A Choppy, Yet Sincere Apology || Drabble
Sitting at his kitchen table and reading a comic, Nathan was just minding his own business and eating his breakfast. He had work in a few, so he had to finish up his cereal and put away his comic.
He heard a knock on the door. Surely it couldn't be Jasper.. He knew he had work today. He even told him. He opened the door only to see a man and a woman. “Nathan Ross?” the woman asked, a hopeful look in her eyes. “Uhh...yeah... Who wants to know?” he responded, his expression becoming confused. “Oh my God, Mark, look at our boy all grown up!” the woman exclaimed. Our boy? No... Nathan backed away. This could not be happening. “You two need to leave... Now,” he told them, his voice dark, full of hatred. He knew he was being harsh, but he had a lot of resentment toward his so-called parents.
His mother put on a hurt expression while his father put on a stern one. “Now son, don't talk to your mother that way. We just came to apologize,” his father told him. Nathan could not believe what he was hearing. “Son?! Apologize?! Excuse me, but if I remember correctly, you two never acted like parents toward me! You never gave two shits about me, so why should I fucking accept your apology?!” he yelled out, frustration growing fairly quickly. He didn't have time for this. He was going to be late. “Move out of my way. I need to get to work,” he informed them, venom coming out at each word. “Nathan James Ross, sit down with us, we need to talk,” his father demanded. He was surprised he even remembered his middle name. “Fifteen years, Mark. Fifteen years later, you want to talk. You want to act like parents. You want to fucking apologize. Well, tough fucking shit. It won't cut it. It will never cut it. Now move,” Nate demanded, more eager to get to work than ever. He didn't even bother using the word dad. His “dad” was no father to him.
“Nathan, just hear us out. We know we've made mistakes in the past, but we learned from them. We lost our son because of them, our only son,” his mother, Harlow, tried. Nathan growled in frustration. “Fine, you wanna talk?! Alright we'll talk! Just let me call off,” he grumbled the last part.
Returning to the kitchen, he hoped his “parents” would have left, but no, they're still there. “Okay. Spill it,” Nathan demanded. His father went on about being sorry for what he did that drove him away. “What you fucking did to me was unforgivable. You almost fucking killed me. And you,” he started, pointing to Harlow. “You just sat in the living room, higher than a motherfucking kite. And Mark, just because of one motherfucking hard day at work, does not mean you have to get drunk off your ass and beat the living shit out of your son!” he exclaimed, secretly wishing Jasper was there to back him up.
Both of his parents seemed taken aback by his words. Good. Next thing he knew, Harlow walked over to his pictures, picking up the one of him and Jas. “Well, he's a lil' cutie. How long?” she asked. Yanking the picture out of her hand, Nate looked at her with daggers in his eyes. “Just a friend of mine. Nothing more, nothing less. Back off,” he spat out. “Now it's my turn to say some shit.” he started, taking a deep breath. “Living with you dumbfucks was a living hell. The constant bickering. It was just...pathetic. You two were supposed to put your fucking heads together to raise me. You did that for about five years and then you said 'Ah, fuck it. He's in kindergarten now, he can pretty much take care of himself.' and then you stopped. And then the bickering began. I coward in my blankets all the nights you two argued. I honestly wished you two would have killed each other every time. Five years later, I'm ten years old. I'm in my room, minding my own business. Next thing I know, my whole body hurts, and I'm very close to dying,” he had to take a breather before he really lost his temper. “And I look above me and see the man who was supposed to be my father, fists clenched and eyes angry. I didn't even know what the fuck I did to make you beat me like that,” he told him, muttering the last sentence.
His father looked genuinely ashamed. But Nathan still wasn't buying it. “Nathan, you have to understand, I wasn't in my right mind. I had no clue what I was doing. Feeling his temper rise even more, he decided to end this little reunion. “You have no fucking idea what it's like to not be in your right mind. You were just drunk off your ass. You were pissed at someone or something and you took it out on me,” he spat. Now please, you said what you wanted to say, you apologized, now get the fuck out of my life and stay out!” he yelled.
Mark and Harlow looked hurt. And Nathan could care less. He walked into the living room and took a deep breath, memories of his childhood returning. Harlow walked up behind him and carefully put her hand on his shoulder, resulting in Nate jumping. He fished a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and took a long drag before blowing out the smoke. He was trying to make his mind think of some good memories, but his mind decided that it didn't like him so more bad memories came flooding in. “Please stop touching me,” he told Harlow, his voice shaking. Deep down inside, he wanted to forgive his parents, but he didn't know how. He's hated them for so long, he didn't even know if he had the ability to love them at all.
