Ch. 54Whisper All Forgiven

(CLARE)

Mrs. Santamaria drops us at the school and I get out slowly, watching Tris carefully. As much as I want to see Owen I don't want to tell him what I have to tell him, not at all. Maya and Tris turn to go to their lockers and I go to find Owen, he should be done with practice by now and might still be in the locker room. He should also be the only one in the locker room so I walk right in. He's still there, just putting on his shoes but looks up when he takes notice of me.

"What's wrong Clare? Did your mom try something new? Or Eli?" Owen asks quickly in a worried tone as he jumps up.

"No I haven't seen or heard from either Eli or my mother it's about Tris." I tell him and his demeanor changes, he stiffens up and clenches his fist narrowing his eyes at me.

"What about Tris?" He asks with a jaw clenched so tight he barely gets the words out.

"Owen I think he's addicted to pain pills," I say backing up a little into the lockers.

"What the fuck are you talking about?! He has pain pills from the doctor he's not addicted!" Owen refutes in a growling tone.

"He's already gone through his pills Owen and he stole the rest of mine. I caught him in the washroom this morning and then I found my bottle in his backpack and his empty bottle in his waste basket." I tell Owen taking the bottles from my purse and showing them to him.

He looks at the bottles and then explodes! "THAT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING! IT'S TWO BOTTLES IN YOUR PURSE!" Owen yells and then punches one of the lockers so hard it makes a dent in the door.

I jump back a little with a gasp, it's not that I've never seen him this angry but this time his anger is directed at least partly at me.

"Owen I wouldn't make this up! I love Tris, you know I love Tris, I'm worried about him that's why I'm telling you we need to do something." I tell him clutching my broken arm to my chest.

"HE'S NOT ADDICTED TO PILLS! YOU'RE MISTAKEN AND I'LL PROVE IT!" Owen hollers and turns storming out the door.

"Owen what are you doing?" I question chasing after him and stuffing the pill bottles back in my purse.

He doesn't answer me and keeps walking, I catch his arm, he yanks it away so fast I start to fall. Thankfully no matter how angry Owen is he won't let me fall. He whirls around and scoops me up before I fall to the ground. He relaxes a little, his face softening and looking a little guilty as he seems to realize his behavior. My good arm is around his shoulders, I look at him, my lower lip pulled into my teeth, my forehead pinched together just slightly. He sighs heavily, places a gentle apologetic kiss on my lips and sets me down.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" He asks keeping his arms around me.

"You caught me before I fell," I smile.

"And I always will," he promises brushing a curl behind my ear and taking my lips again.

"I know you're angry but confronting Tris in anger isn't going to help anyone. You need to talk to him, calmly; if he's truly addicted to pain pills then we need to get him help before the problem gets out of hand." I advise my husband.

"I know I gotta go talk to Tris, before classes. If he's addicted and took pills this morning he'll be looking for more soon." Owen says.

"I know just go easy on him, he didn't choose to be addicted to pills." I tell him.

"Yeah I know but if he is addicted to pills I'm going to kill him," Owen comments and walks off to find his brother.

I watch him for a minute and then turn to come face to face with Eli.

"Trouble in paradise?" Eli smirks.

"It's none of your business Eli now move!" I demand.

I try to step to the side but he steps to the side blocking my path.

"I heard him yelling Clare, I saw him yank his arm away and nearly knock you to the ground. He's violent Clare, you know he's violent, think what he did to Adam and Drew last year." Eli says in a calm yet maliciously venomous tone.

"Drew and Adam are two of his best friends now Eli, he's apologized for his behavior last year and he has never been violent toward me. He did pull his arm away fast and I did nearly fall to the ground but Owen also caught me Eli. He picked me up and kept me from falling. He loves me Eli, he's in love with me and the only time he's ever been violent around me is protecting me from someone else." I tell Eli.

I start to walk past him but he grabs my good hand and spins me around back to him so fast I pretty much fall in his arms and against his chest. He grins and puts his arms around my lower back while I try to push him away with my good hand.

