Goon - 9. Chapter 9

Being sixteen was no better than being fifteen, and to make matters worse there was the damn deal that had been made.

Micah had never realized just how blond his hair was until he’d started letting it grow out, and looking out the rear window of John Jericho’s Honda Civic let him see his own reflection in the mirror. The vivid yellow blond hair was almost touching his eyebrows and it was definitely reaching his ears now. Back at the Academy he had it cut every two weeks, and it seemed to be growing back with a vengeance.

“Micah!” His mother’s sharp tone from the passenger seat drew his attention away from the dreary Wyoming landscape and he looked at her with his dullest expression, knowing she hated it the most. If she wanted to be a bitch, he could accommodate her without too much trouble, all without behaving inappropriately. “Were you even listening to me?”

“No, ma’am, I’m sorry I wasn’t listening to you.” Micah said, biting off the comment about how he had been thinking of his real family, the family he’d left behind in Georgia. The state was just beginning to pick itself up from the massive storm that was worse than he remembered and causing much more damage, flooding and lost lives than even he had expected. Dr. Zebel theorized it was because of the correlation that had been found between the energy waves affecting his brain and those affecting the ocean’s currents.

That research, along with his physical therapy had taken up most of the rest of his summer, and the Howards had been forced to enter into a deal with his mother even though they ended up holding the upper hand for his care. In return for her cooperation, they had agreed that Micah would return to Laramie for the last three weeks of summer. Micah had tried to argue with the Senator about it, stating his case for why it was the wrong decision, but the deal was made and his mother did hold a few cards with threats to make a public complaint.

Not even Micah was willing to risk the Senator’s good name just to spite his mother’s meddling.

“You listen to your mother!” John Jericho barked and Micah withheld the sigh he wanted to let out. Now that he knew John Jericho was not his biological father, he had a better understanding of why the man had always been so standoffish with him, and why Micah’s childhood had been the way it was. The cutting comments had always been subtle, not enough to be noticed, but their cumulative effects had turned Micah into a very angry boy.

Ten minutes out of the airport Micah had made that realization. He almost felt like he was a genius having made the connection so quickly, but he knew it was something that had been bubbling in the back of his mind for years, more years than his age could account for at least. As an adult, he’d never seen the man after joining the Army and he wished that was still the case.

“Yes, Mr. Jericho.” Micah said, and instantly regretted opening his mouth. His mother looked at him with a horrified expression while John Jericho stared at him through the rear view mirror.

“Well, that cat’s out of its bag.” The man said with what sounded like relief. “You should be grateful for all I’ve done for you, including giving you my last name.”

“I’d be happy to change my last name if it would make things easier for you, sir.” Micah said, keeping his voice dull, empty of sarcasm or any other emotion.

“You’d have to know your father’s name for that to happen.” His mother said spitefully, turning back around in her seat and looking forward. Micah turned to look out the window again as he wondered what his real father was like.

“You didn’t tell him all the truth.” John Jericho said with an accusation to his wife, who stayed silent. “Damn it, Tiffany, if you were going to drop the bomb on him you could at least tell him the truth!”

“I didn’t tell him anything!” She yelled at her husband and Micah kept looking at the point in the car between their seats, keeping his eyes from following their faces, but where he could still see them peripherally. Years of practice kept his face blank.

“If you didn’t tell him, how does he know I wasn’t his sperm-donor?” John Jericho demanded. Looking back, Micah could not fathom how he missed all the clues – that the rather skinny dark-haired man could never be his biological father, but it was obvious now.

“John, you’re the only father he’s ever known.” His mother said in a near-whine. “He doesn’t need all this. I didn’t even tell him. I told that Howard bitch and she told him.”

“Please be polite, mother.” Micah said, keeping the sudden flare of anger out of his voice or face. “She has not done anything to deserve being called that.”

“Shut up, Micah!” His mother yelled and Micah was surprised when John Jericho chuckled. “What are you laughing at John?”

“Him.” John Jericho said, his brown eyes locked onto Micah’s through the rear-view mirror for just a moment. “You’ve grown, kid.”

“Thank you, sir.” Micah said.

“Well, the politeness is still there.” John Jericho’s voice held a hint of approval. “If nothing else, that school’s been worth it, just to get that politeness into you.”

