*dot*
Phil was pissed, so very, very, pissed at everything that had happened! First off, the motherfucker was fighting them and Jess about the loud noises in the villa suite, when finally, Chow took several shots aimed at him and Alan. Screaming at Chow to put the weapon done, it was only a minute longer and he jumped out of the window dragging Jess with him.
"JESS!" screamed Phil as felt his whole life flash before his eyes. The future they had planned, the family they created, the way he could breathe every day. In a matter of seconds, it felt like he had died.
There was loud laughing and screaming he operated the parachute through the neon bright Vegas skyline. Jess had her arms wrapped around the man's waist and held onto the lines for support. Calling Stu, he demanded to follow and to meet them back once they were caught at ground level. It took some forty minutes for him to return, but the subtle nod aimed at the pair meant Chow was caught. Jess was lying in the back seat, crying loudly, holding her chest when Phil opened the door. Letting Alan take the front seat, he sat back there calming her down as Stu drove the group to the meeting point. Rubbing her back and hushing her with words, it didn't seem to take her out of the daze she was in.
Jess was hysterical. This uncontrolled, extreme grip on his arms was numbing. She was muttered under her breath but at least there some amount of calmness once they arrived. Brushing hair out of her face, they stepped out of the limo seeing the Marshalls and Hector stepped out of their vehicle.
"Alan, grab the last bag," instructed Phil pointing at the open door.
Jess tried to run to Doug, but Mr. Marshall held his gun stopping her. Pulling her back, Phil held his hands up as she called for her brother. Stu and Alan followed suit as they gathered around the back of the limo.
"We good?" asked Mr. Marshall, his gun aimed at Doug's temple, his eyes staring at Jess oddly. Jason stood beside his father, watching the group, his face a bit bruised and smudged under the pink, purple, and blue sky.
"It's all there. I promise!" said Phil quickly his hands up.
"Not exactly," said Mr. Marshall. "I'm still missing the original half."
"But, no, that's all we have. Chow said he blew the other half in Bangkok!"
A calm silence washed over everyone as Jess looked from around Phil's back.
"Where is he?" asked Jason looking around the vehicles.
"He's in the trunk," replied Phil pointing behind the group.
Jason let out a scowl and there was an unusual glint in his eyes. Mr. Marshall was patting Doug's shoulders before taking a half-step backwards and pushing him forward toward the Wolf Pact and Jess.
"Deal's a deal." Doug landed between Phil and Alan. He reached out to touch Jess seeing tears of joy. "Give me the keys."
Stu threw them to him. He caught them effortlessly and stared them down once more.
"What are you gonna do with Chow?" asked Jess in a squeak holding Doug around the middle.
"I just wanna talk to him," he stated walking forward toward the limo. "Move."
As the group moved, Mr. Marshall and Hector raised their arms firing off several rounds into the trunk as Jason observed, his arms crossed. There was a slight moment when his hands gripped his own pistol and cocked it behind his back. The pops stopped and the two men turned back around.
"End of conversation."
Covering her mouth, Jess let out a silent gasp. Phil held his hands up in shock as did the others. "Why would you do that?!"
"Leslie Chow is madness. You don't talk to madness. If you're lucky, you trap it in the trunk of your limo and you kill it. You did a great thing tonight. You should feel good about this."
Jason didn't move from his spot as the two men walked up and unlocked the trunk. Phil could see the stillness in his composure. Whispering his name, the younger Marshall ignored him. He felt Jess loosen her grip as Jason took aim at his father. His arm steadied a moment.
"Jason, what are you doing?" she urged taking steps forward to Jason. Jess was out of reach of Phil and Stu as Mr. Marshall and Hector turned around shouting at them.
"What the fuck? You think this is a fucking game?"
"I've wanted to do this a very long time Father," yelled Jason, his determination and intent clear.
