Just like with most of the horrible incidents that involved Jim, Anthony did not know a thing about what was going on until he received an unexpected phone call. Of course, Anthony was beyond shocked to hear that Jim had ended up in the hospital yet again. However, he was much more shocked to hear about the kidnapping charges that Julia had filed.
Jim's jaw and cheek bones were broken in so many places that he was unable to speak for over a week. It took him at least another month to even be able to speak clearly again. If there was anything that Jim could possibly feel grateful for, he at least didn't end up in a wheelchair this time.
Of course, Jim's injuries were the very last things to upset him upon being released from the Concord hospital and returning to Texas. Not only had his only plan to get the girls back failed, but now any possibility of getting the girls back at all was practically nonexistent. The molestation accusations had already been harming him enough and these kidnapping charges were just going to bring everything to a whole new level. There was no way that any judge would even consider listening to Jim once they knew that he had attempted to kidnap the girls. To make matters worse, it was crystal clear that Cassie and Meagan were afraid of Jim and were possibly now even more afraid of him after his attempted kidnapping. The chances of Jim ever getting to have a relationship with his daughters again were now less than one percent.
These thoughts, mixed with the thoughts of Cassie and Meagan's terrified expressions upon seeing him, clouded Jim's mind during his entire trip back to Texas. Tears poured from his eyes the entire time.
Anthony wanted to say something to Jim about the attempted kidnapping, but he decided not to. Jim was clearly more upset than ever at this point and it was best not to make him feel even worse (not that it was entirely possible). With the exception of sniffling every so often, Anthony remained silent during the entire flight back to Texas.
Thankfully, Jim did not receive a jail sentence for the kidnapping (Julia's expression in court showed that she was not too happy about this). He instead received a sentence of three years on probation and had to pay a massive fine (Anthony was once again thankful for his wealthy relatives). However, Jim could hardly even feel any amount of relief as he left the courtroom. The only thing that was on his mind was Cassie and Meagan.
Just as anyone could have expected, the family court didn't go easy on Jim at all for his attempted kidnapping. Because his visitation rights with Cassie and Meagan were already suspended, there was almost nothing more he could lose at this point. However, it was now perfectly clear that Jim would more than likely never get his visitation rights back. As he left the family courtroom a month later, the judge actually pulled Jim aside and said something along the lines of: "You're never going to see your daughters again. Just give it up, buddy." Jim had never come more close to hitting somebody in his life.
Attempting to kidnap the girls again was out of question. While in court, Julia explained to the judge that she would keep a close eye on the girls from then on and never leave them alone outside again. Because it was obvious that Julia wanted him in jail, Jim was sure that she would keep this promise. In addition, Anthony was ordered by law to keep a close watch on Jim and make sure that he never tried to kidnap the girls again, going as far as threatening to consider Anthony an accomplice if Jim did attempt to do so again. Because Anthony was a strict follower of the law (just like Jim had once been), it was doubtful that he would ever blindly lend Jim money again.
Basically, that very miniscule possibility of getting his visitation rights back was Jim's one and only chance to ever see the girls again. He just refused to believe it. Cassie and Meagan were the only things that Jim even cared about anymore and the world just wanted to permanently remove them from his life. It didn't matter if Jim was (or, at least once had been) a kind and loving person. He deserved nothing but cruelty and misery.
Congratulations, world, Jim thought as he collapsed back onto his bed. Congratulations, you cruel, sick place. You've managed to defeat me. I'm an outright awful person and I deserve no happiness whatsoever. You've managed to make this awful person feel completely miserable. Congratu-freaking-lations.
Almost nothing changed during the next four years. Jim remained a bitter and reclusive person who stayed in his room and sobbed all throughout the day. Anthony almost always sat outside of Jim's room and listened to Jim cry, eventually tearing up as well. Jim continued to go to court every so often for that very small fraction of a chance that he would get the girls back and kept on failing miserably. Everything was completely hopeless at this point.
Is the way things will always be? Anthony thought as he listened to Jim sob after another failed trial. Is this the way things will be up until Cassie and Meagan graduate high school? Will it ever end?
