Chapter 22 Good Bye For Now But Not For Long

"Somehow, Jake managed to get settled in the passenger's seat of the white car that Curtis was standing in front of before he and Jake had their little altercation. Jake sat slumped in the seat, sword placed by his legs, while Curtis was adjusting his rearview mirror and his seat. Once he was done, he started the car, but he sat there for a while. When Jake turned and looked at him, the butler was staring back at Jake and, in his original hoity-toity manner of speaking, he said, 'Mr. Jake, we can't leave until we're both all buckled up.'

He flashed him a smile with not a hint of his devilish grin from earlier. Even though he couldn't see it after experiencing it once, Jake knew no matter how deep it was buried inside of him, it was still there. Knowing that and not wanting to cause any more trouble, Jake pulled the seatbelt across his throbbing chest and buckled himself in. Seeing that the boy was truly not going to put up any more of a fuss, the butler couldn't help but smile to himself as he shifted the vehicle's gear into drive and proceeded to make his way towards the northern slums towards Jake's mother.

There were no words spoken between Jake and Curtis their entire drive to the slums. Jake could barely keep his eyes open, let alone string together a few words. He had only just woken up, and he was already tired. He stayed slumped in his seat, holding his head down, just gazing at his lap. His neck felt so stiff, and his head felt heavier than a bowling ball. He couldn't even lift his head to just gaze out the window, and even if he could, he wouldn't because the real thing weighing him down was the feeling of defeat, the feeling that he had no power. It kept him chained down. Jake's blinks became more slowed as they drove; each time he closed his eyes, they remained closed a little bit longer, each time till he eventually fell asleep. He had no dreams; he didn't have the energy needed to dream. All Jake felt and saw was darkness, then the voice of Curtis pulling him out of the darkness.

'Mr. Jake,' he said. This pulled Jake out of his sleep completely. He was frazzled, and he looked like it too. The butler felt that same twinge of disgust he had earlier just looking at the mess next to him. As Jake centered himself, the man looked out his window, gazing in disgust at their current environment while Jake slept. The butler drove them all the way to the slums; they were parked right outside the hospital's doors. Curtis' nose was scrunched up as he looked upon all the residents from the slums, and to him, it all made sense. 'The boy looks like he comes from a place like this,' he thought, watching passersby gaze at the snow-white car that was sticking out like a sore thumb.

'We're here, boy,' he said, not wasting his time on pleasantries. 'Hurry up and handle your business so we can leave.'

Jake exited the car, swinging the sword around his back as he did, and he entered the hospital. It took him longer than usual to reach his mother's room because of the pain coming from his head, chest, and pride, but he did find his way to her hospital room. The moment his eyes landed on her, still in a coma, all the pain he felt seemed to not matter. He stood in the doorway for a second, then he walked to her side and sat in the chair next to her. In his right hand, he used the katana to brace himself like a cane, and in his left, he held onto his mother's limp hand. He grasped it, just as he did so many times before, and for a while, he just sat there holding her hand in silence. Then he opened his mouth and spoke to her as if she was conscious.

'I did something stupid, Mom. Very stupid, no.' he said, as if she was about to ask him a specific question. 'I'm not selling drugs, and I'm not running in a gang, but I did do something criminal.'

He paused expectantly, but still, his mother just laid there. He swallowed, then continued. 'As you can see, I brought something I didn't have before…' He lifted the sword in his right hand and shook it slightly in the air, displaying the sword for her.

'Where did I get it? Well, that's the thing. I kinda got it from the Sullivan family armory.'

He was silent again because he imagined this is when his mother would be silent.

'Yea, I decided to stage a robbery with Roach and Tone.' At this, he winced; he could feel his mother yelling at him, even though she wasn't.

'Yea, I know, Ma, I know… You told me to stay away from them, and I'm sorry I didn't. I didn't because I was desperate, so I…' Jake got choked up, losing his train of thought.

'So, I did the robbery with them, we robbed the Sullivans, and after that, a bunch of shit.' He immediately got embarrassed and fixed his language. 'I mean, a bunch of crazy stuff went down, and those guys captured me. That's why I haven't seen you in a few days.'

He paused again, catching his breath; he held on tight to both the katana's hilt and his mother's hand.

'Then… then I found out that my dad is one of those Sullivans.' He paused again, expecting his mother to pause and be silent. 'Yea, you never talked about him much, but I could always tell when you were thinking about him, and you never told me about your past. But I was told everything, that you were a maid, and my dad was Sullivan, and you two had a…' He hesitated. He couldn't bring himself to say the word affair, and he didn't know why, maybe he felt it was dirty, wrong, or disrespectful, but he discarded the word and chose a different one. 'You two had a relationship that you weren't supposed to, and that led to me. And because I'm related to my dad, and I can use this sword or whatever,' he shook the katana again, displaying it once more, 'they decided not to kill me. And because they aren't killing me, they promised not to hurt you, but… if I fail them, then they will. They'll kill us both.'

Jake's hand began to tremble as his eyes started to water. 'I'm sorry, Mom. I did a stupid thing, and I got you involved in all of this mess, and in the end, I didn't get the money I was going to use to help you get better. I just messed up this bad situation and made it worse.'

Jake sat in silence for a while. Then he inhaled and exhaled; he did this a few times. And when he finished, his eyes were no longer filled with tears, but he had the determination he had when he first left her room to contact Roach.

'I know I messed it up, Mom. I know I messed everything up, but "I'll fix it, I swear to you, I'll fix it, and I swear I'll take care of you, and I'll make sure y'all get better."

Jake got to his feet, then kissed his mother on her forehead, then her cheek.

"I don't know when I can see you again, but I promise I'll be back."

Jake then turned and walked to the door, but he didn't walk through it yet. He stopped and looked back at her.

"I love you, Mom. Don't you worry about a thing. I'll be back."