Changing by Remorse -Part Three

Astounded, Jude stepped back a few paces away from him, unable to break his stare. None of this could be possible; there was no explainable conclusion as to how this could have happened.

Robert looked on at Jude; he saw the confusion in his eyes and the distaste in his face. Junior rubbed at his eyes wiping his tears away. There was a slight hope inside of him that when he looked up at Jude again, that he would look differently at Robert, more understanding, not demeaning.

Jude continued to look perplexed, utterly dazed at what the hell was going on. Roberts face fell further.

After a few daunting seconds of trying to straighten out his racing mind, he had become seriously concerned. Jude's mouth twitched. There was so much he wanted to ask Robert, so much he needed to say, yet nothing actually made it past his lips. Nothing now made any sense to Jude. He continued to sway as he had from earlier, not due to the fact that he was that baffled, but because this was too much to deal with in the morning with a hangover.

In fact, it was too much to deal with on any normal day.

'Normal'... The word crossed Jude's mind for a brief moment, but could anything ever be normal ever again...?

Jude bent back down to his previous crouched position on the floor where Junior still sat, wet eyes shining up at him. Sitting next to Robert, Jude lent up against the wall.

Contemplating the teens face and physic, he then asked him,

"Robert, what happened?"
Wiping his nose with the back of his hand, he sniffed once more, and then sighed. He still didn't know the answer to that question. His nose tingled as his eyes burned at the thought of never knowing.

"I don't know, I..." his voice was all over the place, squeaking in fear. "I just honestly don't know Jude." He shuddered as he exhaled, finding it hard to cope with Jude looking so ridged, no indication of what he was thinking.

Turning to face Robert properly, a smile cracked onto Jude's mouth.

Of all things, there was a smile.

That was the last thing Robert had expected of Jude. His wet eyelashes winced in shock, why was Jude smiling?

Nudging Robert with his elbow, Jude encouraged him to trust him.

Jude saw the hurt in the teen's eyes that he had caused, that Robert was frightened of what he would say.

Yet, Jude was still here, wasn't he? He hadn't run a mile; he was going to help Robert to overcome this. His smile hadn't seemed to convince Junior of this though, but a nudge to his side seemed to have reassured him, and it was noticeable. Robert's shoulders had drooped effectively, and Jude felt him loosen up beside him, he wasn't tense, but calmer.

Robert turned to Jude, and for the briefest of moments, he felt as if he would be fine.



Sipping on his tea, Judsie inquisitively frowned at Robert. There had been an exceedingly long period of awkward silence as they both sat there in the living room. Jude was opposite Robert, watching him down his drink where as Jude was warming his hands around his cup. An idea formed in Jude's head, a 'conversation starter' he thought, frowning, he asked,

"I thought you didn't drink coffee anymore, that you'd given it up."

Licking the last droplet of coffee from his cup, Robert slumped into the sofa in appreciation. He hadn't exactly tasted that first cup of coffee earlier that morning, his mind was elsewhere at that point, but he'd just devoured that last cup, savoring it with his up most desire. Coffee was good...he'd sorely missed it.

Jude eyed his own beverage and wondered how it was possible of him to have downed his coffee so quickly, especially since Jude's cup was still full.

"Yeah, I know, but drastic times call for drastic measures, don't you think? I need my coffee now. And yes, I did give it up." He didn't seem at all sorry, but satisfied.

Shuffling a little bit towards the edge of the sofa, Jude decided that that conversation had died. After sorting through the series of questions that were playing on Jude's mind, his initial result was that he had to ask Robert some of them. The best way to go about it was to be delicate, Jude analyzed.

Plucking up his courage, Jude kick started another conversation with the new Junior.

"So... you just woke up like it then?"

"Yup."

"It's amazing though," he gazed, intrigued by Robert, as if he were some sort of science experiment. "It can't be surgery though. I mean, if it were, wouldn't you still be all bandaged up an' all? It's not make-up either, couldn't be. Plus, they can't shrink a person..."

