The Xiaolin Monks woke him up just as Dojo landed a few blocks from his house.
He felt his legs trembling under him as he jumped down from Dojo's back, and Clay helped to stabilize him.
"You sure you ok pal?" he asked, tipping his hat towards Jack.
"Yeah, sure. As long as Chase doesn't find me," said Jack, with bit of hysteria to his voice. The full magnitude of what he had done to Chase just barely coming back to him.
He kept thinking about the image of the ground rising up to meet him, and feeling like he was going to puke.
He walked back to his house, and saw the lights of the entrance lit, and a couple of bodyguards stationed at the door.
His parents were home, and from the looks of the two black cars parked at the entrance, both of them were home. He felt a knot of dread on his throat.
"Mom? Dad? You're home?" he called, entering the house.
Both of them waited at the living room, and his mom jumped up when she saw him, running to grab him into a hug.
"Oh, Jack, we've been so worried," she said, kissing his cheek. She reeked of whiskey.
"I'm sorry mom. I was out with some friends," said Jack.
His father got up from the couch, glaring at him. "If you're going out with your friends at least answer my calls. You can't keep leaving everything to go play like you're ten anymore," he said.
Jack looked down. 'It's not like you even care. It's not like you ever answer my calls' he wanted to say, but knew that it would end badly, and he barely had the energy to stand up straight, much less to fight with his father.
His mom let go of Jack, and stood between him and his father. "Stop pressuring him! You're always pressuring him!"
"Miranda, he's almost an adult. He has to start being responsible, think about college, and a life of his own," said his father.
"He doesn't have to go to any college if he doesn't want to. He's a genius," said his mom, walking to the living room coffee table to pick up her whiskey glass.
It clinked against the glass of the table, and Jack felt sick. She was almost drooling out the words. Couldn't his father see how she was almost drunk again? Why did he have to pick now out of all times to talk about Jack's future?
"But he has to do something, Miranda. He can't keep wasting his potential on toys like this," said his father, pointing at the pile of spare robot parts that Jack had left near the kitchen entrance.
Jack cringed. If he had known that his parents would be home, he would have sent some of his robots to clean the house. He only hoped nothing had crashed and burned down in the basement.
"You think everything we do is a waste!" yelled his mom. "A waste of time, a waste of money… This marriage is what's really a waste!"
She threw her glass at the coffee table, sending glass shards flying all over the living room carpet. The guards entered the house immediately.
Jack jumped in to hold her before the fell over the glass, while his father told the guards that they were fine.
"Mom, please calm down. I'm really tired. Why don't we talk in the morning? Please, let's go," he said, guiding her away from the living room with shaking hands. She tripped with her high heels and fell against him. "Come on, let me take you to bed."
"I'm fine," she said, but she slipped on the stair steps, and Jack had to take off her heels and hold her until they reached the bedroom, and he helped her lay down on the bed.
"I'm sorry darling. I'm sorry, I didn't mean…," said his mom, crying. "But he makes me so angry. He's been going on and on, all evening. 'You never know where he is Miranda. You let him use too much money Miranda.' I'm so sick of him!"
"It's ok mom. We'll talk in the morning. You need to rest. We all need to rest," said Jack, taking off her jewelry and setting it on her bedside table.
He kissed her in the forehead and went back downstairs, where he found his dad sweeping the glass shards. He never let the servants clean up any of the messes that Jack's mom made.
"I'll get that in the morning dad," offered Jack, rubbing his neck. Every single muscle in his body hurt. Even the ones he didn't know he had. He wanted to take off his coat, but then his dad would see all his bruises.
"No, I don't want the maids to see it," he said. "I swear, she's getting worse and worse."
Jack clenched his fists. He hated when anyone badmouthed his mom. Especially when his dad did it.
"I didn't tell you because, uhm…I mean I just decided it today," said Jack, trying to shift the conversation away from his mom. "But I'm going to enroll in the university. The professor said that he will make some kind of…work program or whatever. We're going to join both his research and mine, but I have to be a student there for them to support me."
His father's shoulders relaxed as he picked up the dust picker full of broken glass. He gave Jack a tired smile.
"That's good Jacob. That's very good. I'm sorry for…," he motioned towards the living room. "I know I should believe more in you, but-"
"It's ok dad. I'm…I'm going to sleep," said Jack, walking towards the stairs.
His dad stayed down to finish cleaning.