He turned around to see Harlow's eyes. So gentle and caring. He really did look a lot like his mom, his grandmother wasn't lying about that at all. “Nathan, I know what we did was extremely unforgivable, and I understand why you're so defensive of yourself. If I were you, I'd do the same. Believe me. I was too busy drugged up to realize how much you meant to me. It really is true when they say you don't know what you have until it's gone, because when I was sober for the first time in a long time, I realized how much I missed you,” she confessed. Nate didn't know what to think. He didn't even know if he could believe her. Tears were welling up in his face, but he refused to let them fall. “Just...please leave. I need time to think...” he demanded, his voice soft.
As Harlow and Mark left, Nate went back to the kitchen and sat at the table, and rested his head on it. This action alone reminded him of another bad memory. Except this time, he didn't have someone else's hands cradling his head while he was broken down. Quickly getting up, he decided to go back to the living room. Maybe he could forgive his mom. She never caused physical pain anyway.
He decided to call Jasper. He really needed someone to talk to and Jas was literally the only one he could turn to. He felt his anxiety spike when the phone passed the third ring. Jas always picked up on the second ring.. He felt a sense of relief when he heard the phone being picked up on the other end. “Hello?” Jasper asked. “Hey Jas,” Nate answered in a rather shaky voice. “You okay, Nate? I thought you had work today,” he said, his voice sounding a bit pouty. “Not really. My parents just paid me a visit, which is why I didn't go to work today,” he responded. “Oh shit. How'd that go?” Jas asked, sounding quite intrigued. “The conversation with my so-called dad didn't go well. I snapped at him quite a bit. I snapped at both of them a lot, actually. Though, my mom kinda threw me off track. She sounded so sincere in her apology. She looked at me with her sad hazelish eyes and... God, Jas...I'm so confused,” he confessed. While Nate was talking, Jas hummed at random times to let him know he was listening. “Well Nate, here's what I would do: tell your dad to fuck off, because what he did to you was complete shit, but maybe try to forgive your mom. She's never inflicted any physical pain, has she?” Nate thought over the question, the same question he asked himself earlier. “No. She ignored me quite a bit, but that was only because of all the drugs she's done,” he finally answered. “Tell you what, I'm gonna come over, and I'll be there to kind of meet them. See how they act around you. I know liars when I see them, so, yeah. See you in a few, Nate,” Jas announced. “See ya, Jas,” Nate responded.
He was trying to keep himself occupied while waiting for Jasper to come over, his anxiety getting to him again. He decided to finish up his comic book while he waited. Finally hearing another knock on his door, he hoped it was Jasper. As he opened the door, he let out a relieved sigh, happy to see his best friend. “Hey, Batman! I heard you were having some kind of family crisis, so I decided to help,” he teased, giving him a huge hug. “Thanks for being here, Jas. I can't really thank you enough,” he told him, hugging back just as tight. “Well, I could think of a few things, but it involves you and me in your bed,” Jas commented with a wink. As perverted as Jasper was, Nate was always glad to have him around. He never failed to make him smile. “Don't get too carried away now, Iron Man. My 'parents' told me they'd come back in a couple of hours,” he informed him, throwing air quotes at the word parents. “What are you, a 17 year old girl?” he teased, giving him a skeptical look. Nate just laughed and gave him the middle finger. “Please do,” Jas teased, throwing another wink Nate's way.
An hour later, while the two friends were watching Batman, they heard another knock on the door. Nate switched off the TV, taking a deep breath, and letting out a heavy sigh. “Do I have to let them back in?” Nate questioned. “If you don't want to, I will,” Jas offered. Nate just nodded his head.
