Fate's Gift

Chapter 8 : Second Break

Ella and Kit wasted no time in asking Persephone for a room and dragging Chad to it. As soon as they were in there, Ella began to pace while Kit stood by the door. Chad was in front of them both.

"I know I messed up." Chad said quickly, before either of his parents could say a thing. "I won't do it again, and I'll do all of my homework from now on!"

His parents looked at him in disbelief. "You manipulated girls to do your homework for half the year, Chadwick." Kit said. Chad paled at the continued usage of his full name, something his parents rarely did. "'Messed up' is an understatement. Did you really think that it was okay to mess with people's hearts like that? To cheat on them, and to use them? Did you think that you wouldn't get caught?"

Chad looked down. "I didn't cheat on them all." He muttered.

His mom scoffed, a sound that surprised Chad. "Is that supposed to make it better?" She asked while crossing her arms. "How many girls have you done this too?"

"Does it even matter?" Chad asked, "It's done now!"

"Yes it matters!" His father shouted. "Give us a number, Chadwick!"

"I don't know, okay!" Chad yelled back. He sighed and put his head in his hands. "I.. it started out small. I flirted with a girl and took her out on a date, then got her to write my English paper. After that... It was a date for a science project, or stringing a girl along for a few days for other assignments." He paused, waiting to see if either of his parents would respond, before continuing on. "I don't know when it became a constant, and I deleted all the extra contacts on my phone after.. Someone found out."

Ella was breathing through her nose, trying her best to not completely blow up at Chad while he explained his actions. Cutting him off wouldn't do any good. Kit had taken to completely turning away from their son while he cursed under his breath.

"So, how did the girls find out?" Ella asked. "Obviously, something must have happened."

Chad ran a hand through his hair, avoiding his mom's eyes. "I told you. Someone found out when I lost my phone. Whoever they were, they sent texts to every contact on the phone."

"Did the press ever find out?" Kit asked stiffly.

"No." Chad told him.

"Good." His father was quiet for a moment, before swearing once again. "What were you thinking?" He asked Chad, turning to look at him. "How could you do that to all those girls? Did you think it was funny to play with their feelings?"

Chad shook his head. "No! No I, I just.."

"And how about how it would affect you? Your grades, your reputation. How about those girl's reputations? What would have happened if the press got wind of this? They would have torn you all to shreds! You're the heir to a throne, Chad!"

His father's words felt like a slap to the face, and the horrible part was, he hadn't thought of any of that. He hadn't stopped to think about what would happen if a reporter found out he was getting girl's to do his homework. His and their names would be dragged for that.

Kit shook his head. "But of course not! Because all you seemed to think about was yourself!" He paused, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. "All you seemed to care about was getting a good grade with as little effort as possible, not caring about the consequences or people you hurt in the process."

"It wasn't that simple! If I failed a class, I would have been taken out of R.O.A.R! Once that season was over, it was Tourney!"

"That's not an excuse!" Ella shouted, before Kit could, stepping closer to Chad. "That's when you get a tutor! That's when you ask for help! This.. what you did was..." Ella was at a loss for words. All she could do was look at her son as her chest tightened with every breath. She didn't see the boy who would sit with his youngest sister and play with dolls, who would read with her in the library, or go riding with his father and brother. She didn't see the boy who would insist on going along with Karine and Jane when they'd go to the forest, just to make sure that they were okay. In this moment, the only person he reminded her of was the woman she tried to forget, the woman who still haunted her dreams. "That was the behavior of a narcissist." She said, her eyes beginning to burn. "That was the behavior of someone who doesn't care about other people! The behavior of a villain! Not the behavior of the son we raised."