~J A C K S O N~

YOU KNOW WHAT THE MOST ANNOYING THING IS ABOUT BEING A GROWN UP? Sometimes, you just lose a bond with your parents and it's hard to get through something like that. I lost my father and I'm this close to losing my mother if I don't fix this.

I asked Austin to take Theo to the bookstore and let Linda look after him all while maintaining the bookstore. I knew it was much to ask but she insisted and said that it was okay, and that I look after myself before arriving to work and scaring the customers off.

I knew that the only thing that would really get me calmed is reading my fantasy romance books. But that didn't help at all. My heart feels so heavy and light at the same time but I'm not sure if it's a good thing.

My dad certainly wouldn't be proud of this argument my mom and I had because well, he was a very harmless peaceful guy. He always tried to form a family like in those romance books he reads and it has been like that since forever. I really think my dad's death has something to do with my mother acting out.

I have never seen her or heard her talk with so much anger that it reverberated from her features. It hurt to know that it was my fault. I'm afraid of losing ties with my mother because she is the only family I have left. Not including my relatives and of course, Theo.

If there is one thing I know about my mother, it is that she is very persistent and urgent. But she's just like my dad. She is such a bright woman and loves a lot. She trusts you almost immediately. She is loved by many and hated by probably under twenty people, at most.

Jealousy.

That is what she would call it when people would talk behind her back and she would find out by a few of her co-workers. Jealousy is the only word my mom would call them and she hoped that one day, people wouldn't see her as a threat just because they see her as and I quote 'gold-digger for Gregory's high achieved bookstore'.

I love my mom and whatever it takes for her to look at me as her son again, I will take it but just not selling the watch-clock. That's not happening because my dad left the bookstore and this watch for me. Though my mom still checks in twice a month to see if the bookstore is still running smoothly, I now own the bookstore.

"You say I'm crazy, 'cause you don't think I know what you've done. . ."

Sam Smith's voice vibrates through my room and I grab my phone, checking the caller ID. Austin. Why would he be calling me right now, is he not busy with a case or something? I answer the call with a low grumble;

"What?"

I hear a high pitched squeal from the other line as I wait for Austin to speak. Wait, squeal? When he does, he doesn't sound too enthusiastic like he usually does. He sounds panicked; "I need your help man!"

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"What is it that you are needing the help of a helpless man right now, Austin?" I groan into the phone, shutting my eyes.

Austin growls, annoyed. "I left my file on the coffee table this morning, please bring it. This is my last case before everyone's going to their families and spending the holidays away. I need to ace it and if I don't, I'm in for a really bad holiday man, please do me this one favour!"

"How did you forget the file if this case is important to you?" I raise my brow, though he can't see me.

"I had to take Theodore to the store and still arrive on time to work!" He whisper yells at me and I already feel the phone being squeezed to death. Poor phone, it did absolutely nothing to him. "Just bring the file and get your ass to work, I can't have you grieving around the house or whatever you're doing right now!"

Before I can even utter a little syllable, he hangs up with a peep! and I drag myself out of bed. I already washed me before my mom arrived so I'll just get dressed in proper clothing.

After I'm warm and fully clothed, I grab my keys, wallet, phone and Austin's file. Locking up the house, I get into my baby. I cherish the warm feeling in my heart as I caress the steering wheel as if I'm caressing a baby's teared up face.

I quickly snap out of my daze and drive out of the driveway. The drive to Austin's Law Office takes less than thirty minutes and when I get there, I immediately get a phone call from him.

"I totally forgot to tell you, I'm not at work. I'm at a client's house. I'll send you the address!" He says the moment I pick up and hangs up the moment he mentions the last syllable.

There is something wrong with him.

With a growl of annoyance, I climb into my car and drive to the said address. It wasn't at all what I expected. I expected it to be a normal family home but instead, I'm met with a mansion.

The mansion stood there as if the surrounding nature had embraced it, that the flora flowed in it as much as around it. The architect had loved the trees so much that there was an oak in the centre, centuries old, and the great house had been built around it.

Entering the house, I was bathed in a golden night-light.

The house was welcoming from the open door to the wide hallway. On the walls were the photographs of children, obviously loved.

The floor was an old-fashioned parquet with a blend of deep homely browns and the walls were the greens of summer gardens meeting a broad white baseboard.

The banister was a twirl of a branch, tamed by the carpenter's hand, it's grain flowing as water would, in waves of comforting woodland hues. Under the lamp-shine it was nature's art, something that soothed right to the soul.

