"I can't do this!" I panicked with short raspy breaths. I thought that I could, that I would just get here and all my worries would just go away. I would just keep my cool like I usually do, never letting others see that they get to me. Now, I just couldn't help but be in a full state of dismay. I mean at first I was happy to hear about it, its been so long. I thought I could just go and patch things up, but now I don't even think I'll be able to make it out of the car, let alone make it to the door.
"Nick, calm down. Everything's going to be just fine. What happened was years ago, I'm sure that they will be ecstatic to see you again." Carrots assured me as she placed her paw lovingly on mine. I hated others seeing me like this, in a panicked state. It makes me feel vulnerable. But around her, I knew I could act anyway without her being the least bit judgmental. Even if she was, I knew that I would be able to get her with a comeback pretty easily.
I took a deep breath and sighed, nodding my head because she was probably right. "You're right, I'm just over reacting." I said, mostly just trying to give myself a confidence boost. Is this what it felt like to be insecure and nervous? It feels awful.
I peered out of the passenger side window of the car and looked at the house that was directly across the street from us. A pretty normal looking house; an ordinary red brick home with a decent sized yard with white fencing around its perimeter. Just a house that looked like all the ones around it, for the most part. Except there was one thing that the other houses didn't share with this one, I hadn't lived in any of the other ones. Yet, I have not been here in over a decade. Why? I was afraid of what my parents might think.
"Of course I'm right, when am I not?" She asked with a slick smile.
"Oh, I can think of a few occasions" I said folding my arms with a raised brow. She looked down with a small blush.
"You said we'd never talk about that again" She hissed, still feeling the guilt of it all. Of course I was talking about the missing mammals case, and how she basically outed all predators as ticking savage time bombs. Though, when she found out how wrong she was, she apologized to me about a million times, and also made a public announcement about it, telling everyone how wrong she had been and had apologized sincerely to everyone. After that, she made me promise never to talk about it again, but I just couldn't help myself.
"Your the one being Miss. Brags a lot, I'm just countering your statement and defending myself" I told her with a sly smile of my own. She just groaned and gave my arm a medium punch. I laughed it off as she still kept her face buried in her paws. She really didn't like when people brought that up, and I really shouldn't have even mentioned it. I do love to mess with others, but I can take it a little far at times. 'Stupid fox' I thought to myself.
"Hey, Judy, I'm sorry I said that. I know it was stupid of me" I apologized.
"Yah, you are a pretty stupid fox" She murmured half jokingly.
"Hey, don't forget I still have that recording of you" I reminded her. She rolled her eyes and gave my arm another light punch.
"You make me so angry sometimes, you know that?" She told me with a slight growl, but I know she was just playing.
"Oh, you know you love me" I laughed, then rubbing her head and giving her a small kiss on the cheek.
"Yah, otherwise I would have left your ass a long time ago" She giggled.
I chuckled as well. It really did amaze me how this bunny could put up with someone like me. I mean, I knew why I was with her; she saved me from myself, bringing out the better side of me. She got me out of the stealing business and into law enforcement where I can actually help make a difference. She also opened up my eyes to let me see that what you are doesn't bound you from doing anything you want. And most importantly, she believed in me, a fox, when the rest of the world saw my kind as sneaky, untrustworthy, evil, etc., She saw past that, and that's when I knew I couldn't love anyone else but her. As for why she liked me, it was still a mystery to myself, for the most part at least. She had told me some reasons, but I could tell that wasn't all.
We had gotten together and started dating around a year ago, starting out in secret, but we soon let others know. Much to Clawhauser pleasure, as he said he always thought we looked like a cute couple. Most didn't care for our interspecies relationship, but there were a few that did. And for some reason they always liked to express their opinions to us. That's a reason why I'm so nervous about this.
There are two main factors as to why this trip to my parents is causing me so much stress and anxiety. The first being why I haven't been here in over a decade. My life as a con-artist started pretty early in my life. Being a fox, I was just naturally good at it. Plus, seeing as others already saw me as a menace, I lived up to their expectations and prejudice thoughts.
