WOW
There were a lot of comments... sorry that this is out so late, but I woke up late and had stuff I had to do first... finally got a minute to post this.
Normal TW
Enjoy!
~TH~
Race felt dazed. He heard the scream and felt the pressure. But it took him a moment to realize what had happened. The body was pulled off of him and he saw the blood. So much blood.
They were taking Jack. They had him in the ambulance. Race watched, not completely comprehending.
He couldn't breathe. He jumped when his phone vibrated.
Breathing heavily, he pulled it out. He answered it, but didnt get a chance to speak.
"Race? Where are you? Medda called me thinkin' I knew something. You just disappeared!" Spot sounded worried. He probably had a right to be.
The boy couldn't think. The words just came out of their own free will. "He stabbed him."
"What?"
"He- he stabbed him. And, and there's blood everywhere and, and, he just, just stabbed him!" He wasn't breathing again. He was having a panic attack.
Spot sounded almost as freaked out as Race felt, "Stabbed? Who got stabbed? are you okay? Where are you?"
"He, he, stabbed him!" Race's brain was going in circles. Not comprehending much of anything. "He was on top of me and there was blood and he just stabbed him. I wanted to stop him but I couldn't! I couldn't stop any of it! Spot! I couldn't stop it!"
"It's okay, it's okay. Race, I need you to tell me who got stabbed. Where are you?"
Part of the question bled through his frazzled mind, "Apartment. Jack's apartment."
"What?! But I told him-" He broke off bmid-thought. "Is Jack the one who got stabbed?" it was surprisingly calm, but Race could hear the fear behind it.
"His, his foster dad… I don't even know where he got the knife! He just, just, had it. And he stabbed him!"
"Where is he now? Is he still with you?" Spot sounded out of breath.
"The, uh, an ambulance took him. The, the cops got Snyder."
"Are the cops still there?"
Race looked around, noticing his surroundings for the first time since Jack had been taken away. An officer was walking towards him.
"Yeah,"
The officer squatted down beside where Race was huddled against a wall, it was the same one who had been helping Jack earlier.
"Hey there," he said with a smile.
Spot had gone silent, but Race didn't move the phone. "H-hey."
"Are you okay?" He seemed to be running his eyes over his blood soaked clothes.
Race nodded, "I's'not mine."
"You're Race, right?"
He nodded. "My real name's Tyler."
"Well, Tyler, I'm Mayer Jacobs. A lot has happened, do you need me to take you somewhere?"
Race didn't know what to say until Spot's voice came over the phone. "Give him the phone."
The boy held it out immediately, too numb to actually think.
The officer looked surprised for a moment before taking the phone.
"Hello?" He paused. "I'll take him there. Thank you."
He handed the phone back, "Race? He's gonna take you to the hospital. Wait for me there. I'm bringing you a change of clothes. When you get there, call Medda."
"O-okay."
"I love ya, Race."
"Love, love ya too."
The call ended and he put his phone away.
"Come on Tyler, you can ride up front." He smiled and motioned towards the squad car.
~N~
Race stared at his phone for a long moment. He paced a small path in front of an empty row of hospital chairs. There were a few people in the room, but they ignored him for the most part.
Finally, taking a deep breath he dialed Medda. It rang only twice before she answered.
"Race, baby, I've been so worried, where are you?"
He nearly choked."Uh, hey Momma. Sorry, I,I, know I should have called."
"It's okay, hunny. What's wrong?" She knew. She always knew when something was bothering him.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "Uh, Jack, Jack's foster dad really went at him and he got hurt real bad. I'm at the hospital waiting, but, I,I, don't know much else right now."
There was a long moment of silence, "You just stay right there, baby. I'm on my way. Do you need anything?"
He shook his head before realizing she couldn't see him. "No, uh Spot is bringing me some clothes to change into. They, they-" he squeezed his eyes shut. "They have a lot of blood on them."
"Don't even worry about it, hunny. Just so long as you're okay."
"I am." Mostly.
"Ok, well, I'm on my way. I love you baby."
"Love you too Momma."
The automatic doors swung open just as he hung up the phone.
"Race, you okay?"
Spot was there, wrapping his arms around him. He didn't even care if they were in public. Race wanted to say yes. He wanted to be okay. But he wasn't
He shook his head against his brother's shoulder. The height difference didn't seem to matter as he felt the strong arms around him.
The tears were threatening to leak from his eyes. He took a shuddering breath. "M-Medda's comin'."
"Good. You hear anything?"
He shook his head again.
Spot pulled away and handed him a bag. "Go change. I'll be here when you get back."
~N~
Race changed into the clothes Spot had brought him. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked tired. He felt tired. Everything was spiraling out of control and it was all his fault. If he had said something… told someone….
