Ferris Wheel In The Vagary

Chapter III

"So how old are you now, Jayus?"

The car ride to Jayus' godfather, who he now knew as Mathieu Criss-Casimir, had been a long way ahead into a pretty substantial neighborhood. In the hour that they had driven, Jayus had gotten to know his godfather by quite a mile with how much Mr. Criss-Casimir talked about himself, his relationship with Jayus' parents, and everything that popped on his mind. Mathieu owned a huge business in the city, though he hadn't specified which company, Jayus could only tell they must be well known by how Mathieu Criss-Casimir presented himself. Mr. Criss-Casimir had been long friends with his parents before Jayus was born, and he had attended a party his parents had thrown for his first birthday. He had also lost his wife only a few years ago, and had to carry the company he and his wife had started, building it to what it is now. When Mathieu Criss-Casimir wasn't talking about himself or Jayus' parents, he'd be talking about Jayus. And if he wasn't talking about Jayus, he'd be talking about alien conspiracy theories.

"I'm turning twenty four in a few days," Jayus answered, his eyes wandering out the window and to the ridiculously large gates of each house. You could barely even see what was inside unless the gates were graciously opened. Mathieu made a sound of delight at that.

"You're just around the same age as my son!" Mathieu said, rather excitedly. Jayus was intrigued by this, turning to the man as they took a left in the neighborhood. A son. Jayus wasn't surprised, but rather wondering the fact that this man's eyes began to shine at the mention of his son.

"He'll be turning twenty-two in November. Even though he's already grown, he often acts like a little kid but you'd be surprised with the way he acts around other people. It's like he's set a whole different persona outside," Mathieu's words rang in Jayus' ear like a tidal wave, sinking deep into the pits of his mind.
He sure likes to talk about his son. Something Jayus will never have.
His parents started leaving on business trips the moment he learned how to talk. At first, it was little business trips that lasted for five days as a maximum. Then it lasted for a week until they stopped coming back after all this time. Jayus had to be thankful, though. They left him a house and money for his living expenses and education. He managed to survive thanks to that without getting a part time job.

"I'm sure both of you will get along just great!" Mathieu continued merrily in his conversation, "If he does anything stupid, knock him right over the head. You have my blessing to do so."
Knock him right over the head!? To say Jayus was taken aback would be the understatement of the year. Doesn't that seem a little too harsh?
Hurting someone so out of the blue doesn't seem like a pleasant thing to hear about, but then again, Jayus was guilty of doing something similar. Jayus sheepishly fodgetted with his nails.

It's not like I did it for no reason anyways. Both times!

Jayus shook his head. There was no use thinking about it, the cop was getting on his nerves and that was reason enough. As for Xan, that a-hole had what was coming to him! This entire time he had let Xan use him, whether it was in college or using his house to throw parties or spending his money— He had casually let him get away with everything without ever paying Jayus back! The very recollection of it made his blood boil, and a dark thought clouded within his mind.

If I ever see his face again, he's dead meat.

"It has been so long since the last time I have seen you. Back then, you were just wee little baby!" Mathieu said, pinching his fingers together, flustering Jayus into a frenzy of embarrassment.
Enough of that already! Jayus quietly begged, gripping on his knees.

"Your parents did a good job raising you."

At those words, Jayus froze, and it was like all emotion drained out of his face. For a moment, it was quiet. Mathieu could only assume Jayus had gotten tired from the events when he didn't answer. Jayus took in a deep breath, and swallowed whatever rising anger had hitched up in his throat, and in the softest voice he could muster, he spoke the few words that have replayed multiple times in his mind.

"My parents didn't raise me," Jayus said. Mathieu hadn't expected those words in the least, for a moment, he thought he had heard wrong as he kept a smile and glanced at Jayus with a confused look. Seeing his expression from the corner of his eyes, Jayus doubted whether or not he should continue talking, but the burning bile that had stayed unbothered in his stomach for so long had started to hurl, and he could no longer control the words he had said next. Fueled with years of pain and disappointed promises of longing for a family that wasn't there, he couldn't just keep quiet anymore.

Not with Xan.

Not with his family.

Not about him.

"My parents didn't raise me because they were never present in my entire life..." Jayus voice seemed to crack under the pressure of his own words, hitting the back of his throat as it struggled to set itself free into air. Whether his godfather, Mathieu Criss-Casimir, had the tiniest bit of understanding his words, only Jayus could understand the true weight of it.
As soon as those words left his lips, his eyes stayed glued to his lap the entire time. When seconds passed without ever hearing a peep from the older man, Jayus began to wonder if he should've said anything at all. He'd spent his entire life being silent about this part of his life, was he really risking losing the only shelter he currently had just because of his little grudge against his parents? He had made a stupid move then.

What came from his godfather was neither a slap across the face for berating his old friends, nor did he kick Jayus out of the car the moment he heard those words. Instead, the words he spoke came as a surprise to Jayus. Although, it was never meant to comfort him, those words were never meant to insult his parents either. Truly it was all he needed to hear from someone for quite a while.

"They must be terrible at parenting then," Mathieu laughed, softly. "You did a good job raising yourself to be the man you are."

Before Jayus could realize where they were headed, they had already passed by very long laws of five big, beautiful houses. The longer he stared out, the longer these gates got.

Just where is his house located?! We've been driving for nearly two hours!

Seeing his mild anticipation, Mathieu couldn't help but smile at the obvious curiosity Jayus unknowingly displayed.

"Don't worry, we'll be arriving soon enough!"

What Jayus had expected had turned out to be true. Only doubling his expectations and surprising him to the fullest. He had already expected the house to look exactly like the ones they had passed by with gates structured with gold, diamond windows and houses looking like they'd been sculptured out of Da Vinci's imagination. Although this house was fairly small compared to the others he had seen, the land he owned could rival a stadium and a Malls parking area combined. The house in itself was big in Jayus' opinion. As soon as they parked, Jayus followed Mathieu in the house as quietly as possible. His red eyes followed his surroundings curiously and he tried to reach his vision as far as he could.

"This is where you'll be living from now on," Mathieu pressed a code on the lock by the door, generating a sound of a ding followed by a click. Before he could push open the door, he turned around to Jayus who followed closely behind. Confused, Jayus stared back as Mathieu placed a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"I may not know what you've gone through up until now but do know that you're not alone from here on out."

When he flung open the door, Jayus couldn't help but gawk in awe. As soon as he stepped in, he was immediately welcomed by the living room. Long, fluffy couches faced the giant, flat screen tv. On the other side of the living room, and through the glass walls, you could see the pristine, clear waters of the pool. But that wasn't all. The more Jayus looked around, the more he took note of the paintings in the walls, signed by famous artists he'd only seen on social media. Not only that but the intricate vases and artifacts littered all over the house screamed: I'm fucking rich!

"Make yourself at home!" Mathieu said, turning to Jayus with a warm smile and a pat on the shoulder, "I mean it."