“Huntsville Academy was the best thing you’ve done for me, sir.” Micah said, giving credit where credit was due. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Micah.” John Jericho said and Micah’s mother was so taken aback that she stayed quiet as they entered the familiar neighborhood. They would be home soon.

“We brought your boxes out of storage.” His mother said with a hint of guilt in her voice, obviously speaking to Micah.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Micah said.

“Damn it, do you have to be so damn polite?” She screamed, tears of frustration appearing on her face. Did it count as improper if you didn’t show how pleased you were at someone else’s misfortune, or was even feeling the smugness inappropriate?

“Tiffany, you wanted the boy to learn to be polite, and to respect his elders.” John Jericho said as they turned onto the familiar street. There was the two-story house, looking much like it had the last time Micah had seen the place. “Don’t yell at him for finally being polite!”

“I was trying to tell him that Katy is babysitting the kids and he could say hi to her.” Micah’s mother protested and his eyes almost narrowed at her words. So that was what she’d been talking about while he’d been thinking of his boyfriend and how much he missed Corey already. “They use to go to school together, and well she’s not dating that Paul kid anymore.”

“I will be happy to say hello to her, mother.” Micah said, knowing she’d take it for more than he intended, exactly as she did from the look of satisfaction on her face. A glance at the rearview mirror as they turned into the driveway showed that John Jericho wasn’t fooled.

“We’re here.” John Jericho said as he turned the car off.

“Thank you for picking me up, sir.” Micah said, waiting for them to move first. Mr. Jericho nodded and got out of the car. The passenger door was opened by Micah within seconds, and he was right behind the man as the trunk was popped.

“It’s a good thing I unloaded the trunk earlier.” The man said with a chuckle as Micah began by grabbing the first two bags. “I don’t remember you having so much gear when you left.”

“I didn’t.” Micah said. “Mrs. Howard liked shopping and I was a better shopping partner than Billy or Corey.”

“She was just trying to buy you off.” His mother said with subdued anger as she stood at the edge of the car and crossed her arms while sneering at the brand name luggage set that had been part of the last shopping spree. The mall had just gotten power back a few days before he had left, and the store clerks had looked grateful for any business in the nearly deserted and still being repaired store.

Residents of Georgia had a lot more sympathy for their fellow Americans in New Orleans than just a few months before.

“Well it sounds like you enjoyed yourself.” John Jericho was speaking more to Micah than he had in years, and there were no snide insults in any of his statements. To Micah’s surprise the man took two bags, something he’d not done at the airport when a cart had been loaded down with all of them. Even more surprising; he helped Micah carry some more from the car while his mother went inside the house to find the babysitter and the kids.

“I broke out your old bedspread for you.” Mr. Jericho said as they finished bringing up the last load of luggage. Micah looked into the man’s eyes and wondered what was going on behind them before they looked away. The small guest room wasn’t exactly homey, but his old bedspread was on the bed, and the dresser had a few other mementoes from his childhood he had not seen in a while. “I guess you said something to your mother about not having a room here anymore.”

“I did, when I first woke up from the coma.” Micah said.

“You’ve never been an easy boy to deal with.” Mr. Jericho said, a hint of the old insulting tone coming back. “I guess a large part of that was because every time we looked at you, we saw your father.”

“I never knew you weren’t my father.” Micah said boldly, looking the man in the eyes and seeing the guilt there.

“Mark Tinker was the biggest, meanest lineman on our high school football team.” Mr. Jericho said with a frown, his gaze going over Micah’s head and off into the distance, seeing things further away than the wall. “He was also one of the biggest bullies in the school. I wasn’t anything special, but I knew your mother and wanted to go out with her. I had a good friend, Bill Holly, who I told about that. Bad thing was that Mark Tinker overheard us, and for some reason he decided to fuck with me.”

“By going out with mom?” Micah asked with a frown.

“Your mother was very popular in school.” Mr. Jericho said and he had a look on his face that Micah couldn’t quite understand. It looked sad, and yet there was something happy about it at the same time. “I thought she was so far above me, she’d never accept my asking her to the dance. She didn’t either. Mark asked her, and with Jerry Newman standing behind him egging her on, she couldn’t refuse. Jerry was the quarterback and went on to play big in college until he got hurt. I think she had a thing for Jerry, but he was dating Christina.”

