Forever Young

Chapter 7

"Madelyn! Maddy, god damn it, wake up!" If I wouldn't have been afraid my head was going to fall off, I might have sighed. Uncle Zack and his amazing bedside manner. My first instinct was to fall back into that lovely little blackness. I mean, what point was there in staying conscious when it hurt so much to do so? Everything sounded like a long echo and the throbbing pain that was radiating up and down my entire arm was enough to have tears welling up behind my closed lids. Oblivion wasn't looking that bad right now.

I wasn't all the way conscious, but in the transition, like being groggy after a long sleep. As much as I wanted to keep my eyes closed and ignore everything for a little while, Uncle Zack's voice held something that I had never heard before. Panic.

Opening my eyes halfway, I instinctively slammed them shut again. Even the dim light caused another yet another searing pain to add to the collection. Forcing herself to open them again proved to be a major task, not one she particularly enjoyed, but finally, Uncle Zack's face swam into focus. "I'm awake, I'm awake." I muttered dejectedly. Unless I was mistaken, I just knifed my uncle. If that doesn't get your ass grounded, I don't know what will.

"Okay." He said, supporting my head with his forearm as I slowly blinked the world back into focus. "Okay. Any headache?" Without waiting for an answer he fired a barrage of questions at me. "Dizziness? Nausea? Blurry vision?"

Yes. Yes. Yes. And, um, yes. "No, I'm fine." I lied as I struggled to sit up, clutching my limp arm to my chest protectively.

My head spun and my stomach rolled. Gravity and I weren't getting along to well right now. Sitting up probably wasn't the smartest thing I could have done. Of course, attacking my uncle with a butcher's knife wasn't that slick either. So much for stab first, ask questions later.

Dad and Uncle Zack never did get along. In fact, they hated each other so much that they didn't even bother to pretend otherwise. I think Dad always thought that Uncle Zack would try and take us away. I know Uncle Zack thought, and still thinks, that by staying in one place for so long, the people that are after Mom will find us. I always got the feeling that Uncle Zack saw me as another one of the tactical risks he always spoke of when he came to visit.

What they both don't seem to understand is that they are so much alike, it's eerie. They both would give up their lives to protect Mom, Leo, and I. If they'd quit fighting each other on it, we'd be a hell of a lot safer with them working together.

But none of that mattered now. I can't move my wrist, which means it's probably broken. Which means I'm going to have to go to the hospital. Which means that they'll probably call Mom and Dad, which means he's going to find out what happened, which means I have no chance of trying to hide what happened from them, which means I'm probably going to find out what the word 'apocalypse' meant on a first hand basis.

"Maddy! Are you listening to me?" He'd been talking? Go figure.

"Huh?" Was it the head injury talking? I couldn't seem to focus on one thing for more than three seconds.

"I said I have to splint your arm. I think it's broken." He lifted his arm long enough for me to see a long, jagged, gash down the sleeve of his leather jacket. It was kind of sweet, in the sick sort of way that he was ignoring his own injuries to take care of mine. But then again, it lost the sweetness and just became sick when I realized he was dripping blood all over me.

"No," I say quickly, panicking as he tries to touch my arm. "Let's just go to the hospital, you need stitches." And they had painkillers there. I'd love to have a handful of those right now.

"As soon as I immobilize it, we'll go to the hospital." Uncle Zack promised reassuringly. But as soon as his fingers wrapped around my arm, I instinctively jerked back, jarring my wrist. The short scream I let out echoed through the penthouse. I curled up into a ball, tears running down my face despite my best efforts not to cry.

"What in the hell is going on?!" Dad's voice was enough to have me sitting straight up in the hair. It was also enough to have both Uncle Zack and myself at a complete loss for words. In a situation that already was bad, having your overprotective father walk in wasn't the best thing that could happen. "Um…" I stuttered. "Dad, there was an accident." What an understatement.

It happened before I even had time to react. One second, Uncle Zack was kneeling over me trying his hardest to tend to me, which really did say a lot for him. The next, Dad had hauled him up by the lapels of his jacket and slammed him up against the wall. Its always ten times scarier to witness an attack on someone by a generally non-violent person, like Dad. What was worse is that Dad's face didn't seem to reflect any of the rage that he so obviously felt. He'd ask me how my day at school was with the exact same expression.

