Jack of all Trades

Chapter 8

After a month and a half of being Tyson's dad, I realized something. I have better control of my emotions now, unless they concern Tyson. I mean, I don't get angry at random people being slow in the hallways, but the second someone bumped Tyson? I shoved him so hard he fell back and slid a few feet. I heard that I bruised his ribs. I got detention for it, and thats how the school officially had to recognize that I was bringing a child with me to school everyday. So far Ms. Gallon had been keeping everyone off my back and ensuring that the teachers weren't causing problems for me, since her wife is a scientist who works on better understanding dragons. 

Dragons don't actually live on Earth, they live in a pocket of existence that a Jack (I don't remember the name) made for them.  Its a really cool story. So the first dragons ever recorded were huge, impossibly huge, and most had to live in the sea because it was the only place they could fit. Its not like they are actually a rare species either, so there were tons of these huge goliaths roaming the Earth. So one dragon and the Jack at the time worked to make a pocket of existence at the highest point in the world, aka Mt. Everest. The Jack made it as good as he could, and the flaw actually made it better. The flaw was that the world was always expanding, so it was always big enough for more dragons. So no matter how big the dragons got, there was still enough room for them to fit. It scares me to know that one day Tyson will have to go back and live there because he will get to big. Unless he wants me to stunt his growth at some point. I could make it to where he wouldn't get so big and he could stay on Earth and I wouldn't ever have to say good bye... Jack, stop. You are being selfish. You are not going to do that to you're child...unless he asks. 

Anyways. Then the Jack tethered the pocket to the top of Mt. Everest using a complicated series of magic so that it is only a small hole but when a living creature goes through it, it expands for them. I assume thats how Tyson got here.  How did he get to my mountain from Everest? Maybe he flew? But he couldn't fly then... I push the though aside.

I give him a hug as I remember the day I found him. I All cut up and bruised and lost and alone and...

"Love you too, dad." I hold him just a bit closer. I have time with him still. Its not like hes gonna be so big he has to leave until many decades later.

----

Tyson lets out a laugh as my mom tickles him. We are sitting at the dinner table playing bored games and he just won.

Dad yawns.

"I'm really tired, so I'm gonna hit the hay." He says, then kisses us all on the top of out heads and goes upstairs.

"I'm tired too, dad." Tyson admits, standing up. I go up with him so I can say goodnight. I go get his PJs out and turn on his night light while he brushes his teeth.

"Goodnight dad." He says once hes all snuggled in bed. I look at him and I just can't help leaning over and hugging him. I feel like a mom to her newborn.

"Night, Ty. Love you."

"Love you."

I close the door and go to kitchen where my mom is cleaning up. I help her.

"Jack, I just want you to know that I think its amazing how much you care for him. When Dr. Kelly told us that you would have a hard time transitioning to parenthood, I believed her 100%. I thought you were gonna brake down or be distant to him. I thought that you were gonna get bored of him and want to go back to being a teenager after the first few days. But I've seen how much you care for him. You spoil him so much sometimes, it blows my mind. You are an amazing dad Jack, and I know it must be hard because you are a teenager, and you've never really gotten the chance to be a regular teen."

"Mom-"

"You've always been distant with all your friends to the point I wound't call them friends and then you met Tanner and it makes me so happy hearing you guys play your video games. It amazing when you guys hang out and you include Tyson with out hesitation. I think its just amazing how much you have grown."

"Mom-"

"Jack, I love you and your father loves you and we are just so proud of you." I tear up a bit. 

"Thank you."

"Oh honey." Mom gives me a big, long hug and I feel a lot of stress roll off my shoulders.

---

I was laying in bed, scrolling on my phone, when I hear Tyson scream. Its not the first time hes had a nightmare, but I haven't heard him scream before. 

I sprint into his room, throwing the door open so hard that it falls off the hinges. Tyson is curled up under his bed in dragon form, his head tucked to his tummy with his tail covering it. 

I sit on the floor next to the broken door and wait. My parents come in a second later, and wait at the door. We learned that when hes curled up like that he is usually having flashbacks and touching him just freaks him out more. I guess he must have fallen out of bed and thought he was being thrown around or something. I don't know much about the abuse, I just know that it was physical, not so much verbal.

W sit in silence for a while, at one point he climbed into my lap, but he was still crying. He fell asleep but when I tried to get up, he panicked again. So I ended up falling asleep leaning against his bed, his dragon form in my lap, cutting up my thighs.

-----

I wake up before Tyson, so I stay sill until he wakes up. He dose an hour later.

He snorts as he wakes up, letting out a puff of hot air. He shifts back.

"Dad?" He yawns and stretches,

"Yeah?"

"Why are you in here?" He asks, looking around.

"You had a nightmare, a really bad one."

"Oh. I don't like nightmares, They are scary."

"They are scary. Want to tell me what happend in this one?"

"I felt the nest moving, and mommy and other daddy took me to The Out and they flew for a long time. Then they put me down and flew away. I was on a mountain! The animals weren't nice there, Dad. They would growl at me! So I growled back and they got scared!  They wouldn't come close in dragon form. Then you found me, Dad! And you took me home and gave me bubbles!"

Thats how he got here? His parents just... left him? I assume they flew to this side of the world so he would't just go back in. My poor kid. 

"You promised you would take care of me! And you have! Your my real dad now!" I smile at him, it wouldn't do any good to make him sad right now.

"Yeah, Ty! I'll always take care of you! You're my son now, and I love you."

"Love you to dad!"

I give him a hug and maybe it lasts longer then usual, and maybe I squeeze a bit more then I normally do.