4 years laterJake had no idea where his father took it, but Mathew was going through a baby fever lately and wouldn't stop nagging Jake about it. He would suddenly drop by Jake's apartment and follow him around asking for babies. He would suddenly pop out of nowhere when Jake was book shopping, and shove books about how to conceive a baby in his hand. One moment Jake was looking at a cover with dragons on it, and the next one the titles "It starts with the Egg", "The Fertility Diet", "The Trying Game", "Making Babies" and more, almost blinded him.Mathew wouldn't be stopped at anything.He was dead set on it. He needed grandchildren at any cost."I want grandkids, Jake!""Dad, I'm not even married.""Make me a grandfather, Jake!""Go ask Aiden.""But he's still in college. He has to study.""Ryder has to study too!""But she graduated this year."Jake took a deep breath to calm himself down before looking at his father again. Mathew looked like a child begging to go to Disneyland, bu
Jake, who was with one foot in dreamland, snapped his eyes open, fully awake now.Didn't we drop this topic?Why did it come back to haunt me?"It's really nothing. Now sleep. You have to go to work tomorrow."But Ryder wouldn't let it go this time. "But he looked like he wanted to tell me something.""You know my dad. He always talks nonsense.""But you threatened him and then you blushed when I asked you about it, so it's not nothing or nonsense as you claim it to be. Even now, you're rubbing your fingertips. You do that every time you're nervous or thinking about something. So what is it?"Jake groaned. "Why do you always pull this Sherlock Holmes thing on me every time I don't want to tell you something?"Ryder smiled and turned around to face him. The dim moonlight entered the room, and she could vaguely see Jake's face in the darkness. This made her feel like she was back to four years ago when she was close to him but couldn't see his face. No matter how much she tried to reach
It has been quite a long time since the last time Jake Caley had a good night's sleep. Hell, even a good nap had become a myth to him. Every day found this young man already awake, with wide open bloodshot eyes, for he never actually fell asleep.As one more night came and went just like that, Jake sighed in his heart and closed his eyes.Today it's her anniversary...Those four words tired him even more than the long sleepless nights. Jake didn't want to get up, didn't want to lie down. He didn't want to stay awake anymore, nor did he want to sleep. Hell no, sleeping was out of the question. Still, with a headache that seemed to split his head open, Jake closed his eyes. His brows were furrowed and the corners of his mouth were lowered in a frown that never left his face whenever he was alone in the quietness of his room.The turquoise-colored eyes burned as if begging for sleep even if it lasted as long as a wink. Yet Jake refused to sleep. However, he knew for sure that today... to
It was almost two in the morning when Jake arrived home. By that time, the drug he took had already taken effect, and the sight that met Matthew was that of Jake high as a kite and completely out of his mind. At some point on the way back, the headphones were unplugged from the phone, and the heavy rock music sounded particularly loud in the quietness of the way too early in the morning.Regardless of this, Jake's sobbing, even though silent, couldn't be counseled by all this noise. The young man was crying his eyes out, yet no sound came from him. His eyes were unfocused as if he was seeing things that weren't there, and his trembling hands mercilessly and anxiously scratched the skin of his forearms. The skin there had already turned red and had started bleeding, yet Jake was ignoring this. The morphine he took had made him numb to such pain.Mathew, who had stayed up all night, sitting in front of the front door, worriedly waiting for his son, was startled. If he wasn't already sit
While walking back home, Jake noticed that Jeremy had called him several times, the same thing was for his father, but since he always kept his phone on silent at best and on airplane mode at worst, he hadn't noticed anything.Jake stared at the name "Dipshit" on his screen, the well-chosen name for his father, and he didn't know how to feel. Ever since his mother died, Mathew distanced himself from him and Aiden. All he did was work, work, and more work. They barely saw him for ten minutes at most every two or three days.Jake knew that Mathew was trying to distract himself from pain with work, but this didn't make him any less angry with him. He didn't care if his father didn't want them to see him cry, he wanted him to stay by his side and cry together. He needed him the most back then, but what happened? In just a few days he lost both of his parents. One left this world, and the other behaved as if he had no relations with any of his sons.This was the case for almost two years u
Natalie was hired by Mathew a year ago, which was the only good thing he did for Jake back then. After that, he pretty much let it all to Natalie to deal with. It was only recently that he would ask Natalie after every session about Jake's condition or call her from now and then when Jake's behavior was too unpredictable. The last time he called her was three days ago when Jake stayed outside the whole night and came back home only early in the morning, high as a kite, talking nonsense.Now, Mathew was waiting behind the closed door of Natalie's office, where she and Jake were in the middle of the session.Natalie was a middle-aged woman, with kind features and a soft voice that always gave Jake the impression of a children's storyteller. Jake was one of her favorite patients but also one of the most stubborn ones who just wo
Nevertheless, he headed to Ryder’s house. Maybe it was because his stomach was filled or because this time he had Ryder’s consent for visiting her that his footsteps were quicker than the previous nights.He walked to the backyard, strangely in a good mood, but as soon as he got close, a loud shout startled him. Sure enough, when he checked behind the face, what faced him wasn’t only Ryder but also another girl with wild curly hair and a petite body.Jake recognized her immediately. That was Jasmine… that girl was quite the odd type. She had a rather violent nature, but back when he was still in school, Jake had also noticed that despite the fierce attitude, Jasmine was extremely kindhearted. She was the only person Jake had seen around Ryder.If
Mathew, who accidentally fell asleep while waiting for Jake, sitting across the front door on the stairs, sprung up on his feet. The sudden movement made him lose his balance and fall off the stairs. What Jake heard from the other side of the phone was a loud crash and then a groan, soon followed by a curse. "Son of a-" Did he... did he just... Whatever. "Are you coming?" Jake asked while walking down the road at a snail's speed. The fight he just had with Jasmine really exhausted all his energy. He felt as if he could even fall asleep right in the middle of the road. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Tell me the address. Sit somewhere and wait for me. Don't tire yourself." Jake sent the address via text to his father and sat down by the side of the road. The ground was cold, and it froze his buttocks, but he was too lazy to stand. A frozen ass was tolerable. His eyes were glued to the little stuffed cat in his hands and a smile cracked the gloomy expression on his face. His long slender