Lion (manxboy)

Chapter 26

Lion sat patiently in the waiting room of the prison his father was supposedly at. His hands pressed firmly against his thighs, and his feet were flat against the ground. Lion wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was scared shitless to go inside the meeting room. He didn't know what Jackson would say or do, which only made the boy crumble from inside. The only thing that could make Lion keep his composure was Shawn, who sat next to him and sipped from his iced coffee.

"You're doing it again." Shawn mumbled aloud, and Lion's strong expression crumbled into shame, "you need to stop worrying so much. The least the guy can do is strike a bad conversation." Shawn patted Lion's back as he stood from his chair and sipped some more of his iced coffee.

Lion knew Shawn was right, but he was also worried that Jackson would purposely strike a nerve and make Lion rage out.

Lion stood with Shawn and walked towards the doors of the meeting room, his feet dragged against the floor, and his arms wrapped tightly around himself, "you can go in now." The guard smiled at Lion and Shawn before opening the door for the two and closing it behind them.

As they walked towards the table, Lion felt a strange feeling in his stomach, like something wasn't right, but he didn't say anything to Shawn and decided to brush it off.

Lion and Shawn sat at the table and waited for Jackson to arrive. To Lion's surprise, it was quick.

"Hey, Aleksander." Jackson waved the boy before sitting down in front of Lion with his hands against his lap, "how've you been, kiddo?" Jackson continued, and despite the intense glare Shawn was giving him, he decided to focus on Lion.

"I've been doing fine." Lion answered with a cold tone, "why did you leave?" Lion didn't know where this confidence was coming from, but he wanted answers.

Minus secretly trembling in his shoes, Lion remained silent and waited for an answer.

Jackson swallowed hard before getting himself comfortable on the hard bench of the table, "I left because I wanted to find a way to cure Charlotte. We needed the money, and I couldn't afford to take care of her." Jackson began his speech but kept his eyes on the table as he was not able to maintain eye contact with Lion, "I know it's not the best excuse, Alek, but I didn't want you nor Charlotte to be in debt, and I'm sorry it turned out that way. I'm sorry I caused you so much pain." Jackson's apology was sincere as his voice began to tremble.

Lion didn't know what to believe, and so he frowned and looked away from Jackson.

"You killed people because you wanted to help mom? That doesn't make any sense, Jack." Lion looked back at Jackson with a look of disappointment in his eyes, "if you loved mom so much, you wouldn't have left her to suffer the way she did, and you wouldn't have put the burden on my back." Lion painfully held back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, his lips pressed in a firm line.

Jackson's hands moved up onto the table with his head low, "I know, and I said I was sorry. There was nothing I could have done, Alek. I tried so hard to find the money, to grasp it." Jackson defended himself, but nothing would stop the anger that fueled Lion's fire.

"Your excuses are nothing but shit to me, Jack. You left a perfectly healthy family just to go find the money for yourself." Lion seethed as he pressed a hand on the table.

"I lost my job! Okay!" Lion's eyes widened as Jackson yelled those few words, his throat tight, "I lost my job. I couldn't pay the rent, and I needed to find the money to save Charlotte, but I couldn't because you got in the way, and then Donovan killed so many people. I told him not to."

Lion's brows furrowed, and his other hand pressed on the table as he stood from his seat, "Let me tell you one thing, Jackson Harlow. I am your son. I have a right to be in your way, and if I had known it was you all along, I would have still called the cops on you." Lion growled, his anger boiling inside of him, "you chose this life for yourself. I didn't choose it for you. Mom didn't choose it for you. Only you chose it for yourself. So don't start blaming us for your mistakes!" Lion yelled, and the meeting room went silent as people observed them with worry.