"I should have killed you years ago," bellowed Mr. Marshall, his pistol raised, cocked, and aimed at Jason and Jess. "Just like I killed your mother—"
"DON'T YOU DARE—" began Jason as he stepped fully in front of Jess and loud popping rang out around everyone. Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug covered their ears bracing against the sound, as four bodies hit the ground.
"On, shit!" said Phil looking up with the others at the scene before them. Mr. Marshall and Hector were not moving near the trunk. Rushing over, Jason was laying over Jess, who was breathing heavily. Pushing the boy off her, he turned her over gently before hearing a gun cock again.
"Toddle-doo, motherfuckers," called a voice from the limo.
Phil's eyes snapped up to the voice, see Chow standing out of the roof, the gun smoking in his hand. Pulling Jess up with him, Chow walked over pointing the gun at his chest.
"Chow. Chow, wait," whispered Phil, his eyes big. Jess fell beside his legs holding her chest.
"Oh, now you wanna talk, blue eyes? No more silent treatment?" he angrily asked.
"Leslie. No," Alan said firmly staring Chow down.
"Stay out of this, fatty!"
"No, Leslie. You shoot Phil, you gotta go through me."
Chow and Alan stared it off, even with Alan confirming Phil's question. It took a moment, but he lowered his gun, offering a truce.
"Today you all live. Because two of you was a friend," he said harshly.
"Alan, what did you do?" demanded Jess.
"I unlocked the latch between the back seat and the trunk."
"And left him his gun?" she asked quietly, pushing her hair back against the light wind.
"Yeah, I didn't think it all the way through," admitted Alan softly.
"He gave Chow a fighting chance. That's all I ever need."
Jess turned back to the group, seeing the bodies laying on the ground and gasped in surprise when Jason twitched. Dropping to her knees, she tried to get his attention, as the guys talked around them.
"Jason, please. Please wake up!" she urged pushing on his chest and patting his face. The guys were wrapping up the conversation and Phil knew she wouldn't leave him there. "Jason please!"
"Well, I've gotta make some changes in my life, and this is one of them. I'm sorry. Farewell, Leslie Chow."
Jess looked up seeing the concerned looks of the guys and they each passed a look through each other, shaking their heads. Standing, there were fat tears on her face as she sobbed into Phil's arms. Pulling everyone away, they nodded to Chow leaving too. It took about an hour for them to return to the pawn shop when Phil exclaimed the held sigh. Alan confessed to wanting to remain in Vegas a bit and that he would ask a stranger how to get home.
Doug, Stu, and Jess sat in the RAV4 waiting as Phil took out his phone. Looking up for a moment, he paused on Jess who was holding Doug's hand, a smile crossing her face. He hated Jason for everything he was, but in that last moment, he saw the split moment that the boy made. It was the best choice despite his position in life. He had wanted to kill his father and was about to follow through with it as Jess stepped up to him. There was a moment of clarity between Jason's actions and Phil's assumptions. Something that Jess hadn't seen, or he assumed at least.
Jason Marshall was prepared to die for Jess and this Phil knew was the turning point for everything between the three of them. It meant also that the boy was able to separate why letting her go was the best course of action. In that moment, when his father took aim at his son, Phil knew he would shoot Jess, but Jason stepped in front of it.
Summoning the courage, he knew he had to make it right for at least one other person.
"Hey Thomas? It's Phil, can you do me a favor—"
He explained the situation to Mr. Thomas who was quiet for the most part but understanding. He agreed to get Jason and make sure medical treatment for his injuries was done, if he was still alive. Urging the Frenchman, he sighed knowing it was terrible for him to feel relief that he won Jess finally.
"Will you tell me what happens?" he repeated.
"Wiff Jay-son? I cannot make zee guar-ron-tee 'e is alive."
"Just tell me what hospital the boy is at, if he's alive," snapped Phil knowing it came off rude. "I just need to know. Not Jess."
"I'll zee what I can do," offered Mr. Thomas before hanging.