“It sounds complicated.” Micah said with a wrinkled nose. He felt happy he’d never have to deal with a complicated co-ed high school. Give him the simple Academy any day of the week.

“It was, and so petty.” Mr. Jericho sighed again. “Anyway, Mark Tinker took her to the dance and got to take your mom’s virginity at the same time, and don’t you dare ever tell her I told you that.”

“I won’t.” Micah said, trying not to look disgusted at the thought of his mother having sex with anyone.

“Good.” John Jericho said as he took another deep breath. “He dumped her the next week, even telling her the only reason he wanted to go out with her was to keep her from making the mistake of going out with a dweeb like me. Your mother and I ended up talking, and dating, and well things were going on fairly well right up until we found your mother was pregnant with you. This was just a few weeks before school ended and we all graduated forever.”

“Oh.” Micah said with wide eyes. “So this Mark Tinker’s my father.”

“Yes, but I’m not done yet, Micah.” He took a deep breath. “You deserve to know all the truth. You’re old enough now.”

“Okay.” Micah said with a slight frown, not asking the man why, in another life, they’d never told him any of this. He would have died without knowing another man than this one had been his father.

“God, I never thought it’d feel this good to finally get it out in the open.” John Jericho said, sniffling and wiping tears from the corner of his eyes. Micah frowned again, almost feeling guilty over the display of emotions. “When we found out she was pregnant, my buddy Bill and I went to confront him. Mark got pissed and started a fight.”

“With the both of you?” Micah couldn’t help the surprised outburst.

“I was an inch shorter than him and about eighty pounds lighter.” John Jericho said with a snort. “Bill was five inches shorter than him and a hundred pounds lighter. Mark Tinker wiped the floor with the both of us and it took his buddy Jerry to get him to stop from killing me too.”

“Your friend, Bill.” Micah said with a gasp, surprise flooding him as he realized the import of what John Jericho was saying.

“Your father ended up being convicted as an adult and is still serving his life sentence at the state penitentiary.” John Jericho said sadly. “If you want to ever get in touch with him, you can look up the place on their website.”

“Thank you for telling me, sir.” Micah said when he got his emotions back under control. They had flooded him, and he didn’t know how long it had taken him to get back under control, but he looked into John Jericho’s brown eyes and smiled his thanks as well as giving him those words. “I… I don’t want to talk to him, but I do know you’ve made a better father than he could have.”

“I… you’re welcome, boy.” The man said and turned to go down the hall to the room that he shared with Micah’s mother. They’re relationship wasn’t suddenly magically healed, but he felt closer to the man than he had ever before. Everything made sense now about how Micah had been treated growing up, and the bitter ebb and flow of his family life. They had probably been glad when he’d left their lives and taken the last specter of Mark Tinker and the death of Bill Holly with him. He dragged a suitcase over to his bed, picked it up and put it on the double bed, unzipping it and preparing to figure out how he’d fit all this stuff into the closet space he had.

“Crap.” He murmured as he opened the closet to find them stacked with boxes. These must be the boxes they’d mentioned. How the hell had he gotten all this crap? It took a few minutes to rearrange the rather limited floor space so he could put the boxes aside to be looked at later and give the luggage top priority.

Miss you already. The note on dark blue paper was stashed between the Armani slacks and the A&F jeans. Along with it was a nice red silk rose that was obviously hand-made from the craft supplies Melissa kept. He smiled at it and pulled out the expensive cell phone that had been a gift from Mr. Howard before dropping Micah off at the airport.

“Hey.” Corey’s voice was breathy as he answered.

“I miss you too.” Micah said.

“You found the rose.” Corey’s voice was pleased.

“Yes.” Micah said.

“What’s wrong?” Corey asked. “Are they being mean to you already?”

“No, yes, um, god you can tell from just that?” Micah stammered.

“Can I tell you’re upset?” Corey asked. “Yes. When you’re upset or conflicted, or just plain unsure of yourself, you clam up and speak in monosyllables. When you’re relaxed and happy you talk up a storm, worse than a hurricane named Robert.”

“You should be more respectful.” Micah chastised his boyfriend. It was good just being able to hear that voice. “Half of Georgia is still underwater.”

“Like I said, you talk a lot.” Corey said with a laugh.

