She's the Boss

14

Two months later...

AN OCTOBER BREEZE blows into the apartment chilling me. Silence shakes the walls, ripping a sigh from me.

The letters on the contract jump haphazardly, the numbers and letters jumbled.

For the last couple months, I've been working tirelessly.

I realized that wallowing in my guilt and licking my self inflicted wounds doesn't help get my family back.

Accepting the fact I'm an asswipe doesn't make me any less of one.

I needed to grow.

At first, it was drinking. It became a vice, a way to divert my attention; to numb me.

I was quickly becoming an addict; the fact that something, anything had such a hold on me shook me.

Funnily enough, that's part of the reason I lost them. I'd just be a piece of s**t if let alcohol enslave me, and not my family.

I didn't grow up the way my brother did.

Max and I; we grew up in two very different worlds.

Our father was a philandering asshole; still is. He had no sense of obligation or responsibility.

As long as money was made, there was not a complaint to be heard from his standpoint.

Our mother, no better, was an unrepentant trophy wife, content with money, content with absence.

That is, until she wasn't.

When Max came along, the dynamic shifted in her mind. Now there was a child, now there was a family.

But she didn't sign up for that; my father never offered that. He wanted an heir, he wanted a trophy, but he never wanted a family.

My mother, now yearning for a real family, started cheating on my father.

A couple years later, I was born.

Now, the way Max tells it, my father was convinced I was illegitimate, the product of her adultery.

Oh, he didn't care,

He just didn't want to be shamed in the public eye.

So he threatened my mother, telling her that he'd take every dime from her if she didn't do something with me.

Apparently, I wasn't enough. I didn't compare to money. She sent me away the next day.

I ended up in an orphanage in Brooklyn alone. I stayed that way for most of my life.

When my brother became legal, he looked for me, even at the risk of being disinherited.

That's why, to this day, I would do anything for my brother. He took care of me, put me through college.

I owe him my life.

Before that though, I was a rough soul. My pastime was fighting; it's all I did.

I was angry.

I was bitter.

I fought anything; hell I'd punch the rain if I got mad enough.

But that's what kept me going. I don't have love, I didn't have money, but I had anger; and that was enough.

Now, I'm older; I'm grown. I have my own abandoned family, my own living sins.

I got some therapy. I quit drinking. And I reminded myself that anger doesn't inspire.

It destroys.

It harnesses your energy and implodes

inside you, desecrating any      

salvageable material in you that you could rebuild yourself with.

I let my family become my motivator.

I wanted to be better for them. Because when all has been said and done, you will need your family.

They will need me, and when they do, I want to be able to give them what they need.

"

HELLO?"

"Is this Sebastian Kane?"

"Yes. And this is?"

"I'm calling on behalf of Regents Hospital. You were listed as an emergency contact for Laylani Helms."

Air flooded from my lungs.

"Is she—is she okay?"

"She's in a stable condition," Was all she said.

Scrambling, I grab my wallet, keys, rush out.

"And my son?"

"He's waiting for you."

Reluctantly, I know.

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

I don't wait for a response.

Regents hospital is in the mountains; that's a few hours from the city.

I call my pilot. I could shave the commute time considerably if I flew instead of drove.

The world blurred as I boarded the plane, took off.

All I could thing was; is she okay?

Blood pumped loudly in my ears, muffling the world around me.

I gave answers, followed the nurse to her room. It felt like I was catatonic; I felt out of body, as if I was watching myself on TV.

The nurse said something, and I suppose I gave an acceptable response because she left.

Laylani lay there, her eyes open, talking to Addison. My soul smashed into my body.

She was okay.

They were okay.

I stepped further into room, shutting the door behind me. Two pairs of identical brown eyes flew to me.

Addison seemed surprised to see me, sending a jolt of pain down my spine.

Laylani regarded me impassively, her fact blank. Quickly, she turned her attention to Addison.

"Addie, you're going have to home with your Dad for now, okay?"

"But I don't wanna!" He whined, tears in his eyes.

"You have school. You have to, just till I'm better. You don't wanna disappoint Ellie do you?"

"She would understand methinks," he sniffles.

"Methinks is still not a word bub. Now wait outside."

"But—!"

Her sharp glare stopped his protest.

"Outside."

Addison slinked off with a pout. Then there were two.

"Here are my keys.” She threw them. I catch them. With my face.

"Ow."

"He gets up everyday at seven, he needs off to school by nine. He needs lunch, so make due. No sweets after eight pm, and he goes to sleep no later than nine on a school night."

I nod, my mouth refusing to open.

"He's not allowed to watch anything over a rating of PG. Including games. If I think of anything else, I'll call you."

Nod.

"And Sebastian?" I lock eyes with hers. "This is not a time where you can ignore him. I'm not there, so you need to give him your attention."

Pain buzzes in my veins.

"Okay."

With that she closes her eyes and lays back; indicating that the conversation was over.

"I'll do better," I say quietly, slipping out of the room before she could offer a response.

Addison sat outside the door, kicking his feet.

"Ready bud?"

Silently, he got up. I took that as a yes.

The car ride was painfully silent, the hum of my engine and the robotic tone of my GPS offering the only sounds.

"So, how's school?" I asked as I turned left via Google's instruction.

"Fine," he intoned coldly with a shrug.

I clicked my tongue with an awkward nod.

"What's your favorite subject?" I tried again, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.

"You don't have pretend to like me Father. I would like it better if you didn't."

I sighed. "I don't have to pretend to like you Addison. You're my kid, of course I like you."

He said nothing.

"I know you hate me, Addison. I'd hate me too. I do hate me," I chuckle bitterly.

"But we're family. And even though I know I don't deserve it, if you could, give me a chance okay?"

Silence.

"My favorite subject is art," he says quietly. "I like to draw buildings."

I grin. I don't ask anything else, knowing that's all I'll get for today. But I got something; and that's what counts.

"I like to draw to buildings too."

The house is beautiful, homey. Very Layla.

As soon as I unlock the door, Addison breezes past me, rushing to what I assume is his room.

"Are you hungry?" I call.

"No. I just wanna sleep." I hear.

"Okay."

I sit myself down on the sofa, feeling exhausted.

"Did you brush your teeth?" I ask, when it comes to me.

When I don't get a reply, I get up, padding down the hall, trying to find his room.

The last one to the right is his, bright red walls, covered with drawing of buildings taped to the walls.

He's good for a six year old.

One catches my eye, a tall building, and underneath it, are two stick figures and a name scrawled underneath them.

Kane n sun.

I chuckle quietly, my vision blurring.

I take a look at the sleeping boy, his dark hair ruffled, hands behind his head as if he were watching the sky in his dreams.

I pull out my phone, take a picture and decide, I'm gonna build this building.

I'm gonna make his dream come true if I go bankrupt doing it. Silently creeping to his bedside, I pull his cover over him, kiss his forehead.

That night, I took out some paper, pencils and started drafting Kane and Son.

Chapter Word Count: 1,418

Current Total Word Count: 9,365

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