A/N To Em0xstatic – I always pictured Mark dropping out of Brown after completing his sophomore year. That would make him 20. He and Roger graduated high school together, so Roger would also be 20. I figured about two years for him to move in with Roger, them all to be settled, Roger to date April and all that. Making Roger and Mark 22 ish at the beginning of Rent and 23 at the conclusion of the play. Roger and Mimi were together for three years before she died in early spring. Making Roger 26. About six months after Mimi died is when Cass shows up. At that point Roger is pushing 27 and that is the beginning of ASC. Just add Collin's age to 27. I also always figured Cass to have been right around the same age as Mark when they meet. That would make all three of them in the 26 – 27 age range when this story begins. Hope that answers your questions.
Chapter 93
"Collin I don't want to hear it! This place is a mess."
"But Uncle Mark-"
"I don't' care. We're going to dinner later. Izzy and Krystal are coming, they're bringing Mattie. You'll see him there."
"But he's my best friend."
"I know, I know. Now put down that guitar and come clean this room."
"It is clean." He shrugged.
"Let's go for cleaner." She told him, sniffing. "And you need to clean that hamster cage, it stinks."
"Okay." He told her as he reluctantly put his guitar in it's case. He took his hamster out of the cage and put it in the play ball.
"Ewww Collin! When was the last time you cleaned that cage?" She asked him, picking up laundry.
"I don't know." He shrugged.
"Well from now on, why don't you clean it every Saturday." She told him, opening one of the windows.
"Every Saturday?" He asked wide-eyed.
"Yes. Every Saturday." She said, moving to the other window, trying to open it. "That's one of the reasons we're not getting a dog."
"But Uncle Mark-"
"Forget it. We live on the fourth floor." She banged on the window. "Uncle Mark wants a dog, that's a fight you two need to have with your Aunt Mo." She banged on the stuck window frame again. "God, what is wrong with this stupid window." She banged again.
"Mommy!" Collin yelled, flipping around at the sound of the breaking glass.
Cass looked down at her hand, which had gone through the glass halfway to her elbow. She pulled it close to her as the blood gushed down her arm. She clasp her other hand over the gaping wound on her wrist. Cass felt her stomach flip flop as she looked at it. "Go get Uncle Mark!"
"Mommy!"
"Go get him now! Hurry up, okay? Mommy needs him."
Collin took off screaming for Mark from the second he was out the front door, all the way down the steps.
Mark was just starting upstairs with a load of laundry when he heard Collin's bloodcurdling scream for him. He dropped the basket and took off up the stairs. Meeting him on the second floor just as Jennifer opened her apartment door. Collins and Jason, hearing him in the stairway were running down after him. "What's the matter?"
"Mommy hurt her arm!" He cried. "She's bleeding real bad!"
"Collin stay with Jennifer!" Mark yelled at he started up the stairs two at a time followed by Collins and Jason. "Cass? Cass?" He burst through the door. Mark saw the blood on the floor leading to Collins' bathroom first. He rushed to the bathroom and froze when he saw her in there. She was sitting on the floor leaning against the tub. Blood was everywhere. On her clothes, her face, her chest. She had wrapped a towel around her wrist. Her eyes were closed and she was extremely pale.
Collins and Jason got there only a second or two after Mark, but he hadn't moved. Collins pushed past him, rushing at Cass. "Cass!" She picked her head up and looked at him, but her eyes had a vacant look to them.
"Holy Shit!" Jason exclaimed as Collins carefully lifted the towel off, exposing the deep gushing wound in her wrist and the cuts to her arm and hand. "It's okay Cass!"
"Mark call and ambulance!" Collins yelled at him. "Mark!"
"I'll get it." Jason told him, when Mark hadn't moved.
"Tell them to hurry! She's losing a lot of blood." Collins called to him as he heard Jason talking to the 911 operator. "Cass? Cass! Stay with me sweetie. What happened?" He asked her as he pulled off his belt and fastened it around her upper arm, trying to slow the bleeding.
"The window was stuck. It broke."