Considering that last option, Jude's eyes lit up.

"Can they?" he asked, storing away that idea, for further examination into it later.

Robert raised an eyebrow, negatively evaluating that suggestion. However, he did take into account Jude's other propositions, in return he replied,

"Okay, ok... well, what happened last night then?" this appeared an apparent place to start.
'Why hadn't we thought of this before...?' he dumbly thought. In fact, it was a rather logical.

Squinting into the distance Jude tried to regain some sort of recollection of last night.
He slowly ran through it,

"Last night, well, I was with you. We went to that party... I think it was good." Jude strained to remember, pinching the bridge of his nose in full concentration. He was painfully struggling to recollect anything at all that had happened last night. He then added,

"Well, what do you remember?" reversing the question, pinpointing Junior in the hope that he could retain something instead of Jude, considering he was still hung over.

"Well, you were there, music... feeling great...better, younger almost...and..."

"And...? What?!" suddenly panicking Jude asked, flinching in his seat.

"There was a woman."

Relief consumed Jude entirely; Junior raised an eyebrow whilst Jude blushed.

"Err... yeah anyway... whatever, I'm going to watch you from now on. Erm, a woman, we went behind this curtain, it was dark... there was pale lights... she... she said something `bout doing it right... I think, for the kids..." He was still squinting as he spoke regaining flashes he'd forgotten.

Meanwhile, Jude was giving Junior a saucy look, including a sexy smile and curved eyebrows with it.

Jude was obviously getting turned on, -yet completely getting the wrong end of the stick. He leant in closer,

"Kids? Robert, did you..." trying to indicate that he may have slept with this woman.
Realizing what Jude was getting at there, Junior's face sunk,

"No! Well... I don't think so..." frowning, sincerely hoping not.

Disappointed, Jude offered,

"Junior...? Indio perhaps...?" Jude was now honestly worried that he couldn't recall his own son.

"Indio, perhaps not. How about totally not." Half-hinting to the hung over Jude. "I've actually got four kids..." none of which included actually Indio.

Just daydreaming at him blankly - in that way that only a drunken can- , Jude simply stated;

"Okay, I'm really hung over, so I'm just gonna agree with whatever you're going to say, alright? And anyway, I've got four, handful eh?" obviously still plastered.

"Well anyway, she must've meant something by that. I think she was the sly bitch who did this... do you think she'll be there?"

Unsure of what the correct answer was, Jude decided on "Erm... always a chance."

Rising to his feet, Junior declared,

"Banjo Hayworth, let's go."

Completely ruining the dramatic tension in the room, Al popped out from behind the door like a coiled spring, her stealth mode eavesdropping blown.

"Ah! Let's come?"

Totally caught by surprise, Jude jumped, but returned the gesture.

"Hey there!" so plastered still...

Dylan also poked his head round the doorway; catching Roberts's attention. Dylan wiggled his eyebrows and shifted his gaze from his father to Jude before he commented,

"Are you just gonna get married yet?" his smile encouraged himself to laugh at how hilarious he thought he was. Junior's response to him was the extension of his middle finger, yet Jude smirked, laughed a little, and then nodded humorously.

Sarcastically, Robert then added,

"Yeah, why not? Can we just go now? In fact, let's have a family outing eh? Oh, hang on,
I'm sure your brothers would love to come, let me just call Matt and Zac..." he shook his head.

Taking it as a yes -cynical or not- as to accompanying them wherever they were going, they went to go get ready.

Hand slapped against his forehead, Junior sighed,

"Come on Jude."



An arrangement of expensive plush cars sat outside Downey's home, surrounding it.

Robert's face lit up once he had selected which was the one he had chosen to drive.

"Do you remember where the party was last night?" Junior asked, the thought only now just occurring to him. Jude responded to him with a nod, and at that everyone had seated themselves in the car.

