Chapter Fifty-Five
Claire hovered outside of the hospital room, tears slowly tracking down her face as she listened to John's screams. She wasn't sure what they'd drugged him with, and she wasn't sure she wanted too, but this was John she knew that if he was in his right mind he would never be doing this. She heard the doctors cursing and she could only imagine what was happening in there. Then, suddenly it was dead silent.
She risked a peek into the room, seeing an incapacitated John laying in the bed, his wrists strapped to the bed rails. Slowly, she stepped inside, praying that he was okay.
Thomas sat in the corner, his head in his hands, and Claire could have sworn he was crying.
Clarissa brushed a stray hair out of John's sleeping face, hoping to bring him some comfort in the midst of his pain. "It'll be okay." She breathed, looking up as Claire stood beside her. "They knocked him out so that he doesn't hurt himself any worse." She whispered, watching the slow rise and fall of John's chest. She took in the still bleeding cuts on his head, knowing that they would leave scars.
There was a knock on the door, and they looked up to see the Johnson family at the door. Mary was holding Amelia in her arms, the child exhausted from her fright. "How is he?" She asked, noticing how still he was.
Clarissa nodded, stepping back to let the doctor start stitching his wounds. "He'll be okay." She placed a hand on Amelia's back, feeling her steady heart as it beat in her sleep.
Paul took her hand, knowing that words would never be enough to thank John for his sacrifices. "Let us know when he wakes up. We can't thank him enough for what he did."
Brian nodded, walking over to his friend's side. He looked up at Claire, knowing what came next. "He'll have to detox again, won't he?"
She nodded numbly, her hand resting in his. "Yeah…"
Brian rested a hand on her shoulder. "We're here for you guys." He swallowed, thinking about what John had gone through to protect his sister. "If you need anything, just call."
She met his gaze, tears shining in her eyes. "I'm just really scared."
"Yeah… me too." He mentally kicked himself, cursing his lack of bravery to save his own sister. John had leapt into the path of danger without a second thought, whereas Brian had just gone home to wait it out. He flinched as John's leg twitched, ashamed of the fear that coursed through him. "It's weird how, two months ago we hated his guts, but now we can't think of a way to live without him."
Claire smiled, running her fingers over one of the scars on his arm. "I never thought that a burner could be so selfless."
Brian smiled, amazed that John could push himself so far for someone he barely knew. "He's not a burner anymore. No matter what the Bitch squad says." He adjusted the sheets around John's feet, making sure he didn't get tangled up. "He's a hero."