Four years after Jim's attempted kidnapping, the unthinkable happened. Jim was required to travel to San Antonio to appear in court for something much different. Something that Jim considered even worse than his worst nightmare. Something so bad that he refused to even acknowledge it in his mind.
Julia was taking Jim to court to have his parental rights terminated. That wasn't even the worst part. According to a statement from the Concord family court, this wasn't even Julia's choice. It was Cassie and Meagan's. Cassie and Meagan, now thirteen and eleven, told a Concord attorney that they both despised Jim and no longer wanted anything to do with him. In addition, they both wanted their last names legally changed to Rhinehart. Jim was practically frozen stiff upon hearing this.
Anthony tried his absolute hardest to convince the judge not to go through with this, but it was no use. The judge explained that it was best that they "abide by Cassie and Meagan's wishes." In the end, Jim not only permanently lost any chance to get his visitation rights back, but he lost any chance to even be recognized as Cassie and Meagan's father. Cassie and Meagan were now officially out of his life.
To say that Jim felt heartbroken at that moment was the greatest understatement of all time. The word that described how Jim felt at that moment did not even exist. He felt as if somebody had completely ripped his heart out of his chest. He was permanently broken.
While Anthony was also very upset about the court decision, the very first thing that came to his mind was Jim. The instant that the trial was over, he immediately turned to where Jim was standing. Jim was gone.
No, Anthony thought. NO!
In a panic, Anthony rushed through the courtroom and made his way out of the courthouse. Sure enough, Jim's car was already exiting the parking lot.
No, Anthony thought. No, no, no.
At that moment, Anthony completely broke down in tears. He just couldn't believe that all of this was happening. Not even his worst enemies deserved this amount of cruelty. Seeing all of this happen to his little brother who had saved his life so many years ago just broke his heart into pieces.
Anthony began to remember Jim tearfully rocking Cassie on the day of her birth. He remembered how happy he was to finally be a father. He remembered Jim happily rocking newborn Meagan while two-year-old Cassie excitingly watched. He remembered all the times that he watched Jim and the girls spend time together. They had all been so happy...
As Anthony continued to sob, he suddenly noticed Julia walking out of the courthouse. She had a large and nasty grin on her face.
At that moment, Anthony erupted in fury. Without even thinking, he marched over to Julia and stood right in front of her.
"What the hell is your freaking problem?!" Anthony shouted in Julia's face.
Julia stared at Anthony for a moment and just giggled. Anthony had always thought it was wrong to use physical violence against somebody (especially a woman), but he really wanted to slug Julia in the face at that moment.
"Are you just a heartless scumbag?!" Anthony shouted. "Is that what you are?!"
"I have a plane to catch in about three hours," Julia said, still smiling. "Go waste someone else's time, will ya'?"
Julia tried to walk around Anthony, but he immediately blocked her path again.
"Hey!" Julia shouted angrily.
"Why have you done all these horrible things to Jim?! Why do you find it freaking funny to do so many cruel things to somebody that doesn't deserve it?! How the hell do you freaking sleep at night?!"
"Hey, this wasn't my choice. The girls don't want to see Jim anymore, so I'm just honoring their choices. And if he truly loved them, he'd respect their choices as well."
"Don't even start with that crap. You know very well that the only reason that they don't want to see Jim anymore is that you've filled their heads with lies. And of course they're going to believe every bit of crap you spout to them. It's not like Jim was around to show them the truth!""
"What the hell do you freaking know?! You don't know a damn thing that goes on at my house! And honestly, none of this was any of your business to begin with! Jim should've given up on trying to bother the girls a long time ago and you should never have gotten involved! It was never any of your business! Now get the hell out of my way right now!"
"Oh this is so my business. In case you've forgotten, Jim is my brother. I love him so much and it hurts me to see him upset. Cassie and Meagan are my nieces and I love them just as much as he does. It upsets me on every level that you've been going out of your way all these years to just rip them away from our family. Yes, I have every freaking right to get involved in all of this. This is my family and it just sickens me how much you've torn us all apart."
"All I've ever done is put my girls first. As their mother, it is my job to make sure that they're always safe and happy. They were doing perfectly fine without Jim and all I was doing was keeping it that way. Jim was trying to disturb their lives and I was only doing my best to prevent that. Once again, if Jim truly loved the girls he would have understood that it was best to just back off."
