Break
"I don't know why I even bother." Punk rolled his eyes, laying up on the couch, turning the TV channel with frustration after watching his hockey team concede more goals. He was still a challenged sleeper so most often than not his wife went to bed and left him downstairs watching all kinds of ridiculous things on TV.
He continued flicking through the channels, trying to find something to watch when he heard a knock at the door. He looked at the time as he sat up, wondering who it could be so late on at night.
He left the living room and headed to the door, unlocking it and opening it up as he saw Jude standing on the step with a bag in her hand.
"Hey." She said sadly as Punk looked across at her, watching as she walked into the house and dumped her bag at the bottom of the stairs.
"Hey." Punk said with a tone of confusion, "You know this isn't New York, right?" He nodded to her, shutting the door over.
"I'm aware." Jude nodded, "Me and Sean had a fight." She told him as he folded his arms.
"A fight that made you get on a flight and come all the way here?" Punk asked with concern.
"Ok, so we had a big fight." Jude nodded, "I was gonna go to Thea's but I know she's turning her guest bedroom into the nursery and I know Cassie is in Mexicali so-"
"Oh, so we're last choice?" Punk raised a humorous brow as she smiled a little.
"Don't be offended." Jude said, walking through to the living room as Punk followed, "Is mom sleeping?"
"Yeah, I was just… watching TV." He nodded as Jude looked at the set-up, noticing the blanket and the candles lit on the coffee table.
"I should have brought you a face mask and some cucumbers." Jude turned to him.
"Funny." Punk nodded sarcastically, "Your mom lit them before she went to bed." He made clear as Jude just smiled.
"Ok." She nodded along, sitting down on the couch and sighing loudly.
"You wanna talk about it?" Punk asked, sitting down on the other end of the couch.
"Not particularly." Jude shook her head, running her hand through her hair, "He just frustrates me so much sometimes." She shook her head angrily, "And he expects me to interpret things the same way he does but we're both two different people. Just because we're married doesn't make us one."
"No, but… you do gotta see each other's point of views sometimes." Punk nodded.
"And I do." Jude warned, "But he never wants to see mine."
"Really?" Punk asked. He found it hard to believe. Luckily his daughter's husbands were all the least of his worries in life.
"Mark sent me flowers. He sent me flowers and a card that just said he was sorry for everything I'd gone through." Jude said, "Sean kicked off about it-"
"He sent you flowers?" Punk screwed his face up, "What the fuck did he think flowers were gonna do-"
"God, you are just like him." Jude shook her head.
"Ok, I'll shut up and you tell me what happened." Punk nodded to himself, zipping his lips and folding his arms.
"Sean got all uptight about it and I just said that I wanted to forgive him at some point and that I think it was good that Mark came forward so that I could finally get some justice, and the real truth. But he didn't wanna hear it." Jude shook her head, "He looks at me like I'm an alien when I say I wanna forgive him."
"I think it's just pretty hard for people to grasp how strong you have to be to forgive someone for doing that." Punk nodded.
"I'm not saying everyone has to forgive him. I never ever wanted this to be about bringing everyone along for this awful journey. It's my shit I gotta deal with." Jude said.
"Yeah but he's your husband." Punk said.
"So that gives him a right to tell me how I should feel?" Jude raised her eyebrows.
"No, definitely not." Punk said, "But it probably only bothers him because he loves you."
"Oh, shut up." Jude rolled her head back onto the couch and huffed as Punk smiled dramatically, "This is why I wanted to go to Thea's. She would let me bitch about him and tell me I'm always right."
"Hey, you can bitch about him here, too." Punk nodded.
"We've just not been seeing eye to eye recently with the whole thing. I feel like the whole court thing was harder on him than it was for me." She shook her head, "I just think he disagrees with the ways I deal with everything."
"Like how?" Punk asked.
"Well with therapy, he doesn't understand why I can't talk to him about the things I talk about in therapy." Jude said, "And when I spoke about wanting to be able to forgive Vincent one day he just walked out of the room." She shrugged.
"Maybe he just doesn't know what to say. I mean it's a delicate subject and here you are, no doubt his favourite person in the world, and you were hurt by this man in such a horrific way, and you want to forgive him for it… Sean might just not be ready to even consider that yet-"
"It's not for him to forgive." Jude said.
"I know but what happened to you still hurt him, obviously." Punk said.
"He barely even knew me when it happened, I don't know why he stayed." Jude shook her head.
"Hey, would you stop that." Punk warned, "You're starting to sound like your big sister." He nodded as Jude rolled her eyes, "You do know why he stayed. He stayed because he cared about you and loved you." He said as Jude folded her arms, looking on at the TV.
"Why don't you get as mad as you used to?" Jude turned to him, "If I came to you and told you Sean had upset me years ago you would have already left the house by now to go find him."
"Maybe cause you're a grown ass woman now." Punk nodded, "And I have matured." He smiled.
"Took you long enough." Jude nodded to him as he made a face at her, "I just couldn't stand arguing with him about it any more. I just packed a bag and left. Sent him a text that I was coming here." She said.
"Well… running away from problems never help." Punk said.
"I know that." Jude nodded, "It's just been a rough couple months."
