Chapter 14: Family Matters: Part 2
It had been half an hour since Legosi and Jack left the school and headed for the train station. Despite already spending ten minutes riding the train, they still had a long way to go.
sigh "I always feel so relaxed here," Legosi said with a smile. "I just can't help but let my mind go whenever I watch the buildings pass by."
"I know what you mean," Jack responded as he put his hand on his mate's. "I'd probably spend most of my time riding the train if I could."
"So… how are you feeling?" the wolf asked.
"Better, I think," the labrador answered. "Who knew Collot went through all that? He's a lot stronger than we gave him credit for."
"You're right, and we thought he was pretty strong already," Legosi said softly as his ears folded back. "I'm a little jealous of him to be honest. Must be nice to have a mom who would go that far for you."
Jack looked at his boyfriend, his ears folded back and his tail drooping.
"Do you… do you wanna talk about it?" the yellow dog asked hesitantly. "I mean, I know you pretty much told me everything, but…"
Legosi gave his mate a soft smile before petting his head.
"It's ok Jack, after what Collot told us, I think it's good to talk about the past sometimes, even if it's painful," the wolf said somewhat sadly. "My mother, she wasn't a good wolf. She cared about appearances above all else, even above her own father and son. It's been a little more than ten years, but I still remember it like it was yesterday."
It was early in the morning and I headed downstairs, my tail wagging like crazy.
"Good morning grandpa Gosha!"
"Well, if it isn't my favorite pup! How are you doing today?" my tall and muscular komodo dragon grandpa said with a huge smile.
"I'm good!" I answered. "I've brushed my teeth, my fur, and my tail!"
"Hahaha! That's great son. You've got grooming down to a T," grandpa said as he picked me up.
"Do you think mom will like it?" I asked.
Grandpa's smile disappeared. He looked to the side for a moment before forcing a smile.
"I think Leano will love it," he said in a melancholy tone.
I jumped out of my grandfather's arms and ran down the hall. I hadn't seen my mother's face for three years. Grandpa told me that she was sick and couldn't leave her room. Despite that, there was something important I wanted to ask her.
I knocked on her door and asked if she was feeling better.
There was no answer. Instead, the wicket door, the size of an adult hand opened. When it did, a large, furry hand reached out and touched my head. It began to pet me a bit before feeling around my face and checking my teeth.
"I'm doing a little better now darling," my mom said from behind the door. "And from what I can tell, you did a good job of brushing your fur."
"Mhmm, I try to make myself look nice like you always tell me," I said happily as my tail wagged with glee.
"That's good hon, how's Jack doing?" she asked. "Are you two still getting along? Have you made any new friends?"
"Jack's great, we play everyday and we met a new cheetah kid named Juan!" I told her.
"That's good dear," mom said softly. "It's like I always tell you, if you look nice, you'll make lots of friends."
"I hope so," I answered. "By the way, parents day is next week, do you think you'll come this time?"
Mom quickly retracted her hand before closing the wicked door.
"Perhaps, if I'm feeling better," she said. "But I don't want to get your hopes up."
It didn't surprise me if I was being honest. Still, I was just a pup and so I hoped that she'd somehow make it. So I just gave her an ok before I slumped down.
Just then, Grandpa walked over to me and started petting my head.
"Hey Legosi, sorry to cut your conversation short, but it's time to go to school," he said.
"O-ok," I said as my ears folded back and my tail drooped.
The two of us left the house and headed to the elementary school. I was still feeling down, but I was excited to play with you Jack and to go to our hideout after school.
The week passed and it was finally parents day at school. Yet despite that, no one in my family came. I remember how your family supported and praised me, but it wasn't the same. I understood why grandpa Gosha couldn't come, more or less anyway, but it only made me feel worse about the situation.
I'm sure you remember what happened after that Jack. I gave you and your parents each a hug before racing back home. I knew that grandpa wanted to hear about everything that happened and I was sure that mom would to.
"Mom, grandpa, I'm home," I said as I opened the door. "Mom? Grandpa?"
"It's a good thing you didn't go," a female voice shouted.
"Mom?" I asked in a quiet voice.
I walked over to where my mom's room was. That's when I saw grandpa with a big frown on his face. I wanted to go check on him, but then I heard mom talk again.
"You do realize that it's your fault that Legosi doesn't have a proper family!" she said with venom in her voice.
"Thanks to you, I'm a freak and Legosi is just barely getting by."
"Do you have any idea what would happen if they found out the truth about us? We're just lucky that I managed to find a pureblood wolf to mate with. Yet even so, Legosi still looks like you! He has your disgusting eyes and facial structure!"
"How can you say such a thing, Leano?" grandpa asked as he tried to hold back his tears. "Legosi is a wonderful child and you were a miracle!"
"When I fell in love with Toki, I thought that it was as good as it could get for me. I loved your mother dearly and I was ready to spend the rest of my life not having children. But then it somehow happened. You were born and words couldn't describe the joy I felt. I loved you with all my heart and still do, just as I love Toki and Legosi."