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Race sighed, leaving the bathroom. Medda was waiting for him when he got back. She held him for a long moment and he was just trying not to cry.
They waited a long time without news. Race filled them in on everything that had happened since he left the school.
Then a female social worker came up to them.
"Tyler?" She looked kind. She wore a professional black pencil skirt with a purple flowing blouse.
He rose to his feet. "Um, yeah?"
"My name is Lydia, I'm Jack's social worker. I was wondering if I could speak with you for a moment." She smiled.
Race felt his stomach tighten. No. Not alone. He was about to say something when Spot stepped in, shaking her hand.
"I'm Sean Conlon. I'm friends with Jack. My brother here doesn't really like talkin' to strangers by himself. Would it be okay if I came to? Promise I won't interfere with nothin'. But he won't go without me."
Race felt relief wash over him. Lydia watched Tyler's face then smiled an almost sad smile. "Of course, this way please."
Medda nodded at them and they followed her to a back room holding a desk and office chair, along with two fancy plastic chairs.
She motioned towards chairs and Race sat. Spot leaned against the wall.
"So," Lydia began, taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk. "I just have a few questions. Any answers you could give would help us sort everything out."
Race nodded. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this.
"How long have you known Jack?"
He shrugged, "Couple of weeks. Not long. Jack got moved to my drama class."
She wrote something down. "And when did you notice something was going on."
"Immediately I guess. I mean, I was at a pretty bad home last year… so… I guess… I didn't actually know. But I kinda had a hunch."
"And did you tell anyone?"
"Only Spot." He motioned towards his brother, "I think Ms Medda might have guessed too, but there wasn't much she could do unless he came to her."
"And he wouldn't?"
Race shook his head, "Even after… even after I saw… he still wouldn't let me tell. He got really upset about it. I don't know why…"
"His brother." They both looked up to where Spot was readjusting himself against the wall. "Snyder said he'd go after his little brother if he told anyone."
Oh. That made sense.
The social worker nodded. "Was it all.." she paused and pressed her lips together. "Was it all physical abuse?"
"I think there was verbal too, I've never actually been there… I mean… except for today." He shrugged.
She was about to say something when Spot interrupted.
"He never succeeded in anything else." His eyes were dark and angry.
It took Race a moment to realize what he was implying.
"What?!"
"Only once. Last night. First time according to Jack."
"Is that why he stayed with you?" That made so much more sense. Why Jack had been acting so weird throughout the day.
Spot bobbed his head once. "Told him not to go back, but he wouldn't listen."
"And you said it was only an attempt?" The social worker cut in.
Race saw Spot's eyes dart over to him as if debating if he wanted to say it in front of him. Race nodded. He didn't really want to know, but he needed to.
Spot sighed, turning back to Lydia. "His foster dad had him pinned against the bed. Jack kicked him and ran. Snyder tore his shirt pretty bad, but I think it freaked Jack out more than anything."
Lydia wrote in silence for several minutes. Race's mind was running wild. How had so much happened so quickly? It seemed to have escalated really quickly. If he had only told someone…
"Thank you." Lydia shuffled her papers. "All of this will help figure out how to best help Jack."
"Is he, is he okay?" Of course he's not okay, idiot.
"He's in surgery now. His lung was punctured at some point. Then there is the obvious knife… there's not much else I can tell you right now, but I'll try to keep you informed as best I can. Thank you again for all of your help. You can go back to the waiting room."
Spot stood protectively behind him as they left.
"You okay?"
Race took a shuddering breath. "I'll, I'll be fine. I just… why didn't you tell me?"
"Would you have really wanted me to? It wouldn't have made any difference."
"But… I could've, could've, told someone or not let him leave school. I knew he shouldn't have gone back, but I let him go anyway!" He wasn't going to cry. He couldn't. He was freaking out.
"Hey!" He was grabbed and spun around. "Tyler Antonio Higgins, this is in no way your fault, do you understand! If you had told it could have just made things worse. You did everything you could. You saved his life by calling the police when you did. Got it?"
The dam finally broke, tears flowing from his eyes as he nodded. Spot hugged him tightly and he wasn't sure how long they stayed like that. He didn't really care.
~TH~
Not nearly as bad, right?
It's, not happy but it's not super angsty either.
I promise things will turn up eventually...
Even after I finish this particular story, I'm going to continue the series through one-shots and short stories. I might eventually write a sequel, we shall see. What I'm getting at is I will be taking requests both on here and on Tumblr, but it will be a while before I write them. Just keep following along and if an epic story plot pops up in your head for the future, let me know (pre OMY or post, whatever).
Thank you for reading and for your amazing comments!
I still have to write the next chapter but will have it out as soon as I can!
Stay safe my friends.
God bless,
Jamie