"Oh shut the hell up. You're so full of crap. I know very well why you did all those horrible things to Jim. All you've wanted to do from the very beginning was to hurt Jim in the worst way possible. You knew that Cassie and Meagan meant everything to him and he would've been completely miserable if they were taken away from him. So what do you do? You purposely abuse the power you have over him in court and keep him from being able to see them. Then you fill the girls' heads with lies so that you can turn them on Jim and make everything much worse for him. This is exactly what you've been trying to do from the very beginning. This was your ultimate goal this entire time. To completely ruin Jim's life."
"You're just jumping to the weirdest conclusions." A giant grin once again developed on Julia's face. Anthony was trying his absolute hardest to not break her nose.
"Just freaking admit it," Anthony furiously continued. "This has never been about the girls. All this has ever been about is making Jim's life miserable. Just freaking admit it."
Julia continued to grin as she spoke. "I just love how you keep talking about Jim like he's the greatest person on Earth. How do you know he's really that great? How do you know he's not a giant scumbag on the inside? Hasn't that ever crossed your mind?"
"First of all, don't you dare talk about Jim that way. You have no freaking right to talk about him that way. Second of all, Jim is the kindest and most loving person that I've ever met. I've known him almost my entire life and I've always known him as a very loving man who always puts his family above everything else. You have no freaking idea what you're talking about. Jim is a great man and he never deserved any of that crap that you did to him."
Julia laughed. "You're missing the point entirely. I never did anything to Jim. All I've been doing these past ten years is keeping my daughters safe and happy. Jim is just upset because things didn't go his way. He just needs to grow up."
Anthony was so close to completely losing his temper. He took a very deep breath before speaking again.
"It's totally obvious that there's nothing I can say to crack your thick skull. There's honestly no point in even continuing this conversation. I will say one more thing though. I'm sure you already know this, but Cassie and Meagan were Jim's world. And you took them away from him. They could've had the happiest and most wonderful future all together and you just snatched that all away. It was a very cruel and heartless thing to do. Especially to someone so kind and loving. One day, you will realize what you did was a terrible thing. You will realize it the day that Cassie and Meagan turn against you. Yes, Cassie and Meagan will one day realize the truth and they will despise you because of it. You should really think about that."
Julia laughed again. "The only thing that Cassie and Meagan will realize one day is how lucky they are to have such a loving and caring mother. They will thank me for everything I've done for them. If they want to have a relationship with Jim when they're adults, then I won't stop them. But for right now, they are doing perfectly fine without him. You both just need to leave the three of us alone already."
Anthony took another long deep breath. He had never felt more angry in his life. Not even when he was in school.
"Like I already said, I have a plane to catch," Julia said. "So get out of my way before I call the police."
With that, Julia lit up a cigarette and walked away.
Anthony stood completely still for at least five minutes. All of Julia's disgusting remarks were circling in his mind. In his entire life, he had never met someone so cold and heartless. He had never thought that such a heartless person could even exist.
Julia had already won custody of the girls ten years earlier, but that just hadn't been enough for her. All she had ever wanted was to completely remove them from Jim's life. All those excuses that she had been giving all throughout the years had all been a bunch of bologna. She had never cared about the wellbeing of the girls, all she had ever cared about was making sure that Jim was miserable. And there was practically nothing that she would gain from it. Nothing, of course, except the satisfaction of having hurt another human being.
Basically, Julia had spent ten years trying her absolute hardest to destroy a man's life. She managed to do so in the worst possible way and she felt no remorse whatsoever. Instead, she felt very proud and happy about having done such a horrible thing. And that man had never done anything to deserve her torment. This was beyond cruel and heartless. This was outright evil. It was an outright evil thing to do to such a kind and loving man. Anthony had severe doubts that this woman even had a conscience. Her heart was more than likely full of nothing but bitterness, hatred, and malice.
We welcomed you into our family with open arms, Anthony thought as tears formed in his eyes again. We gave you so much love and respect. And you do this all of this crap to us. I hope you're happy. I hope you're freaking happy.