Turning back to the group, it was hard to believe that everything was finally over. Doug and Jess were smiling like the old times, Stu and Phil exchanged looks as Alan stepped away from the four staring at the pawn shop. He said that he had to stay, which was surprising in Phil's opinion, but at least their families would be a little safer with him in Vegas.
"Philly?" asked Jess quietly, as he started up the RAV4. "Since we're here?" Her eyes sparkled as he looked around the small group. Everyone was smiling as he eyed his friends and the woman he loved most in the world.
"Let's get married when we get back to LA," he offered cupping her cheek. She was smiling but shook her head. Doug and Stu leaned forward watching them quietly. Stu even held his mouth in pure delight.
"I'd like that very much, Phil," said Jess kissing him deeply and laughed when Doug and Stu pretended to get out of the vehicle.
*dot*
Phil denied her the quick Vegas wedding. Instead, he promised to marry her after Memorial Day and when school was fully over. That wasn't too long but it was a short phone call that took him away for the weekend. It had surprised him that Thomas had taken so long to call back about Jason, but he was happy to hear from the Frenchman, even if it was not convenient.
"Jay-son was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center," said Mr. Thomas. "I will allow yous to visit 'im. Use zee code 846627 to gain access."
Phil stood in the hallway of Rochester High School thinking if he should visit Jason. He wanted to know and finish business with the boy. Sighing deeply, he closed his eyes picturing him horribly, mangled up in the hospital room like how he did to Jess.
"Tell me what room and I'll be there," confirmed Phil taking slow, methodical steps out the building. Calling Jess, he lied to say he was staying a bit late to finish cleaning his room. Bidding her farewell, he drove the shortish distance to the hospital and found a parking spot after driving in a circle a bit. Walking up to the information desk, he asked what room Jason Marshall as in.
"Passcode?" asked the woman, looking up from the screen.
"Umm," he answered. Thinking for a moment, it took a moment to realize the numbers given spelt out Thomas. " 7"
The woman frowned and gave him a slip of paper. "Follow the elevator to the ICU, ask for Jason Marshall."
Nodding, he left to find Jason and end the relationship he and Jess had. The last time, they spoke was in San Diego, when Doug and Stu had tricked him into visiting for the 4th. It had surprised him why they insisted on going there, and seeing Jess at that house was harder than he realized. Everything in that place was littered with the two of them and made him sick when they worked on the dinner that day. He had walked away from the pier determined not to intervene. Jason had even come to find him where they argued a moment before the boy threw his hands up.
"Such an old fucking man. No wonder you gave her up for me," he had said before turning a sharp heel. That afternoon he stood quiet remembering when Jess had made him laugh but felt annoyed that Jason thought he knew the woman best. Jason didn't know shit about Jess, and never would, not that he wouldn't attempt to try.
Reaching room 115, Phil waited outside the door seeing the blond man sitting by the window, watching anything and everything through the window. The boy looked horrendous. His usual blond hair was dirty and falling over his eyes. He was leaning oddly against the recliner with a white pillow tucked behind him. If he wasn't so twitchy, Phil would have thought he was soundlessly snoozing as afternoon rays shined in. Watching a minute more, before quietly rapping on the door, Phil closed his eyes readying himself for this conversation. When he did so, Jason twisted around in place, a small grimace forming between narrow brows. They stared at each other not daring to avert their glare.
Jason's eyes were big as he focused on the person at the door. Phil watched in sympathy allowing the boy to recognize him before stepping in. The silent and tranquil communication between them was pliable. He grabbed for the empty chair before spinning it to face him.
"Phil?" asked Jason shaking his head, wincing most likely at the pain on his side. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask myself the same," offered Phil shrugging a shoulder. Genuinely, the two observed each other serenely as Jason struggled to sit up in the chair.
"Considering all I've done to you both, I doubt Jess sent you," he muttered taking a sip of some chocolate milk from a small cup on the windowsill. His eyes stayed put for the most part, avoiding him. Phil shifted in his chair a moment before answering.
