A.N.- Okay, this is a continuation of the last prompt, and this is the part where they show Jude's parents. Sorry if it's a little...mehhh :p
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The door opened and Mark came in. He walked over to me and Will, looking nervous now.
“Um…Ethan, right?” he said. I nodded slowly. “Would you mind coming with me to Jude’s house? I want you to tell his parents what you told us.”
I glanced at Will who nodded at me. “Sure,” I said, taking Will’s hand in mine.
Mark led us out to the car and Will and I climbed in the back. Jude was sitting in the front, quietly staring at the dashboard.
I could tell by his expression that he knew he wasn’t getting out of this. He seemed to be thinking about what to say to ease the blow, rather than a trick to get out of it.
Mark pulled into Jude’s driveway and we followed Jude into the house. Jude slowly led us to his living room, where his parents were sitting on the couch together.
“Oh- hi Mark,” Jude’s dad said in surprise. “Uh, what’s going on here? Jude, are you okay? You’re really pale. Are you sick?” The concern in his voice had Jude fidgeting again.
“Syd, Tatiana, I need to show you something,” Mark said.
The tone of his voice had them looking a little worried. Mark went over to them, pulling out his phone and bringing up the video.
“What’s going on? Did Jude do something?” Tatiana asked.
Mark nodded. “Yes. Him and…and Nate. Just watch this,” he said and handed the video to Jude’s parents, pressing play.
Their eyes widened in horror as they watched the video. When it was over, Mark nodded to me and I stepped forward, telling them everything their son and his friends had done. Their faces grew pale, and Jude dropped his head.
“Judeikas Edmund Tibbits, I cannot believe what I just saw,” Tatiana said furiously, and I raised an eyebrow, wondering which one of these obviously cruel parents had named the freaking kid.
“Jude,” Syd said, his voice quiet. He looked at Jude with disappointment in his eyes. Judging by Jude’s expression, it was a look he had rarely, if ever, received from his dad before.
“Dad…I’m sorry,” Jude squeaked out, probably knowing his dad would be easier on him than his mom.
“Jude, I’m so ashamed of you right now,” Syd said. “You spiked a boy’s drink? Do you realize you could’ve given him alcohol poisoning? And you tore this boy’s ear open! You threatened him with something he’s allergic to. Jude, you could’ve killed him! What the hell is wrong with you?”
Jude winced. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
“I trusted you, Jude. But now…” Syd shook his head, looking heartbroken. “I can’t believe you would do this stuff and lie to us. And maybe this is my fault. I’m too lenient with you and-”
“Stop it,” Tatiana said, shaking her head at him. “Stop. If you start blaming yourself, then Jude is just going to do this again. Judeikas needs to take responsibility for his own actions. He’s almost an adult. He knew what he was doing, as disgusting as it was.”
“I want him to stay away from Nate,” Mark said.
“That’s understandable,” Tatiana said with a nod. “I’ll make sure that happens, Mark. I’m not accusing Nathan, but he also had his own choices too, though. Don’t blame it all on Judeikas.”
“I’m so sorry about everything my son did to you,” Syd said to me sincerely. “I’m so, so sorry. We had no idea.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said, feeling a little uncomfortable. “But, yea, your kid’s a total dick to everyone.”
“So Ethan’s mother was telling the truth the whole time. And you lied to me. I trusted you, Judeikas, and you lied to me and your father,” Tatiana said, standing up. Jude shrank back, and I had to admit that his mom was an intimidating woman. “Obviously you’re grounded. For a while. And you are to stay away from Nate.”
“I can’t believe this,” Syd said, passing a hand over his face. “Jude, I can’t believe you. I thought you were a good kid. I’m so disappointed in you. So…so damn ashamed of you.”
“Dad,” Jude said, shock in his voice. Something told me that Jude’s dad had never said anything even slightly close to that before.
“Just stop,” Syd said, shaking his head. “I’m disgusted in you and your actions. Go to your room. We’ll be up in a few minutes.”
Jude dropped his head, shooting me a glare before leaving the room. Syd stood up and came over to me and Will.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Just control your bastard of a son. He punched my sister in the face,” Will growled.
Syd’s face paled. “We’ll handle him. I promise.”
“I’ll be getting in touch with your parents, Ethan. I believe we owe them a huge apology,” Tatiana said.
“Syd, Tatiana, my wife and I still want to remain friends with you guys. But we don’t want Nate around Jude,” Mark said.
“Of course,” Tatiana said. She glanced at her husband with worry. “Syd, I’ll go talk to Jude.”
“No, I need to talk to him too,” Syd said, clearly having a hard time believing that Jude was actually capable of the things we had showed him and told him.
“We’ll be getting in touch with your parents tonight,” Tatiana said to me.
“Let’s go Ethan. There’s nothing else for us to do here,” Will said. He nodded at Jude’s parents before leading us out of the house. He pulled me into his arms, kissing me. “It’s all over. I promise. They’re not going to give you anymore problems.”
Syd’s expression kept flashing through my mind, and I felt guilty. I may have fixed my daddy issues, but I had just given Jude daddy issues.
“Hey, don’t start feeling guilty. It had to happen. He was going to keep hurting you, Benji, Sonnet, and a bunch of other kids,” Will said, kissing me.
“I guess you’re right,” I said with a sigh. I leaned against Will, closing my eyes. It was finally over. I didn’t have to worry about Jude and Nate anymore.