At first I started off doing small things in school, conning other classmates into basically giving me whatever I wanted. I'm not going to share how I did it, mostly because I'm not very proud of what I did. After the years went by I kept working my way up, doing bigger and riskier things. I was doing great, making a steady income off of scamming animals out of there money. In my mind I knew that I could do this all I wanted and no one would ever be the wiser. Oh, how wrong I had been. Because as the scams got bigger and riskier, so did the danger.
I was around seventeen when it happened, still in high school, though, still the same cunning fox I had always been and always will be. It was around that time that I had moved up a little higher with my scams, getting to know some animals that were a little on the sketchy side of things. Of course, I guess you could consider me the same kind of animal at that point. Anyway, I was just selling some things, don't quite remember what, off to animals like I did. Of course, though, I was definitely selling them triple of what they were actually worth, making them seem like some expensive brand. I had made it through the whole day, and at the end of it I figured I had got off free again like I usually did, makeing a large sum of cash. Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly right about that.
Apparently that day, I had sold something to some crime boss. Well, he was quick to figure out that what I sold to him was a fake, and he wasn't to pleased about it. So he sent a couple of his goons after me. That night they cornered me in an alley and beat the living hell out of me. After they beat me to a bloody pulp, they took all the money I had made that day and left me for dead. The next thing I remembered after that was waking up in a hospital bed with my mom crying next to me. It was kind of a blur after that, but I remember finally telling my mom and dad what I had been doing for the past five years. To say there were not happy... well that would have been a bit of an understatement. They made me promise not to do it anymore, and I did. Obviously I didn't live up to it. Much to my parents disappointment and anger.
I don't know how they found our I was doing it again, but when I came home one night I was met by a wave of yelling and screaming and crying from both my mom and dad. I yelled back, we fought for nearly half an hour until finally my dad just had enough. He told me to get out, to leave and not come back until I cleaned up my act. And I did. But now here I am, a little over ten years later ready to face them again.
Was I mad at them for kicking me out? I was down right furious, how could they just send me away like I didn't matter at all to them. I held such a hatred of them for many years until I just forgot about everything. But now, as I looked back on it, I couldn't blame them.
"Come on, we don't have all day" Judy said, knocking me from my thoughts. I nodded my head and climbed out of the passenger side door. Judy came by my side and smiled up at me. It was late in the evening, around five o'clock. I had all day to prepare myself for this, and still I'm terrified.
"Calm down a little, your literally shaking" She giggled, enjoying how vulnerable I was being right now. Who could blame me, though. It was a rarity to see me in this kind of state of panic. I was usually a very calm and collected fox.
"Its just been so long" I sighed. I looked over at the house and it just sent a shiver down my spine. I swear I could still hear the screaming of that night. I had said so many things that I now regret.
I suddenly felt a tug on my tie as Just brought me down to her until we were at the same eye level.
"Everything's going to be just fine" She whispered lovingly to me, followed by a small peck on the lips. I couldn't help but smile at my little confidence booster. "And if anything goes wrong, just remember I'll be right there with you" she reassured me. Of course that was the other reason why I was so nervous about this.
It was around a month ago that I had finally asked Judy to marry me. Obviously she said yes, and was so excited about it. She couldn't keep her happiness contained and it wasn't long before almost all of our friends knew. Luckily, they aren't the ones who care about interspecies relationships. It was after we had called and told Judy's parents about us that my family was brought up. It wasn't the first time, but I usually just waved her off whenever she tried to bring them up. But there was no escaping it that time. That's the first time I had told anyone about what happened between my family and me. And Judy, being herself, immediately wanted to bring us together again. She wanted them to be at our wedding. It was then I had to break the news to her.
My family wasn't very accepting of interspecies relationships, and they were very open with their opinions. It was often a topic spoken about at my house. I actually had the same mind set, until I met Judy that is. But I couldn't say that my parents had changed their mind on what they thought of animals like Judy and myself. They didn't have a problem with other animals in particular, it was just the ones who decided to marry outside of their own species. It would be very interesting to hear what they had to say. That is, of course, if they're even willing to talk to me.
Even after I told Judy about it, all she had to say was that people change. She gestured to me as an example after she said that, knowing full well of my past opinions on a lot of things until she opened my eyes to the world and all the good that was in it. Nevertheless, she was persistent in getting me back together with my parents. And in all honesty, I'm grateful for her efforts. No one's ever worked harder than her to try and make me happy. Like I said, she is definitely the only one I'll ever love.
