Not All Sunshine and Rainbows - Bouncing Back, Book III

17

Fishing an old envelope out of his pocket, Trace held it out to the teen. Sighing, he unfolded the documents, ensuring all the papers were there. "I figured that you would be the stubborn one. You always are. I want you to read these documents carefully, Markus. Every detail, every note, and every clause. Your mother and I were married for almost ten years. I had to beg Don Hans to let me fight it on my own, and he eventually caved. Thankfully, due to my own sleuthing abilities, I was able to find the phone records of her calls to another man. I recorded our last argument to show the judge, too."

"What is this?"

"The divorce and custody agreements. The prenup and DNA tests for both of you are in there, too. I even got the transcripts from the courts for the days that she was supposed to show up and never bothered. She never fought for you because I begged her not to take you from me, Mark. You and Lukas are my world," Trace replied.

Trace looked at the woman standing by the door. "I never wanted them to know about it, but, given what they already knew, I had no choice. Lukas read it last night when Jaxon went to sleep. I didn't want to involve him any more than he already is."

"Good choice," Ambrosia replied. "David isn't as forgiving as I am."

Once the room was empty, Markus was left with his thoughts and the steady beeping of the equipment monitoring his vitals. He looked down at the faded yellow envelope. Opening it, he watched the old cassette player fall from the package along with two sets of papers.

Picking up the first set, he noted the words "Prenuptial Agreement" on top of the set that said "Divorce Agreement" stamped clearly across the top. Beneath them were his parents' names, the date, and their addresses. He read it over, tears spilling onto the faded papers as he saw what his father and brother were trying to say.

The prenup stated that the reason for divorce had to be proven beyond reasonable doubt. The second clause said that only their children could lay claim to or access their mother’s and/or father’s assets at the point of divorce. The third clause in the prenup made him pale significantly. He had to read it twice to fully understand the implication.

“He was ready for her,” he whispered to the empty room. “He had to be, for him to include a clause stating neither of them would use any children to threaten or guilt the other party for personal gain. No wonder Dad won the case so easily.”

Shockingly, his mother, the woman he revered as an angel, had turned around and asked for over a hundred thousand a year in spousal and child support. It was way more than his father made being a substitute teacher and working under the old Don. As he kept reading, he saw the red court stamp "DENIED." Beside it, was the explanation: ‘Exploiting children for personal gain – direct breach of prenuptial contract.’

Markus frowned, picking up the second set of papers. The words "Child Custody Agreement" met his gaze. Taking a breath, he read the words out loud. "Uncontested custody awarded to the father, Tracy Adolph Roberts. Unable to contact mother, Anabella Willow Corbin. Multiple attempts have been made by court officers to deliver the summons. However, no attempt to contact has been made on the part of the defendant."

The court officials couldn't contact their mother? Why? Questions ran rampant in his mind as he fought the vicious wave of pain and anger that assaulted his senses. He picked up the cassette player, staring at it in confusion until he figured out how to turn it on. The central parts started moving, and he was shocked that the thing still worked.

“It’s from the dinosaur ages, for f**k's sake,” he muttered as he listened to the static. Suddenly, he heard it. The crisp sound of a slap filled the room, followed by the accusing voice of a woman.

"Where have you been, Tracy?"

"Work, where else?" A male voice commented humorlessly.

He could hear his mother scoff indignantly. "Sure, you were. I'm supposed to believe that when people have seen you out with other women?"

"I haven't done anything, Bella. I love you too much to hurt you like that. I really did put in over thirty hours of overtime in the last two weeks just for the extra cash. We have to catch up on the bills, and the boys need new clothes and shoes."

"Oh, I'm so sure you were doing just that while I was home with your semen demons. God, Tracy, I do everything around here while you're out parading around with whoever catches your fancy."

Markus's hand tightened on the sheets covering his legs. She sounded so disgusted when she talked about her own children.

