Chapter 99

Chapter 99
Jordan's POV

"So, how are things with your mom?" Elise asks Kaelen as we settle at our usual spot in the cafeteria for lunch.

Kaelen exhales and leans back in his chair. "She wants us to have lunch together."

I watch him carefully. Since his mother came to the dorm, things between them have changed, but not enough for him to stop being cautious. Harper has been calling and texting him, checking in without pushing too hard. From everything he has told me, she seems to be trying. He is holding back though.

"I don't know if I should go," he admits.

Elise tilts her head. "Why not?"

"Because I still know what my father is capable of."

"You think he'd use her to get to you?"

"I wouldn't put it past him. I don't know what he'd do if he thought he could get me back.”

The thought of that gives me chills but I stay quiet while they talk. I'm happy for Kaelen. I really am. Watching his mother try to find her way back into his life after everything that happened is something I never expected to see. He deserves the chance to have that relationship if he wants it.

Still, listening to him talk about her makes me think about my own mother. It's strange because I've never spent much time wondering what it would be like if she came back. I stopped expecting anything from her a long time ago but all this makes me wonder just for a moment, what it would feel like to have mine do the same.

I don't let the thought stay. There isn't much point comparing them. Kaelen's mother spent years inside a marriage where every choice came with consequences, and she's finally finding the courage to step away from it. My mother wasn't trapped. She made her choice because I wasn't the son she wanted.

I refuse to be bitter about that. At least, I refuse to let it take anything away from what Kaelen is finally getting.

"Jordan?"

I look up. Kaelen is watching me. "You okay?"

I smile and nod. "Yeah." He doesn't look completely convinced, but he doesn't push. I reach across the table and steal some of his fries, pulling a perfect protest frown from his face. "Give her a chance. She's choosing to be in your life, Kae. Just let it be on your own terms."

"I wish you let me eat my fries on my own terms."

I laugh it off reaching for more. "Not a chance."

Before he can say anything else in protest, his phone vibrates against the table. He checks it and immediately starts laughing.

"What?" Elise and I ask almost at the same time.

He turns the screen toward us. It's Lucas. The picture shows him sitting in what looks like a hospital room, holding two tiny babies against his chest. He's grinning so widely that it looks like it might hurt.

The message underneath reads: Father to the cutest baby girls in the world. Y'all better watch out!

Elise's mouth falls open. "Oh my God, they are finally here! You guys are uncles now."

Kaelen laughs, and I can't stop myself from smiling at the picture. He looks at me, and for a second neither of us says anything. We don't need to. The pride in his eyes matches what I'm feeling.

"We have to visit," Elise says. "Ask him when we can come."

Kaelen is already typing a response when my phone starts ringing. I glance at the screen and my smile fades slightly. Dad never calls me around this time of day.

I get up from the table and step a little farther away before answering. "Hey, Dad."

"Are you free to leave school right now?"

I glance back at the others. "Yeah. I'm done with exams for the day."

"Could you come home, please?"

The urgency in his tone makes me straighten. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I just need your help with something."

I frown. That isn't exactly an answer. "What kind of something?"

"You'll see when you get here."

"All right. I'm on my way."

I hang up and return to the table. Kaelen notices my expression before I even say a word. "What's going on? Who was it?"

"It's Dad." I pick up my bag, getting ready to leave. "He needs me home right now for something, not sure what."

"Should we come with you? I can drive," Elise offers, looking concerned.

"I think I'll be fine. I'll take a cab."

I barely get two steps before Kaelen catches my hand. His eyes search mine when I turn back. "Let me know what's going on as soon as you find out, okay?"

I nod. "I will." I lean down and kiss his cheek before leaving.

A few minutes later, I'm standing inside the apartment calling for Dad. He appears from the bedroom with the biggest smile I've seen on his face in a while.

"Dad, what is going on? Is everything okay?"

"Come on. You'll see."

"What?"