As the tears began to run down Anthony's face, he begin to think of Jim. Anthony couldn't even imagine how upset he was feeling at that moment. Just trying to imagine how heartbroken Jim was at that moment caused Anthony to feel heartbroken himself.
I have to get to him, Anthony thought, wiping his face off. I just can't leave him alone right now. I have to get to him.
Anthony immediately turned towards the parking lot and headed to his car. As fast as possible, he started up the car and drove out of the parking lot.
Anthony cringed immensely during the entire long drive back to Houston. All of Julia's comments mixed with the thought of the court trial continued to swarm his head. A sinking feeling in his chest grew larger the more that he drove. He could hardly even imagine how Jim's ride home was going.
I'm sorry Jim, Anthony thought as he drove. I'm so, so sorry.
After several hours, Anthony made it back to his parents' house. After shutting his car off, Anthony sat completely still for a moment. All of the painful thoughts were still circling in his head.
Why? He thought as he wiped all the tears of his face. Just why?
Before long, Anthony finally stepped out of his car and walked inside the house. Upon reaching Jim's bedroom, Anthony begin to cringe immensely once again. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
Jim lay face down on his bed, sobbing much harder than ever. Anthony stared at him for nearly two minutes, wiping his own eyes as well. Anthony had found things hard to watch before, but this was taking it to the highest level possible.
"J...J...Jim?" Anthony soon stammered.
Jim did not respond. He just continued to sob.
"Jim?"
Jim continued to sob.
Anthony walked over and very gently tapped Jim on the shoulder.
"Ji..Jim..."
"Guway," Jim muffled between his sobs.
Anthony tapped Jim again.
"J...Jim..."
Jim sat up and wiped off his soaked face with his hand.
"I said go away!" Jim shouted angrily.
"J...Jim...please," Anthony stammered. "Please just listen..."
"And what the hell are you going to freaking tell me?! Huh?! What the hell can you possibly freaking say that will change any freaking thing?! Huh?! Huh?!"
"I...I..."
"That's right, nothing! NOTHING!! Nothing is ever going to freaking change! Nobody will ever freaking change! Nobody! I'm worthless! Freaking worthless!"
Jim lay back down and sobbed some more. Anthony took a very deep breath.
"You're not worthless, Jim..." Anthony said.
"YES I AM!!" Jim roared, getting up off of the bed. "I'M FREAKING WORTHLESS!! I'M A FREAKING WORTHLESS PIECE OF CRAP!! YOU CAN BRING UP ALL MY FREAKING SCHOOL ACCOMPLISHEMNTS ALL YOU WANT!! YOU CAN BRING UP HOW MUCH I LOVED CASSIE AND MEAGAN ALL YOU WANT!! YOU CAN BRING UP HOW WELL I TOOK CARE OF THEM ALL YOU WANT!! YOU CAN BRING UP HOW MUCH I FREAKING TRIED TO GET THEM BACK IN MY LIFE ALL YOU WANT!! NONE OF THAT FREAKING MATTERS!! ALL THAT MATTERS WAS THAT I WAS BORN WITH A PENIS!! AND BECAUSE OF THAT I'M FREAKING WORTHLESS!!"
"Jim...please...don't...think...that..."
"THAT'S WHAT IT IS!! THAT'S WHAT IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN!! I'M NOT THE FREAKING MOTHER AND BECAUSE OF THAT I'M FREAKING WORTHLESS!! AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN FREAKING DO ABOUT IT!! I'M FREAKING WORTHLESS!!"
"Jim...please. Please...please just calm down."
"CALM DOWN?!! WHY THE HELL SHOULD I FREAKING CALM DOWN?!! I HAVE NO REASON TO FREAKING CALM DOWN!! MY DAUGHTERS ARE GONE FOR GOOD AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT!! NOTHING FREAKING MATTERS ANYMORE!!"
Anthony gulped.
"Jim...I really, really, really hate to say this, but...you...you can't live this way forever. You have to move on."
"MOVE ON?!! HOW THE HELL CAN I MOVE ON?!! MY DAUGHTERS ARE GONE!! GONE!! AND I'LL NEVER GET THEM BACK!! HOW THE FREAKING HELL CAN I MOVE ON?!!"