With the key slid into the ignition, they were all ready to go... until Robert's face fell.
He ushered for Jude, seated in the passenger seat, to lean in closer, he did so and

Junior whispered into his ear.

"Really?" Jude snorted rather arrogantly, Junior just nodded. Judsie glanced down at Robert's legs, then back up to his face, just in time to see his cheeks shade scarlet.

Shrugging, Jude stepped out of the car, Robert followed suit, and they had soon swapped seats.

Jude shook his head in humor; on the contrary, Junior blushed deeper and shrunk into his seat slightly.

"Too frickin' short for the pedals..." Jude mumbled as he pulled away, sniggering. Junior continued to flame redder.



Driving along, Junior abruptly directed Jude to pull up alongside the curb so he could hop out. Not knowing why, Jude still obeyed as instructed. Junior jumped out of the car and ran eagerly into the off license; he hurried back out, and pocketed what he had purchased before the others saw.

Cigarettes.

Without even having seen what he had put in his pock, the two in the back seat automatically knew what he had bought. They turned to each other, both sharing the same nervous look in their faces.

Jude happened to pass by a large greenery area, it caught Robert's eye, for the second time that day, Jude stopped the car. He pulled over and Robert hopped out.

He lit it up and gratefully collapsed in a heap on a picnic bench. He walked off a little away from the car, as to prevent any smoke blowing in their direction.

Al and Dylan scanned his every move, refusing to take their eyes off of him. She waited until he exhaled to grimace,

"This isn't good."

Turning in his seat to face the two in the back seat, Jude indicated for her to continue with a raised eyebrow and asking why.

Dylan and Al share yet another scared look with each other, just as disturbed as before.

"He never smokes anymore. He promised us that he wouldn't. He can actually stop whenever he wanted; it's just his way of coping with things. Like when he was ever stressed or nervous, he'd always have a quick one. It's just... he shouldn't" Dylan nodded all the while.

Jude understood. He too then became worried, not for Robert, but for the two fretting teenagers in the back seat.

How long have they had to put with this?

Trying not to leave blanks in the conversation, Jude attempted to keep it rolling.

"So he hasn't smoked in a while... you guys look genuinely worried," aspiring to reassure them both.

With unblinking eyes, Al nodded. Jude consisted,

"Well, how did you deal with his other addictions, you know... drugs and women, an' stuff... not to be rude or anything. If this is too personal, I understand comple-"

Her watery eyes grew; they shadowed darkness, relentless in their sorrow.

"When I was born, Matt and Zac had to call him that he'd had another child, that I'd been born. He wasn't there. He wasn't there for his three children who were waiting for him. It wasn't fair, not on any of them. Matt was barely old enough to stay home alone, let alone care for a newborn. He'd just been dumped with me. He also had the responsibility of taking care of Zac and Dylan, they were only little... He'd been informed of my existence from a call from Matt. From his prison cell."

For the first time since Junior had stepped out of the car, Al took her eyes off of him; they turned to Jude, brutal in their remoteness, bitter the entire way through.

Eventually her gaze drifted away, indulged in emptiness. From that point onwards, Jude averted himself from saying anything else.

Junior walked back over to the car once almost at the end of his cigarette. He puffed out the last of what was contained in his mouth as he sat back in the car. His sigh was relived as he closed the door behind him.

Considering all the information that his children had just enlightened Jude with, an arched eyebrow was the only response Jude was able to give him with.

Jude glanced at Robert out of the corner of his eye, now seeing him with a somewhat new vision.

He'd known that Robert had a deep and complex past to say the least, and that he had done a number of unaccountable things... but neglecting children was one that Jude found wrenching to add to the list.

Junior shrugged, not bothered at all -unaware as to what Jude now knew- , and ever so slightly curved his mouth into a smile.

Ripping his glare from Junior, he set his eyes onto the road and drove.