As Jas strode to the door, he looked through the peephole, seeing a man and a woman. He opened the door and greeted them. “Hello, you must be Nathan's friend,” Harlow assumed, smiling widely. “I sure am. And you must be his mom. Now I see where he gets his good looks.” At that comment, Nathan scoffed. “Anyway, the name is Jasper. Nice to meet you,” he greeted, giving them a polite smile. “Can we just come inside now?” Mark asked, looking and sounding annoyed. Jasper decided to spike that up. “I don't know, can you?” he asked in a teasing manner. “Jas, just let them in,” Nate sounded from the living room. Jasper stepped aside, letting them in. “So have you thought about it?” Mark asked. “About what?” Nate responded. “Forgiveness,” his father simply answered. “I still don't know, get off my fucking back!” Nate yelled, burying his face in his hands. “You're coming around, Nate. I can see it,” Mark stated, sounding rather amused with himself. Nate lifted his head from his hands, giving the man a “what the fuck” look. “You don't know shit! You have no idea what is going on in my mind right now, so I suggest you just lay the fuck off, okay?!” Nate yelled again, becoming more pissed each minute that passed by with his “dad” in the same room as him.
Jasper was at his side in an instant after he heard him blow up again. “This is really stressing you out, huh, Batman?” he asked in a soft voice. Nate nodded his head. “You don't know the half of it, Iron Man..” he whispered back, resting his head on Jas' shoulder. He just wanted all of this madness to end. His mind was conflicted. He wanted to forgive his mother, but she did ignore him quite a lot. His father could go straight to hell, for all he cared. He was on the brink of a panic attack, his head ached, he just wanted to lay down. To make matters worse, his parents were kind of arguing again, pointing fingers at each other. “Alright, that is e-fucking-nough!” Jasper yelled out, obviously annoyed with Nate's parents. “I'm sorry, but I don't think you've noticed the fact that your son is on the fucking brink of a panic attack because you fuck tarts won't give him a minute of space. And to pour salt on the motherfucking wound, you're arguing right in front of him again! Now just shut the fuck up and let me try to calm him down,” he demanded. That shut them up.
Nathan was really thankful that Jasper was there for him this time. As he felt his breathing begin to even out, he let out a sigh. “Thanks, Jas. This is even more stressful than the first time they stopped by today,” he whispered. “No problem Batman. I hate your dad's guts, by the way. Your mom is kinda alright,” Jas whispered back. “I really don't blame you for hating my dad. I hate him too. My mom is definitely a lot better than him,” he stated. “You look a lot like her, you know,” Jas mused. “My grandma told me that all the time growing up,” he reminisced with a small smile on his face.
“Hello, we're still here... If you wanna be all lovey dovey, get a room,” Mark randomly announced. Harlow slapped him in the back of the head. “Can't you see that Jasper is just trying to comfort our son?” Harlow asked, obviously annoyed with him. Jas got an idea. “Well, don't mind if we do, “ Jas played, getting up and pulling on Nate's arm. Nate just gave him an amused smile. Mark looked disgusted. “What? You a homophobe?” Jas asked, curiosity and annoyance in his voice. “No, I just don't like the idea of my son kissing another man,” Mark confessed. Jasper burst out in a fit of laughter. “Oh man, if only you knew half the shit we've done to each other. Far more advanced shit than kissing, let me tell you that,” he told him, still laughing. Nate and Harlow couldn't help but to join in on the laughter. Mark just looked even more disgusted.
Harlow looked at Jasper and placed a hand on his knee. “As long as you make Nathan happy, that's all that matters.” Jas decided to play along. “I love making him happy. His smile always brightens my day,” he truthfully said, smiling widely. She smiled back. “Nathan, can I talk to you in privacy?” Mark asked. Nathan cautiously stood up. He was still scared of his father, no doubt about that. He looked at Jasper, eyes full of worry. Jas stood up and gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You'll be alright. You're Batman, remember? And if Batman does see himself in trouble in the next few minutes, you can bet your ass Iron Man will be there to help him,” Jas assured him, giving him another kiss on the cheek. Nate made a small smile. “Thanks, Jas,” he replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek in return. “Can we end this kissing fest now?” Mark asked, sounding annoyed yet again. Nate had no choice but to follow him, tail between his legs.
As they got to where Mark was leading them to, he turned around, eyes full of anger, much like what he looked like when Nate was ten. “I tried to be patient, but your little friend is testing it with all his lies and such,” he hissed at Nate, keeping his voice down. “They're not lies, Mark. We've had sex before,” Nate stated casually. “Lies!” Mark yelled, slapping Nate hard in the face. “My son will not be a fag!” he added, fury showing in his eyes. Nate rubbed the spot on his cheek where he was slapped. “What do you think you're trying to do, slap the gay out of me? That's not how it works, Mark. Stop before you piss me off,” he threatened. “What? Are you gonna Hulk out on me, Batman?” Mark asked in a cruel teasing manner. Nate's eyes narrowed. “Nobody calls me Batman. Only Jas,” he growled.
