Until There Was You

twenty-two

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2 2 | Until There Was You

There was yelling. The excruciating kind that sent Jude's head spiraling. He saw hands in the air, widened eyes, and anger. Everything seemed like a patronizing blur. His mother's face was stretched into a tiresome expression—for giving her son too many chances.

Jude lowered his head, listening to the gaps of silence that drummed in his head. His ears grasped onto the sound of an underwater trench of repeats. The world below him was rotating too fast and too quick; he could hardly keep up. Jude was drowning and sinking to the bottom of this keen confrontation.

Their irises were flames of calculating consequences. Jude couldn't quite keep up as he swallowed and let it all happen. That was what he was best at, letting things unfold until he couldn't take it anymore. Until his anger invaded the waking night in waves he couldn't control.

"You've been coming home late, skipping school, and now you won't even tell us what the hell happened with you and Seth," his mother pinpointed. Jude cringed. It sounded worse saying it aloud, but Jude swore it wasn't that bad with reasoning. He had good reasoning behind each of those actions, but telling the truth about Seth would reveal everything. Like a domino effect, all the lies falling one after the other. In a matter of seconds. In one inflicting moment. Jude almost told his parents another lie.

We had a mutual falling out, he wanted to lie, but that sounded like bullshit to his own ears. He met their eyes, hoping that they'd just let this pass like everything else. Jude wasn't in the mood tonight or any other night for that matter.

"Judah Lockhart, I swear on all things holy if you don't tell me the truth about what's going on I'm going to take your cell phone and your car keys."

Jude almost snorted at the punishment. Hell, he'd hand them both over willingly if that was the worst they could do.

"Take them," he demanded, pulling out both items and handing them over. His mother looked down at the items surprisingly, as if not expecting him to oblige so willingly. With hesitation, she removed both from his hand.

"Can I go to my room now?" he wondered, eyes flickering between the two of them.

"We're not done talking," his dad said in a sharp voice, crossing his arms to look more masculine, dominant to his son. Jude took no liking in his parent's tone, but that didn't seem to matter to them. They wanted answers. No, they needed answers.

"What's been up with you?" his mother asked. "I feel like I don't even know my own son anymore."

"Maybe, you never did," Jude retorted back, matter-of-factly and again, his mother was shocked by his words.

"Judah!" His dad interrupted, his voice a shout above everyone else's. Jude had an inkling the neighbors may have heard it, or had been listening in on the corruption of their family. If they weren't careful it would begin to spread.

"It's fine," she said. "Let me talk to him alone for a second."

His dad nodded and went into another room, hoping that things would soothe out soon. Hoping for the wrong thing. When they were alone Jude swallowed and stared back at his mother.

"Have a seat, Judah," she started. "I want to tell you a story. About the mother who sacrificed the world for her son."

Lies. Lies. Lies.