FLO: I Am Not My Father's Son [Zarry Stylik AU]©️

5

Liam drove holding the steering wheel with all his might. All these years he had done his best with Jaimie. Given the young teen everything. Overcompensating for the absence of his dada with all the gifts and shenanigans he could think of. Jaimie didn’t lack anything material. Now, here he was failing in front of him. 

Liam had his future all figured out: Jaimie would do well in school, go to an ivy league university, graduate top of his class and then join him at the company. Perhaps build a family with that Rosie girl (or any other pretty thing) and continue the new Payne legacy. Nothing like his family. Nothing like his own manipulative, detached family. None of that!

Jaimie would be loved, understood and welcomed. Jaimie wouldn’t be manipulative like Liam’s mother or emotionally distant like his father. He wouldn’t feel all of that being poured down into him. He would be good. Better.

Jaimie had all the good things Liam could offer: he was strong, smart, handsome and loyal. He was a good lado and he was the best thing that Liam had ever created. 

However, despite all the efforts, he sensed Jaimie slipping through his fingers. Liam thought that the undying love he had for the teenager would be enough. He thought that his parenting style would be enough. He wanted Jaimie to be a better version of himself, with less hurt and more kindness, but it didn’t seem that way.

The boy had grown distant, ever since arguing with Zayn. He had become quieter, spending more time in his room, drawing or painting. The result was obvious in his grades and how he responded to Liam. The father wanted to reach over to him, but Jaimie would not let him in. He would close up. Lifting barriers that were impossible for Liam, as his father, to climb. Which would, in the end, leave the man frustrated.

Very similar to what Zayn had done back shortly before they got a divorce. It was the same pattern: the distance, the fits, the silence. The fucking silence! 

How could two people, who have nothing in common genetically, be the same in their actions?

The father and son duo got along fine while the boy was young, but as Jaimie grew older it became harder to reach him. Jaimie got a personality of his own and Liam feared he had smothered Jaimie’s love with an everlasting presence.

“Where are we going?” Jaimie asked as Liam drove. The businessman hadn’t said a word ever since they got in the car after school. His silence spoke volumes, even if he didn’t want to. “Dad?” Liam’s jaw clenched and his face was stern, looking straight ahead into the mild London traffic. The streets were crowded with tourists and locals making their way in life. “Are you honestly angry at me?”

“I’m not angry at you, Jaimie. I’m trying to figure it out.”

“Figure what out?” Again another block of silence. “Dad?”

“You’re failing classes. You’re fighting at school-”

“I wasn’t fighting, I was helping Alex-”

“Look at your face! You’re not supposed to be doing that in school. You’re there to learn, not to pick up fights whether it be with the Grants or anyone else.”

“What was I supposed to do? Not help? Alex is my best friend, dad!”

“Whatever is happening with Alex, it’s his problem. It’s for Louis and Eleanor to resolve. Not you!”

“I saw Alex being chased by the Grants and went in to help. What, you wanted me to just…let him get beat to death?”

“They weren’t going to kill him, Jaimie.”

“He was being kicked all over, dad!” Jaimie argued as the car rolled forward. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see it!” Jaimie argued with a heavy heart. He looked out the window and mumbled “Zayn would’ve been proud of me.”