Author's note: Reworked and Reposted 2015. Hopefully it's an improvement. Sequel to 'The Letter'.
Davis Motimiya was walking down the street; hands buried deep into his jean pockets. He was in a rush trying to get to rehearsal with the Teenage Wolves; he was going to make his debut with them soon.
"Hello Davis." The voice was cold but so very familiar. Davis spun around with a frightened gasp. His father came out of the shadows of the alley. Davis wanted to run but he was too petrified to move.
"You put me away, Davis; you made me suffer; now I'm going to make you suffer." He took deliberate steps towards Davis, his arms outstretched with his hands reaching towards his throat. Then… and then… and then the boy sat bolt upright in his bed with a small cry, drenched in an icy sweat. He looked frantically around his room unable to shake the deep feeling of danger.
"It was a dream!" He whispered to himself. "Just a dream." His dad hadn't come for him, but he was free. His parole had been granted and he was released earlier this week. Matt and Mr Ishida constantly reassured Davis that his dad would be put straight back behind bars if he came near him or tried to contact him in anyway. But that wasn't as much of a comfort as it should have been.
The teenager slipped out of bed, padding softly to the living room. He sank down on the ottoman by the window, resting his forehead against the cool glass. He closed his eyes even though he knew he wouldn't be getting any more sleep that night.
"Hey, Davis!" TK yelled as he spotted his best friend. The maroon haired boy didn't turn around. TK frowned jogging after him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Davis jumped and pulled away from him, startled.
"Easy, Davis! Didn't you hear me yell?" TK asked in a concerned voice. Davis had deep bags under his eyes, he shook his head.
"Sorry TK, I guess I'm not with it this morning." He mumbled as he stuck his hands into his pockets and looked away.
"You woke up in the middle of the night again, didn't you?" TK asked. Davis gave a small insincere smile, raising his hands in surrender.
"Guilty!" His voice was bright but his eyes betrayed that he was only acting normal.
"This is no joke, Davis! You need to sleep!" TK told him, his tone sharp but he was worried. He softened his voice as he continued. "Maybe it would be worth going to see someone after all?" Mr Ishida had made some suggestions about counsellors or psychologists but the maroon haired teenager had been resistant thus far.
"Nah, give me a couple of days and I will have calmed down." He insisted with a shake of his head. The two of them met up with the rest of their friends just outside the school gates. Kari, Yolei and Cody all shared a knowing look when they spotted how exhausted and pale Davis was. Their leader rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, really!" The other three decided not to nag him about it, there really wasn't anything that they could do anyway.
Lessons got underway as usual; Davis was doing a lot better in school. He still wasn't student of the year but he wasn't a dunce anymore either. He had been surprised how fast his progress had been once the pressure had been cut off. Though today he couldn't seem to keep his concentration on his work; he found himself staring out of the window, thinking of his dreams and working himself up into an internal panic.
"Davis! Please keep your mind in this lesson!" The teacher snapped at him, she was getting a little impatient with him. How could she know what he was going through? Davis sighed and rubbed his hand over his eyes; this was getting ridiculous - he had to do something to calm himself down.
The bell went and he was out the door first. He rushed out the halls to the front gates. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes as he arrived. He lit one up with a sigh of relief as he took a draw, he had been an on and off smoker for a while but he always smoked more when he was stressed out.
He exhaled with another sigh, he didn't know why he was letting the fact that his dad was out of prison bother him so much. He knew his dad would most probably want to get on with his life and put the past behind him. Why was he having such a hard time doing the same?
"I thought you'd quit?" A voice asked him. Davis looked up to see his older sister Jun.
"I started again." Davis answered offering her one. She took it and lit it; she took a draw and exhaled with a concerned look at her little brother.
"Davis, I know how you feel… I've been feeling it too. You think dad is going to want to settle a score with you. But trust me; it's all going to be ok." Jun told him simply. Although they didn't live together anymore they still saw each other a lot and were as close as ever. Davis smiled at her as he dropped the dog end of his cigarette and stepped on it.
"Thanks, Jun, I needed that." His heart felt a lot lighter. She gave him a protective smile.
