You walk into the kitchen and grab some stuff off the countertop before walking past your son, Jason. You go to ruffle his hair and he dodges it.
You smile and set the stuff down on the table. He slouches down on the couch without saying a word to you.
"How was school?"
No response. You lean against the fridge, wondering what's wrong.
He seems visibly upset about something. You know he's been having a hard time with his friends lately but that doesn't seem to be what's going on now.
"Is something wrong?"
"It doesn't matter."
Colby walks past you and gives you a little kiss on the cheek as he walks by. You tap his arm and point at Jason.
He looks at him and then back at you and tilts his head.
"Do you wanna talk about it or anything?"
"Can you just stay out of it? For once?"
You look at Colby.
"I don't want to be the one to have to yell at him," you whisper nervously, hoping it wouldn't have to be you.
"It's fine baby. I'll do it if it comes to that," he whispers back.
"Can I at least know who it's about?"
He stands up and faces you.
"I said it doesn't matter okay? Why do you have to keep pushing it if I don't want to talk to you about it?"
You cross your arms and look right at him.
"You don't have to get bitchy with me."
"Then who do I get pissed off at? It's no one else that's asking me every five seconds what the problem is but you! It's annoying."
Colby steps forward. Jason seems to back down a little but stays standing there.
"Watch it."
"Or what? Is she gonna yell at me some more? Are you gonna yell at me? I don't care."
"Go to your room."
Jason just looks at both of you, not moving.
"I said go. Right now."
Colby's serious voice was scary and he hardly ever used it. Jason wasn't one to rebel or argue but when Colby stepped in he shut right down.
Jason hesitates but then goes upstairs and slams his door. You leave the kitchen and go stand in the foyer for a second.
Colby follows.
"You okay?"
You nod. Colby hugs you from behind and rests his chin on your shoulder.
"I don't think he means what he said."
"I don't either, but I hope he's okay."
You put your hand on Colby's and lean against him.
"Will you go talk to him?"
"Right now?"
You nod.
"He's been having a rough week. I think he just needs someone to listen to him right now."
"Sure."
He kisses you and goes upstairs to Jason's room. You stand at the foot of the stairs, listening as Colby knocks on the door softly.
"Can I come in?"
You walk up the stairs and stand against the wall next to the door.
You hear a faint go away from within. It doesn't sound defensive or rude, more like fear or sadness.
You bite your lip and look at Colby. He seems worried.
He knocks again and you both listen.
Go away, please...
It sounds like he's begging to be left alone. You hear a sniffle and put your hand on Colby's arm. You gesture to the stairs and he nods slightly.
"I wonder what happened. I hope I wasn't too harsh on him."
"You weren't. Something's definitely up."
You and Colby sit and watch TV for about twenty minutes before you decide to try again. You let Colby go first again.
He knocks softly.
There's no response but you can hear light sniffling from inside.
This time, you move in front of Colby and knock, even softer then he did.
You try the knob, and this time it's unlocked. You quietly turn it and step into the room. You see Jason curled up in his bed, facing the wall. Colby just peeks his head in but doesn't enter.
You make your way to the bed and sit next to Jason. You can see his chest heave every time he sniffles.
You feel bad for him; after all, he's only 14. You wonder what made him so sad.
He turns to face you and you put your hand gently on his tearstained cheek. He looks up at you.
"You sure you don't wanna talk about it?"
He shakes his head.
"My girlfriend... she broke up with me today because she wanted another guy, and now I found out they've been dating behind my back and I don't know what to do."
You frown and look at Colby, who's still listening from the doorway.
"You don't deserve to have that happen to you. You were nothing but sweet and loving to her and she threw that away."
He nods and another tear rolls down his face.
"I miss her so much. It hurts so bad."
"I know it does. Heartbreak is a shitty thing and it makes you feel stupid and useless. Some people don't know what they have when they have it, and that's the case with her. She didn't realize that you really, genuinely loved her. She'll regret it."
"I'm sorry for getting mad at you guys, I didn't mean to say what I said..."
You push his floppy hair back from his face and smile.
"Hey, it's okay. We're not mad. Stuff happens. Right Colby?"
He nods from the doorway and comes to sit next to you on the bed.
Jason starts talking about the girl to both of you and you realize how much she meant to him. You see the hurt in his eyes as he's talking about everything he misses about her.
Both you and Colby just listen. Neither of you say a word until Jason's done.
At the end of his rant, he looks to you and Colby for advice.
"It's gonna be hard without her for a while; you're gonna miss her with your whole heart and want her back more than anything in this world. You won't want to see her or hear her voice because it'll hurt to think of what you had."
You look at Colby as he says this.
"She's gonna be on your mind like crazy and you'll absolutely hate it. You'll think you can never get over her. Then, you'll find someone new. You'll think she's the prettiest little thing you've ever seen, with a beautiful laugh and a perfect smile. You'll love every inch of her and everything about her. She'll adore you and you'll both fall in love. She'll appreciate everything you do to make her happy and love every second of it. You'll find your person."
This makes you smile. Jason nods and manages a little smile in return.
You mess with his hair for a second longer before you both decide he needs a little alone time to think things over.
That night, you find a note on the refrigerator that says thank you in Jason's handwriting. You smile.
request for @xoxojarasolby hope u like it homie
all im finna say after that is it must be absolutely phenomenal to have supportive and non-manipulative parents who don't shoot down every idea or figment of imagination you have, somebody please tell me what that's like
anyway, i have a crap ton of requests to get in so i apologize (again) if they're taking forever to get done. i just got back from a 4th of July vacation in Lexington which was pretty good i suppose so nothing got done like all week lmao
gracie xx
