Finally Free -- JATP Luke x MaleOC

Chapter 51

When Jay woke up the next morning, he found himself no less conflicted than he did the previous night. He was still angry, upset, depressed, frustrated. There truly was a whirlwind of emotions going on inside him. So much so that breakfast with the Molinas was mostly silent on his part, with rather muted and limited reactions coming from him. After breakfast, Ray had pulled him aside for a quick conversation.

"So I talked to your uncle last night," he began. "And we worked something out."

"You really didn't have to-"

"Mhm, no," Ray cut Jay off before he could interject too much. "This is your safety we're talking about here. I take no arguments, okay?"

Jay nodded, resolving himself to be silent while Ray talked.

"We agreed that you would be staying with Flynn's parents until you're eighteen," Ray said. "There's no point in calling the authorities since you're nearly an adult, and I think we both know just how helpful they really are anyway."

Jay held back a snicker at Ray's words, though it still escaped him and Ray heard it, laughing slightly.

"You can go get your things today," he continued. "Your aunt will be there, she'll help you."

"And Uncle?"

"I don't know," Ray admitted. "It took a lot of convincing to get him to agree to this. I would try to avoid him if at all possible."

Jay nodded, though in his head he had already planned on avoiding his uncle at all costs. He knew that Uncle would act aggressively, blaming Jay for the current situation. His aunt, however, was more of a wild card. He had no idea what she was thinking, let alone how she would act once she saw him.

"Thank you, Ray," Jay said genuinely, giving a weak yet very real smile. "I owe you a lot."

"Nonsense, mijo," Ray waved off the thanks. "We're family, hm?"

Jay nodded, remembering how Rose would tell him the same thing when he was younger.

"You can take the car," Ray said, gesturing to the kitchen. "Keys should be on the counter somewhere."

"Somewhere?" Jay repeated, almost teasing.

Ray chuckled, gently pushing Jay towards the kitchen while he went off elsewhere in the house, likely looking for Carlos as he had baseball practice in the afternoon. That meant that they would take the car, so Jay truly had to go either today or tomorrow to get his things from his house.

Or rather, his old house now.

It was strange to think that he truly didn't need to go back to that house anymore. He knew that this one time that he would go to get his things would likely be the last time he would step foot in that house. It would likely be the last time he would properly interact with his aunt and uncle as well unless they decide to reach out to him in the future. He should be happy about that, and yet he felt conflicted.

While it was true that living in that house had been some of the worst years of his life, it was also true that living there were some of the best days of his life. That was the very same house that he had lived in with his parents before they had passed. It had wonderful memories of his parents, memories that were quickly fading the older he got. That house truly was all he had left of them, but now he was leaving.

His parents wouldn't hate him for leaving though. Not if they really understood his situation. Or at least that's what Jay told himself as he drove over to his house in Ray's car.

Jay rang the doorbell to the house while bouncing back and forth on his feet, a nervous habit that he picked up from the ghost boys. Not even a minute later, the door swung open and Jay made eye contact with his aunt, who appeared hesitant to say anything.

"Your things are in your room."

The air was awkward as Jay stepped into the house and followed his aunt up the stairs into what was now his old room. On his bed, his old bed now, there was a suitcase that was wide open. Inside was every sort of clothing that was his. Clothing that his parents had bought him, clothing that his aunt and uncle had bought him, and the clothes that he had bought himself and rarely wore.

As he moved closer to the suitcase, Jay noticed that the clothes were all neatly folded and the ones that had previously collected dust were clean. A few of his favorite books were packed into the case in between the clothes.

"I put your school things in your backpack," Jay's aunt said, putting said backpack on the bed so it leaned against the suitcase. "Your laptop too."

"Uncle's the one who bought it," Jay said immediately.

"You use it, not him."

Jay nodded and closed the suitcase, the awkwardness making it difficult for him to say anything he wanted to. He quietly swung his backpack over his shoulder and picked up the suitcase, taking it down the stairs carefully with his aunt leading him. His aunt saw him out the door and stood near the driver side door as Jay packs the backpack and suitcase in the trunk of Ray's car.

The awkwardness returned as Jay made his way to the driver side door and his aunt stepped out of the way for him to open it.

"You will keep in touch," his aunt asked, though Jay interpretted it as more of a statement than a question.

"Who knows," Jay said, taking his seat and buckling his seatbelt.

"We did raise you," his aunt said haughtily while Jay turned the key in the ignition. "That's the least you can do."

"You didn't raise me, Mom and Dad did," Jay argued back, though there was no real bite in his words. His voice was more monotonous than he had realized. "You just took custody of me after they died."

Any further arguments from his aunt were cut off as Jay slammed the car door shut and backed out of the driveway. He didn't give his aunt a second glance as he drove away. As he pulled into the gas station, he groaned and his head fell onto the top of his steering wheel.

When he saw all his things cleaned and neatly packed, there was a part of Jay that wanted to believe that his aunt wasn't as bad as he remembered, that maybe she had a change of heart and actually cared more than she let on. He wanted a happy ending, he wanted to reconcile with his aunt and uncle. Keep in touch a few years down the road when he was doing something he actually enjoyed.

Jay's phone buzzed on the passenger seat next to him and he barely moved his head to look at it. With his head still resting on the steering wheel, he picked up the phone and swiped to unlock it, reading the text from Carlos very quickly.

'Can you pick me up some energy drinks since youre out? Ill pay you back'

Jay shook his head and scoffed, a faint smile playing on his face as he sat straight and quickly replied to Carlos.

'You had seven cans of soda yesterday. I think energy drinks are too much.'

Carlos typed back a quick reply.

'Please Ill pay you extra'

'Ray finds out and you're done for little man.'

Jay put his phone in his pocket and took the keys out from the car's ignition. The constrast between his emotional state and Carlos's requests almost made him want to laugh, but instead it just cleared his head. If he didn't reconcile with his aunt and uncle, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. His relationship with them had a permanent strain, one that wouldn't be fixed unless they accepted the olive branch he extended to them. His uncle would never change and his aunt had apparently shared the same sentiment. All he could do now was cut them out of his life for good.

And that would be okay.