Dissociative Psyche ✦ J. Riley | ✓ [book 2]

19~ Stopped Feeling Sorry for Myself

"I found him carefully studying me, his lips in a thin line. "Has anyone ever taken care of you?" he asked quietly.
"No." I'd long since stopped feeling sorry for myself about it."

~ A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J. Maas

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That Monday afternoon, right at three o'clock, the children ran out of the school as fast as they could. They were going out to sports practice, the arcades, or just off to do some homework. Quentin hopped down the steps two-by-two, stopping short when he saw Jake sitting on one of the park benches. Jake smiled when they met eyes, but Quentin was suddenly scared; not for his sake, for Jake's.

"What're you doing here?" Quentin asked as he came over, "My grandparents said you're not allowed to be around me," 

"Well, I figure that what you're grandparents don't know won't hurt us," he chuckled sheepishly, "Come have a seat,"

Quentin sat on the bench with Jake, "Did you find the guy who was shooting cops?" he asked.

"Not yet, but we're getting closer," he said, "Soon, you'll be able to come home, we'll get Jenna back, just in time for your semi-final game," 

"Grandma said I might not be coming home this time," he said, "I really want her to be wrong. Their house always smells like cat piss," 

Jake gave a small grin, "She is wrong. And tell you what; as soon as this case is over, the three of us are jetting off to Hawaii for a week. We're just going to get away from it all," he said.

"Why did you come here, Jake?" Quentin suddenly asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Me? I'm..." he was about to reply with 'fine', but Jake knew better then that. Quentin was a smart kid, he's be able to see right through him, "Honestly, I'm pretty upset. I miss you, I miss Jenna. But the only thing keeping me going right now is knowing that I'm going to fix all this. We're going to move back into the house, we might even get a dog," he nudged him.

"You're over compensating again," he said, "You did that a lot after my mom died," 

"I just don't want you to worry," he replied, "I want you to know that everything's going to be okay," 

"I know," Quentin nodded, "You always make everything better. Nobody takes out Jake Riley," he stated proudly. Jake chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"You got that right," he replied, "For now, I just need you to stick it out a bit longer. You think you can do that?" he asked.

"You mean survive off cat piss and spinach surprise for another few weeks? I may die," he said.

"You teenagers are alway so dramatic," he sighed as he stood up. He then reach into his pocket, "I brought you something. I found it in your room," he pulled out Quentin's baseball, and immediately, the thirteen-year-old's eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

"Thanks, Jake," he smiled up at him. At that moment, there was a car honk. Quentin immediately whipped around, eyes falling on a grey Subaru.

"That's Grandpa, I got to go," he said.

"Okay," Jake patted his shoulder, "If you need anything, anything at all..."

"I'll call you," Quentin nodded, "Love you, Jake,"

"Love you too, bud," 

Quentin started to the car, but he turned back around, "Tell Jenna I love her too," he said. Jake smiled back and nodded.