"Jim! Jim! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! Yes, I know about that. It upsets me just as much as you. But you're right. There's nothing you can do about it. And being upset about it is not going to change a thing..."
"OH SHUT UP!! YOU'RE STARTING TO SOUND LIKE THOSE FREAKING IDIOTS WHO WOULD TELL ME I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON JUST BECUASE I WANTED MY GIRLS BACK!! IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP TELLING ME FROM NOW ON THEN JUST STOP FREAKING TALKING TO ME!!"
"Jim...please just listen..."
"IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE MY SIDE ANYMORE, THEN FINE!! GO JOIN ALL THE REST OF THE FREAKING WORLD!! GO HATE ON ME ALONG WITH THEM!! I DON'T EVEN CARE ANYMORE!! NOTHING'S EVER GOING TO FREAKING CHANGE ANYWAY!!"
"Jim, I've always taken your side...and I always will..."
"AND IT WASN'T FREAKING GOOD ENOUGH!! NOBODY ELSE WAS WILLING TO TAKE MY FREAKING SIDE!! ALL BECAUSE I'M NOT THE FREAKING MOTHER!! I WAS BORN A MAN AND THAT MAKES ME THE FREAKING FATHER!! AND BECAUSE OF THAT I'M THE ENEMY!!"
"Jim...please..."
Jim stormed over to the wall, where his high school diploma, his bachelor's degree diploma, his master's degree diploma, and his PhD diploma were all framed. He stared at each one for several seconds with absolute rage.
"NOTHING ELSE FREAKING MATTERS TO THEM!!" Jim continued to roar. "NOTHING!! IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU GET OR HOW MUCH OF A FREAKING GOOD PERSON YOU ARE!! THEY DON'T GIVE TWO CRAPS ABOUT ANY AMAZING THINGS YOU HAVE DONE!! IF YOU'RE THE FATHER, YOU'RE AUTOMATICALLY THE ENEMY!! NOTHING ELSE FREAKING MATTERS!!"
At that moment, Jim pulled his high school diploma off of the wall and flung it at the opposite wall. The frame shattered to pieces on impact. Anthony jumped back in shock.
"JIM!!" Anthony shouted.
"WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE, HUH?!!" Jim continued to scream. "WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE?!!"
One by one, Jim grabbed all of his other diplomas and flung them at the opposite wall as well. Anthony, who only barely dodged all of the diplomas, was completely shocked at what he was seeing.
"JIM!!" Anthony shrieked. "STOP!!"
"WHAT'S IT GOING TO FREAKING TAKE?!!" Jim wailed. "WHAT'S IT GOING TO FREAKING TAKE FOR ALL OF YOU TO GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK FOR ONCE?!!"
Jim grabbed a painting that was hung on the opposite wall and smashed through it with his knee. Anthony, who was now white with shock, gasped.
"JIM!!" He shrieked.
Jim flung the wrecked painting to the ground and stormed out of the room. Anthony followed after him, trying his hardest to avoid the broken glass.
"JIM!!" Anthony screamed. "STOP!!"
"I CAN'T HELP THAT I WAS BORN WITH A PENIS!!" Jim continued to scream. "I COULDN'T CONTROL THE WAY I WAS BORN!!"
Jim stormed into the living room and knocked over two vases and a very expensive lamp. Everything smashed to bits upon hitting the floor. He then marched over to a display cabinet that was filled with glass figurines and antique plates.
"JIM!!" Anthony screamed. "NO!!"
"HOW THE HELL DOES HAVING A PENIS MAKE YOU A BAD PARENT?!!" Jim screamed. "WHERE IS THE FREAKING LOGIC IN THAT?!!"
With that, Jim pushed over the entire display cabinet. Anthony's heart nearly stopped the instant that the cabinet smashed into the floor. The sound of all the glass shattering began to ring in his head.
Anthony wanted to scream, but he was now so shocked that he could hardly even speak. He wasn't even sure what to think at that moment. He wasn't sure whether to be more shocked about Jim destroying several of their parents' valuables or about the mere fact that Jim was doing all of this. So many thoughts were going through Anthony's head that he felt like his brain was going to explode.