"Maybe but he has a proclivity toward violence and he's prone to violent tendencies and one of these days Clare, one of these days he'll mess up. He'll be so angry he'll hit you and when he does I'll be there to kiss it better." Eli whispers in my ear with a lecherously malign tone.

His words sink in, under my skin like a shot of doubt injected into me. Pulling my lower lip into my teeth habitually, I begin rolling it between my teeth as his words swirl around in my head. Eli sees this, he sees the doubt in my eyes and he grins in gloating satisfaction for planting the seed of doubt in my mind.

"Eli what are you doing? Get away from her," Adam demands appearing suddenly.

Adam puts his arm around my waist and pulls me back putting me behind, he gets between me and Eli and stands tall protecting me from our former friend.

"We were just talking Adam; I was simply expressing some concerns over Owen's violence this morning." Eli grins then saunters down the hall.

"What the hell's he talking about?" Adam questions when Eli is down the hall a ways.

"Owen and I had sort of a fight this morning; he was yelling and punched a locker in the boy's locker room. I guess Eli over heard some of it or at least heard that Owen was yelling. Owen stormed out of the room and I chased after him grabbing his arm and Owen yanked it away. He did it so violently that I started to fall, I didn't though Owen picked me up." I tell Adam in hasty whisper to keep people from hearing me and because the events of the morning are starting to take their toll on me.

Adam takes my hand and pulls to a bank of lockers, sitting me down on the floor and sitting beside me.

"Did either of them hurt you?" He asks.

"No," I shake my head.

"Why is Owen so angry?" Adam questions.

"He's not angry at me but I told him that I thought his brother was addicted to pain pills. I caught Tris in our washroom this morning, he said he was looking for aspirin but then I found my bottle of morphine in his backpack. I also found Tris' empty prescription bottle in the trash and I told all this to Owen. He didn't take the news well, that's why he was yelling." I tell Adam.

"And what did Eli want?" Adam inquires.

"He said he heard us, told me that Owen was prone to violence and one of these days his anger would be used on me. That Owen would hurt me and Eli would be waiting." I inform Adam.

"He wanted you to feel doubt, he still likes you Clare and still wants you back. Do you ever believe Owen would hurt you?" Adam queries.

"No not intentionally," I reply quietly and bite my lip.

"Where's Owen now?" Adam asks.

"He went looking for Tris," I respond.

"Ok come on I'll walk you to class," Adam says standing up and pulling me up by my good hand. "When's your appointment today?" He asks as we begin walking to Perino's social studies classroom.

"12:30, right in the middle of lunch which isn't very convenient but I can't wait to get this cast off." I remark.

"I'm going to fill in Drew and Bianca, stay away from Eli I don't trust him at all anymore, not around you. If he thinks he can drive a wedge between you and Owen and get you back then he will try anything to do so." Adam says.

I nod, kiss his cheek and sit at my desk, other kids start to come in and halfway through class I get a text from Owen.

"No cell phone in class Miss Edw…Mrs. Milligan," Perino says still adjusting to the fact Owen and I are married. He walks over holding his hand out for the phone and I give it to him without seeing the text but he does. "Never mind it appears to be an emergency." He says and hands me back the phone.

Owen: He's addicted, taking him to the hospital, told Simpson, Mom & Dad meeting us there.

Typing out a response having limited use of my right hand isn't easy so I keep it short.

Clare: I'm sorry, I hope he's okay, I love you.

(OWEN)

Leaving Clare I weave my way through the students in the hallways looking for my brother. There are only so many places he hangs out and I find him with Maya, Tori and Zig in the French classroom.

"Tris get out here," I tell him as calmly as possible.

He looks at his friends and gets up walking out of the classroom to me.

"What's up Owen?" He questions.

Grabbing him by the jacket I pull him down the hall to the drama classroom and shove him in. I lock the door and turn on the light, last time I was in here Clare was giving me head to keep me from worrying. This time won't be so fun, I let go of Tris and lean on a desk.

"Did you finish your bottle of pain pills already?" I ask him.

"No," he shakes his head quickly and tries to walk past me but I put my hand on his chest and stop him.

