The Reckoning
Ryder and Skye were in the observatory, preparing to contact her parents.
"Are you sure you want to do this Skye?" asked Ryder.
Skye and nodded with a firm conviction.
Ryder nodded back. The monitor then turned on to reveal a familiar black poodle and cocker spaniel.
"To what do we owe the honor?" asked her father.
"Are you okay, Skye?" asked her mother worriedly.
"Actually," interjected Ryder, "Skye relived a particular memory from when she was under your care in a nightmare. She has a few things you would like to say to you.
Her parents gulped upon hearing this, as they braced themselves for having their past misdeeds shoved back in their face.
"Mom, dad," began Skye, " do you remember the time Mull mauled me?"
Her parents gave a guilty nod.
"What the fuck were you thinking! My brother attacks me, and I get punished?"
"We didn't see that…" began her father.
"Bullshit! You must have seen him scampering away before you saw me in tears. Furthermore, if you'd bothered to fucking ask what happened you would've found that out!" screamed Skye.
"We did what we thought was righ…" began her mother
"What you thought was right? What you thought was right? All you gave a shit about was somebody talking shit about your talented little angel," snarled Skye. "The fucking cunt," she added.
"Skye!" her mother gasped.
"Watch your language, young lady," scolded her father.
"DON'T YOU DARE 'YOUNG LADY' HER!"
Skye looked up in surprise see that the angry interjection was from Ryder.
"You lost any right to say that to her two years ago! You failed her as parents! You are the reason she keeps having nightmares about her time under your care! It's your fault I will have to take her to a specialist to help her work through her trauma! And after all that, she is still willing to let you earn her forgiveness, because Dog knows you don't deserve it! The very least you could do to thank her for her mercy is to hear her out!" vented Ryder furiously.
"As I was saying," resumed Skye. "Even if I was talking shit about that little white bitch, which I fucking was, you were my parents, and I was sitting there, tears running down my face, my left ear bleeding. Never once that day did you show any concern about for me, all you cared about was punishing me for talking shit about my brown nosing, lying, malicious cunt of a sister," vented Skye, before taking a quick break to pant and catch her breath. "A-all I-I w-wanted, sniff, or needed, sniff was some love and concern, sniff, and it says a lot about, sniff, your failure as parents, sniff, that it was Orkney who gave me that to me, sniff, and not you, my fucking parents," cried the cockapoo.
"Might I add that she still has a scar on her left ear from this incident," informed Ryder.
"I will, sniff, never forgive you for what happened that day, sniff as horrible as what Mull did to me was, sniff, I blame you more, sniff your refusal, sniff, to be there for me, sniff, when I needed it most, sniff, was more unforgivable," managed Skye over the tears.
The room was silent for the next 10 minutes, is everyone gave Skye her space to let the tears come.
"I, huh, just, huh, needed, huh, to get, huh, all that out," managed Skye she regained her composure. She then looked up her parents. She could see tears streaming down their faces.
"Sorry I…" began Skye.
"You don't need to apologize for anything, deer," interrupted her mother. "If anything, we should be the ones apologizing."
"Like I said that night the clinic, it's time for all of us to start healing, and you did what you needed to, and in any case, we needed to face up to what we did," added her father.
She then felt her owner's hand on her back, and she looked up at him.
"Skye, regardless of how I feel about your parents, it's your choice if you want to move toward reconciliation with them. It is not my place to decide what sort of relationship you want to have or not have with your parents. These are your wounds, so you should be the one to make that decision."
After another minute, Skye quietly said, "I do want to."
Upon hearing this, her parents felt a warm feeling inside.
Skye then looked back up at her parents. "If you really are sorry," she began softly, "then look me in the eye and apologize," she finished firmly.
"I'm sorry," expressed her mother.
"For…" she demanded
"I'm sorry for punishing you for speaking ill of your sister after you had been hurt," stated both her parents simultaneously.
"How specifically," she demanded.
"We are sorry for punishing you for speaking ill of your sister after your brother bit into your ear," apologized her parents
"and"
"Not being there when you most need us to be."
"because"
"Because you were both crying and bleeding."
"and what do you do to me specifically?"
"I hit you" said her father, ashamed.
"Again, the whole thing," demanded Skye.
"We are sorry we hit you for talking ill of your sister after Mull bit into your ear and not being there for you when you were crying and bleeding, and most need us to be," pleaded her parents.
"Again, like you mean it," commanded their daughter.
"We are sorry we hit you for talking ill of your sister after Mull bit into your ear and not being there for you when you were crying and bleeding and most need us to be," begged her parents.
Looking them in their eye again, confident she could see true remorse, she began, "I accept your apology, but I don't forgive you."
Her parents nodded in acknowledgment of their daughter's decision.
She then looked up at her owner, and stated, "Excuse me Ryder, I have things to do," before trotting off to the elevator.
The End
Notes:
And after all that, she is still willing to let you earn her forgiveness, because Dog knows you don't deserve it: Think about what this says about Skye
She still has a scar on her left ear from this incident: See Vulnerable chapter 8
Sorry I…: Skye still feels a need to apologize to her abusers, think about that
You did what you needed to: Her father recognizes this is part of what she needs to do to heal
Skye, regardless of how I feel about your parents: See Help & What You Deserve
I do want to (move towards reconciliation): See New Leaf: chapter 4
Skye holding her parent's paws to the fire: She may want to move towards reconciliation and possible forgiveness, but she fully intends to make her parents work for it.
I accept your apology, but I don't forgive you: See New Leaf: chapter 4
Skye's exit: The way she walks away from her parents at the end resembles the way they walked away from her after the incident described. This is likely intentional on Skye's part.
Reviews:
The Skeldude: Don't get your hopes up
I could comment on what I wanted to do here, but I think that's pretty obvious from the story. I am thinking of new detail about our jungle couple, but that might be better left unsaid. I was also thinking of another moment involving the pup's meds, but /I can't think of something to work that into. I am currently unsure of what I want to do next, so it might be a while. What would you like to see more stories about (ex. romance, friendship, sweet/tender moments, family, angst, hurt comfort, self-reflection, interview stories, tough love, sex)? What Characters do you want to see more of? Which couple do you want to see more of? Do you like or hate any of the following jokes: Rocky's stance on, and everyone else's discomfort with anatomical terms; Ryder's irrational fear when receiving prescriptions; Chase making a fool of himself in his attempts to understand Skye's sexuality? Anything you would be curious to learn more about? As I've said before, feel free to enjoy any of my stories, including the older ones. As always, don't forget to leave a review if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.