9. Tobias
9
Tobias
“I’ll be back in 5 minutes. I have to run to the bank.” Jude said pulling up beside the beer store.
“Okay, sounds good. And they’ll know the order is for me?”
“Yup. Just tell them ‘Jude’ sent you.” He nodded.
“Okay, see you soon.” I smiled, hopping out of the truck.
“See ya.” He nodded before peeling off and leaving me on the curb.
Today is errand day for us, which is always fun since Jude always has the whole day off to spend with me doing random pick-ups and drop-offs for the restaurant.
I ran into the beer store to collect our order. It was an assortment of coolers and beer bottles, which was nice because they weren’t too heavy, unlike the kegs we had to pick up at the end of the month.
I’ve been running in the morning, which has been nice because it clears my head. Running in the cold is the best stress reliever so I think I will keep it up throughout the winter.
Jude told me that Elijah wasn’t coming home for the winter holidays, which, truthfully, was a relief. It’s been weighing on my mind lately. It’s not that I didn’t want to see him, but honestly, I’ve been staying in his house, hanging out with his dad, and working at his job. For a guy that said quote, “he doesn’t want to see ever again”, I’m kind of everywhere he’d find me.
The beer guy handed me over the box of beers, and I happily walked out the door. Mission complete.
I looked to my left down the street, and no cars were coming in that direction. He must not have returned yet. I looked to my right.
My stomach dropped.
Walking straight up to me was none other than the man I’d been running from these past five months.
No.
My mouth dropped open as I stepped backward away from him.
“Look who it is.” He snarled.
“Derrick…” I breathed.
“Derrick? Who’s this Derrick you’re speaking of? I’m your father , you better get that term straight through your goddamn head.” He barked.
I felt sick to my stomach. This couldn’t be happening. I know we lived in a small town, but I kind of hoped I wouldn’t have to see him again anytime soon. Actually, ever.
I stepped back quickly. “I’ve got to go.” I breathed.
“Hell no. I haven’t seen you for months, and that’s all you have to say to me.” He reached out and grabbed my arm, stopping me from walking.
“Is there a problem here?” I heard Jude’s voice pipe up behind Derrick.
No. I can’t have him in the mess of all of this.
“You can mind your own business,” Derrick yelled behind his shoulder.
“That boy is my business. If you could take your hand off of him, that’d be greatly appreciated.” Jude stated. It was scary seeing the stern look plastered on his face. He wasn’t messing around. Still, Derrick was much bigger than him, and I doubt Jude could stop him. I’ve felt his blows before. They aren’t easy to take.
Derrick turned to look at who was talking to him. “Oh, I get it. Daddy Thorne coming to the rescue. As per usual. I knew you and your fairy son would be a problem one of these days.” His venomous words cut sharp in my ears like a knife.
I watched as a flicker of confusion crossed Jude’s face, but it was gone as quickly as it showed itself.
“Fuck off with your slurs.” Jude quickly closed the distance between us, attempting to remove Derrick's hand from my arm. “Get your hands off of him!”
“Jude, no!” I yelled.
“Get the fuck back!” Derrick yelled, pushing Jude back. I watched as Jude stumbled back. My hand went out to stop him from falling, but as soon as my hand slipped, so did the crate. The beers crashed to the ground all around us.
“Fuck! Shit! I’m sorry!” I cried out, looking at all the spilled alcohol.
“Don’t say sorry to him. It’s me that deserves your apologies, boy. You’ve got some serious making-up to do.” Derrick said, pointing in my face. “This is between a boy and his father.” Derrick spat in Jude’s direction.
“I’m more of a father to Tobias than you’ll ever be, you worthless sack of shit. He’s not going anywhere with you.”
Everything next came so fast I could hardly see what was going on. Derrick dropped my arm, and the next thing I knew, his fist was swinging for Jude’s face.
“No! Stop!” I yelled out, trying to stop Derrick's arms from hitting Jude. Jude swung at him back, getting in a few good punches himself. The men toppled over on the sidewalk, punching each other's sides and knocking each other over.
Jude tried his best to protect his head, but I could tell the blows were striking him. Thankfully, he swung his legs over the top and around Derrick's waist, successfully pinning him to the ground.
“What’s going on out here?” Mr.Jensen from down the street asked, running out of his convenience store. I looked up and realized that a few onlookers had now surrounded the two of them fighting, and a few young kids were filming the altercation.
“Don’t you ever come near us again. He’s done with you, you hear me? Done!” Jude yelled in his face. I could see from here that Derrick gave Jude a sick, evil smile with bloody teeth.
“Come on, Tobias. We’re done here.” Jude said, waving me over.
“This isn’t fucking over.” I heard a muffled voice coming from the pavement. I dared to look back only to see him hunched on his side, spitting blood out on the ground.
I ran after Jude and followed him inside the truck.
“Jude, I am so fucking sorry.” I cried, looking at his bruised up and bloody face. Thankfully, I could see that it was just a split lip that was making him bloody. Although, he was definitely going to have a black eye after today.
He shook his head. “I’d do that all over again if it meant protecting you from that asshole.” He squeezed my shoulder.
I removed my jacket and slipped off my button-up shirt, which I was wearing over my white T-shirt. “Here,” I said, holding it to his lip. He took over and had it properly to soak up the rest of the blood.
He sighed, leaning his head back on his headrest. “Tobias, you’ve got to tell me…what Derrick said back there about Elijah—”
I gulped. “He’s horrible for using that word.” I looked down at my hands.
“I would never ever care. I’d love Elijah all the same.” He said. I looked up at him and saw the tears welling up in his eyes.
“I know.” I smiled.
“But, do you think he knows that?” Jude sighed again, looking at the roof of the car. “God, I need him to know that.”
I reached out and grabbed his other hand. “He knows.” I smiled.
***
“Oh my god. What happened to you!?” Gwen cried, running over to Jude.
“Got into a little fight at the beer store. Took him down like a champ, though.” Jude winked at me. “Looks like we’re going to be out of a couple of beers for the night.” Jude laughed.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I smiled. I couldn’t begin to tell him how much I appreciated him sticking up for me. I’ve never seen my dad lose a fight before tonight. It was empowering.
Seeing Jude get punched, though, I could live without that. Definitely.
“Well, they’ll have to go without you, too, for the night. We’ve got to get you to the hospital.” Gwen winced.
“What? No. I’m fine.” Jude shook his head.
That’s when I saw a big heap of blood on the back of his head soaked into his hair.
“Shit. No, she’s right, Jude. You must’ve hit your head back there while you two fought.” I said, taking a look.
“Yeah, I thought something felt funny back there.” Jude swayed.
“You probably have a concussion,” Gwen said, wrapping his arm around her neck to steady him.
“You can hold down the restaurant tonight, Tobias. Right?” She nodded at me.
“Yeah, of course. Whatever he needs. I’ve got it.” I nodded. “Just…let me know how he is afterward, okay?” I smiled.
“Yeah, absolutely.” She smiled, ushering him towards the door.