"Clare said she found the empty bottle in the trash and her prescription for morphine in your backpack." I inform him as the bell rings but I don't give a damn about either of us making it to class right now.

"She's lying! I didn't take her pills!" Tris snaps turning around and kicking a desk.

"Clare doesn't lie not like this, not about something like this. When did you go through your prescription?" I question my little brother.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT; THEY DIDN'T GIVE ME ENOUGH PILLS!" Tris yells.

"TRISTAN SIMMER DOWN!" I scold him but I'm also yelling.

"I was in pain Owen so much pain and nobody cared; they said I couldn't refill the prescription when it was done. That they would give me Tylenol with codeine but it wasn't enough everything hurt. Not when I took the strong pills though, when I took those pills everything felt better." He tells me.

"Tristan you're addicted to pain pills I need to get you to the hospital." I tell him.

"NO I'M FINE I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM I'M FINE!" He yells then growls and shoves a desk into another one.

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" I holler back at him grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him back, turning him to face me. "Tris you have a problem, this behavior isn't like you, it's your addiction, you're looking for a bigger fix." I tell him.

"No I just need to stop the pain; it hurts Owen it hurts so much." He complains and then starts crying with his head on my chest.

"I know buddy, I know, you need help Tris and not from a bottle." I say in a soothing tone rubbing my brother's back while he breaks down.

"I just don't want it to hurt anymore, I'm scared Owen." He says after crying a while.

"But you're not alone, I'm here and you have Mom & Dad, Clare, Maya, Tori and Zig. You're going to be okay Tris and I'll be with you the whole way. You know I'll never let anyone hurt you Tris and that includes yourself. Come on I need to talk to Simpson and get you to the hospital." I tell him.

He nods and wipes his tears away; we leave the class for the empty hallways and walk to Simpson's office.

"Shouldn't you two be in class?" The school secretary asks.

"I need to talk to Principal Simpson it's a family emergency," I tell her.

She looks at us and gets up walking to his office, knocking on the door before opening it.

"Sir Owen and Tristan Milligan are here, they say they need to talk to you about a family emergency." She tells him and Principal Simpson tells us to come in.

"I need to take my brother to the hospital Sir; he's addicted to pain pills. My wife caught him stealing her morphine this morning." I inform him.

Simpson looks at Tris a minute and then nods. "Alright Owen I'll inform both your teachers, keep me informed please." Simpson requests and I nod.

As we start walking out to the car I call my parents and tell them, Dad says they'll meet us there. Just as we get in the car I send a text to Clare so that she knows what's going on, she replies a few minutes later but as I'm driving I can't look at the text just yet. After checking Tris in we're given a clipboard with forms and I start filling them out when Mom & Dad get there. Mom is upset and Dad has angry disappointment in his eyes. Finally Tris is taken to an exam room and we wait for the doctor, while waiting I pull out my phone to see what Clare texted back.

Owen: I love you too Sweetness, see you later.

I add a few kissing emoticons and then put my phone away as the doctor comes in. I tell him what Clare told me and Tris admits to taking 3 morphine this morning and a hydrocodeine last night as well as two Vicodin a few hours before that. Upon learning this news the doctor gives him ipecac and sends him to the washroom to vomit. While Tris is gone the doctor tells us we're lucky he didn't o.d. or have a seizure. He says he's going to have to do an echocardiogram of Tris' heart and get an MRI of his kidneys, liver and stomach because he may have severely damaged his internal organs depending on how much he took and how many combinations. Hearing this news I feel like I'm going to throw up. Mom and Dad both cancel their whole day and call the school to tell them Tris and I won't be back for the day. I call Clare too but she's in class so I get her voicemail.

"Hey the doctors worried about Tris having damaged his internal organs and he's probably going to get checked in for a detox or something. Anyway I don't think I'm coming back to school but someone will come get you and Maya when school is out. You probably thought about this already but we should probably tell Maya what's going on. I love you Clare."

