Too Far Gone (Urban)

52| Like Father, Like Son

"To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."
Proverbs 21:3

Pierce let the cool water run down his face and back before shutting it off. He felt around the bathroom wall in search of his towel and pulled it to his face when he finally found it. He gently rubbed his face, then proceeded to dab the rest of his body. Afterwards, he wrapped the towel around his waist and headed back towards his room. Mel and Jeremiah took his mother out for the day. Jayden currently served out of school suspension for fighting, so he was still home.

Pierce changed clothes quickly, then headed to Mel and Jeremiah's room where Jayden often hung out to use their computer. He lightly tapped on the door before pushing it open slowly, calling out, "Jayden?"

"I'm here," Jayden replied promptly. Pierce slipped into the room and shut the door behind him. Jayden sat at the desk scrolling through YouTube videos. When Pierce stopped right behind him, he closed the window and twisted around in the chair to face his father. Pierce smiled weakly.

"I think I've waited too long to have this talk with you."

Jayden shrugged. "I guess. I mean, everyone else has been giving me the talk except for you. All you told me to do is to stay with her."

"I know, and I'm sorry. Look," Pierce leaned his weight on the desk. "I didn't say anything sooner because I didn't want to sound hypocritical. I made the same mistake, Jayden, but because of my stupidity, I got you."

"So I'm a mistake. Thanks," he scoffed. "Nice talk."

"No, I mean--" Pierce groaned, sliding a hand across his face. "You're the good that came out of that. It made me realize something: life's too short to be dicking around. No pun intended. Your mother, I thought I loved her. I don't know what she told you, but we were having problems... She wasn't all that trusting of me, and I don't blame her. I liked to screw around a lot."

He paused, glancing at Jayden, who stared at him intently. "Yeah," Pierce grinned, "Your old man was a player. I mean, I was the star quarterback at the time, so cat came easy to me," He shrugged. "However, one day, I was watching her practice with the rest of the cheerleaders with my best friend at the time, and you wanna know what he told me? 'You're your own man who's going places in life, she's just another one of them girls holding you back.' That was probably the worse piece of advice I was ever given, because as soon as I found out she was pregnant with you, I cut off all ties with her."

Pierce began to pace the room as he continued. "It was wrong of me, I admit it. Abandoning her after I fucked her over like that was the absolute worse decision I ever made. If I could go back, I would've stayed even if we still couldn't work things out between us, because at least I would've been able to spend that first decade of your life with you." He shook his head, his face stolid. "That's why I told you to stay with that girl, India, or whatever her name was; I didn't want you to repeat my mistake."

Jayden's gaze was still fixed on him, his pupils seemingly dilated. Pierce let out a sigh, stopping and leaning against the wall. He rested his head against the sturdy structure, gazing upward at the ceiling in recollection. Pierce heard the chair Jayden was seated in scrape the ground. His precautious steps followed until they ceased. Pierce felt a head leaning into him before the rest followed. His arms coiled around his son, chin resting on the crown of his head. He felt Jayden shudder, and soon, he heard quiet sobs escape his lips.

Pierce knew what it felt like to be without a father. It made him feel lesser when his friends' fathers came for parent-teacher conferences and games, or evening just picking them up when they felt sick. He never spoke of him, heard of him, nor has he ever seen his, and he honestly felt that's why things went south with him. He never had that father-son bond. He never felt like he mattered to the man, that he ever loved or cared for him, that he was important and proud of the man he was becoming. All he had was his mother, Shantelle, and he felt the burden of having to raise a kid on her own.

It was a difficult task. With the standard of living at the time, there were moments she had to work two jobs just to get by, and when Mel and Jeremiah joined in on the fun when her only brother passed on, those two turned into three. He barely got to see her, hence why he used that freedom to fuck around, which eventually led to Jayden's birth.

He didn't want the same thing for Jayden. He didn't want him to experience what he had to go through, nor did he want that young girl to. He didn't need this type of poison to continue down the family tree. It needed to end, and this was the first step to doing so.

"Jayden, son," he lifted Jayden's tear-stained face, "Look at me." Jayden struggled to get his breathing under control, but when he did, he focused his reddened eyes on his father.

"Do you really love her?" He asked, searching for the answer with his eyes. Jayden nodded.

"I do," he croaked.

"Then don't let fear take over your responsibilities."

"I won't."

Pierce pulled him back into his chest. "I'm here now, I got you, and I always will from now on."

Later that evening when Shantelle and the boys returned, they found Pierce and Jayden on the couch watching TV, but on closer inspection, they noticed the two were fast asleep. Pierce was slouched into the fabric of the couch, one bare foot resting on the coffee table. His left hand relaxed on his abdomen, rising and falling in tune with his deep, calm breathing. His head was tilted towards the right facing Jayden, who leaned on his shoulder, also asleep in a position that mirrored Pierce's.

Shantelle smiled to herself, dismissing Mel and Jeremiah to their room. She leaned over the backrest to planted a kiss on the crown of both their heads, then grabbed the remote that was wedged between them and turned off the TV. She grabbed the throw blanket that rested on the arm of the couch and threw it over the boys. Again, a smile spread across her face, feeling accomplished knowing her own son had finally grown up.

✝