As we reached the door of my childhood home, my breathing and heart rate tripled. The last time I felt like this was when I was being held by Mr. Biggs goons about to get iced. This wasn't as deadly, but it was still as terrifying. Luckily, Judy knocked on the door for us. If she would have waited for me, it would have taken me ten minutes just to raise my arm, and another eternity just to knock.
I saw Judy twitch her ears a little, telling me that she had heard someone in there and they were making their way to the door. I had to take a few big breaths before I finally calmed myself down, and right as the door opened.
My heart nearly stopped with fear as my dad appeared behind the door. Obviously, he looked a bit older then when I last saw him, with gray fur covering parts of his face. Him and I didn't look much alike; he was much darker than me and was a lot shorter than I am, being almost the same height as Carrots.
He looked back and forth between the two of us with a look of confusion. I guess it wasn't everyday a fox and a rabbit just showed up on your doorstep.
"Can I help you?" He asked with the same strict voice I had heard all those years ago. It seems as though not much has changed physically about him, hopefully he's a little more forgiving and understanding than when I last saw him.
I froze when he asked, not able to bring myself to speak. There were just so many things running through my head, and so many emotions. Fear, sadness, a little bit of hate. Luckily, I had Judy there with me, or I'd just be standing there like an idiot. Well, I guess I was, but at least I wasn't alone when I was doing it.
"Yah, we're here to talk about your son" She told him. He gave another surprised look, as if he was shocked that anyone had anything to say about me. Not surprising to me at all, he probably hasn't thought about me for years.
"What's Rich done?" He asked worried. Now that came as a surprise to me. My shoulders slumped a little as I realized what that meant. They had another son, they replaced me. I felt as though I wanted to cry. I saw Judy look up at me through the corner of my eye. I guess she was just as surprised as me.
"No, not Rich. He's done nothing wrong" She said slowly. He looked quizzically at us for a second, and slowly a look of realization came over his face. He glanced quickly between the two of us. He had no idea what to say.
"Its about your other son, Nick" Carrots told him.
"W-What about him? Who are you two?" He seethed, like a bad memory he had tried to forget just forced itself back into his mind. In all my life I had never wanted to run away more than I did at that moment. I couldn't take it, it was obvious he didn't want to be reminded of me, let alone see me again. Before I could take of, though, Judy said something that stopped me.
"I'm a friend of Nick, and he wanted to come and make amends with you for what happened" She spoke. He took a deep as he composed himself. Out of anger or sadness, I couldn't tell.
He stared at her for awhile, then he looked to the ground with his eyes closed. Finally, he slowly looked up at me and it was then I knew that he knew it was me.
"Nick?" He asked with a shaky breath. I nodded my head, confirming him of his suspicions.
"Hey dad" I smiled with unease. I prepared myself for what was going to happen now. Was he going to scream at me, cuss me out, yell how much of a disappointment I was to them, tell me how much better his new son is. I didn't know what it was going to be, but I figured it wasn't going to be very pleasant. But what did happen surprised me beyond believe.
He took a step forward towards me, causing me to flinch a little. That didn't bother him though, he walked straight up to me and did the last thing I expected him to do. He brought me into a hug.
"Oh Nick, your mother and I have been so worried about you." Was, was he crying. Never in the seventeen years I lived with him had I ever seen him come close to crying. Did he really miss me that much?
He pulled away from me and I saw the tears in his eyes. He looked up at me with a smile of relief, like he had something heavy finally lifted off of his shoulders. Again, this is not at all what I expected. There wasn't even any screaming.
"Please, come in" He said. Carrots and I looked at each other before walking inside the house. Dad, or Frank, led us to the front room. I looked in at it and saw that it looked almost exactly the same as when I left. Judy and I sat next to each other and dad said he would be right back.
It was quiet for a second, and I knew what Judy was thinking. I already knew when we left that she was going to taunt me so much about this. I glanced down at her and saw she was looking up at me with a smug smile. I rolled my eyes with a slight smirk.
"Shut up" I mumbled, causing her to chuckle.