Collins kept talking to her, waiting for the ambulance. Rich, Jen's boyfriend, came thudding up the stairs in full uniform. "What happened? I just heard the call. I, oh my God Cass!"
"She was trying to open a window and it broke. Where the hell is the ambulance?" Collins asked still putting pressure on her wrist.
Rich got on his radio asking dispatch where the ambulance was. "They're pulling up now." He took off back down the stairs. When he returned the EMT's and another cop were following him.
The EMT's started talking back and forth to each other and Rich. "What's her name?"
"Cass. Cass Davis." Collins told them backing out of the bathroom.
"Did she take anything?"
"She take anything? Pills? Alcohol?"
"What?"
"Do you think it was an accident or did she try and kill herself?" The EMT asked, started an IV in her good arm. "She leave a note or anything?"
"No!" Collins broke in. "She was trying to open a window and it broke."
"Okay. We just need to know in case she may have taken something." They got her on a stretcher and started downstairs.
"I'm right behind you guys." Rich told them, before talking cop language into his radio.
"You'll drive us?" Jason asked Rich.
"Yeah no problem. Let me check in with Jen. You want her to keep Collin?"
"Um, yeah, till we figure out what's going on at least."
"Okay." He started towards the door. "Collins?" He gestured towards Mark who had backed up across the room, sitting on the floor against the wall, starring at the bathroom door.
Collins looked at him. "Yeah, we'll take care of it." He nodded.
********************
"Cass Davis?" The nurse called out to the waiting room.
"Yes? That's us."
"She's in recovery. You can come with me." They walked into the recovery area. The nurse pointed out Cass' bed. Her arm was covered in bandages and propped up. She was hooked up to an IV. He couldn't get over how pale and waxy she looked.
"Hey." She tried to smile.
"Hey." He sat down next to her, touching her cheek. "Don't do that again."
"What?"
"Scare the crap out of me."
"Sorry." She managed a small smile. "Where's Collin?"
"Getting his first official ride in a police car." He smiled. "Rich and Jen are taking him to my mom's."
"Is he okay?"
"He's a little freaked out. I told him you were okay and just needed stitches like in his head. I promised him you'd call him tomorrow."
"But he's okay?"
"He'll be fine. How are you?"
"Sore. Sleepy."
"Get some sleep." He leaned over and kissed her. "Love you Baby."
"I love you too Roger." She told him. Closing her eyes again.
"Mr. Davis?" The nurse called him. The surgeon is coming down. He'll be able to talk to you then."
"Oh thanks." He sat down and waited. Collins was on the phone in the corner. He hung up and walked over. Sitting down next to him. The surgeon came in and talked to them. Cass had severe lacerations. They repaired the vein, ligament, tendon and tissue damage, but she was going to need physical therapy. Most likely she'd be able to go home in two to three days.
"So she's okay."
"Yeah. I guess." Roger sighed.
"We kept trying to call you."
"Don't worry about it. It was my fault. I set my phone down in the back. We couldn't hear it while we were practicing anyway."
"Look Collin was pretty freaked out. Jen figured he'd be better off at your mom's. Especially with Mark all freaked out and all. I hope that's okay."
"Yeah. Yeah that was probably a good idea." Roger told him, staring at the doors to the recover room.
"Roger are you okay?"
"What? Yeah I guess." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his face. "No I'm not actually."
"Roger she's gonna be okay."
"I know. I know. I just… God Collins I've always thought of me dying, not her."
"I know. I thought of that tonight too." Collins looked at the floor.
"What if… what if she had Collins?"
"She didn't. She's going to be fine. It was just a stupid accident. That's all."
"But what if she had? And then I do? What about Collin? He's already freaked out!" He jumped out of his seat, paced a quick circle before throwing himself back into the chair.
Collins sighed. "I know. But she didn't. She's going to be fine. There was a lot of blood. He's a little kid. It was scary for him. For all of us. But she's going to be okay. He knows that."
"But someday I won't."
