Chapter sixty four
"Your father's alive," asked Simon, a gasp making his question sound difficult to lay down. "Are you…"
"He happens to be an inmate along with me. I wonder what he did wrong." However, the fact he strived to deny any relationship with me was what bothered me.
"Arson." Noah answered with a muffled voice. "Set a house on fire with a baby in it. As much as he had no idea there was anyone in there, he did it anyway."
Before anyone could ask why he'd even set a house on fire, Noah added. "Something about neighbor bullying. When he finally got fed up with the crazy woman, he settled to leave her homeless. Unfortunately, there was somebody in there."
For moments, all I could do was blink and shiver. Various versions of a crying baby in a burning house flashed through my mind, certainly a new storyline for my nightmares. Perhaps, the guilt was the reason he was the way he was. Perhaps the fear his sons were going to realize their long lost father by a hideous crime. I could almost relate.
Slowly, I stared right back up at Noah and held the eye contact. In that short span of moments, a mutual message passed between us we both knew we understood.
***
"I believe this is the part we met," Justin forced a nervous smile straight at me.
Staring at the kid, it was sad I could not smile back. He happened to be the only teenager amongst the rest of us. While that might be considered unnecessary, he needed to hear the entire story behind his parents' death.
Being the most mature of Jake's children, he'd taken the case of forgiving me far more difficult than the other two.
At the very beginning of this story session, no words had come from him. Quietly, he was taking in detailed yet unjustifiable reason that prompted me to murder his parents. He was the main reason this was much more difficult than it would have been.
Maryanne did a good job seeking his younger siblings into taking my plea and granting their forgiveness. Justin, however, had practically walked out on me and shut his ears off my calls.
"Yes, Justin," I finally shrugged and rested my back on the chair rest. "It's where we meet. However, the first failed attempt at apologizing to you brought this void in me, yunno. I knew no level of care I tried to give could bring your parents back. And so…I thought of adopting you three…"
"I forgive you, Jeffery," he said suddenly. When none of us was sure we'd heard right, he bit his lip, thought better of it and added. "Bygones be bygones, holding anything against you won't bring them back. You seem repentant enough; and the nuns taught me to forgive whenever injured. So, I forgive you."
A round of applause broke out through the small gathering, with Noah yelling into the space in excitement. All the while, moisture ladened my eyes and I had to bite down my lips to hold in the snicker halfway up my throat. Anyways, it still made it out. His words had magically turned every trace of guilt I'd felt into comfort and freedom. Smiling, I glanced up at him. "Thank you, Justin. So so much."
All the kid did was shrug like it was nothing.
"Back then though…" story time had resumed, "…I adopted all three of them into my home with Noah, Emily and Simon…so they could have that cheerful family they needed. I was horrible playing Dad, especially with Juliet and Mason who either wanted me to talk to them about boxing or were digging their hands through my hair."
I caught Justin smile at that. After a moment of pause, he took up from where I left off. "I, on the other hand, was not exactly excited about living with him. However, I guess I was thinking of what was best for my brother and sister when I said yes to it."
A strong kid he was. Hard times turned infants to adults and taught them to care for the welfare of others before their own. And that was one of the main reasons I could not trade my brother for anybody else.
"The strife to permanently get me out of jail sentence began. Through the gyms, the fan base and the orphanage, I believe we had a strong force," I smirked.
***
Joey would take the wheels with all four of us in the car with him. Although destinations were not planned prior to any of the drives, instincts led.
Noah had done an amazingly fair job in keeping the firms standing and running. As much as they'd recorded bad returns at the very beginning, I believe he was getting a hang of it.
I'd expected any kind of reaction from the guys at the gym. However, walking through each doorway seemed to stir up the dying flames I'd left over a year ago.
While my attention was lost to the major renovations, I heard an outpour of screams and obscene exclamations from the main workout chamber as I made it in.
"Jeffery is here!" I heard a lass exclaim; it was Jade and that was how we met. I guess she was cranky from the very beginning. With a slow smile, I faced them and took in the gladdened faces of old-time customers and the awed ones of those who never got to know me.
While jubilations went on, I wondered the significance I'd had in these people's lives that made my absence felt. Wasn't I nothing but the arrogant gym owner?
It seemed like they would readily agree to the _Free Jeffery Thompson_ movement; however, would they still see me the same way after hearing what I'd done?
I grew nervous quickly at the thought. As soon as I'd left a few words of pleasantries with the presently gathered customers, I retired to the back and leaned against the boxing ring, letting Noah take the lead.
Backed up by Emily and my Coach, the confidence in his speech could be felt by everybody he spoke to. It was a quick rundown of where I'd been all this while as well as why I'd been there. With my head low, I could feel some gazes fall on me. Surprised; disappointed; perplexed?
Either way, I was getting really uncomfortable, anxious they were going to think I deserved my sentence and turn the request down. That seemed like it was going to be the case until Noah began the story from the very beginning in Montana till my days in prison.
When he mentioned my attempted suicide _which I'd hoped he wouldn't_ more eyes fell on me. Murmurs had begun to erupt from every corner, only helping to heighten my fear.
At that moment, my brother paused and glanced at me; I guess it was my turn to face it. Limply, I came to my feet and stalked towards him, standing right beside where he'd parked his chair.