Nick Needs a Family

Chapter 18

 Nick hung up the phone and mechanically put it in his pocket. A train was ready to depart, and he thought about how easy it would be to just slip aboard and not look back.

Nick shook his head. He'd almost done it again. It was hard, but putting off talking to Judy would have only added another layer of terrible on top of this already awful shit sandwich. Though assuming she ever spoke to him again after she watched the video, Nick didn't even know where to start explaining it all to Judy.

Then like he'd done for months now, his mind wandered back to the nightmares he'd been having. He'd tried to convince himself it was Judy he was dreaming about, or that it really was just some weird leftover hallucination caused by the nightshade, and not something that had actually happened.

Nick remembered how Judy reacted to the vixen at the hospital, and how she'd been cheated on before in past relationships. He felt like a selfish asshole, but he didn't want to lose her.

The tod's thoughts continued to go around and around, until he felt an itchy feeling, like he was being watched. He turned to see Judy at the same moment she saw him. Nick's breath caught, and his heart leapt into his throat.

***

Judy looked out across the station at Nick. He was on the train platform, sitting on a bench by himself in a sea of mammals. She couldn't help but think how handsome Nick was, with his shiny spring coat already growing in. Judy could see how miserable he was when he turned to cast a forlorn look her way before he went back to staring at the ground.

Nick didn't look up when she sat next to him. There was an awkward silence before he finally said, "Nothing I can say can make up for what I've done, Judy." She started to speak, but he raised his paw and shook his head. "Lemme finish. I should have figured it out... from the dreams, I mean. But I wanted to find Karla, to make sure..." He trailed off. After a long silence, he spoke again. "This is going to freak your family out. And I can't hurt you or them like this."

Judy blurted out, "You're not trying to break up with me over this, are you?"

Nick barked out a sickened laugh. "What? Break up with... I assumed.... Judy, how can you even stand to look at me?" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You smell so jealous right now, and I don't blame you. This is just as bad as the kind of crap my dad pulled with my mom."

Judy huffed in annoyance and shook her head. "No, it isn't. And I am upset, but it's not your fault. I know that." Nick shook his head, but she soldiered on. "Look, I realize what family for you has been like, filled with disappointment, loneliness, and abandonment. You aren't your dad, and this isn't the same thing he did."

Nick stared blankly past the few mammals still remaining on the mostly empty platform and Judy spoke again. "By the way, you're worried about what my family will think... well, guess what? You are part of my family now, you dumb fox. And there's one thing you need to understand about rabbit families; we don't abandon each other when things get tough." Judy clasped her paws together and looked at her feet. "And what you actually are guilty of... I'm no better, because I did the same thing."

He replied with his usual snarky voice, but there was a sad edge to it. "You rampaged through the woods and attacked mammals and... other things?"

"No. I'm guilty of not treating you like a grown mammal. Through all of this, we've both kept important things from each other, pretending like we could protect each other's feelings and somehow keep each other from worrying. But you should have talked to me about your nightmares sooner. And I should have talked to you about the eggs right away... we're both adults, right?" Nick looked away as he fought back tears and Judy gently rested her paws on his arm. "Nick, look at me. Don't shut me out." She glanced over Nick's shoulder and added, "Don't shut us out." He turned to follow her gaze and saw her sister Hazel, along with a crowd of other Hopps family rabbits that had quietly gathered a few meters behind them.