"I told you, you had nothing to worry about" She whispered. She was such a clever little bunny, another reason why I loved her so much. Which reminds me: they might have missed me, but that doesn't mean that they'll approve of Judy and myself being married. I can hope, but it's hard to see them accept that; especially after how much hate they've talked on them.
"I'm still worried about their opinion on us" I told her. She just shrugged her shoulders and told me that whatever happens, happens. We can try our best to get them to accept us, and if they don't then that's not our problem. Which is a lot easier for her to say, considering that her parents already came to accept her life choices. At first, not so much. But they eventually came around to the idea, especially after they saw how happy she was with me. They had told us that as long as she was happy, they were happy. I was then gracefully accepted into the family. I have a feeling that was a lot easier then this was going to be.
After awhile of waiting, I finally heard two sets of paw-steps making their way towards the front room. I held my breath for a second out of anticipation, because it was really my mom I wanted to see most of all. I knew my dad had somewhat loved me, but it was my mom, Sam, that had really given me the most affection. She was the one that had always been there for me. She had been the one that comforted me after that incident with the scouts. Even after they had kicked me out, I couldn't hate her; at least not completely.
When I saw her, I almost lost it. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and an overjoyed smile. It was then that all my hate for her and dad just seemed to fade away, replaced by a longing to have my parents back.
"Oh, Nick." She cried out as she walked over to me. I stood only to be met by another hug. This one was a little easier to accept since mom was actually around the same height as me, not like dad who was only a little taller than Judy.
"It's so good to see you, both of you" I said, pressing my head into her shoulder. It had been awhile since I had shown this much emotion, even more than when I proposed to Judy. I try so hard to keep on a mask, and in a matter of minutes it has shattered to pieces. Even though after this I'll go back to my usual self, but it feels kind of good to let myself go like this.
"We have so much to catch up on" Mom said, breaking away from the hug. I chuckled and looked back at Carrots who had a knowing smile.
"Oh, you have no idea." Mom raised an eyebrow as she went and sat on a couch with dad, just opposite of Judy and I.
"So enlighten us" Dad urged. I was going to, but I stopped myself as my pessimistic thoughts came to mind. Even if Judy did help me see better in the world, I couldn't help but be a bit of a pessimist.
"Before I do I need to know, did you have this 'Rich' kid as a replacement for me?" I asked, gaining shocked looks from everyone in the room. I just had to know, or it would eat away at me. I don't even care that Judy is looking at me like she's going to skin me alive.
"Nick, honey, that's not at all what happened" Mom tried to assure me. I gestured for her to continue; I wanted to know the whole story behind this. Mom and dad looked between each other exhaled deeply.
"We never expected you to leave for this long" Dad said. I looked quizzically at them, what exactly did they mean?
"I said those things to scare you. I thought you'd be back in the next couple of days." Dad said, tears forming in his eyes again.
"But the days soon turned to weeks, and weeks to months, and months to years. We tried to look for you, but this is a big city and just couldn't seem to find any trace of you. We thought you skipped town, and after awhile we gave up. We never thought we'd see you again" Mom explained. That's when my blood started to boil. What I'm hearing is that I didn't have to be gone for so long, that it was all just a fluke to try and scare me. They made me live on the streets, survive on my own, eat from the trash, all just to teach me a lesson? Yah, the anger returned and I felt like I was about to explode. Fortunately, Judy seemed to take notice.
She lightly placed a paw on my leg and looked up at me with those beautiful, loving, violet eyes. I immediately calmed down, because even if I had gone through a bunch of terrible things in those years, nothing can outweigh the love I have for Judy. And if I hadn't been kicked out of my house all those years ago, I might not have met the woman of my dreams. Was I still mad at them? Yes. Could I forgive them because I have Judy now? Yes.
I nodded my head, "Alright, now that that's out of the way, I guess I should tell you about all those years I was away."
"How did you survive, all on your own?" Mom asked.
I chuckled, "It wasn't easy" I told her. "I lived off the streets for awhile, taking whatever I could get. Its a lot harder trying to be a young con-artist when you have to pay for everything yourself." They didn't seem to be too amused.
"So, your still a con?" Dad questioned with disapproval. Which is understandable.
I shook my head, "Nope" I smiled. "Been away from that stuff for a couple of years now."