"No problem, bro. I am here for you anytime, I promise." Davis was about to head back in when he paused. He gave her a sudden hug, squeezing her around the waist. Jun was surprised for a moment but ruffled his hair with her free hand. "Go on, you're gonna be late. I'll see you later."
The rest of the morning passed by into the afternoon pretty smoothly. The pep talk with Jun had really calmed down his nerves and he found himself concentrating more in his lessons, which pleased his teachers. However in 4th period a note came in calling Davis to the reception urgently. Now since he had moved in with Mr Ishida he was hardly ever in trouble, so this was a surprise to him. He got up and went to the reception.
It was a shock when he saw Matt standing there, looking worried. He rushed over to Davis.
"What is going on, Matt? What are you doing here?" He asked, confused. Matt placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and stared into his eyes.
"Now, Davis, don't panic but there has been an accident." Matt told him as evenly as he could, a whole host of faces ran through Davis' head as he wondered who had been hurt. TK? Tai? Mr Ishida?
"Who?" Davis finally asked - his voice soft but filled with dread. Matt took a deep breath and told him.
"It's Jun." Davis gasped and he recoiled in horror.
"No, that can't be right! I… I mean I was talking to her less than three hours ago! W-what happened?" Davis' tongue felt dry and his heart was in his throat.
"She was hit by a car, she is in the hospital." Matt told him. "Her roommate was called and she called our place coz she knew she had to let you know."
"Well why are we still standing here? We have to get to the hospital!" Davis exclaimed, masking his panic with impatience.
The drive to the hospital had been a blur to Davis as he constantly thought about his sister and what had happened to her; he tried not to think of how he would manage without her to look out for him and to make him feel better. He closed his eyes shut tightly as he tried to block out all the horrible images that were flooding his brain.
Matt glanced at the younger teenager as he drove, he could only guess at what was going through Davis' mind right now. His father had gone to the hospital first to be with Jun, just in case she regained consciousness before Matt picked up Davis. The blonde said a silent prayer for her. Ever since she had stopped stalking him she had turned out to be a pretty cool person, someone he would definitely consider dating now.
The hospital came into view and Davis sat up straighter, nearly chewing the dashboard in his eagerness to get there.
Matt pulled the car up to the main entrance and Davis was out the passenger side door and running to the reception before it had completely stopped. He asked for the room that his sister was in and ran all the way there. He bashed through doors recklessly - he didn't care, he just had to see her. He spotted the door to her room, suddenly slowing down.
He stood outside the door with his hand on the doorknob, afraid of what he might find in there. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. He saw Jun laying in the bed and felt like he couldn't breathe. Her head was almost completely covered with bandages, her right arm was in cast, she was wearing a ventilator and a drip in her arm. Davis saw Mr Ishida sitting by the bed holding her uninjured hand.
Davis came closer to the bed and Mr Ishida sat up straighter.
"Davis…" He started to say but stopped. He wanted to say something of comfort but his mind drew a blank at the crucial moment.
"How is she?" Davis asked in a small voice. He reached up a hesitant hand to stroke some hair out of her face.
"They think she has some internal injuries and the head injury is quite serious." Mr Ishida told him honestly. Davis nodded feeling tears prickling at his eyes.
"Is she going to be alright?" Davis asked his voice tight with holding back his emotions.
"They don't know… the doctors are going to take her to theatre soon to release some of the pressure in her skull, we will know more after that." Mr Ishida answered. Davis squeezed his eyes shut; a couple of tears slipping down his face. Matt turned the young boy around and wrapped his arms around the kid he considered to be another little brother. Matt fixed his eyes on Jun. 'Wake up, please. You know better than anyone how much he still needs you.'
Davis pulled away from Matt when a doctor and two orderlies came in, rubbing his eyes in haste.
"Mr Motimiya, we will be taking your sister to theatre now." Davis nodded as the orderlies started to wheel the bed out.
"Wait!" Davis said before he lent over the side of the bed and gave Jun a gentle kiss on the forehead before he let them leave; staring long after they'd disappeared from sight.
