Chapter 18: continuation 2

'Think about it before it's too late, my boy,' Jay's father ignored his earlier actions.

And the guy literally almost exploded with anger at the same second.

'Your boy? Yes, how dare you say that? All your life you were only interested in money and young girls who happily jumped into your bed! Remember what you did when my mother asked you for money for medicine for me!? You hit her! You piece of shit beat my mother every day! And I did not notice this, because this holy woman closed my eyes to this! I thought I lived in a happy family until I grew up taking off my rose-colored glasses!' The boy shouted, restraining himself from hitting his father, because he did not want to be like him.

It's too low for him to sink to the same level as his father. Although, James is already a monster and he knows it.

'Don't you dare raise your voice at me, you bastard! You would have grown up as nothing without me!' The man yells, shoving the guy in the shoulder, which is why he receives a retaliatory blow in the forearm.

Staggering out of the blue from a strong unexpected blow, the man falls back, managing to grab the edge of the table so as not to fall to the floor.

'I'll turn your life into shit! And rest assured, you will regret it!' The dark-haired man continues to shout, putting himself in order.

Grabbing documents from the table, he rushes out, swearing under his breath. The young man continued to stand in the same place, holding back his tears from his eyes. He remembered what a happy childhood he had been until his mother could no longer continue to close his eyes to the cruel truth. His mother was indeed a strong woman. She managed to turn James's childhood into a fairy tale when reality was worse than hell.

'Mom, mom...' a velvet whisper is heard around the room, the guy goes to the cabinet, where there is a photograph of a happy family in a gilded frame.

He takes it in his hands and gently runs his finger over the glass, where his mother is with a bouquet of wildflowers. Williams never gave her flowers, and she loved them so much. Once a little boy ran home straight from the field, holding in his hands a small bouquet of daisies and some other flowers, which he did not know for sure. Mom then was very happy, kissing her son on the cheek. She will remember this day for the rest of her life. Then the little boy began to run often in the field to pick flowers for his mother, because no one had ever given them to her, and she loved them so much. And this is a disgrace, really. The man ran out of his son's house, tearing the contract to pieces. All his plans are ruined by his damn stupid son, who still has not forgotten his stupid mother, the man thought, approaching the cars. The door opened and strong men came out of the black jeep.

'Did everything go well, Mr. Foster?' A brunette in a formal suit asked his boss. 'We're turning! That idiot didn't sign anything!' Williams shouted as he climbed into the leather interior of the car.

'We can use force, Mr. Foster,' the guard objected, glancing at the prepared men with pistols.

'I don’t want this damn gunfight! Start the car!' Williams leaned back in his seat, snorting in anger.

Mr. Williams Foster's men got into the cars. The roar of the engine was heard and the cars pulled out, leaving the James estate.

'Mom, forgive me... I couldn’t save you,' a salty drop of tears fell on the glass, and others rolled down after it.

Yes, men can cry too. Even heartless monsters like James. The guy with trepidation ran a soft, slightly rough fingertip over the photograph.

'I'm such a freak!' A heartbreaking cry is heard from the chest of a young man, at the same second the frame with the photograph flies towards the wall, meeting with a solid surface and breaking into smithereens, involving the characteristic sound of breaking glass.

'I couldn't protect you from him!' The guy runs his hands through his blond hair, grabbing at the roots.

'I had to! Must,' the cry descends to a light whisper, full of despair.

Leaning against the wall, the guy goes down it, sitting on the floor.

'I’m sorry, mom… I’m sorry,' the boy continues to whisper through his loud sobs.

Yes, men also know how to break.

'Jay,' Dean calls softly as he enters the room.

And the guy has long been accustomed to seeing his best friend in a broken state. And no words are needed to console him. Just be there, shoulder to shoulder.

'Forgive me, forgive me…' the guy repeats word for word, swaying back and forth.

And now he looks like a mentally ill person. And this is a disgrace, really.

'She forgave you a long time ago, friend,' the curly-haired guy sits next to him on his knees, throwing his hand on his shoulder.

And the guy calms down. He feels supported and this is the most important thing. The sobs disappear, leaving only eyes that are wet and red from tears. 'She's in your heart, man. She’s there,' the guy whispers, supporting his best friend.

And the guy is smiling. A slight smile appears on his sad face. Time will pass and the heart will again become without feelings. As before, as in the old days. And everything will fall into place.

POV Hailey

'Hailey, honey, it's been so long since I've seen you!' Aunt Marvey threw up her hands, giving me a condescending smile, showing a row of white, even teeth. 'Hello, Mrs. Marvey! I'm glad to see you too,' I smiled, straightening the bags with groceries in my hands.

A pretty-looking woman approached me, hugging me tightly, ignoring the heavy packages in my hands. Mrs Marvey was our only neighbour. Her house was right next to the forest, about a couple of blocks from our common house with the guys. I will not argue that my aunt was constantly with her ears and eyes about what was happening in our house. She often looked over the fence at us to see what we were doing. Auntie Marvey was still a gossip, but fortunately, she was the only inhabitant of our block. Mrs. Marvey took good care of herself. She looked to be somewhere around forty, although no one knew the exact age. She loved to wear different colored hats. In fact, I was really surprised that she had a fairly rich wardrobe. You will never see this woman in the same clothes for several days. The question always arose, where does she get so many clothes? I never saw her go out into the city. Maybe she has grandchildren? Since her children died seven years ago in a car accident. 'Mrs. Marvey? My hands are terribly tired, can you let me go? Sorry, of course,' I asked again so that it did not sound too rude, as it turned out at first glance.

'Oh, I'm sorry,' she sighed, pulling away from me.

'Maybe I'll come to you for a cup of coffee, as before? I haven’t seen you here for a long time, I want to chat a little, otherwise you know,' the woman giggled, waving her hand provocatively towards the house.

'The boys are not particularly eager to chat with the old woman, but I'm still sad sitting alone in my hut.'

Yes, Aunt Marvey just didn't feel awkward.

'I'll be a little busy cooking now, miss. I don't know...' I hesitated awkwardly, trying to politely refuse her and quickly end this conversation, my hands were terribly tired.

'Oh, honey! I'll be happy to help you,' she waved her hand, heading towards the guys' house.

'Hailey, what are you doing?' She turned around, noticing my absence.

'Yes, I’m coming,' I sighed, heading straight for the woman who was stepping in a businesslike way towards the entrance to the house.

'And who is this guy, honey, who hangs around all the time near your house?' The woman asked, turning back to look at me.

And again her gossip, as much as possible. Should you care if this guy doesn't walk near your house?

'Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean.'

'Well, honey, you cannot hide it from me. Is this your boyfriend?' Miss Marvey asked playfully, raising one eyebrow. Stopping abruptly, I nearly dropped my grocery bags. Even if it would be my boyfriend, this is my personal life. This is already overkill.

'Hailey?' A middle-aged woman called me.

'I don’t have any boyfriends,' I protested, continuing to walk on.

'This blond was quite a nice guy. Blond with blue eyes,' the neighbor said dreamily, winking at me with her right eye. 'Every girl's dream, by the way. True, he behaved a little skeptically,' the woman continued, her eyebrows furrowed.