After knocking over the display cabinet, Jim began to storm over to the kitchen.
"SERIOUSLY!! WHAT THE HELL IS IT GOING TO FREAKING TAKE?!!," Jim continued to shriek. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!!"
"JIM!!" Anthony screamed. "PLEASE STOP!!"
Anthony tried to grab ahold of Jim, but Jim shoved him away so hard that he fell to the ground. He just barely missed all of the broken glass.
Jim marched over to the kitchen cabinets and opened them up. He began to shove all of the glasses, plates, bowls, and coffee cups onto the ground. Anything that didn't break instantly upon hitting the floor was grabbed and thrown. Anthony had to duck behind the couch to avoid being hit by any of the dishware. He was now so shocked and scared that he felt like he was inches away from having a heart attack.
"HAVE YOU FREAKING IDIOTS NOT SEEN THE WAY JULIA IS LIVING HER LIFE?!!" Jim howled as he flung all of the dishes. "DOES SHE NEED TO BE A FREAKING AXE MURDERER FOR YOU TO REALIZE THAT SHE'S NOT THE BETTER PARENT?!!"
After destroying all of the dishes, Jim opened up the refrigerator and began to throw all of the food. Milk, condiments, pickles, butter, and eggs began to splatter all across the house. Anthony continued to duck behind the couch.
"WHY THE HELL DO YOU KEEP PUTTING MOTHERS ON THE FREAKING PEDESTAL?!!" Jim shrieked as he threw all of the food. "WHY IS YOUR SYSTEM SO FREAKING SCREWED UP?!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU?!!"
After all of the food had been strewn across the house, Jim began to charge towards the dining area. Anthony wanted to stop Jim from destroying anything else, but he was so scared of getting hurt that he stayed behind the couch. It was clear that Jim didn't care about anything whatsoever at that moment. Not even severely injuring his family.
"WHAT DO FATHERS NEED TO DO TO PROVE THAT WE'RE JUST AS GOOD PARENTS?!! Jim screamed as he entered the dining area. "YOU CAN'T BE THE FREAKING MOTHER IF YOU'RE A MALE!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU FREAKING WANT FROM US?!!"
Jim grabbed a chair from the table and marched towards the entryway.
"DO I NEED TO HAVE A FREAKING SEX CHANGE?!! Jim screamed, hurling the chair at a mirror in the entryway. "IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT FROM ME?!! IS THAT WHAT I NEED TO FREAKING DO TO PROVE THAT I'M A GOOD PARENT?!!"
The mirror shattered to pieces as the chair collided with it. Anthony, who watched from behind the couch, was shaking intensely.
Jim returned to the dining area and grabbed another chair. He then marched over to the living room. Anthony ducked to the ground as low as he possibly could.
"YES, I KNOW THERE ARE BAD FATHERS OUT THERE!!" Jim screamed, flinging the chair at the window. "BUT THERE'S A BUNCH OF BAD MOTHERS OUT THERE AS WELL!! GET A CLUE, YOU FREAKING IDIOTS!!"
The chair smashed through the window, causing bits of glass to fly everywhere. Anthony's heart nearly stopped again as he felt small bits of glass hit his back.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU LEARN IN FREAKING LAW SCHOOL?!!" Jim shrieked as he returned to the dining area and grabbed another chair. "WHAT THE HELL DID THEY FREAKING TEACH YOU?!!"
Jim stormed back into the living room and flung the chair at the television.
"DID THEY TEACH YOU THAT MOTHERS ARE FREAKING GODDESSES AND FATHERS ARE THE FREAKING DEVIL?!!" Jim screamed as he threw the chair. "IS THAT WHAT THEY FREAKING TAUGHT YOU?!!"
The chair smashed through the television screen and caused the entire set to fall over backwards. At this point, Anthony was as shocked and scared as he could possibly be. For the very first time ever, he actually felt afraid of Jim. He was actually afraid to be near his brother who he had once seen as his role model. It was one of the hardest things for him to ever comprehend.
Way to go, Julia, Anthony thought as Jim stormed back to the dining area. Look what you've freaking done. I really hope you're happy.