Davis had hardly moved from his sister's bedside for two days. All of his friends had come in to see how she was and to see how he was holding up. The surgery had been a success and she had been taken off the ventilator but Jun was yet to wake up. Davis looked like the living dead but nothing that Matt or Mr Ishida said seemed to make any difference. He point blank refused to come home until Jun woke up at the very least.
"Drink this." Someone shoved a coffee under his nose. Davis took it.
"Thanks, TK." Davis murmured as he sipped at the hot coffee. TK sat down on a chair beside him.
"No change?" He asked in hope more than expectation.
"Nope." Davis shook his head. "But she'll be ok… she promised she'd be there for me anytime. She's never broken a promise to me yet." TK nodded to show that he had heard. He was amazed that Davis was being so upbeat about this. But then again whenever things started going bad, he would revert back to his 'nothing can touch me, I am always happy' façade as a way of protecting himself.
"How are you feeling?" TK asked him. Davis took another sip of coffee, deciding to be honest this time.
"I'm tired, TK, and I want her to wake up and tell me off for being stupid and stubborn." He replied. TK put an arm around his friend's shoulders and gave him a squeeze.
"You are being stupid and stubborn." The blonde agreed. "You should go home, if only for a couple of hours. Get something to eat, a shower and some sleep. You will feel miles better after that." TK insisted.
"I can't, what if she wakes up when I am gone and no one is here with her?" Davis asked looking back to Jun.
"I'll be here, and if I am not then I will make sure there is someone else watching her. Just go and get some rest." He knew that Davis was close to caving in, so he pressed a little harder. "I am not going to take no for an answer, just so you know."
"Alright, 2 hours and I am back." Davis told him, his shoulders sinking in defeat.
"4." TK kept his internal cheering in check as he negotiated with his friend.
"3." Davis stood up and stretched his aching back, he actually couldn't remember the last time he'd stood up from that chair.
"Deal, give Matt a ring and get him to pick you up." TK knew better than to push his luck, so he agreed with the compromise. He steered his friend to the doorway by the back of his shoulders and gave him a gentle push into the hall before closing the door with a firm click behind him.
TK had been right; the maroon haired boy had felt a lot better after a rest and a shower. But he was eager to get back to his sister's bedside; he walked towards her room with Matt in tow. The older blonde had made sure Davis slept for at least an hour and had given him a good meal to keep his strength up. Davis suddenly stopped walking and Matt nearly went into the back of him, he glanced up and saw TK standing worriedly outside Jun's room. Davis felt his legs turn to lead and a sinking feeling start in his stomach.
"What happened?" He asked TK, who looked flustered and upset.
"I'm sorry! They just came in and I couldn't stop them…" TK babbled. Davis pushed through the door of the ward room. He froze in fear and shock at seeing his father and mother sat by Jun's bed.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" The teenager demanded, using his anger to mask the shaking in his voice. He hadn't seen his mother since she denounced him as a liar in court and hadn't spoken to her since before the truth came out.
"One of my hospital colleagues informed us of Jun's accident. She's still our daughter; we have every right to be here." Davis' mother answered curtly, she could barely bring herself to look at him. The teenager floundered, unable to come up with an answer. So he turned his attention to his father.
"Y-you are not supposed to come near me." Davis' voice sounded a lot stronger than he felt, despite the slight stammer. TK and Matt were hovering behind him, not sure what to do but ready to give him support if he needed it.
"Then you'd better leave then…" Mr Motimiya replied, his eyes were flashing in anger but he kept his tone even. "…Because I'm not going anywhere". Davis was shaking so badly that the two brothers behind him were afraid he'd pass out right then and there.
"There is no way I-…" He started to say before he was interrupted by a weak voice.
"Mum?" Jun's voice was filled with confusion and cracked with underuse. "Mum!" Her eyes filled with tears as she was bear hugged by her mother. Davis' heart ripped into pieces as he watched them. Seeing Mrs Motimiya giving Jun the love that he'd been desperate for since he made his accusations made him feel like breaking down into sobs. But he couldn't do that, not here, not in front of his father. He turned around and pushed past Matt and TK and ran for all he was worth.