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes. "I know that. I won't either. But he's a tough little kid. He has to be. And someday he's gonna go through a lot cause we're both gonna die on him. But he' gonna be okay. He'll survive us. And he'll get over today too. Besides, right now, he's not the one I'm worried about."
"I'll be okay."
"Um, actually I was talking about Mark."
Roger looked up and looked around. He suddenly realized he hadn't seen Mark since he left for band practice early this afternoon and it was after eight at night. Mark was going to be home all day. Mark would have been the first person Collin would run to for help. Mark would never leave Cass alone. He should have been here the whole time.
When Rich walked into rehearsal to get him, he knew something was wrong. It being Rich didn't surprise him. Mark would never have left Cass. But when Roger got to the hospital, Mark wasn't here. It didn't occur to him at the time, he was too worried about Cass and Collin.
"Where's Mark? What's wrong with him?"
"Look Roger, it was Collin's bedroom window that broke. And you already know it was her hand and arm that got cut up. There was a lot of blood. A lot of blood. All over her, the floor. All over the bathroom. The old bathroom Roger.
"Oh Jesus." Roger dropped his head back into his hands.
******************
Roger softly knocked on the apartment door. A few seconds later Maureen opened it. "Hey. How's Cass?"
"She'll be okay. She'll need physical therapy. She can come home in a few days."
"Good. I called you mom. She said she got Collin to sleep okay. Rich let him show Larry how to work the lights and sirens." She got a small smile. "We almost forgot to pack his blanket. That would have been bad."
"Yeah," he got a small grin. "That would have been bad. He's a tough guy, as long as he's got his blanket at night." Roger looked around the small apartment. The TV was on with the volume turned down low and the lights were off. "Um, where's Mark?"
Maureen motioned towards the hall and stepped out, followed by Roger. She pulled the door most of the way closed, leaving it open only a few inches. She sat down on the steps leaving room for Roger to sit next to her. When he did she let out a long sigh. "I finally got him to go to sleep. I kinda wish he had a blanket. But since he doesn't I gave him two of those allergy pills that always make him sleepy."
"Is he okay?"
"I don't think so. Roger he's really freaked out." Roger just stared at the floor. When he didn't say anything she continued. "Look don't go freaking out on me too, okay? Promise?"
"Yeah, I'm okay Mo."
"No really Roger. Promise me. Don't freak out on me. Promise me."
He could hear the urgency in her voice and that was almost enough to freak him out. "Yeah Mo, I promise."
She took a huge shuttering breath. "Oh God Roger, it was just like before. Just like April." She started crying.
He put his arm around her and pulled her close. "I know Mo. I know."
"There was blood everywhere! And it was that bathroom! The same bathroom! You've got three of them now and she picked the same bathroom!"
"It's okay Mo."
"And Mark's all freaked out. It was just horrible. He's barely said anything all night. Roger I think he's losing it."
"He's not losing it. I'll talk to him. Okay? I promise. Just stop crying. Please."
She wiped at her tears and nodded her head. Maureen stood up. "Jason boarded up the window. He said he'll try and get it fixed tomorrow."
"Oh good." He looked up from his seat on the steps. "Is it a real mess upstairs?"
"Not now. I mean it was. That's why Jen made Collin sat at her place. But I got it all cleaned up."
"You did?" He was surprised.
"Of course I did. I didn't want you coming home to that." She paused for a second. "I cleaned it up last time too. After April." She said softly.
"You did? I didn't know that. I guess I always thought…. I guess I never really thought about it. I guess I should have known that."
"You had other things on your mind." She smiled at him, leaning on the doorframe. Just then they heard Mark calling out in his sleep. "Oh God."
"Let me go." He told her, walking into the apartment.
Maureen just nodded. She knew it all stemmed back to April. She was there. She used to hold Mark when he had the nightmares after that night. But she knew Roger would be the only one that would be able to comfort Mark tonight. She never understood the relationship between the two of them and tonight she didn't care if she ever understood it.
Roger walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. "Mark." He shook his shoulder. "Mark wake up! You're dreaming. Wake up."
Mark started to move some and opened his eyes. "Roger?"