"You shouldn't be ashamed just because you have scales on your back instead of fur. You are a beautiful wolf and you should be proud to have a son like Legosi. Remember back when you were in high school, the males couldn't keep their eyes off of you, regardless of species. It even got to a point where I thought I had to intervene."
"The fact that you were able to have Legosi at all proves that. You were able to be with a complete stranger like it was nothing. You just batted your eyelashes and he was yours. I doubt anyone else could do something like that."
"AND YET IT WASN'T REAL!" mom shouted.
"I did it out of desperation! All because I started getting scales. Because of that, I had a one-night stand and just happened to be lucky enough to have a child. Do you even understand how painful it is for me to look at him?"
"Leano…" Gosha said sadly.
"Legosi is a bastard son of a man whose name I can't even remember, let alone his face," mom said with disdain. "Everytime I see him, I'm reminded of everything I did wrong and the fact that he looks like you makes it even worse. He is a constant source of all my regret and pain!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH LEANO!" grandpa shouted. "How can you say such awful things about your own son?! Legosi may have been born because of your mistake, but that's on you, not him! That boy is a wonderful child who wants nothing more than for you to love him. He wakes up early everyday in order to properly groom himself and studies until late just so you would acknowledge him!"
"And yet it means nothing!" mom said in frustration. "You may not understand, but in this day and age, appearance is everything! Legosi can only have a good life now because he's too young to develop any defects. It was the same thing with me and it will be the same for him."
"Then why are you so obsessed with him looking his best?" grandpa asked in the angriest voice I've ever heard him use. "From the way you talk it sounds like you despise him!"
"I do despise him, but even a monster like him deserves a childhood," mom argued.
"What do you mean a monster like him?!" grandpa yelled.
Mom got furious after that and that's when I heard her say something that would haunt me for years.
"That's what he is!" mom shouted back. "The son of a monster IS a monster. He'll live a miserable life all because he has your blood running through him! He is an abomination that no one will ever love! He is a demon child and no matter how much he tries, I know that I will never love him!"
My blood went cold. I felt sick to my stomach and it felt like my entire world shattered like glass. All that time, my mother never loved me…
"That's when I ran to your house," Legosi said as he finished his story.
"I remember that day," Jack responded. "Your face was completely covered in tears and you wouldn't let go of mom after she picked you up. After that, you just… shut down. You wouldn't eat or play for days. You just sat there staring off into space or at a wall with this blank expression on. It got so bad that we took you to the hospital."
"Yea, and I ended up staying with you until, well, you know," the wolf said sadly.
"Until your mom ended it all," the labrador quietly responded.
"... I don't really remember much after that. I know that my grandpa was in tears over what happened. When he saw me, he hugged me as tightly as he could, and almost killed me in the process," Legosi explained with a light laugh.
"I didn't see you much after that," Jack said as he put his hand on Legosi's. "Not that I blamed you. I remember seeing you at school, but you still had that blank look on your face. Like you were just floating through the day in a place where no one could reach you. You went to class, did your work, and then went home."
"That's also when I stopped putting so much importance into how I looked," the wolf said. "I think that's also when my depression started. Although, I doubt I need to tell you about that."
"Of course not, I was there for you the whole time," Jack said as he laid his head on Legosi's shoulder. "You managed to get a little better over time but, it wasn't until middle school when we met Collot and the others that you were able to feel anything again."
"Mmm, I was a real mess back then. I was always having a panic attack or having bursts of anger or I would shut down. Because of that, I ended up getting into some pretty bad fights and somehow I always dragged you into them," Legosi explained as he looked to the side.
"Yeah, our middle school life was definitely… eventful," Jack joked. "But hey, it wasn't all bad. That's how we met Durham, remember? Some punks were trying to get us to fight each other and then Durham came in and helped us beat them up!"
"How could I not?" Legosi asked. "Durham was an even bigger punk who gave us an earful afterwards and ended up picking a fight with me the next day."
"Yea, but you ended up beating him to a pulp after you had one of your episodes," Jack said with a laugh. "You got really angry in the middle of what was an evenly matched fight and started wailing on him after you pinned him to the ground. I still can't believe you ended up crying on my shoulder after I pulled you off of him."
"He respected you after that. You were the first one to match him blow for blow. What was it he said you had? Oh yea, 'moxy'! He was practically our bodyguard after that and the three of us have been the best of friends ever since. It's funny when you think about it."
"Yea, like an after school special," the wolf joked.
The two of them laughed for a bit, not caring that the other train passengers were staring at them. When they stopped, Jack looked to the side as a question came to his mind.
"Hey Legosi, I get why you don't like talking about your mom, but what about your grandfather?" the labrador asked. "It sounds like he was on your side from the beginning."
Legosi's ears folded back as he looked away. He couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with his mate.
"You know, I sometimes ask myself that same question," he answered. "I love my grandpa, but, well, I've told you before."