He walks past me toward the door, and I follow, still trying to figure out what could possibly have him this excited. He doesn't explain anything during the drive either. Instead, he keeps smiling to himself, occasionally whispering. The excitement in his face is the only thing that keep me from driving myself into cardiac arrest from worrying.

When we finally pull into a quiet neighborhood, I look around through the window. The streets are clean and calm, lined with modest houses and small yards. Dad parks in front of a newly renovated house and turns off the engine.

I stare at it. "Why are we here?"

"Come on."

He gets out. I follow him up the walkway, more confused with every step. It's the only thing I can do. Then he pulls a set of keys from his pocket and starts unlocking the front door.

"Dad, what are you doing?" I ask, looking around us. "We can get into trouble for breaking into someone's property."

He looks back at me, amused. "Get into trouble for legally entering our house?"

I stare at him, completely stunned. "What?"

"It's ours," he says proudly, swinging the door open. "I just bought it."

I laugh because I genuinely don't know what else to do. "With what money?"

He shakes his head as he walks farther inside. "I've been saving for this. Well, something smaller originally. But work has been going great. I'm getting a promotion, the gigs are picking up, and I found this place at a price I could manage after a little negotiation."

I follow him through the house. It feels enormous compared to every place we have ever lived. There is a proper sitting room, a kitchen with enough space for more than two people to stand in it without bumping into each other, and other rooms down the hallway.

I look at him. "You are joking, right? Because this is insane!"

He looks around the room before turning back to me. "I've got two sons now. One who loves bringing his boyfriend home, who I love having around, and another I'm getting to know who I'd like to have here more often." He smiles. "It's not a joke, Jordie. It's about time we had a permanent home. One where everyone has a place— Mine, Remi's, and yours." He pauses before adding, "Yours and Kaelen's whenever you're here."

I don't even know what to say. We've spent most of our lives in rented apartments. Sometimes there was only one bedroom, and I took it while Dad slept on the couch. It was never something we talked about much. We made do because that was what we had.

Now he is standing in a house with three bedrooms, telling me he bought it because he wants both his sons to have somewhere to belong.

I walk over and wrap my arms around him. He laughs softly and hugs me back. "Merry Christmas, son."

I close my eyes. "Merry Christmas, Dad."

After that, I need to see everything. I walk from room to room, opening doors and looking through spaces that still feel too unreal to belong to us. I check the backyard, then return to the hallway and stare at the bedrooms.

I can't stop smiling. It isn't a mansion but it's ours. Finally after years of hard work.

"You know, this place is kind of enormous," I shout from the hall, walking back to the living room. "Aren't you going to be lonely whenever Remi and I aren't home? You should get a dog to keep you company in the backyard. Maybe one of those ridiculously big ones that—"

I stop. Dad is bent slightly forward in the middle of the room, one hand pressed against his chest.

"Dad?" I move closer in alarm. "Are you okay?"

He straightens almost immediately. "Of course I am. I just bought my first house, Jordie."

"No. You look pale."

He gives me a smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "I got a little too excited and you know... old age."

"You are fifty."

"Fifty is old. But sometimes I feel like I've been around much longer."

He turns away and starts looking around the sitting room, already talking about where we could put the TV and what furniture we might need to buy. I don't follow any of it. I'm still thinking about what he is trying to dismiss.

"You would tell me if you were sick, right?"

He looks back at me. "Sick?" He chuckles and shakes his head. "Come on, Jordie."

"Dad, I'm serious."

He goes quiet for a moment, moistening his lips before looking at me again. "I'm not sick, son. Stop worrying so much." He gestures around the room. "We've come this far and we deserve to enjoy that for the first time, we have a place we can call our own. No more renting." He smiles, the color he had before returning. "Let's focus on that and celebrate."

I still don't completely believe him, but he looks happy, and I don't want to turn this day into something it isn't, so I smile. "Alright."

Inwardly, I just really hope that my Dad is okay. He has to be.