Chapter 284: Family is a complicated thing

Jason had known Valentino for a while now and he felt that he was a pretty cool guy. He turned to the others sitting at his table "You guys got time?"

Everyone nodded their heads. Seeing that Jason decided to take Valentino up on his offer as he and his friends left the table to follow him.

Valentino took them to the newly constructed side of the restaurant that was still being worked on. He lead them to the very back wall that had just been finished.

He smiled as he raised his hand up to the top let corner "I present to you the wall of Jaya!" All of them turned their eyes toward it.

Starting at the top left corner there was an article from a local newspaper that had been cut out and glued to the wall like wallpaper.

It was an article talking about Jason and the team after their scrimmage where they had beaten Mt. Vernon in their very first game together.

On the wall were articles all about Jason and Jefferson ranging from the games that they played to the personal stories about Jason.

There were also pictures of Jason at the award ceremony as he and Kyle were awarded defensive honors and even pictures of Jason and the team with the county trophy.

The wall seemed to tell the story of Jason from the very beginning of his basketball career. Tory whistled in amazement.

"This is one hell of a collection you got here Valentino. You even have one of Jaya's jerseys up on the wall?"

Valentino smiled as he looked at the Jefferson jersey that was framed and hanged on the wall "That isn't just any jersey Tory.

That is the actual jersey that Jason wore in his very first game in the county tournament. It even has his signature right there."

Jason let out a chuckle "I was wondering what you were going to do with all the jerseys you asked for. For a second I thought that you were just putting them up for sale online or something."

Valentino reached for his chest as though here were having a heart attack "How could I ever bear to sell such a historic item like that!

Everything that you've given me Jaya I have determined to keep as family treasures. I would never be able to part with them."

He then had a calm and content look on his face as he looked at the rest of the wall that was still empty and blank.

"I'm planning on having this wall be a record of Jaya's history. I know that you have a lot of people doubting you Jaya.

But just know that here. In this city. You mean a lot to a bunch of people. I know that you'll be something great and I want to be a part of that amazing story. No matter how small it may be.

I know that to you guys I might just be some random super fan. But to me you are the pride of this city. You give us something to be excited about and proud of."

Tory, Kyle, and Samantha already knew that Jason meant a lot to the city but even they were surprised to hear how deeply Valentino seemed to care.

Nate and Leslie on the other hand were witnessing this for the very first time. They knew from last night's game that Jason was a big deal in Riverside but this hit them even harder.

Jason himself was somewhat surprised by what Valentino had said. He knew that he was a big name in his city but seeing this wall and hearing what Valentino had to say hit him on a completely different level.

'I guess Marcus was right. I really do have an impact on this city and the people in it. I might just be playing basketball but to them it means so much more.'

Jason thanked Valentino for the meal and told him that he would make sure to get him more stuff to put on the wall. Including an article talking about him and the team winning at Nationals.

After they got back from their lunch they all hanged out at Kyle's room for a bit as they played some videogames and watched some videos on his computer.

Then as Jason and Nate's parents got back it was time for them to drop them off at the airport. David had told Henry that they could just get a ride to LAX but Henry insisted that his family be the ones to drop them off.

After an almost two hour drive they finally arrived at the airport as Jason's dad parked the car at the terminal that David's family were going to fly.

Jason dapped up Nate and gave Leslie a hug as he said his goodbyes while his parents were saying their own farewells to David and Lily.

David gave his brother a tight hug "It was good to see you again Henry. This weekend really meant a lot to me. And I think the same goes for my kids."

Lily smiled as she nodded her head "It really did. You guys might not know but this is the first time that I've actually seen them smiling while hanging out with their cousins."

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Naomi smiled before giving Lily a hug "Aw, well you and the kids are welcome anytime. I was honestly scared to have Jaya meet some of his family from New York but now I am glad that he met Nate."

Jason and his family waved goodbye to Nate, Leslie, David, and Lily as they walked into the airport. Even after they couldn't see them anymore they stood there for a few minutes.

Jason's dad turned to him with a smile as he ruffled his son's hair "Did you have fun with your cousins this weekend?"

He looked at his dad and smiled as he nodded his head "A ton. It was really nice to get a chance to spend some quality time with them."

His mom laughed as she pulled him into a hug "Well that's good to hear because hopefully you'll be able to spend more time with them."

She then asked "The season's almost over right? You only have five more games to go. What do you have planned for this week?"

Jason thought about it for a moment "Yeah, the season is almost over. I don't have any games left for this month but I do have the play on Friday."

His mom clapped her hands excitedly "I can't wait to finally watch you perform on stage Jaya. I know that you'll kill it just like how you do on the court."

Jason smiled when he heard his mom say that "Thanks mom. To be honest I'm actually more nervous about the play than when I'm getting ready for a game.

Too bad Nate and his family can't come. I hope that the rest of the family doesn't give them anymore problems."

- - -

In a large room with expensive looking furniture Chloe was laying on her bed as she played around on her phone.

She heard a knock on her door "Come in." A middle aged man wearing a black suit walked in as he bowed his head "Hello Miss Chloe. I have received a notice saying that your cousins have just arrived back into town."

Chloe got up and sat on the edge of her bed as she looked at the man "Good job Malcom. Were you able to find out where they went?"

Malcom shook his head "Unfortunately not Miss Chloe. I had some men work on it but they weren't able to dig up any information.

It appears as though they had made some preparations before leaving." Chloe frowned after hearing him say that.

Malcom glanced at her "It may be overstepping my boundaries as one who serves your family but is there really a need to go to such great lengths?

Maybe they had just gone somewhere to spend some quality time with each other and simply wished to not be disturbed."

Chloe rolled her eyes "If they were just going somewhere to have a good time there wouldn't be a reason for them to put so much effort in making sure that no one would know where they went."

Malcom nodded his head "Very wise of you Miss Chloe. An astute observation indeed." He then hesitated for a moment.

"But even if that were the case is there really a need for all this? Nate and Leslie are your only cousins that are close to you in age after all. Don't you want to get along with them?"

Chloe's face flashed with anger as her brows furrowed and her breathing became rough. She picked up a stapler from the top of her desk and threw it at the wall behind Malcom.

"I am nothing like them! Is that understood Malcom!?" He hurriedly nodded his head "Of course Miss Chloe. Your brilliance is something that those two could never come close to."

His words seemed to do little to ease her anger as her face was contorted with rage. She ground her teeth and gripped her fist.

"I am nothing like those two. I will climb to the top of the family and make sure that everyone that looked down on me and mocked me will have no choice but to look up to me and beg for forgiveness. No matter what it takes!"

Her infuriated eyes and bone chilling voice sent shivers up Malcom's spine as he assured her that he would try his best to find out where they had gone.

As Malcom left the room Chloe's eyes wondered back to her computer where she had all of Nate and Leslie's social media accounts pulled up.

"Now where in the hell did you two little shit heads go to?"

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