"Yeah, I know." Punk nodded, "I don't think that what he's saying means he expects you to feel how he feels about everything. I just think he wants to protect you and keep you away from all of it. His intentions aren't bad. I'm sure of it." Punk nodded to her.
"Yeah, I know." Jude said quietly, looking down, "But I have nothing to apologise for. He was the one that started yelling-"
"And I'm sure he'll have time to think about that and he'll apologise." Punk nodded.
"He better." Jude mumbled, "I just don't want to be bitter. I haven't forgave anyone yet, and I don't think it's gonna happen any time soon but I'd like that one day I'll be so far over what happened that I'll be able to forgive." She nodded, "I mean… I want to acknowledge Mark sending those flowers and him coming forward with what he overheard. He did the right thing and someone should tell him that instead of yelling at him some more." Jude nodded.
"Yeah, I know." Punk understood where she was coming from, "Sean's just coming from a place of concern and safety. He knows you. He knows that you handle things head on. That scares people sometimes."
"Yeah I know." Jude nodded, "I just don't want him to ever resent me for all the things I go through-"
"I guarantee you he never will." Punk assured her as she sighed, "I think I got something that might cheer you up." He smiled, standing up from the couch.
"A shot of vodka?" Jude questioned.
"Not in this house." Punk scoffed, "Come with me." He told her, heading through to the kitchen as Jude got up and followed.
"Oh, what kind of pie is that?" Jude spotted right away with a smile.
"Apple." Punk smiled, "Your mom baked it with Sofia and James. We picked the apples ourselves, you know." He nodded to her as Jude smiled.
"Oh, that's nice dad." Jude smiled, rubbing his back as he nodded, "There's not much left, though." She laughed a little.
"Yeah well Thea ate a slice when she was here and then she took some home." Punk said as Jude smiled, "I'll heat a slice up for you." He told her.
"How is Thea?" Jude asked, sitting down at the table.
"She's doing good." Punk nodded, "It's nice to see."
"Good for her." Jude smiled to herself, "And the little one?"
"Apparently she's having the worst weekend in Mexicali with Theo's dad. I don't know the details." Punk waved his hand.
"Are you ok? You haven't said much all night." Cassie said, walking down onto the beach where Theo was sitting on a blanket.
"I'm fine." Theo nodded.
"You're not fine." Cassie said, sitting down beside him.
"I told you to drop it." Theo turned to her, "I told you that we should just get through this weekend and forget about it but you had to say something, didn't you?"
"He told you." Cassie realised.
"Yeah, he told me if I have a problem with him I should come talk to him about it like a man instead of sending my wife." Theo nodded, "So… thanks for that."
"I didn't say anything that wasn't true." Cassie said, "I'm sorry but it makes me mad. And it makes you mad but you don't say anything. You don't have to respect him just because he's your father."
"Well that was how I was brought up." Theo shook his head, looking out at the tide coming in, "You wouldn't get it. You can actually communicate with your family."
"So can you." Cassie nodded, "If you don't, he's just gonna keep behaving the way he does. Brushing you and Matthew off. Thinking it's ok to speak to you once a year." She said.
"Well maybe I don't want a relationship with him anyway." Theo mumbled.
"Regardless, you need to talk to him about it." Cassie said.
"You shouldn't have said anything. Just makes things worse." Theo said.
"Well maybe he'll think about what I said." Cassie said.
"No, he's just gonna be pissed." Theo shook his head.
"Well then maybe you're right, maybe you don't need someone like that in your life." Cassie nodded, "He's not even in your life."
"I'm trying my best with this." Theo nodded, "You're not making it easy."
"Why? Cause I'm telling you the truth? Which you already know." Cassie said, "Think about you and Chase. Would you ever let your relationship with him become like yours and your fathers?" She questioned.
"Of course I wouldn't." Theo shook his head.
"So you know there's a problem." Cassie said as he nodded, "I know you got a voice. You use it all the time at work. Or when I leave my hair straighteners on the bedroom floor." She smiled, nudging him playfully as he nodded with a smile.
"I don't know, I still feel like I'm twelve when I'm around him. It's weird." Theo shook his head.
"It's not weird. In fact, I'd say it's pretty normal considering you grew up with him being so far away." Cassie nodded, "Tomorrow I want you to show me and Chase where you grew up and your favourite places here." She said, wrapping her arms around him from the side.
"I'll take you for the best tacos you've ever had." He nodded to her as she smiled.
"I think you should talk to your dad tonight." Cassie said, "You don't wanna go home tomorrow night and feel the weight of all of that on your shoulders. Just open up. Tell him that it sucks that he never calls or checks in on you. And if he can't accept it or see it as a problem then… he doesn't deserve you as a son." She nodded.
"Can't we just ignore it and go for tacos?" He frowned, turning to her.
"No." Cassie shook her head with a smile, "Go on." She nodded to him.
"Oh, you're the worst." Theo groaned, standing up from the blanket and stretching.
"Show me your mean confrontational face." She tapped his leg as he looked down at her, scrunching his face up as she smiled.
"Alright." He groaned, walking up to the beach house whilst Cassie looked on at the waves crashing in.