Chapter 5
“I can’t believe you are going to let him live here.” Harley slouched back in his chair, arms cross against his chest. Tony sat across from him, leaning forward. Pepper had taken Morgan out to the park, leaving Tony to have a more adult talk with Harley about the situation.
“He’s my kid, just like you are. I can’t leave him out on the streets. Not after screwing up as badly as I did.”
Harley swallowed and looked away from Tony, “Did you take me in to replace him?”
The words hit Tony. How many times had he asked himself that same question? How many times had he questioned his motivation? How many times had he doubted his own heart?
“No. I know that to both of you, to everyone, it must seem like it, but no. I was already a different man when we met. I’d be lying if I told you I had never thought about it, but adopting you doesn’t fix what I did to Peter. Just like Peter living with us now doesn’t change our relationship or your value in our family. You are just as much my son as Peter is.”
Harley wiped at his face, tried to hide the tears. “I don’t think he should be here. I mean, look at what he said to Morgan. And he hit you! He’s clearly screw in the head.”
“Keep your voice down Harley.” Tony sighed. “Look, I know that he hasn’t exactly made the best first impression,” Harley scoffed but Tony continued, “but life hasn’t been kind to Peter, and that’s on me. We need to cut him some slack, let him adjust to the massive turn his life just took.”
“I don’t want him to be alone with Morgan.”
Tony looked down at his hands. “I understand why you feel that way-“
“You wouldn’t let a stranger be alone with her, this isn’t any different.”
“Right now I’m not planning on working a lot so we probably won’t even run into that situation. But,” Tony took a deep breath, “for now, under Peter gets use to Morgan, and vice versa, I’d appreciate if you could hang around a bit more.”
“You don’t even need to ask.“ Harley said seriously.
They were interrupted by FRIDAY announcing, “Boss, you have a visitor requesting entry. Her name is Alice Goodman.”
“Let her in Fri.”
Harley looked questioningly at his father.
“Peter’s social worker. Do you mind giving us some space?” Harley nodded and left to go into his room.
“Ms. Goodman, please come in.” Tony stood and motioned for her to take a seat at the dining table.
“Thank you, and Alice is fine. We will be seeing plenty of each other in the future, no need to be so formal.” They both sat and Alice pulled a tablet out of her purse. “I wanted to talk to you about Peter. Is he around?”
“He’s in his room but I can call him down.”
“Oh no, please don’t.” Alice shook her head, “This is going to be a conversation I’d rather not have in front of him, though I have had to on several occasions. I realized last night that there was a lot I didn’t have time to tell you about Peter. Things you need to know, especially since you have other children in the home.” She tapped in the passcode on the tablet, then turned the screen so Tony could see the pictures on it. Mugshots of a younger, skinner vision of Peter filled the screen. He wore a black eye and busted lip and the sight made Tony’s heart drop.
“Who did that to him?” He ground out through clenched teeth.
“He was Peter’s foster father. But he was only defending himself, Peter attacked him. The neighbors called it in and the police had to pull Peter off of him. He was charged with assault and spent 6 months in a juvenile detention center.”
“When was this?” Tony said, shocked.
“Right after Peter turned 14.”
“14? He was a kid! He must have been provoked! What happened to the foster parent?” Tony felt sick. 14. His 14 year old son was arrested and put in juvie. And where was he? Somewhere safe and sound with the rest of his family.
“Mr. Westcott has a sterling reputation Tony. He’s never once had a complaint filled against him.”
“Then why did Peter feel the need to hurt him?”
Alice sighed heavily, “Tony, I know that Peter is your biological son, but there is a lot about him that you don’t know. Peter is a trouble maker. Prior to this incident, he had never gotten violent, but he has always been a flight risk, taking off every chance he gets. He’d taunt and provoke his foster families. Break every rule they had. Stole from them. Made their lives a nightmare. We thought things were different with Steven. Peter had lived with him for a year without a single complaint. Then this happened. Steven told the police that he was trying to stop Peter from sneaking out to see his girlfriend in the middle of the night. And Peter went crazy, like he was trying to kill him. We’re lucky that Steven only got a couple of bruises and a broken rib. It could have been so much worse.”
Tony stood and started to pace. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “No, that can’t be true. Not Peter. Westcott must have done something, hurt him or scared him, or something.”
“It’s not something a parent ever wants to hear about their child, but it’s the truth. Peter is dangerous. He attacked you when you found him!”
“That was fully warranted. I deserve a lot worse than a couple of hits.” Tony defended.
“But it still proves that Peter’s first reaction to any unpleasant feelings is violence. Please be careful with him around your children, especially you little girl.”
Guilt flooded through Tony. Hadn’t he essentially said they same thing to Harley? How hypocritical of him to be angry at Alice for saying the same thing he just did. But instead of making him feel calmer about what Alice was saying, it made him furious with himself. They were talking about Peter as his he was a wild animal. “I’m done talking about this.” Tony crossed his arms. “Is there anything else you came to say?”
“Just a few basics. Peter has a job at a diner. His schedule changes a lot but it’s typically early mornings and afternoons. He likes to spend the time in between at the park or the library so he’s usually out for most of the day.”
“What about school?” Tony interrupted.
“Peter decided to get his GED and leave school this year.” Alice shook her head, “He’s such a waste of potential. He’s smart, even if he tries to hide it. He could have made something of his life if he had just applied himself.”
“Why are you talking about him like he’s a lost cause?” Tony’s words were sharp.
“I’m sorry, you’re right. Now that you are back in his life, he might be able to turn himself around. It’s just, statistically, with his tract record-“
“That’s enough. I’m not going to let you sit here are trash talk my son. He’s been through a lot, it’s not surprising that he’s struggling. But he’s not alone anymore and I’m not going to sit here and listen to you talk about him like everyone should just give up on him!”
“I didn’t mean to cause offense-“ Alice stood, quickly gathering her things.
“Well you did. Have a nice day Alice.” Tony ushered her out. The moment the elevator doors closed Tony heard a voice behind him.
“Well, that was fun. Ready to send me back yet?”