Permission to Love

Chapter Twenty

~ 13 Years Later ~

"Why did you come? They will kill you if they find you here." She pleas in fright.

"Stone walls couldn't keep me away. I am a man in love and I have heard it makes you do crazy things." He looks up at her, the smirk on his face widening as the next words fall from his lips. "Your parents must have forgotten what it was like to be young."

"But not how to use a gun. You must leave."

"Jaelyn! Dinner's ready!" The sixteen-year-old jumps slightly at the shout from downstairs and turns back to the male boy standing across from her.

"I guess we will finish running lines after dinner." She concludes, before setting her script of a modern Romeo and Juliet on her bed. She turns back to the boy and smiles softly. "Thanks for helping me. I was dreading having to run lines of Romeo and Juliet with my dad." Jaelyn shutters at the thought and laughs softly with the boy as they make their way out of the bedroom.

"No problem. I'd never turn down the opportunity to be the Romeo to your Juliet." The boy smiles over at Jaelyn, causing her cheeks to blush a soft pink. His eyes wander over Jaelyn's shoulder and catch a glimpse of a picture lying on the hallway table. He reaches over and picks up the photograph, holding it in front of him as his eyes flow from the male in the picture to Jaelyn. "Your father?" He asks before lowering the picture in confusion. Judging facial features and overall looks, it is impossible to deny that they were closely related and the boy catches it immediately.

Jaelyn smiles softly and takes the picture from him, nodding in agreement. "He died before I was born." She runs a finger over the picture and sighs softly. "I just wish I could have known him."

"That's so strange. I would never have guessed that Mr. Weston wasn't your dad, you two act so much alike."

Jaelyn sets the picture back on the table and smiles at the boy. "He is my dad. Whoever said you can't have two? Come on, I'm starving." She laughs softly and takes the boy by the hand, pulling him down the stairs and into the dining room.

"Oh, Juliet, come now, tis time to eat!" Kathryn jokes with a chuckle while setting the last plate down on the table.

"Thou doesn't needeth to ask dos!" Jaelyn chants back as the boy pulls out her chair with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you just mix old English with Spanish?" He questions with a laugh.

"I march to the beat of an entirely different band, young sir." The girl responds, before taking her seat and eyeing the food in front of her hungrily.

The boy chuckles and observes each classy family member seated around the table, suddenly feeling uncomfortable as he glances down at his greasy pants and plain white t-shirt. "I'm sorry about my clothes..." He drifts off, unsure of how to apologize for dressing exactly how he always does. Suddenly, the front door swings open and a couple steps into the dining room. The woman is dressed much like Xander, proper and business-like while the man is opposing all of them, his jeans resembling the boy's while his shirt makes it easy to assume he works as a mechanic.

"I hope you didn't eat all the food," the man who just walked in, jokes as he sits down at the table.

"We had to get a head start before you got here and ate everything, tablecloth included." Xander points out with a smirk, earning and snicker from Kathryn who just finished giving Jackson a friendly hug from the side.

Jaelyn watches as her friend loosens up and smiles as he sits down beside her. "Uncle Jackson, Auntie Maddy; this is my friend, Tanner. Tanner, this is Maddy and Jackson."

Jackson holds out his hand with a smile while his other holds a cold glass of soda to his lips. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." The boy responds with a surprised smile before turning back to Jaelyn. "Your uncle?"

"Yeah," Jaelyn draws out the words slowly before smiling around the table at everyone. "This is my family."

Tanner smiles and reaches for the bowl of mashed potatoes, his fear of this dinner quickly easing away at the sight of the wonderfully blended family. He doesn't have to fear being judged for who he is or how he dresses because everyone at this table knows what that feels like and how much it hurts to be told you're not good enough or rich enough to love.

"Drive safe, Tanner!" Xander shouts out the door as the boy makes his way to his car.

"It was nice meeting you!" Kathryn continues as the boy turns to give one final wave. She smiles and steps inside the house, closing the door behind her.

"Thank you."

Both Kathryn and Xander stop in their tracks at the sound of those words coming from their daughter's mouth. "For what?" Xander asks, the corner of his mouth curling into a small smile.

"For being yourselves. Tanner was so worried about meeting you all week because of his family and where he lives. I told him he didn't have anything to worry about, but he's so used to being judged."

Kathryn smiles and stands behind her daughter, wrapping her arms around her from behind. "I knew he reminded me of someone." She smiles and kisses the top of her head.

"Who?" Jaelyn asks.

"Your father."

"Really?" Jaelyn turns to her mother with bright eyes, excited for some sort of grasp on what her biological father was like.

Kathryn nods and places her hands on either side of Jaelyn's face. "I want you to know that I will never make anyone you choose to spend your time with feel like they're not good enough. My mother did that with Jamie and it was wrong. No one deserves to feel like they're not worthy because of the car they drive or clothes they wear, true worth is on the inside and I never want you to forget that."

"How can I with parents like you?" Jaelyn questions with a smirk as Kathryn wraps her in a hug.

"Jaelyn Weston, you will need my permission to do a lot of things in life but one thing you will never need — from anyone — is permission to love with your whole heart."

~THE END~

 

WHAT DID YOU THINK? I HOPE THE ENDING WAS OKAY, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON IT BUT I'M NEVER REALLY HAPPY WITH ANY OF MY STORY ENDINGS :/

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK IN THE COMMENT SECTION AND I WILL POST MORE IN A WEEK WHEN I GET BACK FROM MY MUCH NEEDED VACATION! LONG COMMENTS WOULD BE AWESOME! ;D THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE SUPPORT I'VE RECIEVED! PLEASE CONTINUE COMMENTING ON MY OTHER STORIES AND I WILL POST A NEW CHAPTER FOR THE STORY THAT RECIEVED THE MOST COMMENTS WHEN I RETURN! <3

HAPPY SUMMER!!