A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,10

to be a big emotional scene with his mother, Jake hoped that his father would act as a calming element.

His father, Dan, tended to be the opposite of his mother in temperament. No matter the situation, he generally stayed calm and spoke quietly and evenly. Jake could only remember a couple of times where he heard his father raise his voice at him, his brother or sister. While he did not physically show his affection often, he was usually full of praise and support for his children. This carried over into the other areas of his life. He ran a small software development company in town and was well-liked by his employees for his calm and warm personality.

Figuring that he should probably get this over with, Jake took a deep breath, stood and opened his door slowly. He could hear the sounds of his family talking in the kitchen area, but no one was in the hallway. He made his way to the bathroom and went in. When he got to the mirror, he knew that the small hope he had was gone; he would not be able to hide this from his parents. His left eye was swollen, a dark purple that spread down into his cheek. His lip had also become swollen with a large clump of dried blood crusting the area where it was split.

As he stood staring at the damage to his face, he felt both anger and frustration rise up in him. By tomorrow, everyone at school would know that he had let Donald get the best of him. He imagined several different ways he could turn this to his advantage or get back at Donald, but he knew that they were unlikely to happen. He also wished he could skip school for a couple of days, but, knowing his dad, that was not going to happen. Realizing that he would have to go to school looking like a used piñata for all to see just made him angrier. Knowing that he had to calm down before he spoke with his parents, he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to release his anger. He was not sure he succeeded; he was in a mood when he left the bathroom.

Steeling himself, he walked into the kitchen. His mother had her back to him, preparing a dish. His brother and sister were already sitting down, his father at the head of the table. His father's chair faced the kitchen, so he was the first to see Jake as he walked in. His only obvious reaction was that his eyes widened slightly at the sight.

"What happened, Jake?" His father asked calmly, standing up. "Did you fall off the roof or something?" Russ and Jane looked over and gasped.

His mother, hearing the question and the reaction, stopped what she was doing and turned to Jake. She gave a low cry and ran over to him, gently reaching out and holding his face. Her eyes were full of worry.

"What happened to you?" She said, her voice rising. "How did this happen? Are you ok? Dan, should we take him to the hospital?" Jake could tell that his mother was not going to take this well.

"Mom, I'm alright." Jake replied, trying to mimic his father and stay calm. "A guy and I just got into a disagreement after school, that's all."

"Who did this?" His mother asked fiercely, her fingers tightening on his face. Jake saw anger replace concern in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter, Mom. It's over." Jake said shortly, his own anger returning, responding to his mother's emotion.

"It is definitely not over, Jake!" His mother replied loudly. "You are not going anywhere until you tell me who did this to you!"

"Why? What are your going to do, call the cops?" He replied, voice rising. He jerked his head out of his mother's hands and stepped back, wincing at the pain the sudden movement. "Great, Mom; that's all I need! It is bad enough I got beat up; I'm not going to be that guy who has to hide behind his mom! Do you want me to have a reputation of being a freaking momma's boy?! Just leave it alone and butt the hell out!" His mother raised a hand to her mouth, stung by Jake's words. Jake, almost quivering with his anger, spun and stormed back to his room, slamming the door behind him.

He paced back and forth, his anger overcoming the pain from his injuries. He could