"Yeah it's me. You awake?" He handed him his glasses as he sat back against the wall.
"How's Cass?" Mark sat up next to him, but didn't look at him.
"She'll be okay. You know she'll be pissed about not being able to type. They've got her whole hand and arm all wrapped up."
"Oh."
"Mark are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine." He told him flatly, not looking up.
Roger just nodded in the dark. "I heard it was pretty bad upstairs."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Mo and Collins said there was blood all over the bathroom."
"Uh huh."
"They said it looked just like before."
"I don't know what you mean."
Roger sighed. "Just like when April, you know, when April killed herself."
"Oh."
"It's not the same thing Mark. It was an accident. Cass will be fine." Mark just sat there not moving. "Are you okay?" Roger asked him. Mark took a deep breath, fighting back tears. "Mark?" He asked softly.
"I, I went for coffee." He said it so softly Roger almost couldn't hear him. "I went for coffee."
"What today? Mark it was an accident. The window was stuck. That's all."
"I got done early. I didn't want to come home. I knew you were at practice and I knew she'd be there. So I went for coffee."
"Cass?" Roger was confused, but Mark continued.
"I stayed out. I hung out at the coffee shop. I couldn't deal with her that day. I knew you'd come home from practice and you guys would leave. I hung out till I figured you'd be coming home soon."
Roger could tell by his breathing he had started crying.
"I stayed out. I should have come home. If I'd come home, I would have been here. I could have stopped her. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Roger. I should have come home. I'm so sorry."
"Oh Jesus Mark!" Roger put an arm around him and pulled him close. "Are you talking about April?"
"If I'd just come home. I would have been here."
"Oh God Mark. That was almost ten years ago! You've been walking around with that for ten years?"
"If I'd come home maybe I could have stopped her."
"Mark you couldn't have stopped her. It's not your fault. April did what she did. We couldn't stop her. You couldn't have stopped her. It's not your fault." Roger told him, rubbing his head, trying to calm him down.
"But if I--"
"No Mark!" Roger wiped the tears off his own cheeks that had started to form. "April wasn't your fault. Today wasn't your fault. It wasn't the same thing at all. Okay? Today was just an accident."
"I just feel like I should have done something." He sobbed.
"Mark you did a lot! But it wasn't your fault! None of it. You couldn't have stopped her. Okay? Tell me you understand that? You couldn't have stopped April, and what happened to Cass was an accident. Okay? Tell me you understand that!"
"I, I guess."
"Good." Roger didn't really believe him, but at least he had calmed down, and was talking. From what Mo and Collins said, he had a feeling this conversation was the most Mark had said all day. Roger knew this wasn't the end of it thought. He kept rubbing Mark's head till he fell asleep.
Maureen had been sitting on the couch listening to the whole conversation. She knew the reason Mark lost it today had to do with April, but she had no idea he'd been walking around all these years feeling that guilty about her. When she hadn't heard them say anything in awhile she got up to check on them. They were both asleep. Roger had slid down the wall. Mark was still leaning against him and he still had an arm around Mark.
She couldn't help but smile at them. She used to hate the way Roger took up so much of Mark's time and life. She was jealous of what they had and she knew it. When they were first together, so many years ago she used to wish Roger would just go away. That way she'd have Mark all to herself. Back then she wasn't very good at sharing.
Looking at them now, she couldn't imagine that. She couldn't begin to imagine either one of the without the other. In a way, they sort of completed each other. Not like she did with Mark or Cass did with Roger. But the two of them sort of made up one entity. They had both made it this far because of each other. She didn't know hot to describe it. They were more than friends, even more than brothers. She didn't understand them and honestly she didn't care if she ever did.
Maureen carefully laid a blanket across them before walking back into the living room. She couldn't stop thinking about them. Not just Mark and Roger, but all of them. So much had happened over the years. So many things. Maureen laid down on the couch, pulling the blanket over her. So, so much had happened. She realized thought it all how lucky they were to all be friends.
**********
A/N So Becca? Did I get you again? That was the point! Ha! I'm allowed to be evil like that sometimes!