“Fine, I get your point.” Micah said, but there was a slight grin on his face.

“That’s better.” Corey laughed. “So, what got you so upset?”

“My father, I mean Mr. Jericho told me the truth about my father.” Micah said, picking at a particularly nice oxford shirt. He’d have to wear that one tomorrow.

“Oh wow.” Corey said. “What’d you find out?”

“My father’s a bastard and I hope I never, ever meet him.” Micah said. “He’s in prison serving a life sentence for murdering John Jericho’s best friend.”

“Oh Jesus.” Corey exclaimed. “Tell me everything.”

“Okay.” Micah said, cradling the phone in his ear as he hung up the oxford shirt. It was a good thing that a good portion of this first bag had hangars because he wouldn’t have enough for everything if he depended on the few sickly wire hangers in the closet.

“That is so fucked.” Corey said when Micah finished. He’d even managed to go through two more bags and the small closet was filled to the brim. The next bag was underclothes, all name brand expensive stuff that felt like silk when he put them on but breathed like cotton. He loved the things. “I don’t think I’d want to meet him either.”

“Yeah, well it explains a lot about how they dealt with me growing up.” Micah said with another bark of laughter. “I guess I know where I got my temper from now.”

“Micah, you’re nothing like that man.” Corey’s voice was firm and filled with conviction as he spoke.

“No, I’m not.” Micah agreed happily. “I met you and had the Huntsville Academy to straighten me out. If it wasn’t for them I probably would be.”

“You never know, but you’re a good person.” Corey told him. “Oh damn, Melissa is calling us to dinner.”

“Give her and everyone else my love.” Micah said. “Oh, and tell your mother that the luggage was perfect. My mother was nearly green.”

“Oh, she’ll love that.” Corey said brightly. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Corey.” Micah said and slipped the phone back into his pocket. When he looked up he was surprised to see a girl about his age standing there. If he concentrated he could just make out the little girl Katy had been. Now her brown hair was longer, her tits much more pronounced, and she still had that lithe figure along with a sweet heart-shaped face.

“Hi.” She said with a half-smile, half-frown on her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. Your mom sent me up here to say hi.”

“Come in, please.” Micah said with a gracious smile, turning on the southern charm he’d learned from Corey and Mrs. Howard. Her eyes widened as he gently took her hand and seated her on the edge of the bed. There wasn’t much room for her to sit anywhere else. “It’s nice to see you again, Katy. You look lovely.”

“Thanks.” She said, blushing and trying to act coy. “You’ve really gotten into shape.”

“Going to a military school will do that to you.” Micah said with a pleasant smile. “So they’ve got you babysitting the little terrors.”

“They’re not that bad for five and three.” She said with a laugh. “Do you have real uniforms from that school?”

“Yes.” Micah said, and guessing where this was going. “They’re in those two bags over there. I’ll probably just leave them packed until I go back. This room’s just a little bit small.”

“Yeah it is.” She said with a frown. “Have you made any plans yet?”

“Nope.” Micah said with a shrug. “It’s not like I go to school here or have seen anyone really in years.”

“Me and a bunch of my friends were going out to the movies tomorrow and your mom said you could go if you want.” She said that in a rush and then frowned. “I think she was hinting that I could go as your date, but you’ve got someone. Is that Corey a guy or girl? It sounds like a guy name.”

“Do all girls talk as fast as you?” Micah asked.

“You say that like you don’t know any girls.” She said.

“Not our age.” Micah agreed with a shrug. “Huntsville is an all-boys school.”

“Oh, maybe that’s why you have a…he is a boy, right?” She asked. “You gotta get it somewhere, right?”

“I’d be interested in Corey even if I went to an all-girls school.” Micah said seriously and was perplexed by the way she giggled so hard she almost fell over. “What’s so funny?”

“The thought of you in a dress going to an all-girls school.” She gasped and Micah grinned at that image.

“That would be funny.” He admitted and she stared at him.

“Wow, you have changed.” She said. “I remember you always getting pissed when people said stuff like that.”

“I got mad when people said it about people that wouldn’t dare stick up for themselves.” Micah said to her in a firm voice. “If they’d ever said it about me I’d have just laughed or something.”

