Sweet Tooth

Chapter-18

Emma's POV

I couldn't focus on anything throughout the day. James would come here on a daily basis to meet Stacy. And over the course of time we became really good friends. He's like a brother I never had, and I am very protective of him. I am thinking of offering him a job in my bakery. I understand that Jon was really pissed at him but he shouldn't have taken such a hasty decision. He was way too harsh on that poor soul. James didn't come today for his coffee, so I thought I will personally go to him and make sure he's alright. It would've been much easier if Stacy was here, but she's out of town due to a family emergency. I'll tell Stacy to text me his address, I'll pack a box of brownies too, his favorite.

Since business was slow today, I had decided to close the bakery an hour early. I wear my jacket, pack a box of brownies, and head towards the road to hail a cab. James' neighborhood does not look friendly at all. It gets spookier when it's dark. Does Jon know he lives in an unfriendly neighborhood? I stand right before his door, contemplating my decision. Since I've come this far, I might as well go further with my plan. With that thought, I gently knock on the door. I can hear heavy steps from the other side and soon enough I see James answering the door. What I saw next, broke my heart. I saw him leaning against the door, his eyes as wide as saucers and mouth slightly open. His eyes and nose are as red as a strawberry which clearly shows that he was crying. His dirty blond hair is all disheveled. He probably lives alone since it is extremely quiet in his apartment. My poor baby has been dealing with the termination all by himself, with no one around to pacify him. He reminds me of cute puppies who are abandoned by their owners.

"Hey James." I say softly.

"Emma? What're you doing here?"

"I-I came to see you honey. Can I come in?"

"Yeah s-sure. Come on in." He opens the door wider for me to enter. His apartment is really small, and dark too. This place already looks depressing. I place the box of brownies on the small coffee table and sit on the couch, patting the seat next to me for him to sit.
He sits next to me and leans back sighing heavily, sniffling once in a while. He seems to be embarrassed, nervous and fidgety.

"I heard what happened today." I say with a sad smile placing my hand on top of his.

"Yeah. I didn't see that coming to be honest." He chuckles dryly.

"Jon did that for your own good honey. He wanted you to learn some responsibilities, you were like a rebellious youngster to him. I heard that despite of Jon warning you a million times, you'd still repeat the same mistake." I say trying my best not to affront him.

He looks at his hands that are fidgeting and after a few minutes his eyes begin to water again, his lower lip trembles and he weakly says,

"I can't control what I do Emma." What does he mean by that? I don't understand anything.

"What do you mean James? Is there something that you're hiding from me?"

"I'm a freak. A fucking loser." He whispers, placing his head in his hands and his elbows resting on his thigh.

"No James! Don't say that." I say, my eyes were watering too. I remove his head from his hands and hold his face, making him look at me.

"What is it that you're hiding from me?"
He doesn't say anything for a long time. Just sobs uncontrollably. He might've been emotionally drained by now. So I lean against the armrest of the couch and place his head on my shoulder, rubbing his back up and down.

"It's alright honey. I'm there for you. I'll always be there for you, you're not alone. Not as long as I'm alive." He has stopped crying now, but there are occasional hiccups and sniffles. He slowly raises his head and sits straight. I take his hand and softly rub his knuckles trying to maintain some sort of physical contact so that he does not feel lonely.

"I have ADHD." He says all of a sudden. I move the hair from his forehead and place a soft kiss on it.

"I'm listening." I say gently, still holding his arm.

"I come from a v-very rich family. You might've heard of them. The Pritzkers." I gasp loudly, trying to digest the information. The Pritzkers are like one of the most richest families in America! But I've always known of them having just three sons. Where is James out of all this?

"But I've never heard your name." I say.

"That's because they were way too humiliated to show me to the world. Just like how Jon describes me, I was always a trouble maker, unintentionally though. Some of the symptoms of ADHD are, hyperactivity, lacking concentration, fidgeting and many more. I'll be doing one thing and the next second I'll forget about it. I always wanted to be appreciated, like my brothers. Dad was so proud of them, unlike me. They were overachievers and I.....I could barely complete a simple task. I was a loser compared to them. I had this obsession towards wanting my family to like me, to be impressed by me. All I had asked for, was acceptance. But I never got that. All I got were insults, name calling and being treated like a piece of crap. They would always remind me that my life in that house was out of pity. They pitied me, hence, they provided me with food, shelter and clothes. But not once was I allowed to be shown to the world and that's why I was homeschooled all my life. When I was 15, I wanted to do something good for my mom. So I thought of making her favorite dish. But then, my attention got diverted and I accidentally burnt the whole kitchen down. I got an earful that day. My dad kept reminding me how big of a loser I was. He accused my mother of infidelity, because he wouldn't believe that I was his biological son. According to him, all his sons were champions, but I, turned out to be a freak." He says the last part to himself. I could not believe my ears. James always looked like a goofy, easygoing kind of boy. But who knew, behind that happy face, was a broken child who only wanted some sort of acceptance for being himself. Before I could say anything, he continued his story.

"I left home at the age of 17, when I just couldn't bear the insults anymore. I stole a few hundred dollars from one of my brothers and came to Winslow."

"Does Jon know about all this?"

"He doesn't know anything."

"Why? Why didn't you tell him?"

"Because I didn't want him to think low of me! I really look up to Jon. I respect him and I wish to be like him one day. I don't want my role model to think that I'm a freak. My own family couldn't accept me for this, there's no way Jon would accept me either. I just wanted to be treated like a normal human being." He says resting his head on my lap now. I gently stroke his hair in an affectionate manner. All this boy wanted was to be loved. I will make sure that he gets all the love he deserves, but before that I have a few more things to know.

"Don't you have any treatment for this?"

"I am on medications now. But sometimes I don't have enough money to be able to afford that. Hence, I screw up things in the workshop, when the symptoms start to kick in. Sometimes, I forget to take them, when I'm in a hurry or something. The days when Jon would yell at me, were the days I would either forget my medication, or I won't be able to afford them."

"Did you tell Stacy?" I feel him shake his head.

"We haven't reached the phase where I could open up to her about my deepest wounds." He mumbles.

"I really think you should tell Jon." I say pulling him off of my lap to look at him.

"I don't wanna bother him anymore. He's already done a lot for me. I just wanted to make him proud. I would try various things to get him to like me, but I end up aggravating him. It's too late to tell him now. He hates me."

"I don't hate you James." A deep, familiar voice interrupts us. We turn back to see Jon standing in the doorway, looking at us relentlessly.

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ADHD- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common mental disorders affecting children. ADHD also affects many adults. Symptoms of ADHD include inattention (not being able to keep focus), hyperactivity (excess movement that is not fitting to the setting) and impulsivity (hasty acts that occur in the moment without thought).