The parents reacting like that could make sense since ppl grieve however the heck it manifests. And when you’re in highschool or you’re a young adult, everybody’s impulses and brains are underdeveloped and ppl pull shit like threatening to kill themselves if you leave or if you don’t reciprocate their feelings, this shit happens. Since you’re a kid experiencing it for the first time it’s likely you feel on the hook or responsible for it, especially if you don’t have a great support system or you can’t talk to your parents for whatever reason you just feel like you’re responsible for this other person’s mental state because you don’t want them to die and easiest thing to do is acquiesce. This particular method has gotten to a lot of ppl, even adults. And if they actually do die, well shit, that’s some fucking trauma. This is pretty believable. It’s emotional abuse and it’s more common than you think and more people get trapped than you think. Many ppl have been pressured like this, so much so that it’s depicted in popular media and no one bats an eye, just look at the notebook and the ferris wheel scene, that shit’s supposed to be romantic and not coercive and fucked up.
His trauma isn’t written well, he shouldn’t blame himself and those others around him. The girl confesses and suicide herself, the girl parents really blamed him and his classmates, it’s so dumb