The Sparks of the Lights

III.

It was him. Kayden - his son. His eyes had a color of blood. Joe stopped breathing for a while. He has never seen his son in this state. They were standing there, looking into each other's eyes. Well, Joe was. Kayden's mind was god knows where. He didn't even realize who is standing in front of him.

"Where have you been?" Joe decided to speak up first. "You supposed to be here. In your room! It's almost midnight! So where the hell have you been?!" Kayden didn't pay attention to anything his father said. He took his shoes off and passed him by. "Hey, I'm talking to you?!" Joe shouted this time.

"Nowhere," Kayden mumbled, going right to his room. 

"Hey, don't turn your back on me when I am talking to you! Where do you think you're going, young man?" 

"My room. It's the place I suppose to be, right." 

Joe was taken aback by his answer. He was standing there, his mouth slightly open. He had nothing to say. Nothing came to his mind.

"We're having a conversation about this tomorrow morning!"

"Conversation about what?" Joe heard the third voice in this, well in his monologue because Kayden wasn't part of it. He turned around and saw his mother standing in the doorway, confused. Joe just breathed out heavily and went directly to the living room. He passed by his mother without saying a single word. He sat on the couch and covered his face with his hands. 

"What's going on, my dear?" His mother asked carefully and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Mom, please, don't," Joe said and moved her hand away. He was too upset about this situation. He didn't want to talk to anybody now. He wanted just to disappear. "It was Kayden," he decided to talk.

"Kayden? But he is in his room," Joe's mom said, being confused.

"You supposed to look after him, mom! That's why you're here, right!"

"Yeah but..."

"He just sneaked out of his room and went god knows where and got wasted!" Joe was desperate. He was blaming his mother. 

"Don't lay the blame on me, Joseph! He's a teenager! He doesn't want to spend his free time with his old grandmother! Or you think he would love to stay here with me and play scrabble? I don't think so." And with those words, she stood up form the couch, grabbed her purse and went to the hall. Joe just closed his eyes, run his hand through his hair and stood up as well. He helped his mother to get into her coat. 

"You're not old," Joe said, trying to lighten the atmosphere. He succeeded in making her chuckle. "I went it too far. I am sorry."

"It's okay. I know it's not easy to take care of a teenager. It's always hard for a single-parent to take care of a child. I know what I am talking about. But I know you do your best. You can do it. I believe you." Yeah, Joe knew exactly what his mother is talking about. He was brought up by her from two to his eighteen birthday. And he knew it was no walk in the park for her. He was a rebel. He used to smoke a lot. He used to drink a lot too. He was not a moderate drinker. His first shot of strong alcohol was at his friend's birthday party when he was thirteen. Now he realized he was much worse than Kayden is right now. He knew his mother didn't want to pay attention to his actions. She was blind to his behavior even if she knew exactly what was going on. She wanted to be the perfect mother to her perfect son. She wanted to prove the whole world that she can take care of his son all alone. She did not believe any rumors even though they were true. She didn't want to admit the fact that her son might be anything but an angel and a perfect offspring. 

But Joe's behavior changed when Kayden was born. Joe was facing a new situation. It turned his life upside down. He had to take care of the little baby of his and his girlfriend. So he went to the city to look for a job because money was the only thing they needed the most. Even though his girlfriend was as such a rebel as he was the years ago, he loved her.