Reconciling the Hotchners | 2

5. Projecting

After spending the weekend with his mother, aunt and two siblings, Jack really didn't want to go back to school. Yet, on Monday morning he caught the bus to school. He spent the whole day thinking about his fun weekend filled with snacks, sugary drinks and movies.

The start of the school week had also made Jack extremely tired by the time he got home, and all he wanted to do was sleep. He got home at 4 PM, chucking his backpack in the corner of his room near his desk. He laid on top of his bed and set an alarm for 1 hour. This way he'd get to sleep and still have time for homework before his dad finished making dinner at 6:30 PM.

Unfortunately, Jack didn't wake up until 6:30. He sure didn't know how tired he was. He had woken up to the sight of his dad looming over him with a look of anger on his face.

"W- What time is it?" Jack asked, glancing at his clock.

"Dinner time." Aaron crossed his arms.

"Oh." Jack realised what was wrong and why his dad looked angry.

"Where's your homework, Jack? I don't see it on your desk." Aaron asked.

"I- I...I was going to do it." Jack explained.

"Are you sure? 'Cause it looks like you just dumped your bag near your desk and went to bed. You know the rules." Aaron raised his eyebrow.

"Homework first, then video games or sleeping." Jack nodded.

"Exactly. Why did you ignore my rule?" Aaron exhaled.

"I was really tired. I planned to sleep for an hour and then get it done before dinner..." Jack dropped his head in shame.

"In this house, work gets done before any leisure activities. Do you think I used to sleep instead of doing my case work?" Aaron glared at Jack.

"N- No." Jack shook his head.

"That right. I used to sacrifice my sleep in order to get my work done. The last thing I want is for your grades to start slipping if you put video games and sleeping before school work." Aaron insisted.

"Besides, you'll ruin your sleep schedule if you start sleeping during the day, even in the afternoon. I'd rather not have to deal with a grumpy teen in the mornings." Aaron growled.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Jack nodded.

"I don't need apologies. And I know that it won't happen again. If you hadn't of done it in the first place, I wouldn't have to ground you." Aaron exhaled.

"G- Ground me? For sleeping?" Jack furrowed his eyebrows.

"For not following my rules. 2 weeks without video games." Aaron walked out of Jack's room.

"That's totally unfair!" Jack argued.

"You wanna make it 3 weeks, 'cause I can arrange that." Aaron growled.

"All I did was sleep a little longer than I intended to!" Jack kept arguing.

"Stop talking back to me! If I want to ground you, I will!" Aaron yelled, getting up close to Jack, who immediately shut his mouth. The 13-year-old stood under his dad's gaze, trying not to cry.

"Now get downstairs and eat your dinner before it goes cold." Aaron lowered his voice before leaving to go and get Avery and Toby ready for dinner.

Jack was silent for the rest of the night. He refused to make eye contact with his dad, who decided to focus on his other two children - both of whom had no idea why Jack was so quiet.

Halfway through dinner, Jack stopped eating. He attempted to get out of his seat, but Aaron stopped him.

"Finish your dinner, Jack." Aaron insisted.