"No, she didn't," confirmed Phil crossing an ankle over one leg. "She doesn't even know I'm here."
"Then why are you here?" he sneered rubbing his side again. There was genuine pain in the boy's expression, pain that Phil could recognize. "Remember you won. I lost to a fucking Chinaman who took everything."
"Do you hear yourself?" asked Phil softly, his hands folded gently. "Jason, you could have died because of your dad and Chow."
Jason sat stubborn taking in the words died almost too candidly. He was scratching at the cuts and scraps on his face. There was a long one across his left cheek that was rather pink, but not bleeding.
"Wouldn't have matter," he said softly, taking a full moment to observe Phil's concerned posture.
"Yes, it does! You're still young and have a lot going for yourself—"
"My father had everything that he could ever want," retorted Jason clenching his fists together. "Including the ability to toss anything he deemed unwanted away. I'm just the piece of shit who got left in dirt at end of it all."
"You're not a piece of trash, tossed aside," retorted Phil keeping his face as calm as possible. Now wasn't the time to allow his usual remarks to deter the meaning of this conversation. "You're a bright young man, who was given a silver spoon and you ran with it until realizing it would kill you. I know that you care deeply for the woman we both love."
It was quiet between them, the only noise from the ticking clock. The thing showed just after four p.m. and Phil knew he would stay as long as needed. He needed to do this with Jason, and something in his responses said Jason needed this too.
"I took her because I hated you," confessed Jason pulling the pillow aside sitting rigid in the plush chair.
"And you don't now?" dared Phil letting out a little smirk before covering it with a hand. A red blush crossed Jason's face before he looked up again.
"What do you actually know?" asked Jason bringing his legs up on the ottoman in front of them. "I know you got my reports. Did Thomas give them to you?"
"I read the dossier," said Phil with a serious frown. "There were a lot of women in it. I know about a Texas girl who was very young—"
"You and Jess are many years apart!" smirked Jason letting out a harsh cough from laughter.
"Yes," chuckled Phil. "Thirteen years in fact. So, I get it. But yes, there was that one. I forget the names, but Betty's came up. Something about one from Missouri and another from New York who you tried to kill. It mentioned Jess too and I can't wrap my head around how you even met."
Phil shifted to put his elbows against his knees, intensely staring at the boy before him. There was a change in the conversation. A calming sense of opening that neither probably wanted nor needed. Jason sighed and let his head hang back.
"An associate in our business introduced her to me. One of her high school friends," he said softly rubbing his temple.
"Who?" asked Phil. "From Rochester?"
"Yeah, from there," nodded Jason. "Some punk named Avery, who was very obsessed, and told me things he wanted to do to her and Carol both. Some very fucked up shit. He asked me to talk to her and find out if there were any romantic feelings, but it turned into us chatting about anything and everything instead. She was a very sweet girl and I found no romantic feelings toward Avery, but never told him that."
"Avery was a piece of shit and a womanizer," grumbled Phil remembering the many years that Avery had been a nuisance to Jess and Carol. The constant concern was ignored by staff and there was little he could do. Jason struggled to stand and accepted Phil's hands under his arms. Saying his thanks, he swung his leg up to lay back down on the bed. Pointing at the cleaning kit, Phil took it and rolled the boy onto his side a bit.
"I don't suppose you had a part to play in Jess not returning the feelings," suggested Jason taking a deep breath as Phil pulled back the old gauze, taking some skin with it. "She didn't speak about you either, just that you were a teacher."
"Jess never mentioned you," admitted Phil unwrapped the gauze from Jason's pale skin. Dabbing ointment, he felt his temperature drop. Taking notice of the impact wound, its perfect circular holes and dark crimson red outlining the injury channels. Inspecting it closer, it was still a bruised red, turning purple around the edges. Gulping down his thoughts, he blinked several times until Jason handed the new gauze over.
"Avery wanted Jess numerous times. I told him to back off, but he never listened. After a bit it turned to him pursuing Carol, and he raped her at a campus party she attended."