"Then what is it that you do then?" Mom asked with worry. She probably thought I was some kind of crime boss, or working for minimum wage at a dead end job. Oh, wouldn't I surprise them.
"I'm an officer at the Zootopia Police Department, First Precinct. And a good one at that, if I do say so myself" I said with pride. Honestly, it was the last job I thought I would have ever had, but here I am.
I got a kick out of my mom and dad's reaction. They just stared wide eyed at me with their muzzles hanging wide open. I guess they couldn't believe their criminal of a son could be a cop. Which is a little strange if you think about it, but how I like to see it is that I'm not a criminal of I've never been caught. Which I never had been, until a certain bunny had to break my streak.
"How?" Was all that could be said; which I guess is a pretty legitimate question considering my background. But all of the credit could go to one place; or should I say, one bunny.
I smiled down at Carrots and gestured to her. She had been the one to pull me out of the life of crime, the one who inspired me to go to the police academy and become a cop, and overall made me into a better animal all around.
"This little bunny helped turn my life around" I told them.
"I'm guessing there's an interesting story behind this?" Dad inquired, to which I nodded. I chuckled to myself, remembering what would have been the third encounter I had with my soon to be mate. The other two times are a bit of a sour subject, but Carrots and I like to laugh about it.
"Let's just say, I conned the con" Carrots giggled. She elaborated on it by explaining how she had blackmailed me to help her with the missing mammals case. Annoyed, was an understatement of how I was feeling at the time; now I couldn't be happier that she set me up with that little carrot pen of hers. She explained the rest of the story to them, up to the point where she saw me off to the Academy. Mom and dad couldn't seem to contain their laughter.
"A fox out-witted by a rabbit, never thought I'd see the day" Dad joked. I chose to ignore the bit of racism that was hinted in his words.
"You'd be surprised how clever she is, sly bunny" I teased.
"Nah, your just a stupid fox" She shot back, causing the whole room to chuckle.
"I'm glad to see that Nicks got a friend like you..." Mom started, but actually didn't know Carrots name.
"Judy" Carrots confirmed for her.
"Yes, Judy. You see, Nick here didn't have many friends growing up" Mom sighed as she looked to the ground. Judy and I looked at one another, knowing that she meant the incident when I was a kid. I tended not to trust much of anyone after that, especially not the likes of a prey.
"Yah, I know. He's told me" Judy answered solemnly. She didn't like bringing it up anymore than I did, because she knew how much discomfort it brought me.
"It is good to see that you turned your life around, son. I couldn't be prouder of you" Dad said with an approving smile. I felt as if I was going to cry; finally, after all these years I've gotten back the approval and love from my parents. I've met plenty of others on the streets, and I know that something like this doesn't happen very often for animals like me. It isn't very often a second chance comes along to change your life around for the better. I'm just glad that mine did, and that I was able to love that second chance enough to marry her.
I clenched up as I remembered one of the reasons I wanted to reconnect with my parents. A deep breath escaped my mouth and I looked down at Judy for some reassurance. She put her paw on my arm to comfort me and nodded with a smile.
"What's the matter, Nick. Is everything all right?" Mom asked. Oh, it was all right; I just don't know if it's going to stay that way. I was about to confess mine and Judy's relationship, when all of a sudden I heard the sound of the front door open. I looked in that direction, confused for a second, until I realized something that completely escaped my mind. I looked at my parents for confirmation, and the nodded yes. So I guess this is where I meet my brother.
"Mom, dad, I'm ho..." He stopped his sentence short as he entered the living room to find two animals he didn't know. He looked between Judy and I for a second, looking a little intrigued to see us. The fox, or Rich, only looked to be around 8 or 9, still looking very childish. He was a petite little thing, not having much meat on his bones and being very skinny. He seemed to of gotten his height from dad because he was still only slightly shorter than Judy.
"Who are these two?" He asked nonchalantly, as if he really didn't care who we were, though it was obvious by his facial expressions that he was interested in finding out who we were.
"Rich, these two are Judy and" She paused for a moment. I guess I was a sour subject when Rich was around. "Nick" She finally said. "They're cops."
"Wait, what?" He almost shouted with excitement. He face me and Carrots with a big smile. "Your Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde?" He asked enthusiastically.
