Martin was a little uneasy about Dylan hanging about Jean, it was natural for dads especially after he saw the countenance on Jean and he concluded that it was okay to lean to those stresses, it would save her life and maybe his.
Dylan's heart raced when her dad stepped out, the space seemed to shrink and Martin placed a hand on his shoulder to bring him back to reality, his eyes moved to Martin's face, he wiped his forehead, the cops weren't the kind to be around with but Martin's composure assured him that there was nothing to worry about, nothing to hide. He exhaled trying to stay in the present as much as possible.
"Dylan, is it?"
"Yes sir"
"The police called and I'm starting to worry that he's going to get hurt or hurt himself, I just want em to be okay" He rubbed the back of his head. Martin nodded and his eyes stirred at Scott coming from the back with a bag, he hadn't shaved for what he could deduce to a week and he was shaping it to a goatee.
He nodded at Martin showing off his whitened teeth and Martin snorted.
"Sup homie"
"Get back...homie" Martin said with a dry voice.
Scott took three steps back down the porch beside Dylan and sighed when dad called.
"What's that thing on your face?" He asked and Scott sort of hunched, Martin straightened his shoulders
"It's called a goatee dad and we're already on a break" He raised the bag with a smile.
"I don't approve of you driving at night but I'll let the facial hair slide"
"Jeepers, thanks dad...alright" Martin grunted when Scott bumped shoulders with him in a bro hug and clapped his hand, kids these days, he was getting too old for this and he hadn't gotten an update on slangs from his eyes on the streets in weeks.
"uh yeah" He quirked an eyebrow and let Scott move inside hearing Aunt Etta squeal and Scott complain about boundaries.
"Hey Gigi, the gang's all here"
"Ah, you're hurting me!"
The noise died down when he closed the door behind him and walked down the street with Dylan.
"Sir, I didn't hurt her" He said and Martin shook his head.
"I'm gonna need you to go home, take a shower, take care of yourself in whatever way you can and come back to me tomorrow"
"Y_yeah"
Jean woke up with crusty eyes and laid there, the day after prom night, her scholarship exams were around the corner and she wasn't prepared or ready to leave her bed, as crippling as her sadness was, she still had her SATs to look forward to and she was afraid that she wouldn't make the cut either.
"No daughter of mine'll sit here like a slob, get up!"
The next thing Martin was pulling her up and she wiped her eyes and blinked meeting his stern gaze, she stood picking up the papers and arranging her things to his delight.
Jean knew he was being hard on her because this pining and self pity went on for days that even Etta wouldn't put up with, she turned to him when he munched on popcorn watching Speed with focus, vacuuming the floor, questions that she would be comfortable with asking both ladies bubbled up.
Aunt Etta, Gigi and Scott__under coercion, went shopping, it would her and him till heaven knows when.
"Dad?"
"Your foot's in the way" She said hesitantly and he raised while she cleared the place under him and used a hand vacuum cleaner to clear the table.
Martin snorted turning up the volumes with House on one of his rants.
She bit her lip, she would have to wait till some other time.
...
The day got even better when he received a call from the police that a bystander caught Corey Bradshaw skipping town in a sedan car that he stole from a nearby town called Torentville. Martin was starting to recall who the boy was from the other night, although they didn't look very much alike...
He closed one eye when Gigi kissed his head and pushed a plate of fritters in front of him to eat, he smiled at the smiley face she made on them and chuckled when she sprayed whipped cream on it.
He thought this might be the happiest night of his life as he wasn't being forced to chow down on a leek and turnips.
Gigi was the first one to step in and she made him happy with her stern talk about too much determination and how he dropped marbles just thinking about crooks and she was the one supposed to do the worrying with him going on duty and all.
She had light brown hair, thin lashes, and brown eyes, a slender toned figure and Jean was a younger version of her.
The streets were wreathing with criminals some of the time but it kept him on his toes, most cops would be surviving, he was thriving, he was born for this job but sometimes he stopped to wonder if his kids might be around people with criminal tendencies or criminals for that matter, especially Scott...
Dylan bugged him but he never interfered because Erin was on top of it all and Jean was going for a scholarship, he didn't know if a school known for being competitive would be good for her knowing her insecurities...
The house was lit with a soft peach tint with burgundy chairs covered with leather, a square center table with a flower made with wool that Etta put together on top, pictures of Scott and Jean as toddlers till the present the door had a similar ornament of the same pattern
They glanced at the door when someone knocked and Gigi sighed in relief and was overjoyed to hear her daughter's voice again after so many weeks, she admitted that she wasn't far from her mind and neither was Scott, the look on her face marveled her and the tears in Jean's eyes brought a frown to her face.
She glanced at Dylan who was at the door hesitant to come in and Martin picked up from his chair to meet him outside while Gigi huddled Jean in her arms.
Jean wiped her eyes and smiled, taken aback by her mom's return, so many dispositions were bubbling up and she didn't know where to lean to, she could only lean on her mom breaking down, the room felt dark and empty, she felt alone and bummed out, her heart gave out and Gigi took her away from the living room to her bedroom, she sniffed through the wall of tears and sobbed clutching her pillow, it seemed like the crying was not enough and wanted to break down even more but the reservoir of tears had gone dry and that left her even more frustrated, no amount of tears could bring back what they lost and she couldn't help but feel bad, if he wanted to move on, that was okay but she wasn't sure if she could do that herself. She wasn't sure if she was strong enough to carry on or do anything without giving excuses or picking up the pieces.
"Jean"
"I'm really glad that you're home mom" Her voice quivered and she sobbed clutching onto the pillow like her life depended on it.
Gigi shook her head, she didn't want to see her daughter in pieces, as much as she tried to be her daughter's best friend, she couldn't take away what Jean was passing through with the snap of her finger.
"He's moved on, mom... George doesn't care about me anymore"
~~~