Ripple Effect(Sequel To MBBF)

Gavin's birthday was a week away and he needed his father by his side. He needed a father figure to look up to and the man living in my house wasn't anything close to that.

As I typed away on my computer at work, a thought came into mind. Maybe if I got Jax's father involved I could get my Jax back.

I missed him. I missed his touch, his kisses. The way he smelled. Now, all he smells of is alcohol.

"Excuse me?" My thoughts get interrupted. A lady with a young girl stood across my desk, their faces filled of worrisome.

"Yes?" I give them a tight smile.

"My husband was admitted last night, his name is Oscar Velasquez. Do you know what room he's in?" The lady tells me.

Nodding, I search his name in the search bar and pull up his records. "He was just taken for blood work. His room is 302." I tell her.

"Thank you." The lady and her daughter rush off to the nearest elevator and disappear around the corner.

My mind travels back to Jax and suddenly I find myself dialing my dads number.

"Hello?" His voice travels through the phone as he answers on the second ring.

"H-Hey, dad." My voice suddenly goes weak.

"Hey, Emma bear." I could practically see him smiling. "How are you?"

"Great," I clear my throat. "Yeah, everything's good."

"What's new to tell? How's Gavin and your brother?"

"They're all good." I swallow. "I actually need your help."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah no everything's good." I let out a nervous chuckle. Before continuing, a tear threatens to spill out and I find myself choking on my words. "Actually, actually no. Things aren't so good, dad."

"What's going on?" I hear some shuffling around and a familiar voice before my dad hushes someone.

"Are you busy? I can call back later." I tell him.

"No, no. It's just Joyce." He says. "I can talk, what were you saying?"

I let out a fake chuckle. "Uhm, you know what I'll call you later. I'm actually busy right now at work."

"Are you sure? I-"

"Yeah, totally! Don't worry, I'll talk to you soon." We finish saying our goodbyes and before I could ask him about Jax's father, the line is cut dead.

All I'm left with is silence.

~ ~

"Do you know what you want for your birthday?" I ask Gavin as he swings his legs back and forth, sitting on the kitchen island.

"Mhm," he turns his head to the side, licking his ice cream. "Lots of toys."

"Spider-man toys or Jurassic?" I ask.

"Both!"

"No, no." I chuckle. "One or the other."

"Fine. Jurassic." He agrees on.

"Ooh, how about a spider-man theme?" I suggest.

"Yes!" His eyes lighten up. "Can I invite Kayla?"

"Yes, I'll speak to her mom. What about Jeremy?" I bring him down from the counter.

"No, we aren't friends anymore." He says. "He was being a jerk."

"Uh-I, Gavin." I try not to laugh. "Don't say that."

"What? That's what daddy says."

Sighing, I shake my head. Before I could say anything, he cuts me off.

"I'm going to go tell daddy about my party!" He runs off.

I was about to call out for him but the sound of my phone ringing stopped me. Reaching into my pocket, I answered as I saw it was my dad.

"Emma." He says in a deep voice.

"Hey, dad." I run a hand through my hair.

"Why didn't you tell me what was going on with Jax?" Is all he says.

My heart clenched at the mention of it and realized he must have called Hunter. "Hunter told you."

"It should have been you who told me. I don't need to be hearing how terrible you're doing from someone else."

I sigh. "I'm handling it."

"Is that why you called earlier today? Because you're handling it?" He says, sarcastically.

"I called because I needed information on Jax's dad."

"You know I'm retired."

"Well, maybe you can ask Joyce? She's still working at the station, right?" I ask. "I just need to know where his dad lives and maybe I can even get a hold of his mom. Let her know what's going on. I don't know if they still live in the same area."

"Okay, text me their information and I'll pass it along to Joyce."

After we said our goodbyes, I made my way upstairs to find Gavin on my bed watching TV as Jax slept.

"Hey, you wanna watch TV downstairs with me?" I ask and he shakes his head. "Come on, we should let daddy sleep."

"No, it's okay." Gavin whispers.

Quietly, I got on the bed with Gavin and laid down. Looking at Jax, I reach out to him and run my fingers through his now full grown hair.

He moved around in bed, still facing me and I took my hand away from his head. Still looking at him, his eyes flutter open and he reaches out to me, bringing my hand back to his hair.

Holding back a laugh, I smile to myself and meet Jax's eyes.

"Are you going to be okay?" I whisper, loud enough for him to hear.

His eyes shift over to Gavin and back to me. "We'll be okay."