After leaving my voicemail I go back into the hospital. Tris is back in his room and the doctor is telling him how dangerous it is to take prescriptions that aren't his and even over the counter meds have dangerous side effects. Then Tris is taken down cardiology and radiology for tests and we're made to wait in his room.

"How could this have happened? He's always been so level headed; he's never had problems with substances before." Mom says in a sad worried voice.

"He'll be okay Mom it's only been a couple of weeks he couldn't have done that much damage to his body. If Clare hadn't caught it this morning he could have continued for weeks before any of us noticed though." I point out.

"Thank goodness she did, thank goodness she snooped through his backpack and his trash. We really grateful you brought her into our lives this summer; I honestly don't know how we managed before having her around." Mom comments and Dad nods in agreement.

"I don't know how I did anything before her," I say quietly.

We settle into a worried silence again as we wait for the doctor and then he returns but Tris isn't with him. Dad jumps up with terrified look on his face worried that something happened but the doctor motions for him to sit down again.

"Tristan is fine I just wanted to talk to you about course of treatment while he was getting the tests because they will take a while." The doctor says.

"Whatever you think doctor, whatever the best course of treatment is." Dad responds.

"I'd like to keep him in our detox wing for a few days; it will be very hard for you to watch him going through withdrawals if you do it at home. We can also do intensive therapy while he's here. After that he'll need to be closely monitored for the next several weeks and he'll need to come back here for therapy sessions, weekly minimum but I'd like to start him at three or four days a week. Both individual and group therapy sessions will be utilized." The doctor tells us.

"Fine we'll do whatever you think is best, bring us whatever papers I need to sign." Dad replies.

"Very good Mr. Milligan I'll have the papers brought in, Tristan will be brought back to the room as soon as his tests are done. I'll be back to discuss the results with you and get Tristan admitted." The doctor tells us and leaves the room.

"Thanksgiving is coming up, I can take some time off," Mom comments.

"No you don't Mom I'll look after him, me and Clare, we…" I start to say when Dad cuts me off.

"Son you have your honeymoon coming up in a few days," Dad reminds me.

"Oh yeah," I say slowly as I remember.

I can't disappoint Clare but I don't want to leave my brother either, Mom must see the conflict on my face because she speaks up.

"Owen go on your honeymoon, Tris will be fine but you two need some time to yourselves and after all that Clare's been through this summer and these last few weeks she deserves a vacation. Your father and I both have a multitude of vacation and sick days, we can take a few and we can do some work from home." Mom advises and I nod.

A nurse brings a stack of papers for my parents to sign and Tris finally comes back the room. He tells us about the tests they did then complains that he's hungry because it's lunch time.

"Shit!" I exclaim and my family looks at me. "I have to call Clare I'm a bad husband." I explain and run out while they all have puzzled looks on their faces. I run outside pulling out my phone, it's 12:15 Clare's appointment to get her cast off is in 15 minutes and I'm supposed to be driving her, I feel like a terrible husband right now. I get outside and call her. "I am so sorry it completely slipped my mind I'll be r…" I start telling her quickly as I run towards my car.

"Owen stop stay there with Tris it's fine," she insists.

"But you're appointment to get your cast off," I remind her although I do stop running.

"I'm headed there now; Drew, Adam and Bianca are with me. Simpson and Audra okayed it and know that we'll all miss next period. Tris needs you more than I do right now. Drew is diving and they're all with me don't worry about it." She tells me.

"I'm sorry I should be there too," I apologize.

"Hubby please stop worrying you're dealing with something else I know that. The rest of the Fab Five are with me and Drew was happy to drive me. Maya is eating lunch with Tori and Zig, the rest of us fine just worry about Tris right now." She asserts.

"Yeah okay I'm still sorry," I tell her in remorseful tone.

"How's Tris?" She asks.

"Okay I guess, the doc was worried about damage to his organs so he got a bunch of tests done. We're waiting on the results. He'll be checked into the rehab facility here for a few days and then he'll need to be watched closely at home. I al…" I start to tell her I forgot about our honeymoon to stay home and take care of Tris but I already feel like a bad husband and that won't help. "Mom and Dad will watch him they want us to enjoy our honeymoon." I say instead.

