Jax's role as the "mutual friend" was to help Estella get the guy. Falling in love with her was never part of the plan.
Estella Gillon lives a simple life that consists of band, friends, her father and her never-ending crush on Brice Abrams. Ja...
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"I'm so sorry, Iago," my father said from across the line. "I'm sorry for putting you, your mother and your brothers through this."
We sat opposite each other with a glass between us, talking through the phone. This was surreal, seeing my father in a jail suit. We were awaiting his trial, but we all knew the likely verdict.
Guilty.
"How are you holding up?" I asked.
He shook his head. "The food isn't great. The people are worse. The guards don't seem to care." He forced a chuckle. "On the bright side, when I leave jail for prison it'll get better. I may even be able to get help for my drinking since we're required healthcare. Hopefully that includes rehab and mental health."
"I hope so, too."
"Speaking of mental health, you boys need to help your mother with her depression," he said. "Her drinking, too."
I smiled. "You believe me now?"
He shrugged. "I've been reflecting. Priscilla isn't happy. I want better for her. For all of you."
"I want you to be okay, too, Papa," I told him. "You did something awful, but you're not a monster."
There was a narrative going around about my father, but I knew better. He wasn't perfect, but he wasn't a bad man.
He smiled. "Thank you, Iago. I know things haven't been perfect between us, but I need all the support I can get."
"You'll get it from me," I reassured him. "From all of us." He pressed his lips together with a nod. "Why did you confess?"
He sighed. "I couldn't do it anymore. All the guilt. Keeping it all in. Knowing that family didn't have closure. The tension between us, between our whole family. It was all too much. I needed to do this for myself, for our family. This has impacted all of us, so I need to free us. Even if that means I have to spend some time in prison."
That was the scary part. We didn't know how much time my father would get. The justice system could be lenient or brutal. I didn't want to think about my father getting thirty or more years. He was being charged with manslaughter, but people have gotten longer sentences for only selling drugs.
"I'm proud of you," I said, "but I'm also scared. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life in prison."
"We'll face that when it comes," he said. "I have to face the consequences of my actions."
"If you have a parole hearing, Estella and her father aren't going to be against it," I told him.