"You feel a distance, kind of like the one we had," Jack responded. "But that's why you should talk to him! That's how we worked through it. And if you need a wingman, then who better than me?"
"But what do I even say to him?" Legosi asked.
"How about us?" the labrador asked. "You'd have to tell us eventually."
"Yes, I would," Legosi said as his ears folded back. "I just don't know if I'm ready yet. We haven't talked in so long that I don't even know where to start or if that's the first thing I should tell him. Funny, I think I get what you're going through."
"Maybe," Jack said. "Then again, our situations are pretty different. Gosha's always loved and supported you. He gave you space when you needed it and he's as unconventional as they come. Meanwhile my family is pretty ordinary by comparison and one that I've always tried to make proud."
"I think telling your grandpa might actually be easier. He knows how strange love can be. I'm a straight A student from a nuclear family that doesn't have any quirks at all. You'd think that would give me an advantage, but when it comes to things like this, it's the opposite. This kind of love must be foreign to them."
"I wonder?" Legosi said as he placed his hand on Jack's. "I mean, love is love right? That's something I learned from my grandpa. I may not have talked to him directly in years, but I still love him and I do give him a phone call every now and then. I just don't know if I can face him yet. I get the sense that if I face him, I'll be facing all the pain that I've harbored for so long."
"I understand," Jack said as he nuzzled his boyfriend. "Guess we both have a lot of baggage."
"Yea, which is a good thing we have so many friends helping us carry it all," Legosi said as he nuzzled Jack back.
As Legosi and Jack continued to comfort each other, an announcement indicated the train was reaching the next station. They both let out a sign and got ready to exit as this was their stop.
As they did, Legosi heard some of the other passengers talking about how strange it was that they were so close to each other. He ignored them of course, but was happy to hear other passengers defending them by saying that it's just a canine thing. This was obviously a half truth for him and Jack, but it was a good excuse.
The two were still a little ways from Jack's house, so they decided to wander the streets a bit. It was clear that they weren't ready to face the labrador family and they wanted a little more time alone together.
"I forgot how nice the nighttime air can feel," Legosi said with a smile as he felt a breeze pass through his fur. "Kind of ironic coming from a wolf, isn't it?"
"Maybe a little," Jack responded. "It's going to be a full moon tonight. Funny how that keeps happening."
"What does?" the wolf asked.
"Well, it seems like anytime something big happens during our lives, it's always during a full moon," Jack answered. "The night you attacked me, the night you rescued me, the night you went to the black market, the night we confessed our sins and our feelings."
"A wolf's fate is tied to the moon. Isn't that what those old stories used to say?" Legosi asked.
"Yea, and it's those old stories that made me want to meet a wolf in the first place," Jack answered. "Well that, and the fact that you guys are my ancestors. Uh, sorry about that."
"It's fine," the wolf answered. "I'm glad you don't see me that way anymore."
The evening air was starting to get cold and Legosi noticed Jack start to shiver. The wolf wrapped one arm around the smaller canine and brought him in close as they continued to walk.
"You really are lucky to have such warm fur," Jack said as he snuggled into his mate. "Short fur really is the worst sometimes."
"I'll agree that it helps during the colder seasons, but it's a nightmare when the weather gets warm," Legosi responded. "If I wasn't part reptile I'd be absolutely miserable."
"Kind of funny how that works," the labrador said with a laugh. "The way your wolf biology and komodo dragon biology balance each other out."
"Yea, which is why it's such a shame that it didn't work out that way for mom," Legosi said as his ears folded back. "Maybe if it did, things would have played out differently for us."
"Maybe," Jack replied. "Or maybe she would have turned out worse. You said it yourself. She was obsessed with appearances ever since she was young. If she had a perfect body on top of that, she might have become a very cynical person."
"Honestly, I can't help but think that might have been the more likely outcome for someone like her," the wolf said sadly. "But now that she's gone and I've had my time to grieve, maybe I should learn from her mistakes and reconnect with grandpa after all."
"I think it's time we fixed our broken family," Jack said as he held Legosi's hand in a tight grip.
"Our?" Legosi asked as he held Jack's hand with an equally tight grip.
"Legosi, you're a part of my family now You always have been," the labrador said in a very caring voice. "That means Gosha is also a part of my family. He's been there for me as much as he's been there for you. I think that counts for a lot."
"You're right about that, and we should start with yours," Legosi said as he started to walk a little faster, prompting Jack to do the same.
"Yea, you're right," Jack said as he took the lead. "It's time to stop hiding!"
"So, does that mean you're ready?" Legosi asked with a smile.
"Can't say that I am, but now that we're here, there's no turning back," Jack said with a voice filled with determination.
The canine couple headed straight for Jack's house, fully prepared to face whatever it was that awaited them.
This chapter's secret
Did you know that Gosha has been a friend of Jack's family since the two pups first met. They were put off at first, but Gosha quickly became a grandfather figure for Jack and the two families have been close ever since.