"How do you know that? What did you do?" he dared to ask, feeling his hands shake.
Phil felt the world stop for a moment before Jason replied. There was a sinister look in those green eyes that he never thought he would see. He had seen some shit, but the confession was something different. Something he never thought he would hear from the boy. Sitting up, Jason leaned against the pillows behind him and observed the man in front of him. Looking down at his hands, Phil noticed he was gripping them like he would a gun. Like how he had done that night when he wanted to kill his father.
"Avery's dead —" he started looking up at Phil. "He was nothing anyway, a useless pawn in the game of gangsters. Similar way his father died. Never cross the Marshall, my father would say. Well look where it got him. Six feet under with a bullet point blank in his unforgiving head. I took matters into my own hands and killed him sometime when we lived in San Diego. Carol never knew anything different, just that he wasn't calling her anymore."
Phil took several steps back, overcome with concern at the confession but remained stoic.
"I'm lucky to be alive," he said eyeing the older man closely waiting for him to react. Adjusting himself into a sitting position, he let out a laugh. "Man put up a hellva big fight."
"You should be dead?" mumbled Phil softly standing up suddenly, feeling extremely sick, toward the door.
"Yeah," agreed Jason looking down at his hands. "I should be. If anything, it made me realize the path I was on would lead me there anyway."
Phil had stopped before he walked away fully. Curiosity gnawed at him because of the last statement. "You're Jason fucking Marshall. You wouldn't have stepped in front of Jess if you hadn't cared."
"She didn't deserve to die from my family's cruelty. Jack deserved to know you were his father from the very beginning. I'm sorry about everything I caused. I wanted to end everything. No more fighting, no more lying. I was gonna give everything to Jess and Kate. I wouldn't need it anyway."
Phil didn't move as he heard the sniffles emitted from Jason. He didn't even say anything. It was the hardest thing to say much less hear openly from a young person. It hurt to hear it said so firm and confident. He saw the broken man on the hospital bed pouring his heart out, admitting one of life's hardest truths.
"After I killed my father, I was going to shoot myself in the head that night. When my body would be found… Kate and … Henry, Jess… and Jack…. They would get everything. Absolutely everything."
Phil tried to listen, but this broke him too. Jason was shaking on the bed now, his knees brought up to his chin as he sobbed quietly.
"I thought you said you hated me," repeated Phil watching Jason break in half. There were tears in his own eyes. A strength that he recognized, never thinking the boy would show. Phil heard the words and felt the raw emotions eating at him.
"I did," said Jason quietly rubbing his eyes. "I stepped in front of Jess to give her the life you promised her."
Not thinking, Phil wrapped his arms around the boy's shoulder, finally seeing the man he was. Through strength and willpower, Jason admitted the final truth they both knew had to be said. Jason was mumbling something as he gripped the older man's shirt. Phil was patting his back letting the emotions ride out, refusing to leave until Jason knew he was safe once more.
"Live for the promise you give me. Promise me that you'll live for Jess and Jack."
Jason nodded and shook Phil's hand, still feeling horrible at everything he had caused. But something told him to write it out. To write out the letters he needed to write to the people he cared about. Phil had left an hour ago, as the sun disappeared, finally showing the darkness he felt inside. He laid back down remembering the conversation he had with Mr. Thomas. It was too long to recall now but he knew Phil was giving him a second chance as well. Another chance to live without fear or hate.
*dot*
November 1st, 2013
Taking those steps toward the bar was the hardest thing Jason had ever done. It took him a good amount of time to pluck up the courage to wait and see if she would come. It had been nearly impossible to call her after all these years, but he prayed her coming would give the clarity he needed. He remembered the appearance of Kate Williams, her blond hair usually up in loose ponytail and stunning blue eyes. He pictured the same bubbly woman walking in without a care in the world. Years had passed them both but the woman he remembered may not be the same.
The door kept opening and closing as people came and went, when finally, after an hour, he had resigned himself to this failure.
