𝓛𝓮𝓸𝓷 𝓚𝓮𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓭𝔂| ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 4

My Place in Their Hearts

I walk into Leon's apartment nervously like I have many times before, except this time we're not alone or on a date. Leon's eight year old son, Jackson, sits on the sofa with his arms crossed, the first glimpse he gives me doesn't convey anything positive, but regardless I smile as Leon rests a comforting hand on my lower back as he guides me further into the living room. 

"Jackson, this is Y/N, the woman I've been telling you all about." Leon softly smiles, arching a brow as Jackson glares at me. He doesn't say anything, so I wordlessly move forwards and kneel beside him, giving him my kindest smile as I hold out a hand. 

"Hey buddy, it's so good to finally meet you." I say, waiting for him to respond. Instead, he looks me up and down with a grimace then hops off of the sofa, walking away from me as Leon sighs and runs a hand over his face. I'm a little hurt that this hasn't gone the way I'd hoped, but Leon's quick to try and fix things as I stand and let him see my faltering smile. 

"I'm sorry, he's not usually so grumpy, I'll...I'll speak to him, give me a few minutes." Leon mumbles, quickly kissing my cheek as I nod and stand there twiddling my fingers. I hear Leon follow Jackson to his bedroom, there's hushed voices that grow louder and I hear Jackson yell something about 'she's not mom' and 'she'll never be good enough' before a door suddenly slams. I wince, waiting and waiting until Leon returns looking crestfallen. Through the months we've been dating I've never seen him look so worried and anxious. I wrap my arms around Leon, pulling him to me as he lets out a ragged sigh and rubs my back soothingly. "He's not taking this well. Not that I'd expected him to, I should've known he'd be stubborn like his mom." 

His mom. I feel a bout of jealousy for a few seconds before letting it slip away, she's been out of the picture long enough, and hasn't even bothered to come back and be a mother to her son, not since finding a new man to keep her on her toes, Leon told me she didn't like the idea of settling down for some boring family life for too long. Jackson wasn't supposed to happen, but for Leon's sake they went through with it. The woman stuck around for the first five years, but then decided being in one place wasn't fun. I hold onto Leon, squeezing him as he presses soft kisses to my neck. 

"It's okay, we'll try again some other time. He'll find the intrusion hard, it's best if we give him space to settle before I come back, if that's what you want?" I ask, voice strong as I try my best to be a reasonable adult. I already care for Jackson, and I'm head over heels for Leon, but if I can't fit into the family then I'm not going to force myself into somewhere I don't belong. Leon's brows knit together as he pulls away then cups my cheeks in both of his warm hands. 

"Of course I want you to come back, I'm not giving up on this." He murmurs as I nod and peel away from him, though I'm glad he's still determined, I know deep down that if Jackson never accepts me, then he'll have no choice but to put his son first and end things with me. Neither of us want that, but it doesn't stop the tears of worry falling down my cheeks as I walk out of Leon's apartment. I give it a week before Leon and I agree to try again, this time Jackson comes home from playing at his friends house to find me there waiting for him, pizza box in hand as I suggest having a gaming party. Jackson shakes his head, even going against Leon's pleads to 'at least try' as he heads to his room and locks himself in there all evening. Over the next two months Leon and I try to get Jackson to open up to me, we have days out together and they both even come to my house for a movie night, but no matter what I do or buy for the kid, he refuses to look at me twice. Leon perseveres better than I do, he speaks to therapists and professionals, seeking advice as we follow it, but even then Jackson just stomps off or ignores me. Each encounter only left me more wounded and hurt. 

One stormy night as I'm getting ready to go on another date with Leon, he calls me an hour early, voice raised and panicky. "Y/N, I-I don't know what to do, Jackson's missing, I think he's ran away. I can't find him, please-" He breaks off, voice hitching from emotion. Leon's had experience with search and rescue- he used to be an agent for the government or something- but from the fatherly point of view I can easily see how quick his knowledge and clear head goes out of the window. I calm my racing heart as I grab my coat and keys, I don't change into the outfit I'd planned to wear as I rush out wearing jeans and a ratty tee.