daddy - j.m

chapter 46 - degrading

Blossom

I softly chatted with Claire in English class as I colored my family tree in with color. I managed to erase Madison's name without anyone noticing. As smoothly as she left.

"Um- Blossom, are you okay?" Claire asked carefully and I shot her an ironic smile.

"I have no reason not to be."

"I don't mean it like that. I've heard everyone talk about you today and you haven't seemed to notice."

"They talking? I must be pretty damn interesting, huh?"

"I heard that something's going down at lunch and that it has to do with Samson Smith or whatever.

I stopped, worried for a minute and later on remembered us in the woods. He loved me. "Samson and I are fine so I have nothing to worry about."

"Blossom I bet you are but I heard that-" She began again and I put my hand up in the air in front of her.

"Thanks for the warning, Claire, but I don't have anything to worry about."

I put a row of small flowers across my family tree and it's green cloud of leaves. I painted them all kinds of pastel colors. Since the names weren't too impressive and my poor tree didn't have many branches, why not make it prettier than it actually was? My tree was the cutest.

"Let's pack up for lunch." Ms Lamar sighed.

-

Jason

"So we're actually killing someone this time?" I asked my brother, sighing from being so mentally tired after the past week. "Yeah."

"I could use some of that for my frustration." I joked, but it was more accurate than so.

"Talk about frustration. Andrea is killing me. Jackson is crying more and more during the nights. It's all driving me nuts. How did you handle it all?"

"I just did what I was supposed to do, Alex. It's not so hard being a parent. Just wait until he's talking and has a smart mouth."

"But the kid is gonna get to do whatever he wants. Andrea is already on it and doesn't even let me say no."

"Are these your actual issues?" I scoffed. "Just tell the kid no. What is she gonna do? Yell at you? Raise the kid right to make it easier for yourself later on."

"Did you raise yours right?" He asked me and I thought of it. "Blossom is perfectly fine for being a teenager with a heavy luggage. It could be worse, you know."

"And Little One?" Alex asked while cracking a smile, probably thinking of his niece.

"Ma..ddie" I paused. "She was a bit too soft with Alyssa but I balanced it out pretty well. She's a bit too stubborn."

"Why'd you pause?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"What?"

"What's up with Madison?"

I couldn't even man up and answer before I felt my throat thicken and eyes growing moist. I dropped my head into my crossed arms over the table. I buried my head in the safety of my own arms to escape the question.

"Jason.."

"She's fucking dead to me. Don't talk about her."

"Did you have a fight?" I could tell that he wanted to laugh a bit.

"She left me for someone else."

Alex laughed. "Okay. Next joke now."

"Does it look like I'm fucking kidding?" I yelled, attempting to blink a bunch of tears away. I calmed down and grunted. "Go visit Trey Smith and see for yourself."