"She aint comin' son. Women are like that. Standin' us up and all," commented the bartender. The man's graying hair gave him enough clues of what a future might hold. "You still a young man! Cheer up. Here!"
The bartender handed him another shot glass, this making Jason's ninth shot of whiskey. On top of the four beers already drowned, he noted internally, he looked at it knowing he had to leave before he blackout. Sighing as fingers wrapped around the shot glass, he picked it up wincing as the alcohol hit the back of his throat.
"I guess I really am a damn fool. I guess money can't buy me shit, expect pain and misery."
"It's alright son," said the bartender gently. "Like I said when you started that tab, which is big by the way. Ya got a life ahead of you. Go back to Kansas City. Use the time wisely."
Smirking like he would before knowing what Kansas City was and continued to be. It meant he had to lie to this kind, hard-pressed Texan man about who he was. The bartender seemed to smile again after his attention was taken by a different patron. Jason stood up waving his credit card at him and grabbing for his jacket. It was a bit chilly as he exited the bar thinking how to explain the visit to Thomas. It was a pain in the ass dealing with the Frenchmen, but it granted him some protection.
Glancing toward his wrist, he noted the time as eleven. The dark sky mocked him he felt, but in this moment, he looked up trying to find something, anything to inspire him to walk toward his Corvette. Leaning outside the door, he felt himself swaying a moment before he took a step forward.
A pair of hands steadied him, as his body slumped against the wall. A strange look crossed the person's face he was looking at, but a mass of blonde hair was all seen as they looked down.
"I'm sorry, I'm just leaving," he muttered trying to stand. The alcohol was finally getting to him a bit.
"Just sit a bit. Ya can't drive, much less walk. Jesus you are just the same," a soft feminine voice said under all the waves.
Jason's ears perked up recognizing that voice. Gathering a strand or two, well a whole curtain of it, he pulled it back revealing a much older Kate Williams watching him closely.
"Kate?" he whispered seeing the older woman watching him carefully.
Nodding, they sat there conversating lightly about the current events and general things without much concern of the real reason Jason called for her so late in Dallas. After a bit, Kate stood reaching for him to follow suit. Accepting the help, he stood tall against her seeing she hadn't grown terribly much since sixteen. Seven years had passed, and the young woman's smile shined brighter than the moon in Jason's opinion, but it was her calmness that bothered him.
They managed to stand fully and walk toward the blue Corvette, which Kate ran her fingers across.
"You still have this old thing?" she asked grinning, adjusting her light sweater. It was dark green, the same color as his eyes.
"I'm rather fond of this old car," he laughed pocketing his cold hands. "Kate, it's been a long time."
"That's not why you called me here," she spat out suddenly. Looking in her blue eyes, he knew this was the moment he had to cease or allow his life to walk away for good. Staring into her, he kicked the dirt a bit before standing taller, fully prepared to explain everything to her.
"Why did you call me all the way from Austin to meet you here? Here of all places! This was where you left me to allow that shit family of yours to take you away from me! From us Jason!"
"Because I never wanted to leave Katherine! I wanted to stay here from the very start. It only took me all these damn years to realize what I was missing had already been in my life!"
His fists clenched inside the pocket. He knew this was not the manner he meant to speak, but her snapping hadn't helped. No, he begged himself. He had to calm down or she would walk away like he had that night in 2006.
"You left!" she said harshly pushing him a few inches. "You left me with a child, I barely knew what to do with! He's six by the way! Our son is six!"
"I know and for the last seven years, you have dated five guys. Jared, Elijah, Dustin, some prick Chad, who was complete shit and not worth your time, and most recently some asshole named Alexander," counted Jason on his hands. "Oh, and there was some fling with a guy named Joey."
Kate's nose flared up as her arms crossed as he recounted the names.
"You kept tabs on me! This is insane! My friends was right about you! Is that what mob money buys ya now?!"