No one said a word before Dad pulled back his fist and plowed it into Uncle Zack stomach. Uncle Zack grunted, half doubled over. I made a pathetic little moaning sound. Hey, it would have been a scream if I had the energy. Where was Mom when you needed her? She'd know how to deal with this crap, because I certainly didn't. Barely a second past before Dad moved to hit him again.

I scrambled to my feet, and before I could think of all the reasons I shouldn't, I ducked my head under Dad's tense arm and tried to push him back with my one good arm. It was like trying to move a mountain. "Daddy! Stop it!" I shouted.

"Madelyn, stay out of the way please." He ordered in a deadly quiet voice. He didn't even look at me; his eyes were fixated over my head, presumably on Uncle Zack.

"Maddy, sit down." Uncle Zack agreed.

Oh great. Men and their need to be heroes. So he was just going to take a beating for something that was my fault to begin with. He obviously wasn't going to be able to fight back. In a few minutes he wasn't going to be able to stay standing telling by all the blood that was pooled on the floor.

Fighting dizziness, I managed to use my body weight to knock Dad back a few steps. I wanted to stand between them, to make sure Dad didn't decide to slap Uncle Zack around a little bit more, but my legs betrayed me and I sank to the ground. I didn't remember starting to cry again, but I was.

"Logan, are you done being an ass, so we can take our daughter to the hospital, or do you want to let your knuckles drag around on the floor a little longer?" Did anyone else feel a draft? Oh wait, Mom just walked in. Despite the very cold, very unwelcoming expression on her face, I was so happy to see her. Even holding a sleeping Leo at her hip, she managed to look fully prepared to slap her brother and her husband around equally. Now Dad was going to get wrapped up in this mess I created.

"Mommy," I sob pathetically. I really hate crying. "I'm really sorry, I thought we were getting robbed…." Sniffle sniffle, choke choke. "…And I didn't know it was Uncle Zack…" Blubber blubber, wail wail. "…And it wasn't his fault, because he didn't know it was me…" Sniffle some more, hyperventilate a little bit. "…And I'm really sorry."

"Why do all the women in my life insist on protecting him?" Dad muttered under his breath just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Mom didn't say a word for a moment, just shot a nasty look at Dad and turned on her heel. She walked out of the room and down the hallway, disappearing into Leo's room. Dad continued to shoot pissed off looks at Uncle Zack, who finally just sat down on the floor. I think he was dizzy too. If he's nice, I might share some of my painkillers with him. Probably not, though, because I like them an awful lot.

"Logan." Mom said in a condescending way only a mother could manage. "Leo's asleep. Even though you seem like you've lost basic common sense, I imagine you can handle watching your son." Dad didn't say a word, but the brief flash of anger that flashed over his face was the first sign of emotion that he'd shown since he'd walked in the room. Mom crossed the room and kneeled at my side. "Can you walk, honey, or do you need some help?" She asked, her voice warm and comforting. I swiped the back of my hand across my face, suddenly feeling like I was seven instead of seventeen.

"I'm fine." I said, hating the fact that even my voice sounded childish. Mom helped me unsteadily to my feet, carefully avoiding moving my arm. Instead of helping her brother the same way she helped me, she just glared at him. "Get in the car, Zack." She said, her voice frigid.

Once we were quietly in the elevator, I was leaning against Mom's shoulder for a lack of anything better to hold me up. "Well, Zack, if that doesn't teach you to use the front door, I don't know what will." She said, gesturing to the bloody dishcloths that he was holding against his left arm.

"What would Lydecker say?" Uncle Zack replied, and unless I was hallucinating, which wasn't out of the question, with a sarcastic smile. "I just got knifed by my teenage niece."

It's sad that all my life, Uncle Zack wasn't entirely comfortable around me. Now that I stabbed him, he was almost sounding proud. If I would have known that, I would have grabbed knife last time he paid us a visit.