The Masked Fighter

Chapter 12

Jackson's POV

"Mom, I'm home!" I yelled as I walked into the foyer of our small, but homey, house. 

"In the kitchen!" she yelled right back as I trudged through the short hallway off from the foyer that leads into the kitchen.

Even though our house is a little cramped, it works for only two people. My dad decided it was his life's mission to leave us when I was only two to "travel the world", even though we both know he just left. I believe in the phrase benefit of the doubt, but when, after two years, your father sends a letter in the mail that says to ship all of his stuff to a different address that is several states away you kind of get the hint. But anyways, after he left my mom started to work more and even I had to get a job at the young age of 14. It wasn't much, but it helped my mom, which was all that mattered.

Walking through the entryway of the kitchen, I duck my head slightly because of my 6'1 height. "Hey mom, what are you making?" I ask as soon as I see my mother in her usual spot in front of the stove/oven.

As I get closer, the aroma of chocolate muffins hits me square in the face and I basically drool when the smell hits me. Knowing that my question from before doesn't need an answer because of the look on my face she just continues to check the muffins in the oven.

"So, how was your day?" My mother asks in a cheery tone, which is quite common for her despite our circumstances. Without even waiting for a reply she continues on after a short pause, "Okay since I know you are dying to know, guess what happened today!" she says, turning away from the counter to give her full attention to me, the muffins being completely forgotten by now.

"What happened today?" I ask, genuinely interesting in whatever she is going on about.

"Well, today at work while I was doing my normal job of sorting papers and going through files, one of the managers came up to me and offered me a promotion to a manager position!" she exclaims, an unwavering smile spread across her face as she tells me the story of her promotion.

By the time her story is finished, both of us are sporting huge grins on our faces thanks to our new circumstances. Despite me making a lot of money from my fighting and street racing, my mom insists I put it into a bank account for college, tapping into it occasionally for food or our house bills.

While explaining the details of the promotion the oven goes off, telling us it's time for the muffins to come out. Since my mom seems to be too in depth with telling her story and not very keen on pausing, I take a long stride over to the oven before grabbing the oven mitts off the side of the counter. Pulling them on, I open the oven door and cautiously grab the sides of the pan before picking it up and sliding the glass pan onto the top of the stove where a cooling rack sits.

Once the muffins sit securely on the cooling rack I turn my attention back to my rambling mother. She's always had a positive outlook on life, no matter what happens. She always tell me that it's because I'm still here with her. Tuning back into the conversation at hand; I listen intently as she tells me all about the new office she'll be getting when she goes into work tomorrow.

"Jackson, the office is huge! Way bigger than the tiny cubby hole I've called my office for the past ten years. If I wanted, I could probably do a cartwheel in it, that's how big it is! Even the walls are better! They're a lighter shade of burgundy that really completes the look of it if I'm being honest!". Just looking at the excitement she has as she gives me all the details of her new office, including how much bigger the desk is compared to her old one, makes my day. Even though she has a natural happiness that sort of surrounds her, this is a whole new level of happy that I haven't seen in a while.