I had to bite the insides of my cheeks to keep from laughing. Okay, maybe it was wrong teaching him to fib to his Vice Principal, but being five minutes late wasn’t the end of the world.
“Jackson?” I said, knocking on his bedroom door. “Did you brush your teeth?”
No answer.
“Jacks?” I turned the handle and peeked inside to see him sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Waffles’ cage. “You okay, buddy?”
I walked across the room, bent to pick up a pair of discarded socks on the floor, and placed them next to the folded pajamas at the end of his bed.
I crouched beside him. “Is everything okay with Waffles?” The skinny pig was noisily munching on green pellets out of a plastic bowl and appeared perfectly content, his long white whiskers and his upright, crooked ears wiggling in tandem as he chewed.
“I don’t think he wants me to leave him alone today.”
I frowned. “Really? Why not? He’s been alone before.”
He shrugged, his slim shoulders jerking up and down. “He’s scared.”
Shit. I wasn’t sure, but I had a feeling it was Jackson who was scared. He wasn’t thrilled about school, but he’d never complained about going before. “Why do you think he’s scared?”
He avoided looking at me and didn’t say anything as he bit his lower lip. Something was up.
“It’s okay, you know. If something is bothering you, you can tell me. I’ll never get mad.”
He remained quiet while staring at Waffles. “Maybe I can stay here with him today?”
I sighed. Shit. “As much as I know Waffles would love to hang with you all day, you already missed school last Friday, and it’s important you go.”
“But what if he gets hurt?”
Don’t cry. Don’t friggin’ cry in front of him.
I dug my fingernails into my palms. I hadn’t heard him last night, so I didn’t think he had a night terror that triggered this, but something obviously had. “No one is going to hurt him, Jacks. And I’ll be back after I go to the laundromat.” Addie was meeting me there. I’d told her yesterday about Callum offering his guesthouse, and she wanted to hear every detail.
Jackson’s brows lowered and he squished his lips together as he thought about it. “Maybe Mr. Gate can watch him while I’m at school?”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. “Jacks, Mr. Gate is too busy to watch Waffles.” I still hadn’t told him we had to move by Saturday. I didn’t want to tell him until I knew for sure where we were going.
Jackson’s brows dipped even more, and his mouth tightened until his lips disappeared. “But I don’t want him to be all by himself.”
Had he been left alone by those monsters who’d had him? Was that where this was coming from? “Hmm, okay. What do you think will make him feel better?”
He scanned his bedroom for a minute, and then his eyes widened. “I can give him Aquaman,” he blurted.
Tears pooled in my eyes. Aquaman was his favorite toy, and I loved that Ethan had been the one to give it to him.
The superhero went everywhere with him. It slept with him. It lay on the kitchen table when we ate. And it travelled in his knapsack when he went to school, although he had to keep it hidden in his bag. The school’s policy was very clear that kids weren’t allowed to bring toys to school.
Screw that. They had no idea what Jackson had been through. Christ, I didn’t even know what he’d been through, but I knew it was bad. Really bad.
But now he was willing to give it to Waffles so he wouldn’t be alone. I smiled through my tears. “That’s really thoughtful of you, Jack-o-bite. But are you sure you want to leave Aquaman?”
“Yeah.” Jackson jumped to his feet and ran over to his knapsack on the floor beside the bed. He unzipped it and took out the toy that was already packed to go to school with him. He re-zipped his bag and ran back.
“This is Aquaman,” he told Waffles. He laid the action figure on top of the cage, making sure it was above where Waffles was sitting. “He’s going to stay here and protect you.”
I forced a smile, but it felt as if a spear went right through my chest. A six-year-old shouldn’t have to think about needing protection. “I think he feels better, don’t you?” Waffles was up on his haunches, smelling Aquaman through the bars.
Jackson nodded.