"Yo, man!" Austin's slightly hoarse voice sounds from behind me and when I look at him, his tie is messed up in all directions. His usual gelled hair disheveled.

I chuckle. "What happened to you?"

"Let's go outside!" He harshly whispers, dragging me by the arm but a feminine voice calls Austin's name, stopping him. "Yes, Cassandra?"

Austin's eyes are closed as his grip on my arm tightens. The woman is standing in the middle of the hallway in a light silk gown. I catch sight of a few really dark hickeys all over her neck as she tries to cover herself up with the gown. Everything dawn's to me and my eyes widen as I look at Austin. He did not sleep with his client, right?

"Where are you going and who is this guy in my house?" The woman questions, her bare feet taking baby steps toward us.

"I'll be right back, Cassandra!" Austin says, a visible growl in his voice.

He drags me outside and I try to function what I just saw. Austin is not sleeping with his client because as far as he tells me, it's not allowed, right? Austin wouldn't be dumb enough to sleep with his client when his career depends on it. He might be a minor man whore but he is super independent.

"So, I'm assuming that I'm at my clients house is actually supposed to be, I'm at my girlfriend's house? I mean, it's okay if you didn't tell me you have a girlfriend, I don't mind," I shrug and run my hand over my face, scratching at my stubble that I should have shaved.

Austin stares at me, worry skating all over his face. "I think I messed up. . ."

"You think?" I scoff, chuckling disappointedly. Austin's runs a hand over his face, groaning to himself. I can't believe he would sleep with his client. If anyone finds out, his career is dead. He knows the risks of sleeping with his clients and I'm sure that this woman he slept with is someone he clearly met sometime around two to three weeks ago. They don't have any relationships or anything from the past, as far as I know.

"Why did you sleep with her, Austin? Bro, this is messed up," I laugh out, "I thought you said something about not sleeping with your clients? Or did I hear wrong?" I topic.

"No," he shakes his head, "you did not hear wrong."

"Than why are you sleeping with her? And what is this last case thing about?" I feel like the father in this situation right now, or more like the adult. Austin is my best friend and I don't want to see him get hurt or lose something he worked too hard for. Austin and I were almost the same back in high school. Bad boys and players, yet Austin had his future set out and ready for him. He wouldn't just throw it away.

"It just happened!" He yells, seeming ashamed. "It's about her divorce. . ."

Divorce.

He slept with a woman who is getting a divorce. That is the most stupidest thing I have ever heard. Especially coming from Austin. I am so disappointed.

I groan in frustration, running a hand through my hair in a stressed manner. "Who is the ex husband? What if he's a bodybuilder or something close to it? What if he owns a gym and has muscles like The Rock? What if-"

Austin growls. "You mean her ex wife? And her ex wife is a bodybuilder and doesn't own a gym."

Ex wife. . . She's lesbian?

"Wait wait, she's lesbian? And you had sex with her?" I problem, pointing to the house for emphasis.

"She's bisexual. And so what if she was lesbian?"

"Lesbians aren't interested in men and if she was a lesbian, this would be called rape, Austin. For God's sake, you're a lawyer act like it. Those days are over, you said it yourself as well!"

"I know these kind of things, Jack." His voice softens as he starts tugging at his hair. "I didn't know a little kiss on the cheek would get to something like this."

"Hormones are a thing, Austin. And incase you forgot, you sometimes can't control yours and you know it!" I don't even know what to think anymore. I feel like a girl arguing to Austin about him having sexual intercourse with someone who is not good for him.

Austin panics, raising his hands in surrender; "this time, it wasn't me who started it, I swear. She just threw herself up on me and you know what happens if a beautiful girl like her does something like that! And she was dressed inappropriately." He protests.

Austin finds everything a girl does, a turn on. A girl with reading glasses, he finds a turn on. A girl who tries to turn him on, is a turn on. There are a lot and I don't even want to mention the other turn on's he has.

"Why would she want to throw herself at you if she's getting a divorce?" I ask in a duh tone.

He shrugs, "probably a rebound."

"You need to fix this and whatever happens, you put on yourself. Call me if you need something, but don't!" I narrow my eyes at him, shoving the file in his hands before walking over to my car.

I can literally remember every word he said about sleeping with his clients.

