Chapter 99 Fight or Flight

Chapter 99 Fight or Flight
“Jaxon.” Dad’s voice cut through the panic, steady, calm, the kind of voice that made you want to believe him even when everything else inside you was falling apart.

“I need you to look at me.”

But I couldn’t. If I looked at him, this would become real. If I met his eyes, it would mean tomorrow was truly coming: the courtroom, my mother, her lawyer, the judge, the fear of someone taking Xavier away.

“No.” The word was a broken whisper, barely more than breath. “I can’t lose him.”

“You’re not going to.”

“You don’t know that!” The words burst out, raw and desperate, louder than I meant. The whole room flinched. “I have nothing!” My voice cracked, ragged with fear. “I don’t have a house! I don’t have savings! I don’t have a career! I barely got my GED yesterday!” I let out a horrible, broken laugh. “What judge is going to look at me and thinks, yeah, let’s give the kid custody?”

Silence pressed in. The only thing I could hear was my own breathing, fast, jagged, out of control.

“They’ll give him back.” The thought slammed into me, nearly knocking me off my feet. “They’ll give him back to her.”

“No.” Dad’s voice was closer now.

“I failed him.”

“No.”

“I should’ve done more.”

“No.”

“I should’ve left sooner.”

“No.”

“I should’ve—”

Strong hands clamped down on my shoulders, grounding me. Dad turned me until I was facing him, no more looking at the floor, no more hiding from the truth.

“Jaxon,” he said, never raising his voice. “I need you to hear me.”

I tried. I really tried. But everyone was talking now... Mom, Ellie, voices swirling into a wall of noise, reassurance and questions and fear all at once. Too much. I clapped my hands over my ears.

“I can’t—I can’t hear.”

It was muffled, but still overwhelming.

Dad scanned the room. “Everyone,” he said quietly, but with a finality that left no room for argument. “Give us a minute.”

Instantly, the room fell silent. Mom gently led Xavier to the living room. Ellie hesitated, biting her lip, then followed, glancing back with every step.

The silence that followed was so thick it hurt.

Dad’s hands never left my shoulders.

“There. Better?”

Barely. But I nodded.

He took a slow, deliberate breath. Then another. He never told me what to do, he just breathed, again and again, until I realized I was matching him. Not perfectly, but enough to slow the world down. Enough that my heart stopped pounding in my ears.

Dad waited another moment. “Good.”

My throat burned as I swallowed. “I’m scared,” I admitted, voice small.

He nodded. “I know.”

“They’re going to take him.”

“No.”

“I can’t protect him.”

His look was unwavering. “You already have.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“You kept him alive.”

“I should’ve done more.”

“You loved him.” His words were firm.

My eyes stung. “That isn’t enough.”

Dad’s voice was iron. “It has been every single day of his life.”

A tear slipped out, then another. “I don’t know how to fight lawyers.”

Dad’s lips twitched, almost a smile. “You don’t have to.”

I frowned. “What?”

He squeezed my shoulder. “That’s why Nathaniel exists.”

Despite everything, a shaky, broken laugh escaped me.

Dad’s smile grew softer. “Tomorrow…” He locked eyes with me. “You have one job.”

“What?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Tell the truth.” He paused, making sure I was really listening. “I’ll handle being your father. And Nathaniel...” his confidence was unshakeable “...will handle being your lawyer.” He studied me, making sure I understood, making sure I wasn’t spiraling again. Then he said, “There’s something else you need to know.”

My stomach clenched. “What?”

“If the judge doesn’t award you custody tomorrow…” My fear surged, but Dad squeezed my shoulder, steadying me. “…listen to the rest.”

I nodded, bracing myself.

“If the judge decides you’re not ready today… then your mother isn’t automatically getting Xavier.”

I blinked in confusion. “…She’s not?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Because Nathaniel anticipated this.”

“He… what?”

Dad smiled, pride and relief mingling. “Your lawyer is annoyingly good at his job. He filed multiple contingency motions.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“It means he planned for more than one outcome.” Dad pulled out a dining chair and motioned for me to sit. This time, I obeyed.

He sat across from me, eyes gentle but serious. “If the court decides you’re not financially stable enough yet…” My heart hammered. Dad continued, “Then Lily and I are prepared to file for temporary emergency custody ourselves.”

I froze. “…What?”

He nodded. “We already signed the paperwork.”

My throat tightened. “You…” I couldn’t finish.

He almost looked confused. “Of course.”

“But…”

“Jaxon.” His voice softened. “You’re my son.”

The words still felt unreal. “So that makes Xavier…” He smiled. “…my son also.”

I felt something inside me crack, not painfully, but like ice breaking up in the spring. “You’d…”

He finished for me. “I will not let that little boy go back into that environment.” His voice was calm, certain. “If the judge believes you need another six months… fine. We’ll give you six months. If you need to settle into work, we’ll do that. If the judge wants proof of stable housing, we’ll get it.”

He leaned forward, his gaze unwavering. “But one thing is not negotiable. Xavier is not going back.”

I stared at him, speechless.

Dad continued, voice steady. “Nathaniel already knows. He has every document ready. If he has to stand up tomorrow and ask the court to place Xavier with Lily and me until you’re established, he’ll do it without hesitation.”

My voice was barely a whisper. “…You already talked about this?”

“The minute Nathaniel called,” Dad said. “Without asking you.” He smiled sadly. “Because we knew you’d say no.”

I looked away. He wasn’t wrong. “I don’t want to put him on you.”

“You aren’t.”

“I should be enough.”

“You will be.”

He waited until I looked at him again. “But being enough tomorrow and being enough forever… those are two different things.”

I thought about that, really, truly thought about it. Dad wasn’t saying I wasn’t enough. He was saying if tomorrow didn’t go our way, there was still another path. Another chance. Another safety net. For Xavier. For me.

My shoulders sagged, just a little, as relief seeped in.

Dad smiled. “Better?”

“A little.”

“Good.” He leaned back. “Nathaniel is already working.”

“Working on what?”

“Witnesses.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Witnesses?”

He nodded. “Miss Jackie already agreed to testify.”

A lump rose in my throat. “She did?”

“Immediately,” Dad said. “Apparently she has quite a bit to say.”

I couldn’t help but smile through the nerves. That sounded exactly like Jackie.

“Nathaniel also called your old landlord.”

I blinked. “…Mr. Ramirez?”

Dad nodded. “He remembers every maintenance request you submitted. The broken heater. The leaking ceiling. The mold. The broken windows. He documented every complaint.”

I’d never even thought about that.

“He’s also trying to reach several of your neighbors,” Dad went on. “The Johnsons across the hall. The elderly couple on the first floor. The woman who called the police the night your mother threw a bottle through the wall.”

Every memory flooded back. “…Mrs. Collins.”

“Exactly.”

I ran a hand over my face. “They actually remember us?”

Dad gave me a look. “Jaxon. You protected a little boy in a building full of people. People noticed.”

I looked down. “I always thought… nobody cared.”

Dad was quiet for a long moment. Then, softly, he said, “Sometimes people care. They just don’t know how to help.”

That hurt in a different way, one that felt honest, and sad, and a little bit hopeful.

Dad stood and rested a hand on my shoulder one more time. “And one more thing.” I looked up. “If tomorrow doesn’t end the way we hope…” He smiled, fierce and certain, “…it won’t be because we didn’t fight.”

He squeezed my shoulder, voice unshakable. “And I promise you this, son. Your brother will never wonder whether someone fought for him.”