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Jaden's mother →

~ Kris ~

I pressed my lips to Corbyn's warm ones. We were on my bed, and I was propped up against the pillows while he straddled me.

"Mm," he moaned, his kiss traveling down to my jaw.

"Jesus, guys, all you do is make out," Brooklyn complained. My boyfriend and I separated from each other to look at our friend who was watching the mounted smart TV in my room.

"If it bothers you so much, stop looking," Corbyn responded, an ever-present sassiness to his attitude. "It's not like we asked you to third wheel."

"Now, Corb, be nice," I said to him.

"What? She's supposed to be at cheer practice anyway," he whispered, but Brooklyn clearly heard him.

"I'm not at practice because coach isn't here today and I'm so not in the mood to deal with the girls. I have to teach the newbies a few routines before the football game. God, those talentless little weasels." She tossed her sun kissed blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Shouldn't be too hard. After all, cheerleading is just waving pom-poms, kicking your legs up high, and screaming at the top of your lungs." Corbyn got off of my body, facing Brooklyn and flashing her a bright smile. "Kinda like having sex minus the pom poms."

"Hey. Just because we make cheer look easy doesn't mean it is. There are a lot of broken bones involved."

"Okay, but acting is way more challenging. You're not just conveying a message through your emotions and body language but you have to make the viewers feel what you feel. They have to feel what you're faking. So yeah, I still think you're wasting your time in cheer."

"Guys," I butted in. "You two have this argument all the time. I don't think either of you is changing your mind anytime soon."

Brooklyn pointed at me. "Corb's slowly tryna pull you away from football and into the drama club. Especially with this new play."

"I don't see a reason I can't do both." I winked at my boyfriend and he smirked at me.

"Well, I never said football was a waste, now did I? I just think you have a future in acting. And speaking of the play, I'm gonna have the less gifted members of the club put up the flyers and sign-up sheets. I'm totally getting the lead."

I wrapped an arm around his waist, kissing his cheek. "You realize that you're not the casting director as much as you'd like to be and this isn't a one-man play."

"I'm the star of the drama program. Who else would get the role of love interest beside me?"

Brooklyn chuckled, a taunt in her voice. "Someone could be way better," she sang.

"If that's the case, though I highly doubt it..." Corbyn's eyebrows fell into a scowl, his modelesque face set tight. "I'll squash him like the bug he is. When I told Tiana to write the play, I made sure that she was envisioning me for the part. The role is mine and the thought of someone else kissing my boyfriend's lips is laughable."

"What exactly are you getting out of this?" I had to ask.

"A chance to share the stage with the boy of my dreams, Kris. That's you. This is our school's first gay play--you know what this means to me."

I held him closer. "I know your dad wasn't particularly open to the idea of you coming out and I know how hard it was for you. So are you really doing this to prove a point to him?"

Corbyn swallowed, his gaze falling to the bed. "Well, hopefully, it proves a point to all the homophobic bitches who call themselves parents," he responded bitterly, a fiendish smile on his face.

"In case you haven't noticed, our school is probably the most proud, lgbt-friendly school in all of San Francisco," Brooklyn reminded. "Pretty sure homophobic parents wouldn't let their kids go here."

"Jesus, Brook. What was the point of that entire statement?" Corbyn rolled his eyes and sighed. "I gotta go home. You wanna give me a ride, babe?" He asked me.

"Sure. I'll drop you off too, Brooklyn."

She began to smile until Corbyn scoffed at my offer. "She doesn't wanna third wheel. Why don't you just call an uber since you hate our PDA?"

"Ignore him; he doesn't mean that." I shot my boyfriend a glare and stood up from my bed to grab my keys.

"I totally did."

✨✨

~Jaden~

"Thanks for the ride, Dad!" I exclaimed, exiting the car and opening the door to the back seat to retrieve my violin case.

"One hour," he reminded me. "I'll be at the cafe closeby incase you need me to pick you up early."

"Got it, thanks. See you." I waved to him and walked up to the trailer park home. I stepped over shards of glass from broken beer bottles and other pieces of trash scattered all over the place. I knocked on the door and glanced behind me to see my dad's car still there. He'd never drive away until he knew I was safe and with my mother. I guess that even though my mother was an addict, he knew that he could trust her with my physical well-being. She wouldn't jeopardize my security.