"A lawyer shall not have sexual relations with a client unless a consensual sexual relationship existed between them when the client-lawyer relationship commenced." Austin said, handing me the LPC rules file.

I read over it and was kind of impressed that Austin would go for something that had him away from sexual intercourses with his clients. Austin is a man whore who is really really good at his job.

I just don't understand how he would let this get in the way of his promotion.

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When I enter the bookstore, I shake off the huge glitters of snow from my jacket. Grabbing my hand lotion from my pocket, I squeeze some on my hand and rub it through. It feels too dry and lotion is like my saviour.

Always carry it around.

When I make it to my offices door, a movement from the corner of my eye catches my attention and when I glance up, I see a little boy reading a book. But what has my smile growing is the fact that he looks so focused. And is not at the kid section of the store.

I remember that was me the first time my dad recommended my first book. Though I wasn't little, I was still so caught up in getting to a certain chapter or really getting that one long sentence done that I'd want to get to the next sentence. But I still understood what I was reading.

My feet does its own thing as it carries me straight to the kid. He doesn't notice me as I hover over him, checking the book he is currently reading.

Verity by Coleen Hoover. A little too young to be reading that book but if he is reading such big words than he must be a damn genius.

The boy had a stunned look about him, like not long ago he was blending with the peers he towered over.

On gangly, thin limbs he had the stoop of one not accustomed to such altitude. Though his height was man-like, I couldn't mistake that face for anything but a little boy.

I'd put money on it that he isn't even a teen yet. His face was lacking any hint of acne and his movements that gave him away; they were too unrestrained.

He wasn't encumbered by trying to impress potential love interests, he was boyish from his too shiny shoes to his mother-trimmed hair. Maybe another few years would have him in worn out sneakers and a boy-band hair style.

"I'll let you keep the book for free if you tell me where your parents are," I suggest, taking a seat next to the boy.

He looks at me, his face holding an unreadable expression and I raise my brow in question. "So. . .?"

He looks away. "My mom is at work." Is all he says and continues reading Verity.

"Are you here with someone?" I clasp my hand together, pressing my lips into a thin line and smiling kindly at him.

"Nope. If you don't mind, you're disturbing me. . ." He says genuinely and I chuckle.

"Sure," I get up and start looking through all the thriller books in stock while still keeping an eye on the boy.

After a while, he walks up to me and pulls at my t-shirt. I glance down at him and he nods his head to the side, gesturing for me to follow him. I do so and he leads me to the romance section of the bookshops.

"You seem to be working here, mind recommending the best of the best romance?" He questions and my brows shoot up.

Well hello Sheldon Cooper.

I nod and gulp as he studies me while I look through the book genres of romance. Why does he scare me a little? I inwardly laugh. That's weird. "Uhm, how about The Hating Game by Sally Thorne?"

It's a good romance with absolutely no sexual intercourses, so it's good for him.

"What's it about?" He raises his brow, studying the cover.

"You're lucky I read it!" I roll my eyes. "Lucy and Josh are Executive Assistants to the co-CEOs, and not only do the CEOs hate each other, but so do Lucy and Josh. They've hated each other since the first moment they met. But the book is interesting, trust me. The story unfolds through a series of delightful events, we discover that maybe they don't hate each other after all. . ." I trail, totally forgetting I'm speaking to a kid that's not even a teenager yet.

". . .Pass!" He says, folding his arms.

"What? Are you serious? It's amazing and it really gets you into the dating world. There's bucketfuls of suspenseful tension to keep you turning the pages!" I protest, mocking indignation.

He laughs while shaking his head side to side. "Now that is a literal pass!"

I have a feeling he doesn't really like romance.

"Well, than let's see other romances," I suggest.

"Yeah, no." He walks away and I trail after him.

"Hey, you brought me here. For what if not looking for romance?"

"I just wanted to get your attention again," he shrugs.

Oh, well I'll be damned.

"You could've just asked!" I chuckle.

"Yeah, no!"

I stay quiet and I follow him like a lost puppy. Damn. This kid is literally making me follow after him like his king. What's happening to me?

Suddenly, he gasps. "Aunty Lily!" He screams and I look up from the kid and to Lily who has him in her arms.

"Zeke! Hey, how are you?" She asks him, smiling brightly.

They get into a conversation and I just stand there awkwardly, not ruining their little long time no see conversation. They chatter as if they are pushing buttons in their soul-elevator.

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well hi Zeke! ^^ please vote, comment and if this is so far enjoyable, share! <3