"I kept tabs, as you call it, to ensure that our son was being brought up by a decent man. A better man than me! You know I had to walkway because of who I am. I didn't want to, and you fucking know that! I sent money to care for him. And I know I was not present! I don't need remindin'!"
Kate turned in place raising her hands up to push hair back as tears gathered in her lashes. Jason stood there silently hearing the sniffles. He held out a napkin to her watching the truth begin to come out.
"I called you here, but I wanted to know, if this was something you still wanted? Something we could work on again. I'm free from my father. I no longer must be that. I got caught up in some shit, costed my life nearly. What I've done doesn't exclude my behavior. But I know that I traveled 1500 miles to see you and I don't plan on leaving again until I know for sure if I matter or not."
Kate looked at him curiously. Jason was begging practically as he shivered in place against the hood of his car. The music from the bar escaped as they silently stood, with only the wind between the song notes.
"Do I still matter to you?" he asked again, his eyes washing over the woman he wanted so dearly.
"I don't know Jason," she said sounding unconvincing. "You left—"
"I know I did and I'm sorry but I'm trying so fucking hard here. I'm not asking to immediately jump back in like nothing happened. Not asking for that at all. But just to know if there is still a chance for it to happen. Naturally of course, the way adults handle real problems."
"I was surprised that ya called. That ya even had my number," she said pulling a stray hair behind her ear.
"I have my ways," he smiled softly trying to ease the tension. "I know the guys you dated…"
"Well yes," she mumbled folding her hands together looking at her feet. "They were really jerks, except Alexander. He was with me for three years. We broke up a bit ago though."
"I swear I didn't interfere!" he said holding hands up innocently.
"I know you didn't!" she laughed with him. "He was cheating on me with a coworker. It was the last straw. I just couldn't, not with Henry starting school and Daddy got elected to the Senate."
"Is that why you live in Austin?" Jason asked sincerely.
Kate nodded and unwrapped her hands slowly reaching out for his. Dragging his out, he took the small hands in his. Her hands were rather thin, but he remembered holding them in a blissful embrace. Smiling, his hand froze a moment later.
"I'm really sorry Kate," he confessed. "I'm a terrible person and I know you have every right to have a happy life without me in it. If you'll have me back, I promise to work on myself, more so us and the future we could have."
The wind picked up a bit as their hair flew up while he spoke. There was silence between them. Nothing. Absolutely nothing said. Jason observed the woman before him, wishing, simply craving, she would say something instead of silently watching him. Finally, after what felt like several minutes, he felt he knew the answer she'd give. Gulping, he could feel his eyes beginning to swell up and knew he couldn't allow her to see him this way. To feel that Kate Williams, after so long, was still affecting him the same way he had that night in 2006 after learning she was pregnant at sixteen with their son.
"Okay," he swallowed deeply turning his head downward. "I understand."
He felt a sniffle escape him as he turned toward the driver's door, taking note that Kate wasn't moving. She stood there, looking thoroughly blank. Opening the door, he took a last look at her, barely seeing her between the tears falling out.
"I promise to continue child support," he choked out. "After all,… he's my son and … that's the right thing to do for you both… I will never forget you, Kate. I'm sorry I wasn't there, but I never stopped loving you."
Swinging the door open, he sat there starting it up roughly and wiping his face. Cursing at himself, he tried to push himself to pull the car out of park. He barely registered that the passenger door opened, and Kate took his face in her cold hands. She kissed him deeply as he sat startled at the actions. Gathering her hair in his hands, he took the spontaneous moment to gently cup her cheek as he kissed back deeper, praying this wasn't hell but a cruel twist of heaven she was leaving him with.
She never stopped though, and then she pulled back, finally releasing his face. Sitting down suddenly, she buckled herself in as Jason sat there stunned. Blinking several times, he turned back looking forward and gripping the steering wheel.
"Take me anywhere but to Austin," she asked grasping his hands that sat on the gear shift. "Anywhere but home without you."
*dot*