Judy giggled and I gave a light chuckle. Surprising or not, Judy and I tended to get a lot of attention. Both from being the first bunny and fox cop, and also from saving the city from that psycho sheep, Bellwether. So it wasn't all that surprising to Carrots or myself when he recognized.
"Sure are" I told him with a wink. He looked like he was about to squeal from over excitement.
"Wait, you know them?" Mom asked questionably. Not surprising that these two wouldn't know about us, they weren't really the type of animals to keep of with that sort if things. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even know about the Nighthowler incident.
"Yah, they're some of the most famous animals in the city. They saved it; didn't you know that? This sheep tried to make all predators savage and they stopped it" He pointed out matter of factly.
"Wait, that was you two?" Dad asked, and I replied with a slight nod. I don't think I ever saw them prouder of me than in that moment.
"Wait, Wilde?" Mom asked. I shrugged. I guess I should be honest in saying that Wilde isn't my real last name. When your job is in the line of work that I do, you tend to make up fake names in order to protect your family and friends. I knew that I already has cost my parents enough trouble, I didn't want animals like Mr. Biggs goons at the front door of my parents house. So I chose the name Wilde. A lot better that Toddsly anyway. But for them I just shrugged and waved it off as nothing.
"Hold on, why are you even here?" Rich asked, now becoming more confused than anything. I looked at our parents, wondering what they wanted me to say. Dad put a paw up as to say that they'd take care of it.
"Son, do you remember us telling you that you have a brother?" He asked, in which Rich nodded.
"Yah, the one who was a criminal so you kicked him out" Rich said. I couldn't help but lightly chuckle at his response.
"Ah, yah. Well, that's why these two are here" Mom gestured over to us.
"Why, is he dead or something" I smiled, this kid reminded me a lot of myself when I was his age. Outspoken, straight forward with things, a bit of a smart-ass. Mom and dad gave him a weird look.
"No, there here because Nick, he came back. Nick is your brother" Dad told him. Rich's shoulders slowly slacked down and his face became expressionless as he gazed at me. He looked intently at me for a few moments, seemingly trying to make sense of what he had just been told. I wonder how he would react? Would he be furious for me never being there, or would he be ecstatic in finally meeting his brother. Buy what he did confirmed to me that we are definitely brothers.
He gave me one last look over, then just shrugged his shoulders. "Cool" He said, then just walked out of the room. Something I definitely would have done if I had been in the same situation. Of course, he may seem like he thought nothing of it, but it was clear to see that it was all just a little act. I knew this, one because I am just the same way; and two, because I saw his face sink as he walked away.
"He took the better than expected. We always feared how he would react if you ever came back" Mom said to us. She spoke a little to soon, cause soon after she said that a loud thump and crash could be heard from upstairs. Sounded like someone broke a lamp or something. "We'll deal with him later" Mom sighed. "Now, weren't you going to tell us something before Rich came in?"
Oh, right. I had forgotten all about telling my parents about Judy and I. I guess I can't really hold this away from them forever, well I could but Judy wouldn't really be to fond of me not telling my parents. And when Judy's not happy about something, no one's happy about anything.
"I guess I should just come out and say it, no point in beating around the bush. The other reason I found you was in hopes you'd go to my wedding. I'm getting married" I claimed with pride. Honestly, I never thought that I would ever be a married fox. Before Judy, I saw myself always being the lovable bachelor. Now I couldn't imagine not being with my little batch of Carrots.
Mom squealed in delight and ran over to me to give me another hug. I saw dad with the biggest grin I've ever seen him have. "Oh, my boys become a man, hasn't he? I just wish I could have been more apart of your life" She exclaimed.
"So, who's the lucky fox?" Dad asked after mom calmed down. Well, here it goes. This can either go really bad, or really good. I honestly can't see there being an in between in this situation. I looked down at Judy for a second, that feeling of nervousness and anxiety washing over me again. She just gave me a small reassuring smile and mouthed out to me that everything was going to be fine.
"Well, you see... she's not actually a fox" I stuttered out. The color immediately drained from both of their faces.
"What do you mean?" Dad asked through clenched teeth. Yep, there's my dad the racist. It was obvious they already knew what I was implying. They just didn't want me to say it out loud. To bad for them, I needed to do this and get it off of my chest before it drives me completely insane.
