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Though he knew that she was right to have requested the break, he regretted how he’d handled things with her. She deserved better than him. Deserved better than how badly he’d dealt with everything.
He’d lost his chance with her—through his own words and the situation he know had in her life with Peyton—but he prayed that since he couldn’t have anything else, he’d still have her friendship. Not that he deserved even that much.
Though he wanted to continue to watch Misha, Jay couldn’t keep his parents waiting. When he’d texted his dad earlier, he’d responded that they’d love to see him whenever he wanted.
He was going to see them with mixed emotions. He knew how he hoped they’d respond, but he also felt that he didn’t deserve that reaction.
Warm light spilled from the living room window of his parents’ home when he pulled up to it. Though it wasn’t winter, his dad would probably have a fire going, since it was something his mom loved.
It was now or never.
Jay sat for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts and shore up his defenses. Then he grabbed the packet of pictures Amberlyn had given him and got out of the car.
When the front door swung open, his parents stood there together with nothing but love and concern on their faces. As he stepped into the foyer, both of them wrapped their arms around him and held him tight.
“Why don’t we go into the living room?” his dad suggested when their embrace ended.
Jay nodded, his vocal cords tight with emotion. His dad settled into his favorite chair while his mom drew Jay to the love seat near the fireplace, keeping hold of his hand as she sat down beside him.
“What’s been going on, son?” his dad asked.
Jay’s gaze went to the flames flickering in the fireplace as he tried to figure out where to begin. He supposed the best starting point was where this whole thing had kicked off for him. Amberlyn’s visit.
Rather than look at either of his parents, Jay focused on the envelope he held as he slowly recounted the news Amberlyn had delivered to him, though not telling them yet about her decision to give him to Jay.
“You have a son?” his mom asked, her voice hushed.
“Yes.” He held out the envelope. “His name is Peyton.”
She didn’t hesitate to take it, and from the corner of his eye, Jay could see her open it and quickly flip through the pictures.
“Oh, Jay, darling, he’s beautiful. And he looks like you.” She got up and went to where her husband sat, perching on the arm of his chair. “Dan, look at him.”
Jay watched as his parents ooo’d and ah’d over the pictures, grateful that he hadn’t misjudged how they’d react to Peyton’s arrival in their lives.
“Where does he live?” his dad asked. “Will you be able to see him often? When can we meet him?”
“He’s going to be living with me.”
Both his parents looked up from the pictures, shock on their faces.
His mom was the first one to speak. “What do you mean?”
Again, he took a moment before he began to explain what Amberlyn had wanted and what he’d been doing over the past few weeks.
His mom left the pictures with his dad as she came back to where Jay sat on the loveseat. “Why didn’t you tell us what was going on?”
They might be the first to ask that question, but Jay was confident they weren’t going to be the last.
“I knew you’d be disappointed in me.” His thoughts were a struggle to put into words. “I guess I wanted to have it all sorted out, so you didn’t have to deal with the mess I’d made because of some bad decisions.”
“We’re not disappointed inyou. We’d never be disappointed in you, Jaylen,” his dad said, using his full name as evidence ofhow serious he was. “We can be disappointed by the choices you made without being disappointed in you.”
Jay didn’t understand what the difference was. His choices were his. He’d made the decision to do what he’d done, knowing full well how his parents—including his birth mom—would have felt about it.
“I didn’t want you to regret, you know…”
“Regret adopting you?” his dad asked.