The door opened to reveal a familiar man in his forties with a cigarette hanging loosely between his lips. He was wearing a slightly stained wife beater with white washed jeans. Typical.

"You again. You won't quit."

I averted my gaze. "Is my mom here?"

"'Course she is; she ain't never leave," he drawled. Leaning his head back, he called out to my mother. "Hey, Joana! Your boy's here!" He glanced back at me for a second before completely ignoring my presence and walking away.

I wiped my palms along my jeans, darting a look behind me to find Dad still parked along the road. He rolled down the window to shout to me.

"She there?"

"Yeah!" I answered. It'd been three weeks since I last saw Mom, so I was admittedly a little nervous about spending time with her. I turned back around in time to see her appear at the door and I instantly sent her a warm smile. I couldn't help it; I missed her.

There was little light in her hazel green eyes and her brown hair was wavy like mine but was in fringes. She had on a purple t-shirt and shorts, but I wasn't paying much attention to what she was wearing. Every single time I visited her, the first thing I liked to check for was the silver charm bracelet that sat around her wrist. It possessed a small violin, violin bow, a music note, the letters J, E, and R for the names of her children. I made it for her last year after she and Dad split.

It represented hope that she could get better and be a part of our lives again. Hope that we could play music together like we used to.

"Hey, Momma," I whispered. I watched as she wet her chapped lips and folded her arms.

"Jaden," she acknowledged with a raspy voice. "How long has it been?" She touched my soft hair, sliding her fingers down the length of my locks then smiling tightly. I noticed her looking past my shoulder at Dad, and he took it as his cue to drive away.

"Three weeks, I think."

She cleared her throat, nodding and assessing me. "You look good. You look healthy."

"Balanced meal, lots of water, fresh air, and relaxing music is all it takes." I sat down on the steps and she joined me. "And I learned a new song on the violin." I opened my instrument case, but my mother didn't respond to me. Instead, she stared out into space then blinked absentmindedly. "Why are you here, Jaden?"

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "W-what do you mean? I wanna spend time with you."

"But why? I don't have what you're looking for; I can't be who you want me to be."

"I'm not asking you to be anyone else. It's not a crime for me to miss you and love you despite... Look, all I want -all Dad and Emery want is for you to get better."

"Yeah, well," she sniffed. "I'm fine."

"We want you back, Mom. Don't you want that, too?" I softly smiled. "Remember all the amazing Christmases we had? The fun and spooky Halloweens? The pranks we used to pull on each other? Or when Raina was two years old and kept trying to run away from her shadow; she'd run to you bawling her eyes out."

"I get it," Mom stopped me. I shut my mouth, looking away from her as a sense of rejection settled in my heart. "How is she by the way?"

"Raina? She's five now but she can't remember you. The sad thing is that Dad thinks it's for the best. Is that what you want? For her not to know you?"

Mom gradually shrugged, shaking her head. "Maybe it is for the best."

"No!" I scowled. "You're just saying that because if Raina can't remember who you are, she's just one less person you have to be a disappointment to!" I regretted those words the moment I uttered them, leaving me to gasp in surprise of myself. I closed my eyes and chewed on my lip. "I'm so sorry; I didn't mean that."

"No, you're right. I am a disappointment."

I opened my eyes to gaze at her sorrowfully. "I'm not here to blame you for anything. It's just that everytime I try to understand why you would abandon us, I can't. Yeah, anyone who doesn't know you would say it's the drugs, but I know you. You're stronger than this. It's been a year since you left, and your daughter has already forgotten you. Soon it'll be two years which will turn into three. You'll miss birthdays, graduations, crushes and broken hearts, seeing us off to college, our first apartments... weddings." I tucked my espresso hair behind my ear. "I guess I can't make you want to experience that with us."

We were both silent for quite a while, letting the wind whistle past us. I heard her sniffling heavily before noticing the tears falling from her eyes.

"Mom," I sympathized, resting my head against her shoulder. "You're in a dark place so don't feel obligated to us. Take care of yourself first before thinking about anything or anyone else. I just wanted you to know that we're still family. That means we got your back. I got you," I promised.

"Jaden, could you do me a favor?"

I lifted my head. I was about to tell her that I didn't have any money to give, but for the first time, that wasn't her request. She held my soft little hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Play a song for me."

🎗🎗🎗🎗🎗

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