Still in the living room, Jasper was conversing with Harlow. When they heard a sudden thump, they both sprung into action.
As Mark kept beating on him, Nate tried so hard to keep the beast inside on a leash. Getting sick of it, Nate punched him hard in the face. Hard enough to make blood gush out of his mouth and nose. Next thing they knew, Jasper and Harlow busted in. They were still going at each other. Punch after punch was thrown. Nate was getting a black eye and Mark's nose was pretty much broken. Jasper pulled Nate away and Harlow pulled Mark away. “Calm down, Nate. Just calm down,” Jasper soothed. “Mark, get out. I want you out of my house, and I want you out of my life!” Nate screamed, his lip bleeding. “Fine, I don't want a fag for a son, anyway,” Mark spat, walking away. Nate needed to get space or there would be two dead bodies in the room. And he was not willing to kill Jasper and his mom. “Space... I need space...” Nate informed them. Jas let go of him, knowing what would probably happen to him if he didn't.
When Jas and Harlow reached Nate, he was in his room, smoking a cigarette. “We should probably leave him alone for a few,” Jas informed Harlow, pulling her towards the living room. “He looks so angry though. I need to comfort him,” she insisted. “That wouldn't be the best idea. Believe me. It's best we let him sort this out by himself for now. He'll come to us when he's ready,” he assured her.
After a few hours, Nate was still in his room and Jas was starting to get worried. He got up and walked toward Nate's room, peeking inside and seeing his sleeping figure. He then walked over to Harlow and told her that Nate was sleeping. She gave him her number and told him to tell Nate to call her when he wakes up. As Jasper climbed in the bed with him, Nate stirred, instantly clinging to him.
The next morning, Nate woke up to the smell of bacon. He walked in the kitchen to see Jasper frying up the little fatty strips. “G'morning Jas,” Nate greeted in a sleepy voice. Jas walked up to him, instantly pulling him into a hug and kiss. “That fuckface messed your face up, man,” he told him, touching his black eye, resulting in Nate jumping a bit. “I know, I hope I messed his up more,” he grumbled, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “So I've come to a conclusion, my mother is forgivable, but my 'father' can burn in hell,” he announced after taking a sip of his coffee. Oh, speaking of your mom, she left her number for you to call when you wake up. But you might wanna wait u til you're fully awake,” he informed him with a chuckle. “I'm surprised you haven't pushed me against a wall yet, seeing as though you can't function without morning sex,” he teased, smiling. “You want me to?” Jas teased, arching a brow. Nate started laughing a little. “No, not really,” he simply said, giving him a half hearted smile, sitting down at the table. He saw the number and started contemplating on whether or not he should call. “Maybe call her after you get your belly filled,” Jas suggested, putting a plate of breakfast in front of him. “And don't worry, I've already eaten,” he added, reassuring him.
After Nate ate his breakfast, he looked at the number again. “What if he picks up...?” he wondered out loud. It was apparent Nate was still afraid of him. Even though he wasn't a ten year old boy anymore, his father still looked scary to him. “He won't. That's Harlow's cell number. They never fuck with each other's cells. She told me,” Jas reassured him again while cleaning up the dishes. Taking his time, Nate carefully punched in the numbers. At each ring, his anxiety spiked until he heard the phone being picked up on the other end. “Hello?” came a female voice. Nate internally let out a relieved sigh. Hey...mom...?” he said in a questioning and unsure voice. “Hey Nate. How are you?” Harlow asked, sounding happier by the minute. That put a smile on his face for some reason. “I'm doing alright, I guess. My jaw kinda hurts,” he admitted.
Nate took the phone in his bedroom and talked to Harlow for a few more minutes. Maybe a little more than that. After they were all caught up, Nate walked out of the bedroom and hung up the phone. “So, how'd it go?” Jasper asked, sitting on the couch. “The conversation? It went great, actually. Better than I thought it would go, that's for damn sure,” he answered, smiling a bit at the other. Jas patted the seat next to him. “Well, sit down, silly. Don't be a stranger,” he teased. Not even hesitating, Nate walked over to the couch and plopped down right beside Jas. “Y'know, we're supposed to have a day together soon. Just she and I,” he mused as he snuggled closer to his friend, smiling at the thought of them spending a day together. Doing things they didn't get to do when he was a kid. And best of all, the assface he used to call his father wasn't going to be there at all.