd you leave? Why did the both of you leave me?"
Vince inhaled strongly through his nose. "We were on drugs son. We loved you, we really did. I held you in my hands and I seen myself in you. I seen my traits, characteristics, my eyes and everything. You were our whole world."
Jack dragged his hand down across his face, feeling the coil of anger he didn't feel before. He asked again, more aggressive this time. "Then why did you leave?"
Vince let out a dark chuckle, shaking his head. "Boy, I think you should watch your tone."
"Why? You aren't my father, so I'm not obligated to listen to you. You didn't love me. A real man raises his child, and that's what you didn't do."
Jack could now feel Vince's tension through his very own tension. And he couldn't help but be angry with the man who abandoned him in a foster home who could give a damn about him.
It was foster home after foster home until he found home. A home with warmth, comfort, and love. He rebelled at a young age because before his brothers, he never had a man to teach him how to be a man.
"Look, we tried to be there and you nearly choked me to death."
Jack scoffed. "Don't start with that shit. Just admit that you failed at being a man."
"I didn't." He gritted through his teeth, realizing he was getting nowhere with Jack. "I wanted to teach you things a father should, but -"
"I had to learn how to tie a tie from my brothers. My brothers taught me how to shave and fight. My mom taught me how to love and treat a woman. And I learned on my own how to raise my kids and there isn't a thing you can ever teach me about how to be a father or to be a man. I'm providing for my family, so obviously you not being around didn't effect me as a man."
"Why don't you fucking understand? You were to damn young to understand then and now you still don't."
"You're right. I'm a grown ass man now. I'm not twelve anymore wondering why my own parents didn't want me. You two didn't even think enough of me to clean yourselves up and at least try to visit. I was thrown to the side like I never existed. Just face it...I don't need you now and I never did."
Jack was getting tired of being stuck in the same spot with Vince. There was nothing to move on from and their relationship was non existent, so he was exhausted from this.
"You don't have anyone now, so you come running to me, and honestly I'm the wrong one if you're seeking pity." Jack then stood up from the booth. "Let's go, Selena." He stuck his hand out to her.
Vince's cold and hard eyes slowly glance over at her, chilling her to the core. Selena's breath caught in her throat.
It was something about the way he looked at her. It was almost like he hated her for being with his son. Almost like if he ever got her alone, he'd kill her. Underneath all those fake smiles, there was greed and cruelness.
She was positive that there was nothing good about this man, and she could tell of all this just by the look he gave her.
She finally got out the booth, grabbing Jack's hand again and following him into the car where he didn't utter a word.
Once they got back to the motel room they got before going to the diner, Jack sat on the edge of the the bed and fixed his eyes on the wall.
Selena took a seat next to him and only a few seconds after, Jack let everything out.
He rested his forehead on her shoulder and let all the pain out through his tears. He was a silent crier. Selena wasn't aware that he was crying until she felt a tear drop on her shoulder.
He didn't cry a lot, but every time he did it broke Selena's heart to see all the power and confidence that she associated him with, strip down and leave him to be the hurt boy that thought love had no place in his heart because at once he never knew what it was.
Selena put a hand on the back of his head, slowly grazing her fingernails on his scalp. "It's okay."
Jack just couldn't understand why his own parents didn't want him. He was unbelievably grateful for Evelyn, his brothers, and his own family, but there was always something in the back of his mind wondering what if?
What did he ever do? They left before they got a chance to know him. They couldn't even give him away to a good family. Instead, he moved from home to home, getting neglected and abused like he didn't matter.
Home wasn't home like they said. It was a hell. No one ever wanted him, until he was ten. A decade of being mentally, emotionally, and physically hurt because of his own parents and yes, he completely blamed them for all of it.
But he's stronger now and he's happy that Evelyn took him under her wing, because without her, he wouldn't be where he was today.
Jack pulled away and kept his head down, quickly wiping the tears. Selena took his face in her hands and sweetly kissed him then broke apart.
"I love you. Your fans love you. Your band and Liam love you. Your brothers love you. And our kids love you. I don't want you to feel like you aren't wanted, because you are very much needed."
Jack nodded his head and pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you." He told her, then dropped a kiss on her neck. "You being here means so much to me and you will never have to worry about me running out on you and the kids."
Jack then gives her a pained look and brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. "If I ever start to seem like him or end up sli-"
Selena shook her head as her brows creased, not believing what he was saying. "Jack, what? You are nothing like-"
"Just listen to me for a second, alright?"
Selena frowned, but nodded her head.
"If I ever start slipping down that path and I don't realize it...And you feel like I changed or you don't know me anymore, then tell me, Selena."
"Yeah, of course." She spoke, her eyes heavy with worry and curiosity. "You don't have to worry about it though. I know your heart and you're a good person, and that's all that matters."
Jack gave her a long passionate kiss then pulled away, watching as a small smile formed on Selena's lips. "At least you didn't make his nose bleed or choke him this time."
"God knows I wanted to."