"I mean that I'm not marrying a fox, or any other canine for that matter" I started and watched as the anger built up in them. "In fact I'm marrying the exact opposite. I'm marrying Judy" I told them as I gestured to the rabbit who sat next to me.
Clenched fists, gritted teeth, and a deadly glare was all that I was receiving from my parents. I could see the anger basically tale over them, and at any moment I knew that they were going to burst out and rant about how wrong this is.
"Now you listen here, boy" Dad said sternly with a finger pointed at me. "I don't want to be hearing any of that bull-shit. I won't allow my son to engage in such an atrocious thing." He was livid with anger, as was mom. Just how I expected it to be.
"Now I've come to terms with prey and other animals, and I accept them as equals. But for animals of different species, especially that of a predator and prey, is just disgusting, an abomination" He spat. I sat there listening to him rant on, with the occasional comment from mom. All the while I could feel Judy scoot closer to me, afraid that my dad might lash out at her. As I sat back, holding my calm demeanor, I was just building up the rage. Until finally, I just couldn't take it.
I stood up while glaring both of them down, breaking my dad away from what be was saying. "Now it's your turn to listen to me" I growled. "You already pushed me to the streets, making me live alone for almost half my life to fend for myself. I was beaten down, mugged, stabbed, got sick, nearly killed myself all while you two sat here 'crying' that your little boy had gone and ran off from them. You were the only family I had, and you tossed me out to teach me a 'lesson'. Friends weren't a luxury I got to have. Until this rabbit showed up in my life" I took a second to breath as I looked at their shocked expressions, then I continued.
"She's the one that brought hope back into my life. She was the only one who was ever truly kind to me even after I was a jerk to her. She believed in me even though she knew I was a criminal, and a con. When I was beaten at seventeen all you did was yell at me for the damn medical bills. She loves me, and I'm lucky to have someone like her in my life. I came here to see if I could bring us back together, and try to make you proud of me. Now all I get is ridiculed and yelled at for finding the love of my life. I honestly don't care what you think anymore, because I know one thing for sure and that's that Judy has loved me more than either of you ever had" I was breathing hard after my yelling, finally trying to compose myself. But I just couldn't while being in the same room as them.
"I hope you have a good life" I said as I walked out past them. I heard Judy get up and chase out after me. I walked straight out the door and outside into the darkness of night. Damn, we were in there for a good 4 hours.
I stormed over and jumped into the passenger side of the car and slammed the door shut. A couple moments later, Judy slowly climbed into the drivers seat and lightly shut her door. I was still fuming and I knew she was waiting until I calmed down a little. Seeing how worried she was, I let out a deep breath and calmed myself down.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that" I mumbled out. Silence. I was looking down at the floor, not looking or noticing anything around me. It wasn't until I felt a paw on my arm that I glanced over at Carrots. She had tears in her eyes. She had always been the emotional type.
"Nick, I'm sorry it didn't work out with them" She said. I shrugged it off, I could care less about them right now. If they couldn't accept Judy and I, then I have no place for them in my life.
"And what you said, about us, was the greatest thing anyone's ever said about me. And you don't have to worry about me abandoning you, because I never will" She told me as she lightly stroked my arm. She made me smile, she always knew how to do that.
"I love you, Judy. And I'm happy to marry you with or without my parents permission" I said as I leaned over and gave her a small peck on the cheek.
"And I love you" Judy replied. She then turned the car on and we set off for home. My mind lingered on the argument with my parents. How could they be so closed minded? How was there anything wrong with interspecies relationships, how was it an abomination? It just made no sense to me how they could think that way. I guess there are just those kinds of animals out in the world. Too stubborn to see that the views of the world are changing and that there isn't anything wrong with what me and Judy have. Because Love is Love, no matter what anyone might say.
Part 1 of 2 completed, and holy hell did this take me a long time. Its actually the longest thing I've ever wrote. Its been so long since I've been thus passionate about writing stories, and it feels so good.
I really hope you enjoyed reading this, and if you didn't I'd like to know why so I could improve. I'm always looking for ways to improve, so feedback is welcome with open arms.
Again, thanks for taking the time to read.
Keep on Keeping on!
Peace Out