Heartbreak | bxb angst

Chapter 13

Pretending wasn't her strong suit, Jude learned. She managed to go by the day without worrying Alex with a fake smile painted on her face. They acted as normal, and Jude took it as them not noticing the hurt behind Jude's facade. She did it, but at the cost of her body now feeling more frail than ever as she rushed to drive back home.

She wasted no time after parking in her driveway. Grabbing her bag, she darted out of the car into her home desperate for some rest.

The sound of the door flinging open then loudly shut closed startled a figure currently scooping from a tub of ice cream in the kitchen.

"Bug?"

Jude heard the deep voice of her father calling for her from where he was. She rushed towards him, then immediately throwing her body forward to grab her father into a much needed hug.

"Woah, there, what's wrong? Almost made me drop my ice cream." he said jokingly, but reciprocating the tight embrace his daughter had on him.

"Tired." Jude muttered.

Her dad smiled fondly, placing an understanding kiss atop Jude's head.

"Would some rum ice cream help?"

"Gross."

The graying haired man chuckled, reaching to open the freezer as his daughter still clung onto him. "Well then, chocolate it is."

-

The two are now sat on the couch with each their own mugs of ice cream, a crime series playing on the television. Jude looked down on hers, half of the ice cream now puddled on the bottom of the mug. She nonchalantly took another spoonful.

"So, what's up?" her dad asked, eyes not leaving the television.

Jude looked at him, and shrugged as a response.

"You really are a quiet kid, huh?" he said, placing his now empty mug onto the table across the sofa. "It was a blessing when you were young, but now, it's like you keep everything to yourself. Why don't you talk to me, hm?"

Jude closed her eyes, then leaned onto her dad's shoulder, careful not to spill the contents of her mug.

"I know your mom is the therapist here, but you can talk to me too you know?" her dad said again, bringing an arm to wrap around his daughter's shoulder.

"Well you could crack my head open and see what's going on in there." Jude said, earning a scoff from the adult.

"That's not how it works." he paused for a moment. "When a patient comes to me, even I still need them to tell me what's going on first. I can't just start doing cranial nerve exams randomly and hope it'll help them."

Jude stared blankly at the TV, thinking of what her dad just said. She found herself agreeing and understanding the indirect metaphor.

Her father's initial words from the beginning of their conversation stuck in her mind. She never noticed this but apparently, she doesn't really talk to anyone about what's going on internally. She couldn't think of a reason why. Throughout her life, it seems like she has been feeling that nothing about her is really worth talking about.

"So? Are you gonna talk?"

Jude looked to see her dad looking back at her. She sighed.

"It's.. my love life? I think?"

"Yea? What about it?"

Jude breathed in and out again.

"The person I like.."

Her voice trembled ever so slightly at the indirect mention of a certain boy. However her chest felt too heavy as she felt incredibly too tired that the tears couldn't make their way out of her sunken eyes.