"I'm going to file for divorce, Tracy. I'm done living like this, so you might want to pony up the cash to keep my lifestyle going or else you'll never see the brats again. Looks like they're a little useful after all."

He listened to his father’s dry laugh. “You can’t do that, Bella. You signed the prenup, remember? Neither of us can use the boys for personal gain. I put that in to protect them, not you.”

Having heard enough, Markus fumbled with the button that had a red square, hoping that it would turn the device off. His father was telling the truth. She really did try to use them. Was the woman he was clinging to the memory of nothing but money-hungry? Had he been deceiving himself this whole time?

"Markus?"

He looked up to see Jaxon standing against the closed door. "Come to gloat?"

Rather than answering, Jaxon walked over and crawled up onto the bed. Moving the papers out of the way, he quietly set them aside and laid his head against Markus's chest.

"You once begged me to make you understand why I couldn't turn off my anxiety, now it's my turn to ask you," the teen said.

Trembling with anger and other inexplicable emotions, Markus shook his head. "She really didn't want us, Jax. What was I thinking? I... I hurt my family over her. Over a memory that I created to help with my pain, but I was living in a lie."

"Me, your father, your brother—the whole team wants you around. You have got to stop blaming me for cheating just because a classmate asks for my help with an assignment. No one even wants to come near me now because they're scared of your temper, but tutoring is how I make extra spending cash. I’m not having fun between classes because I legit hate school. I hate how needy other students are when they’re that much older than me, but an income is an income regardless of the job."

"I'm sorry, Jaxon," Markus whispered. "I'll try harder to give you space. Um, you tutor for cash?"

"All I'm asking is for you to give me the same trust, respect, and considerations I give you. Without a strong foundation, we have nothing to build on, Mark," Jaxon whispered before his eyes closed in sleep.

Mark's grey eyes clouded over with the tears he was always fighting. Letting them fall, he felt Jaxon's body shift. Then he felt his young boyfriend gently sweep the salt water from his face. He sobbed, pulling Jaxon closer, "I love you. I don’t want to lose you, Jaxon. Please, please help me do this right. I need you with me while I heal."

"I got you, babe. I’m right here to face it with you, just like I promised. Luke will be there too, but he needs a moment or two to get over the spat you guys just had. He loves you, Mark. You’re his big brother, and he wants to be just as strong as you are. Your father’s been hinting at family counselling, and I think it’s a great idea," Jaxon told him.

Smiling weakly, Markus nodded. "You think it would help?"

"I think it's worth a shot," Jaxon admitted. "I think that family counselling might just help you get closure and help clarify so much for you. I’ll even come with you if you need me, but you have to be honest with the therapist. You can’t dodge questions and expect things to change. If you want me to stay, show me you’re willing to do what it takes to change."

Thinking about it for a few minutes, Markus licked his lips. The room door opened, and he looked over at his brother. “Hey.”

Wordlessly moving to the bed, Lukas laid down on the other side of his brother. “I’m not on anyone’s side, Mark. If Jax really was doing something to damage your relationship, I got your back. He’s innocent, though, which is why I snapped so much. I love you both, Mark, but your issues are creating havoc in the family.”

His jaw working as his brother and boyfriend calmed him, Markus pressed his head to his little brother's. “I admit that I need help, Lukie. Desperately. I was… I guess I was trying to be macho. We both need closure, too.”

“I’ll dig up what I can on our mother, but I don’t really want to see her ever again. She doesn’t deserve to know what our lives are like after running off like that,” Luke stubbornly replied.

Markus laughed, “Great, then you can be the stubborn sibling for a while. Thanks, guys.”

Glancing at each other, Lukas and Jaxon shared a look of disbelief. Looking at his brother, Luke said, “There’s an imposter among us.”

“No doubt,” Jaxon answered, going along with the joke. “Markus, we’re all on the same team. The same crew. We’re not just friends, we’re teammates, and we take care of each other.”