Chapter 20 Do You Really Know Him?

Randy

I can feel the blood trickling down my head. My whole body is shaking with fear and the loss of blood. My mind is racing.. What am I going to do? I have to stay awake..

I can hear him laughing behind me and hear the swing of the bat. I quickly turn on my back, biting my lip from the pain it causes me, but he misses.

'Wow, I guess you still a fight left inside you, huh? Well, not for long.' My eyes widen in fear, but I can't stop him as he pulls me to my feet by my shirt. I try to get free, but I'm feeling weaker by the minute and try to steady my vision. He pulls me high enough, so my feet no longer touch the ground.

'Do you remember all those times I swung you in the air when you were little? Well, this is the same. Only this time, I'm not going to catch you.' With all his strength he throws me across the room. I land painfully on my left arm. I can feel it snap and bite back a scream.

In the spinning of the room, I can see him coming towards me. I shakily try to get up, but he's closer than I think and he swings the bat once again and lands it on my left knee. This time, I can't stop the screaming.

I let myself sink back to the ground and lie on my stomach. I can hear him laughing in the distance, but the pain is just too much to bear for me. Somewhere in the corner of my eye, I can see him raising the bat. I know he's aiming for my head and I won't be able to stop him this time. I'm sorry everyone... This is it.. I close my eyes in anticipation and wait for the blow to come...

'Get away from him!' Oh, great, now I'm getting delusional...

'Marty.. Please, put down the bat...'

I raise my eyes upwards, but Uncle Marty is still staring at me with an alarming smile. And instead of dropping the bat, he gets a better grip and holds it in the air. Everything goes in slow motion as he brings it down full force. But again, nothing...

I look up and sigh with relief as dad has grabbed the bat from behind him and pulls it out of his hands. Then he punches him with so much force, he falls to the ground, clutching his nose in pain.

'Police, everybody freeze!' More rescue.. I can now feel tears wetting my cheeks as all my emotions come out at once.

The officers come in armed and first think dad is the bad guy, but Brad and Mark tell them what happened and they immediately arrest him.

'Tim.. You can't let them do this! I'm your brother..'

'Just take him away...' I've never heard so much sadness in his voice before.

'Dad...' I ask weakly. He immediately rushes to my side and carefully takes me in his arms.

'It's ok, Randy.. Everything is going to be ok now. It's all over, I'm here.' I can tell he's crying now. In a far distance I can hear sirens.

'You hear that? That's the ambulance.. You're going to be fine..'

'Dad? I don't think I can stay awake much longer..'

'You have to, alright, buddy? Just a few more minutes. Do it for me.. Can you do that?'

'Ok..' It all comes out in whispers now.

'I'm so sorry, Randy... I am so sorry...' I don't respond as another rush of pain washes over me.

'Oh god... Randy...' I can hear mom breaking down as she rushes through the door. 'Tim, is he ok? Please tell me he's ok..'

'He will be..' Right at that moment the paramedics rush in. Everything becomes a blur as they load me onto the gurney and put an oxygen mask on my mouth. I take one last look at my dad. he comes towards me and takes my hand. Then he leans down.

'It's ok. You did good. You can let go now..' His whisper is enough for me. I carefully nod and close my eyes as they rush me into the ambulance and towards the hospital.

Tim

I let out the breath I've been holding this entire time. Just the image of my son lying there in a pool of blood at the hands of my own brother..

I'll never be able to let go of this guilt. It's all my fault.. If I had listened to him, this would have never happened. I'm shaken out of my thoughts by a concerned looking Brad.

'Dad, they need you in the ambulance.'

'What about your mom?'

'Mom is completely hysterical, they can't get her to calm down.' In a daze I shakily walk towards the ambulance and take place besides my son once again. I take his hand in my own and the world vanishes around us.

My eyes only see him, lying still as the paramedics take care of him. They keep a cloth on his head to stop the bleeding, but it's still seeping through. The only thing I hear is the steady beep on the heart monitor.

The world comes to a complete halt when that beep turns into a long almost ear shattering sound, his heart has stopped...

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A/N Sorry for the long wait. I've been busy with school and a lot of other things. I hope you'll be satisfied with this update. Only one more chapter and the epilogue..

Will he survive? R&R to find out!

Thanks for everything and Love, Baxxie