A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter! I wasn't really sure which direction I wanted to take the story and then I got swamped with school work, but hopefully you'll like this chapter. And once again, thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate them and sometimes they give me ideas on what to write for the story! : )

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Four Brothers...

Chapter 3

Jack felt like he had lost complete control over his body and his emotions. He was shaking and his heart was racing. He was out of breath and was crying so hard he thought he was going to be sick to his stomach.

"Jack... slow down. You're making yourself sick," Bobby said worriedly. Jack wasn't looking so good. He seemed like he was about to collapse any minute.

"I need a cigarette." Jack said, seemingly snapping out of his trance. He started to shuffle through his room, looking for his cigarettes. "Where the fuck are my cigarettes! I need my fucking cigarettes!" Jack yelled. He had stopped crying now, but he was still shaky and breathing a little heavily.

Bobby had seen Jack like this only a few times before. It was one of those moments where he knew Jack had been pushed over the edge. And if no one grabbed him soon, he would be gone forever. Jack was always really conservative. He usually kept to himself and never really showed how he felt. This was his biggest weakness. Usually things would just build up to where he would just completely lose it. He would begin shaking and crying and most of the time you had no clue why, but you just understood. Jack was a pretty tough kid, and if he was crying, it was probably because he had reason to. When he would have these moments it seemed like the days afterward Jack would be completely detached, as if he was lost in his own world. It wasn't like he wouldn't talk or anything, you just knew that he wasn't completely there and he would sometimes get really angry at the smallest things. After their mom's death, Jack seemed so far gone that Bobby and his brothers weren't sure that he wasn't going to snap out of it, that maybe that was all he could take. But eventually his disconnectedness wore off, and little-by-little Jack was becoming the younger brother that Angel, Jerry, and Bobby knew.

"Jack, stop." Bobby said finally, grabbing Jack's arm and spinning him around.

Jack's eyes looked at him wildly.

"Slow down, Jackie."

Jack sat down on his bed and buried his face in his hands.

"I can't do this anymore Bobby. I just can't... No matter what I do it's never enough. Something bad always has to fuck everything up..." He began rambling.

Bobby went and sat down next to him and lightly rubbed his hand on his shoulder. He was a little hesitant, not completely sure of what he should do.

"Remember when I first moved in and I had bruises all over my body? And you saw me and told me not to be afraid anymore because no one would ever hurt me like that again? What am I supposed to do when you're not there, Bobby? I can't do this by myself..." Jack said in between sobs.

Bobby continued to rub his back, letting Jack cry and get it all out of his system. He knew if Jack continued the way he was going he wouldn't last long.

"Jack ain't lookin' so good, man." Angel told Bobby the next evening, basically stating the obvious. Jack was in the kitchen making dinner (since Sophie was currently "on strike") while Angel and Bobby were in the other room.

"Yeah, I know," Bobby replied.

"So you gonna tell me what's goin' on with him or what?" He asked, glancing in Jack's direction again. Jack looked a lot skinnier than normal and seemed to move slower, like he was extremely exhausted. The marks on his chest and arms seemed to stand out more against his pale complexion in the kitchen light.

"I'm not entirely sure. He told me the other night that he got jumped by a couple of thugs. I think it brought back old memories." Bobby stated. "But my guess, though, is he's not telling me the whole truth." He added a moment later.

"The food is ready," Jack said from the kitchen, ending their conversation.

"Finally." Angel answered, walking into the kitchen with Bobby right behind him. "I'm starving."

Once in the kitchen they gathered around the table and said grace before sitting down to eat. As usual, Angel was eating like an animal and Bobby was too absorbed in his plate to notice much.

"You gonna eat something, Jack?" Angel asked, looking up at Jack who seemed preoccupied with picking at his food. He never really ate that much, but tonight he wasn't eating at all.

"I'm not really hungry." He replied dully.

"Yeah, well you should eat something. You're skinny enough as it is."

"He's right." Bobby added finally looking up from his plate.

"I said I wasn't hungry."

"Don't be a smart ass, Jack. We're just worried about you." Bobby said.

"Yeah? Well, don't be," He replied standing up from the table, suddenly irritable.

"And where do you think you're going?" Bobby asked, following him.

"Out."

"No, you're not going anywhere." He said forcefully.

"And I don't think I asked for your permission." Jack said, equally as forceful before he walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him and leaving Angel and Bobby standing there with surprised and confused looks on their faces.

Jack didn't know where he was going when he walked out of the house. He just knew that he needed to get away. It was almost completely dark outside and he knew it wasn't exactly the best idea to be walking around by himself, but right now he didn't care... The shaking was back. He wasn't sure if it was from the sudden anger outburst he had just had or if something was wrong with him, but he needed to calm down. Reaching for his cigarettes, Jack dug in his pocket. Damnit. He didn't have any. He needed something to calm down. Anything, and right now, he didn't care what it was.

"I'm going after him." Bobby stated, grabbing his jacket as soon as Jack had walked out.

"No, you're not." Angel said, stopping.

"And why the hell not?"

"You know how unpredictable Jack can be when he's like this. If you follow him, you're probably just going to piss him off more. And what are you gonna do when if find him, anyways? Ground him?"

"I'm gonna kick his ass. That's what I'm goin' to do."

"Just let him cool off a little. He'll come back, he always does."

"Yeah and what if he doesn't! What if he gets himself killed this time! Bobby said, turning towards the door. He didn't have time for Angel's reasoning; he had to find his little brother.

"Not a good idea, man." Angel said warningly.

Bobby didn't reply, but simply slammed the door in his face, obviously pissed off. If he had his mind set on doing something, he was going to do it, and he wasn't about to let anyone get in his way.