It was around noon when Chuck got the call. He had been in the middle of writing one of his books when they called. The school had called him telling him one of the boys had gotten into a fight. Chuck had immediately assumed it was Lucifer, but was then surprised to find out it was his youngest, Jaxton. He told the lady that he would be there to talk to the principal and pick up Jaxton.
Chuck grabbed his shoes and keys and quickly headed out the door. He was confused as to why Jaxton would want to fight someone. He usually got along quite well with the other kids and never caused problems with anyone.
Chuck pulled up in front of the school and hurried into the office. "Hi. I'm Chuck Shurley. My son got into a fight today. I'm here to pick him up." Chuck said to the lady at the front desk. "Yes. The principal would like to speak to you first." she said as she motioned to the closed door.
Chuck nodded and walked towards it. There was a boy sitting on the bench outside of it and he was sporting a bruise and a few scratch marks. He was surprised at the damage Jaxton had done to the kid. He was sure Lucifer had shown him how to do it.
Chuck knocked on the office door. "Come in." the principal said from inside. Chuck opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him. "Ah, Mr. Shurley." the principal stood and shook his hand. "Yeah. What happened?" Chuck asked. He looked over at Jaxton in one of the chairs. His nose had been scratched across the bridge and his lip had a cut in it. A huge bruise was around his eye and went almost halfway down the side.
"Well, from what the boys had told me, the other student in the hall had grabbed ahold of Jaxton's shirt and Jaxton must've panicked and his instinct must have taken over. Does he get beat up a lot at home?" Chuck's eyes narrowed at the question. "Are you suggesting I beat my son? Or that his brothers beat him? Because if that's what's happening, just tell me what his punishment is and we'll be on our way." Chuck said.
The principal sighed. "Ok. Jaxton will be suspended for 5 days and will not allowed to be on school property during school hours for those 5 days." he said. Chuck nodded and motioned for Jaxton to follow him. He had already gotten his book bag and other things to take home. Chuck led him out of the school, Jaxton grabbing Chuck's hand.
When they were out of the building and next to the car, Chuck knelt down to Jaxton's height. "I know you wouldn't hurt someone unless you felt threatened. I just want you to know that I'm not mad and you're not in trouble, alright?" Chuck said. Jaxton nodded and gave Chuck a hug. Chuck helped him into the backseat and made sure he was buckled in before he went to the driver's side and got in.
The ride back to the house was quiet. Whenever he would pick up all the boys, there was an argument between at least two of them, so Chuck found it comforting when Jaxton had started dozing off silently in the backseat.
By the time they had gotten to the house, Jaxton was fast asleep in the back. Chuck walked around the side of the car and got him out. Jaxton shifted a little bit as Chuck sat him on his hip and carried him inside. Chuck laid Jaxton down on the couch and grabbed his laptop. He sat down next to the sleeping boy and put the laptop on the arm rest. After a few moments, Jaxton had shifted more and rested his head on Chuck's lap.
The woman at the adoption center Chuck had gotten him at had told him before that Jaxton would be attached to Chuck once he trusted him. It had only taken a month or two for Jaxton to trust him. Now, whenever Chuck had to leave and left them with the babysitter, Jaxton would make Chuck promise he would come back. Jaxton's birth parents had ditched him when he was only 3 and now he wanted to always be around Chuck.
Chuck stared at his screen for a little while, no inspiration. He ran his fingers through Jaxton's hair. Chuck looked at the clock on his computer and saw that it was time for him to go get the rest of the boys. He looked down at Jaxton. Chuck didn't want to wake him and he knew that he would be asleep for a while. He could hurry and get the boys and come back before Jaxton woke up.