------Lucas’s POV------
Jason moved to sit on his bed, and patted the spot next to him. I nervously sat down. “Jason, I want to start by saying, I don’t want forgiveness. What I did was wrong, and I never want to do something like that ever again. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since coming to New York and being in Mr. Matthew’s class, it’s that people change people.
“Back in Texas, I was a disgraced son. I couldn’t even ride a sheep for eight seconds. People knew me as Lucas the failure, and that bothered me. Sure, my mama thought the world of me, but my pa? He wanted nothing to do with me. I get what it’s like to have a dad who’s not proud of you, and doesn’t care for you.” I raised my hands in defense. “Not that I’m trying to compare, or say I have it worse, or anything.”
“I appreciate that, Lucas,” Jason said, giving me a small smile. It gave me the courage to keep going.
“I was tired of people treating me like I was worse than them, that I was a nobody. So I started working out. I’d run with the horses in the pasture, especially the newborns, I started lifting weights, going to barn raisings-”
“Barn raisings?” Jason cut in, eyebrow raised.
“They’re a thing,” I started to say, before shaking my head. “Nevermind, we don’t have time, just imagine pulling up a wall with a pulley and rope. The point is, I started becoming tough, so that I could prove my worth to everybody.
“Zay and my other friends, Asher and Dylan, were the only ones that I was really nice to. Otherwise, I was pretty mean. People would walk the other way when I came down the halls, or duck into classrooms. And anyone that tried to tangle with me was on the ground when I walked away. It was a pretty dark time of my life.
“But nothing was good enough for my pa. Whenever I’d get in a fight, he’d just shake his head and say, ‘No Friar ever gets in a fight without a good reason.’ And even when I defended Zay, he just shook his head and walked away. Not even defending my best friend was good enough for him.
“Finally, my mom and dad split and I moved up here, it became a blank slate. I decided right then and there, I was not going to be the person I was back in Texas. And on my first day of class, I met all of my friends, and the rest is history.
“I don’t tell you this to excuse what I did, but rather to explain. When you started defending Riley, and telling me I failed her, I could feel the Texas Lucas itching to come out, and I couldn’t stop him. Jason, I’m so sorry for slapping you. I can’t do anything to make it right now, but I want you to know that I will never do it again.”
I paused, waiting for him to interrupt. I don’t know why I was worrying about it, but I was thinking that he was going to say something and stop me from finishing.
“Did you apologize to Riley?”
I nodded, thinking about a week ago when I did.
------Time Skip------
I knocked on the. Matthews’ apartment door, waiting for someone to answer. Mr. Matthews opened it. “Lucas?”
“Hello, sir. May I have your permission to speak to your daughter?”
“About what?” Mr. Matthews asked suspiciously.
“I owe her an apology for something that happened during the debate.”
“Why didn’t you just go into her room?”
“I didn’t want to be chased out before I could finish,” I said truthfully. He seemed to think it over and open the door wider. I took this as my cue to come in. “Thank you, sir.”
YOU ARE READING
Girl Meets Closet
FanfictionAll Jason Anderson wanted was to get through history class. His life was hard enough as is. But when Mr. Matthews calls on him to share some thoughts, his life will change. For better or worse, he needs to be ready to take on the world.