“No one would dare say it to you after you smashed Jimmy Jacob’s face in back in third grade.” She replied and he blushed at the memory. The boy, Jimmy, had been two grades higher than him and called a skinny geek kid in Micah’s class a ‘fag’. It had taken two adults to pull him off of Jimmy, and he’d been suspended for a week after that incident. The police had almost prosecuted him too, but the boy’s parents refused to press charges. Now that he knew about his biological father he understood better how much that incident had pushed his parents away from him. They hadn’t been looking at him, they’d been looking at a miniature version of Mark Tinker. He vowed to never look up the man in case he looked just like him.

“I don’t like it when bigger kids pick on smaller kids.” Micah said with a shrug.

“Man, I bet there’s a few dozen geeks who’ll be glad to see you at school.” She laughed and he wondered if she intended to take him by the school while he was here. Well, what would it hurt? He’d never have to actually go to classes there.

“I think I’ll go if you still want me to join you guys.” Micah said. “Unless you have a problem with going with a queer?”

“No, of course not.” She said with a wide smile. “You’ll be the biggest damn queer Laramie’s ever seen.”

“That’s more like it.” Micah said as feet pounding down the hallway announced the arrival of one of his relatives.

“You’re huge.” Five year old John Jericho Jr. said as he looked up at Micah from the doorway.

“You’re bigger.” Micah said. “You saw me last summer, remember?”

“Yeah, but your arms look bigger.” John said. He had brown hair like his father, and his mother’s blue eyes and was much slimmer than Micah had been at that age. “I started school last year and I’ll be in First grade this year. I’m going to your old school.”

“Way to go, bro.” Micah said, and was surprised. This was the longest conversation he could remember having with the kid. Usually they were just something in the background whenever he passed through the downstairs of the house, or a crying voice in the background of the house.

“Mom said I’m big enough this year to talk to you.” John said proudly, standing a little taller.

“Well, you really are getting bigger, bud.” Micah said with a nod.

“Oh, mom said you should come down for a snack.” He said and then smiled before scampering down the hallway. Micah stared at the empty doorway, unable to decipher the feelings ebbing and flowing inside of him. “He’s a cute little guy.”

“He and Gina are really good kids.” Katy said, reminding him that she was still there. He turned to smile at her and found her looking in the open suitcase, holding up a pair of dark green boxer briefs. “Hey, these are damn nice.”

“Thanks.” Micah said, resisting the blush that threatened his cheeks as he snatched them away from the willowy girl. She just laughed, stood up and kissed Micah on the cheek.

“It’s nice to see you again, big guy.” She said. “Even if you do have a boyfriend. What’s your cell number? I’ll call you later with details on tomorrow.”

“Okay.” He said with a little smile before giving her the number. Her eyebrows went up at the Georgia area code, but didn’t comment. Then she gave him another kiss and headed out of his room.

Tossing his underwear back into the suitcase, he also went downstairs and was greeted by the sight of a very messy Gina with chocolate frosting all over her face. John Jr. was at the table with about half his cake gone and his mother was standing at the far end in front of a cake that said ‘Welcome Home’. Micah was almost offended they hadn’t even waited for him to be there for the cake, but pushed it aside. There was no need to let childish offense get in the way. He knew now why they didn’t like him the way they liked the other kids, and he refused to let it hurt him anymore.

“Thank you for the cake, ma’am.” Micah said as his mother served him a piece wordlessly. She took a piece of her own and sat on the other side of the table next to John while Gina just stared at Micah.

“You need to be careful if you’re playing with your brother.” His mother told him firmly, her eyes giving an unspoken challenge to him. He just nodded.

“I will.” Micah told her.

“How do you like Katy?” She asked and Micah smiled as the perfect phrase came to mind.

“She’s okay.” Micah said, pausing for dramatic effect. “For a girl.”

“Micah Jason Jericho!” She squealed, and John Jr. giggled at her expression of anger.

“Uh oh, you’re in trouble!” John squealed in a sing-song voice as his mother glared at him.

“There will be none of that in this house.” She told him furiously. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Micah said and then paused again. “Please show me enough respect to not try and hook me up with any more girls.”

“I’ll do what I wish in this house.” She fumed and Micah retreated from the field of battle, knowing there was nothing to win in this engagement. The conspiratorial wink that John Jr. gave him was enough of a victory for the moment.