"Tell him I love him and he needs to get better; I'll see you at home but we're at the doctor's so I need to go." She tells me.

"Okay, I love you good luck with your cast." I reply.

She says she loves me too and I hang up, walking back inside and to Tris' room. Everyone looks at me when I come in wondering why I bolted out.

"Clare has her appointment to get her cast off and I completely forgot." I explain.

"Owen you don't have to be here," Tris says as I sit down again.

"Yes I do, anyway the rest of the Fab Five are on it, they'll take good care of her." I tell him just as the doctor comes back in.

"I've had a look at all of Tristan's tests, he has no damage to his kidney's and minimal to his liver. He does have some pooling of blood in his stomach and he is showing a rapid and irregular heart rhythm. We're going to keep it monitored while we have him admitted, it may require further attention. They have a room ready for Tristan up stairs if you'll all come with me." The doctor says.

He pushes the wheelchair over to Tris' bed and Tris gets in, I push the wheelchair and we follow the doc up two floors to the rehab wing. Tris has his name outside a door and the doc holds it open while I push Tris in. He gets comfortable on the bed, Mom, Dad and I all sit in chairs and the doctor stands.

"Is the irregular heart rhythm something we need to be concerned about doctor?" Mom asks.

"It's probably simply an effect of everything he's taken recently but as I said we'll monitor him and if it is something we need to be concerned about then we'll address it. We will be in touch with you about every step of Tristan's treatment. Right now we need to get you settled in Tristan and after some lunch you'll have your first therapy session, so say goodbye to your family." The doctor tells us.

"I'd prefer to stay doctor, I don't want to leave my baby," Mom insists getting up, sitting on the edge of the bed and hugging Tristan's face.

"Mrs. Milligan your son is in good hands but it really is important that we get him adjusted without parents or family. You can come back and see him in the morning and we will be in touch with you about everything." The doctor assures us.

Mom sighs and kisses Tristan's forehead while she's still squeezing his face in her hands. "I'll be back first thing in the morning, be good and do everything the doctor says this is for your own good honey." Mom tells Tris and kisses his forehead again.

"I'm okay Mom stop worrying." Tris replies.

"We'll be back in the morning son, listen to the doctor," Dad says tousling Tristan's hair.

"See ya little bro, you know when you get out of here I'm going to kill you for being so stupid." I remark.

"Yeah I know," he nods with a sigh.

The three of us stop for lunch before my parents go back to work and I head back to school, just in time for my last two classes of the day but I do have football after school.

"Hey how's your brother?" Drew asks when I get into Math class.

"Okay I think, the doctor said he had an irregular heart rhythm but it was probably just the pills. Tris will have to stay in the hospital a few days to detox and go to lot's of therapy." I reply.

"Well at least you guys found out before he o.d.'d or something." Drew comments.

"Yeah, how'd it go at Clare's appointment? Thanks for taking her by the way I feel like such an idiot for forgetting." I tell him.

"Dude don't sweat it was no problem we knew you had bigger stuff on your mind. Her cast came off but we took her home after, her arm was all weak and she said she wasn't feeling so hot. Adam stayed with her just to be safe. Adam did tell me that Eli was talking to her this morning, guess he heard you yelling at her and told her that one day you'd lose your temper and hurt her." Drew informs me.

"I'd never hurt her, she knows that, I will kill Eli for talking to her though." I remark, Drew grins and Armstrong starts class.

I can't concentrate in either class; all I can think about is Tris and Clare. When school is over I head for football practice with Drew and I'm telling him about my hockey practice that morning, I just don't tell him why I had an extra hockey practice.

"Hey Owen," Maya calls to me and I turn, "I'm getting a ride home with Tori, she invited me to stay the night so I'll see you guys at school tomorrow." Maya tells me.

"Yeah sure, have fun," I say and she runs off with Tori.

During football practice Julian asks what's wrong with Tris as do a few other guys.

"Man I can't believe my locker door got dented," Connor complains trying to close his locker which is the one I punched this morning.