"I'M NOT ONE OF THOSE FREAKING IDIOTS THAT ABANDONS THEIR CHILDREN!!" Jim screamed, grabbing another chair. "THOSE LOSERS DON'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE CALLED FATHERS!! I'M NOT ONE OF THEM!!"
Jim held the chair up and hurled it down on to the table, where a ceramic bowl filled with glass fruits was sitting. Everything smashed into pieces upon impact with the chair.
"I WAS A BETTER PARENT TO THOSE GIRLS THAN JULIA COULD EVER HOPE TO BE!!" Jim continued to shriek. "YOU ARE ALL FREAKING BLIND AND STUPID!! YOU SHOULDN'T BE WORKING FOR THE LAW!! YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN HAVE JOBS!! YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF FREAKING MORONS!!"
Jim began to storm away from the dining area to go destroy something else, but he suddenly slipped on some mayonnaise and collapsed to the ground. Although Anthony was still feeling very shocked and afraid, he quickly jumped out from behind the couch and ran over to the dining area to help Jim up off of the floor. As soon as Jim was back on his feet, Anthony took several steps back just in case Jim tried to attack him. However, Jim instead leaned over the dining room table and began to cough heavily. Anthony now felt like he had enough courage to finally say something to Jim.
"Jim!" Anthony shouted. "Do you have any idea what you've done?! Look at all of this! Do you know how expensive all of this stuff is?! Do you know how hard it will be to replace?! Seriously, look at all of this!"
"I...don't...care!" Jim shouted in between heavy coughs.
"Jim, most of this stuff you just destroyed didn't even belong to you! Do you have any idea how Mom and Dad are going to feel when they see..."
"I SAID I DON'T FREAKING CARE!! I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THIS FREAKING CRAP!! IT DOESN'T FREAKING MATTER!! NOTHING FREAKING MATTERS!!"
At that moment, Jim began to sob once again. Anthony took a very deep breath.
"Jim, have you thought about your life?" He asked, trying not to scream. "Have you thought about where you are going to be ten years from now? Twenty years from now? Thirty years from now? Are you just going to stay here and cry for the rest of your li..."
"OH SHUT THE HELL UP!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE ME RIGHT NOW?!! I FEEL LIKE MY HEART HAS BEEN CRUSHED INTO TINY PIECES AND CAN NEVER BE FIXED!! QUIT TELLING ME TO FREAKING MOVE ON!!"
"Jim, I already said I'm just as hurt about this as you are. I completely understand that you're heartbroken. I'm just trying to get you to think about your future..."
"I SAID I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT!! I DON'T GIVE TWO CRAPS ABOUT MY FREAKING FUTURE!! I DON'T CARE ABOUT A JOB, I DON'T CARE ABOUT A HOUSE, I DON'T CARE ABOUT MONEY, I DON'T ABOUT ANY OF THAT CRAP!! I JUST WANT MY GIRLS BACK!!"
Jim began to sob much harder. Anthony took another breath.
"Jim..."
"Just...just leave me the hell alone!" Jim shouted, still sobbing. "Go away and leave me the hell alone!"
With that, Jim turned around and walked back over to his room. He kicked a bottle of salad dressing quite hard as he walked through the kitchen. He then collapsed back onto his bed and continued to sob.
Anthony stood completely still for what seemed like a very long time. He looked around all of the destruction that Jim had just made, still very aghast.
Eventually, Anthony walked over to the living room (trying his hardest to avoid all of the broken glass) and sat down on the couch. He put his head in his hands and began to cry.
While Anthony was still very shocked at everything Jim had just done, he felt much more upset about the reason that Jim done it. Jim was right, Anthony did not truly know how Jim felt at that moment. He knew that Jim was feeling very sad, but he did not truly understand how Jim felt as he was not in Jim's situation. Anthony didn't even want to imagine how Jim was feeling at that moment.
Anthony began to feel really bad for the way that he had just responded to Jim. Cassie and Meagan had been more important to Jim than anything else and he had just lost them for good. Jim had every right to be upset and heartbroken. It didn't seem fair to get angry at him for destroying material objects that could be replaced. Cassie and Meagan would never be replaced.
I'm so sorry, Jim, Anthony thought as he sobbed. I'm so, so sorry.
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