Pete POV
"He what?!" I shouted into the phone. I listened to the person on the other end of the line as they described what Jaime was accused of and where he was.
I was pissed. I'd trusted him to just hang out with his friends. I did not expect a phone call from LAPD telling me they had my son in custody.
I grabbed my car keys and headed to the door.
"Pete?" Meagan asked as I stormed out of the kitchen. "What's up? What's wrong?"
"Jaime is at the police station accused of stealing hubcaps," I said. "I am going to get him and when I do I am going to kill him myself."
"Pete, listen to him first."
"Meagan, he and his friends were trying to steal my hubcaps the night I got Tanya's letter. This is not some mistake of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Just hear him out before you say something you might regret," Meagan said. I frowned as I was leaving. What excuse could he have for this?
I got into my car and called my lawyer to see what I might need to do if Jaime was going to be charged with anything.
Then I called Patrick, and vented at him. He managed to calm me down a little bit. But, as soon as I pulled up to the police station, my anger returned.
I took a couple of minutes to compose myself before heading inside to get Jaime.
"Hi," I said to the officer at the desk inside. "I'm here to pick up my son, Jaime Clarke."
"Right. Just have a seat and someone will be with you in a minute."
That was not the answer I was hoping for. But I sat down and fumed.
Maybe ten minutes later, an officer came out to the front and called my name. I got up and introduced myself.
"Right this way Mr. Wentz. Jaime's just back here."
I followed him to the back. Jaime was sitting beside a desk, brow furrowed, arms crossed across his chest and he was slouched in the chair, his crutches leaning on the side of the desk.
I stood in front of him, my own arms crossed.
"Alright, Jaime," the officer said. "Your dad is here."
Jaime looked up frowning.
"Is he charged with anything?" I asked.
"No. We're letting him off with a warning," the officer said. "He doesn't have a record and he didn't actually steal any hubcaps. He was the look out apparently. And claims he didn't know what his friend was doing that he needed to be a lookout."
I frowned at him because I did not believe that in the least.
"Get up," I said tersely. "Let's go."
Jaime stood up, put on his backpack and grabbed his crutches. I couldn't wait to hear his excuses. I was going to give him a piece of my mind. But in the car.
I signed him out and we went outside. Jaime got in the car and I climbed into the driver's seat. I pulled out of the lot and headed towards home. I didn't say a word.
Jaime sat silently as well. I don't know if he was waiting for me to start in on him or if he had something on his mind. But finally, I couldn't stay quiet anymore.
"What the actual fuck, Jaime. I trusted you. You were going to hang out with friends. I didn't think 'hanging out' was a euphemism for committing crimes."
"I didn't do anything," he said.
"No. You just ran lookout so your so-called friends could commit a crime."
"They took two hubcaps. What's the big deal?"
"Jaime - it's a crime to steal other people's stuff!" I cried. "You know, crime? With courts and judges and jail."
"The cop said he was just giving me a warning. So what's the big deal?!"
"Jaime Clarke! The big deal is you could have been charged with a crime. You could have been sent to a juvenile detention centre. What do you need hubcaps for?"
"I don't need them. Frank gets them and sells them to collectors."
"That's not better!" I yelled. Jaime was taken aback.
"I didn't do anything!" He insisted. "I didn't know that's what Frank was doing!"
"Really Jaime? Really? Because you just told me Frank sells them to collectors. What did you think he was doing? Watering a garden?!"
"You don't understand," Jaime mumbled.
"No. You're right. I don't. I don't understand why a kid like you would put himself in a situation that could go so very badly."
"What's the worst that happened? I got a warning and you had to come pick me up early."
"Jaime - your life isn't the same as it was with your mom anymore. You have to be more careful." I said. "You're not as anonymous as you think you are."
"Wait," Jaime said. "Are you upset because of how this might look on you!?"
"No!" I exclaimed. "But it is a reality that you need to consider!"
"Sorry! Your screw up of a son fucked up and you're worried about your image?!"
"No, Jaime. I'm worried about you. I don't want you getting into trouble because that can affect your future. It can affect whether you get into colleges, whether you can hold down a job or even get one. It could affect travel."
"You're worried more about you and how this is going to look on you!" Jaime challenged. I sighed. He wasn't entirely wrong. But he was far from right.
"You're grounded," I said. "Two weeks. School and home. Meagan or I will pick you up and drop you off. No Xbox, no friends over. No going out on the weekend. You are on permanent babysitting duty while you're grounded."
"That's not fair!" Jaime cried.
"It isn't? You'd rather they'd pressed charges and maybe let you sit in a cell overnight?"
That shut him up.
"You suck," Jaime fumed.
"You're not my favourite person right now either," I shot back.
We pulled into the driveway and Jaime got out of the car.
We walked in the house and Jaime slammed it behind me.
"Hey! Watch your attitude!" I said. "You don't get to be mad!"
"Why not? You're grounding me when I didn't do anything!"
"You abetted the commission of a crime!"
Jaime rolled his eyes.
"Go to your room," I said.
"What?" Jaime asked.
"I said 'go to your room'. I don't want to see you right now. Go do your homework and think about what you did."
"You suck!" Jaime yelled, heading to the stairs. "I hate you!"
"Like I said before, you're not my favourite person right now either. Go," I pointed up the stairs. He turned around and with a huff, went upstairs. I heard him slam his door. Meagan came out of the living room.
"What was that?" She asked.
"That was my son, learning that there are boundaries in this house and this family and that committing a crime isn't going to be tolerated."
"Crime? What did they charge him with?"
"They let him off with a warning because he didn't actually do anything," I said.
"Then why are you so mad?"
"Because he was the lookout so his little buddy could steal some hubcaps. They ran when the owner came out but obviously Jaime isn't as fast and the owner caught him. He couldn't actually prove Jaime was involved so he couldn't press charges, but the police made it sound like he could have been charged."
Meagan sighed.
"I hope you weren't too harsh with him. I hope you listened to him."
"He didn't say much except that he didn't do anything and that I don't understand. He's grounded for two weeks. School, home and babysitting duties. No Xbox," I said.
"That's not too harsh. I thought you'd be looking up military schools by now."
"Don't tempt me," I said, getting a beer from the fridge and heading outside. I needed to calm down and relax as well.