"I'm sure the school will fix it," I tell him trying to his my sheepish expression.

Drew starts chuckling probably figuring out that it was me that punched the locker. We leave quickly and he follows me home to pick up his brother. When we get to my house Drew comes in with me and we see Adam sitting on the sofa watching TV but no sign of Clare.

"Hey, she's taking a bubble bath. How's Tris?" Adam questions.

"Okay I guess he'll be in the detox a couple of days." I tell him.

"Well tell Clare I said goodbye and I'll see her tomorrow." Adam says.

"Yeah me too and if you want help killing Eli let me know," Drew comments and I nod.

The Torres brothers leave; I set down my backpack and go down to our washroom. The door is slightly ajar, not sure I like that Adam could have peeked in and seen my naked wife in the bath. Then again Adam is way too much of a gentleman to have taken a peek, had Drew stayed home with her on other hand he would have looked even B may have looked had she stayed. I push the door open slowly; she's lying in the bath with her eyes closed. She hasn't heard me come in and she appears to be asleep so I tiptoe over and kneel down lightly brushing my lips to hers. Her eyes shoot open and she jolts so rapidly water splashes out of the tub getting me wet and I start laughing.

"Dreaming about some other guy sweetness?" I chuckle.

"No," she says scowling at me, "I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep and you surprised me that's all. What time is it?" She asks.

"A little after five, you hungry I'll order dinner?" I offer.

"Yeah I should eat, I'll be out in a minute," she says.

She tries to get up by bracing her hands on the tub edges but as soon as she puts weight on her arm she nearly falls back in the tub. I catch her and help straighten her up, then help her out of the tub.

"You okay?" I ask wrapping a towel around her and she nods.

"Yeah, the cast is off but my arm is week, the doctor said it would take a few weeks to get it's strength back. He gave me a splint to wear," she enlightens me motioning to a splint on the counter.

I help her on with her splint and kiss her lips then leave her to get dressed while I go order dinner. She comes out a few minutes later wearing one of my shirts and little tiny shorts that get hidden underneath my shirt. We sit on the sofa watching TV while waiting for dinner to arrive, I hold her close and we're silent for a few minutes.

"What did Eli say to you today?" I ask her.

"Nothing Owen he was just amused that we were fighting," she replies.

"Did he tell you that I'd hurt you someday?" I ask her.

"He heard you yelling, he was trying to get in my head." She replies.

I tip her chin up to look at me, her crystal blue eyes look into mine and she bites her lip.

"And did he?" I question.

"No," she replies quickly turning her head back to the TV so I turn it off.

"Clare do you think I would hurt you, ever?" I inquire feeling a stab of pain that she might actually think I would hurt her.

"Not intentionally but I've seen you angry Owen, it kind of explodes." She says.

She has a point, I've never really been known for self control but I have enough control not to hurt her or anyone I care about.

"Sweetness no matter how angry I am I would never hurt you. I'm sorry if I scared you this morning, I wasn't angry at you I was angry about the situation. I didn't want to hear that about my little brother. You know that no matter what I'll always love you and protect you, even from me." I assure her.

She turns, puts her arms around my neck and collides her lips with mine.

"I do, I know that Owen and I love you too more than anything. I'm sorry I let Eli get in my head." She apologizes.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper and wasn't there when you got your cast off." I apologize.

"It's okay Tris needed you how is he?" She questions.

"He'll be in the hospital a few days but we caught it before it became too big of a problem. It's a good thing you caught it when you did. They said we could go see him in the morning, I thought we'd go see him before school if you're up for it." I tell her as the bell rings.

"Sounds good, I'm just glad he'll be okay," she says as I get up and answer the door.

I pay the guy and we eat on the sofa while watching TV.

"We leave for our honeymoon in a couple of days are you excited?" I ask her as we clean up.

"Yes very, I even sent Bianca to do some shopping for me," she tells me.

"What kind of shopping?" I inquire raising an eyebrow.

"You'll just have to wait and find out Hubby."

Update next Wednesday with their honeymoon