Unexpected Friendship

Chapter 15: Right

NEXT DAY

JACOB POV

I couldn't sleep, so I just get ready for school earlier than usual. I really don't want to talk to my mom right now. I leave her a note and walk to school. It is barely 7 am but the campus gates are open. I walk towards my locker and sit on the floor.
A woman stands in front of me. I look up at she looks like a teacher. I stand.
"Are you okay?" She asks.
I nod.
"I'm Mrs. Wells," she smiles.
I sign my name. She frowns, "Sorry. I didn't know."
I shrug. She then smiles again. "I know you. You are Jordan's friend."
I nod. She has talked about me with her?
She gives me her hand and I stand.
"You can wait for her in my classroom," she says.
I say no thanks. She smiles and walks away. I just want to be alone for a while.
Mr. Jeff's class begins. Jordan is quietly doodling. She didn't even say hi to me.
I turn around and tap her hand with my pencil. She puts her head up and nods.
I write on her desk. "U OK?"
She nods. "TTYL OK?"
I nod and turn back to the board and copy the notes.
....

LUNCH TIME

....

Jordan takes my arm and drags me to the gym. There are only some seniors warming up to play basketball.
We sit on the bleachers and Jordan takes out a note. I open it and the page is completely full.
I read it.
Jordan touches my hand as I'm about to finish. I turn to her and she gives me a faint smile. She talked to my dad. She found him here. Wasn't she scared? Why did she go find him?
I finish reading the rest and take a breather. My dad didn't want to hurt me but he did. He isn't trying to make up for it because he spend most of his life in jail paying for what he did to me.
He just wants me to know what happened. Not like my mom, she kept it a secret all this time. I'll bet because of her "friends" and society had to say. She will be labeled as a bad mother and wouldn't have the perfect family image. So instead, she invented that my father just left her with no reason.
Jordan kisses my cheek to get my attention. "He really was sorry," she says.
I fold the paper again. "Take me."
Jordan nods. We skip school and soon I'm standing in front of his house.
I knock on the wooden door.
Jordan pushes me back and opens the door. She runs in and I follow her.
I see my mom and my dad arguing. She's probably yelling her lungs out and he's fighting back.
Jordan gets in between them and they look at me. My mom tries to hug me but I step back.
Why are they fighting about now?
"Let's go home," Mom signs.
"Ruby, we need to talk," Dad signs to me but directs the words to my mom.
He doesn't want to hide their conversation. My mom exclaims something back and walks towards me.
I step back again. I sign, "What's going on? Did you know he was here all along?"
"No!" My mom yells.
"She barely found out," Russell signs. "But I've been trying to see you in a long time. I didn't know how though, so I just hid."
He perfectly knows how to communicate with me.
"Why are you here?" My mom signs. I point to Jordan. She looks at her and goes towards her. I don't know what she said, but Jordan looks angry.
Russell gets in between them and tries to calm Jordan down.
Oh man, she's going to have a freak out again. I go to her and hug her.
"Don't get angry," I say.
She holds me tight for a second and pulls away. I look at my parents. "I want to talk to him," I sign and point to Russell.
Mom shakes her head. "No way."
"Why?" Jordan signs and asks out loud.
Russell looks at my mom. "I am going to talk to Jacob. Why are you so afraid?"
I walk to Russell and he leads me to a room. We go in and I see it's a art and photo gallery. Is he an artist? A collector?
I turn to him. "Is this yours?"
He nods. "I learned alot in prison."
I'm sure he did.
"So do you want to ask questions and I answer them?" He signs.
Whoa, I thought I was ready for this but now it is like I'm being placed in front of a crowd without knowing what's going on.
I had a list of questions but which one should I ask first?
"Jacob?" He signs. "Do you know why you are named like that?"
"My mom said because of the Bible," I reply.
"Well, sort of, but my father's name was Jacob. He loved you so much. He died in his sleep when you were just 5 months old," he lightly smiles, "but it was the best months."
My mom never told me that. She never talked about his side of the family.
"Do you remember that night?"
I shake my head. "No."
"So, your mom never said a word?"
"No. I always thought you left for another woman or maybe turned out gay,"
"Really?"
"And I was always told I couldn't hear since birth, so maybe you didn't want to struggle with a deaf kid,"
Russell comes closer to me, "I'm sorry. For everything, I just lost it. With all the crap and your mom, I blame myself too. At the end, I ruined my life like I did yours, and that's my punishment. To live with a bad conscious and go to hell."
"Did you try to talk to my mom? Apologize?"
He nods. "I did but she pushed me away. I understood, I would have done the same too. But things got worse, she cut all communication with my family and our mutual friends. Then, a year after I got sentenced, I learned she moved from Austin. I didn't have a way to look for you."
So my mom is as the bad person of the story like him...
"But I'm glad she did a good job with you. You are a great man. You are healthy, smart, and have a cute girlfriend," Russell smiles.
Whoa. "No. Jordan isn't my girlfriend," I quickly sign.
"Oh. Sorry, but you look at her like she is,"
"No. She's my friend and neighbor,"
"Okay, well, I'm glad you are fine."
"Would you have beaten my mom instead of me?" I randomly ask. "You said you were sick of her nagging."
He sighs, "Maybe. I have no idea."
I am angry at him but he isn't bad right now. He seems cool and kind. He doesn't look like a criminal.
"I learned sign language and arts in prison. There alot of books to read in 16 years. In a sense, prison made me smart and grow up. It sucks ass though, but I did learn."
The door opens and my mom drags me out. "That's enough. Let's go home."
I get my arm back. "No. I have the right to know everything. I'm not forgiving him, but I have the right to have the choice to do so. You can't stop me now mom."
Jordan comes to my side. "He does and you need to understand."
I touch my mom's cheek for a second and sign. "I love you still. I get why you feel this way, but you need to let me do this. He won't hurt me anymore. I won't allow him. Trust me."
She frowns and nods. "Okay."
I turn to Russell. "See you tomorrow. We will meet at the mall."
He nods. We all step out of the house and go home.
I need to rest. Long ass day...tomorrow will be one long day too.