Chapter 34 of "Breaking Through"
A/N: Right after 33.
********* Chapter 34 *********
~~Nigel~~ I stumbled out of the brightly lit hospital and into the cold, wet air of a rainy London night. I couldn't breathe. I wasn't thinking straight. I was shaking like a leaf. Hailing for a cab, one soon pulled up to the curb and I slid into the backseat.
"Where'll it be tonight mate?" The cab driver turned and looked at me.
I thought for a minute. "The Old Red Lion. On High Holborn..." I couldn't remember the exact address to save my life...
"Don't worry. I'm quite aware of where the Lion is..." he smiled at me, then started driving away from the hospital.
We rode in silence, which was strange for London cab rides. The Lion was on the west side of London, so we had to go across town to get there. I leaned my head back against the seat and sighed. Frowning to myself, I worried about Jordan and how she was going to react to all this. I had just...up and left work, now I was up and leaving her at the hospital. My train of though wandered until I felt the cab driver tap me on the leg.
"Hey...we're here, mate."
I looked up at him. "Oh, sorry." I dug into my pocket and pulled out an American $20 bill. I handed it to him. "Here. Keep it."
"Is that all you've got?"
I nodded. "Yeah...the rest of my cash is in my bag...which is at home."
He handed the twenty back to me and hit the paid button on the meter. "You're gonna need this inside."
I smiled. "You sure?"
He nodded and motioned for me to get out of the cab. "Look here. This guy's piss drunk and he probably lives a LONG way away from here..." He pointed to a man sitting on the curb. "Don't worry about it."
Reaching forwards, I shook his hand. "Thanks." Climbing out of the cab, I took a look up at the face of the building. I hadn't been here in ages...
I pushed open the door and walked into the smoke filled room. It was relatively busy for being this late in the evening, but the Lion was one of the only all hours pubs in the city. Crossing the room, I sat down at a table against the back wall and was soon greeted by a woman taking drink orders. Ordering a pint of guiness, I smiled at her and then surveyed the rest of the room. It was still full of the same type of people who had been here when I was a kid. The smokers, the bohemians...outcasts of society, you know the type.
The woman brought my drink back and set it on the table before turning and heading for the other tables with their drinks. I took a sip off of mine and sighed. There was another bar where I could do the same thing...only that one was back in Boston with my life. My friends. My family. Only that bar was run by Jordan's dad...her dad...
The thought of it made me take a long drink off my pint and cough. I stared down at the table, tracing my fingers in the grain of the rough hewn wood. It was still like I remembered it...even though I never really drank here when I came here with my dad. I was too young, and it was after my mother had died and he started drinking again. Yet, he would drag me along and make me sit with him because he didn't want to leave me at the house by myself.
I drained the rest of my beer and motioned for another one to be brought to the table. While I was waiting, a man walked up and stood on the other side of the table from me. I looked up at him. "Yes?"
"You look like you need somebody to talk to...and you look familiar." He sat in a chair at the table and pulled a pack of smokes out of his pocket. He took one, stuck it in his mouth, and lit up. "You want one?"
Considering the fact that I didn't really care what I did at the moment, I nodded and took one. I hadn't smoked in probably...since I went to the States. But I still knew how. Placing it in my mouth, I reached for his lighter and lit mine. The acidic smoke burned down my throat as I inhaled, but I didn't cough. Reaching for my new beer as the woman set it down, I took a long drink off of it and shook my head. "You said I looked familiar?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Something about you reminds me of a friend of mine."
"Who's your friend?" I took another drag off the cigarette and exhaled deeply.
"You probably don't know him...I'm probably just being odd." He smiled and took a drink off the beer he had ordered. "Jon."
I swallowed hard. "Jon what?" Taking another breath, I exhaled the smoke into the room.
"Ugden." He looked at me funny. "Why, you know a Jon that comes here?"
"Came here." I glanced down at the table, then took another drink off my beer. Finishing that, I finished the cigarette as well. "Never mind though. I don't want to talk about it." I looked at him.
"Fine by me, mate. You don't have to talk." He ordered another two beers for himself and two for me. "You don't live here in London do you?"
"I used to." I shrugged. "And I'm back."
"Where do you live now?" He put the two beers in front of me. "Here. I know only someone who's come here before would be brave enough to try these."
Reaching for the bottle, I tipped it back and drank about half of it. "I've been here." I said as I set the bottle on the table. "What's it to you?"
"Nothing, I was just wondering, that's all." He shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Sorry if I made you mad."
"It's not you." I drank the rest of that beer and started on the next one. "I'm just not in the mood. Alright?" I coughed weakly and stared back down at the table top.
We sat in silence, drinking and staring. I must have shut up for an hour or so, because he was the first to speak. "Hey."
"What?" I looked across the table at him.
"It's been a while...when are you headed home? I've gotta get home to my girl." He stood up and extended his hand. "Nice meeting you."
Standing, I took his hand and shook it. "I'm going somewhere pretty close. I'll walk."
We both walked together up to the bar, and I laid the twenty on the bar. "Enough?" I looked at the woman who was in charge of tabs.
"Yeah." She started to make change for me, but I shook my head.
"Keep it." I nudged it towards her, then turned and walked out of the pub into the cold air. It was just before dawn, and the rain had stopped and was now just more of a mist. "If I don't see you around..."
"Yeah. Nice meeting you, mate." He handed me his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. "You'll need these." The man climbed into a waiting cab and drove off as I turned and headed down the street.
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I walked along the road in silence. I knew the way home. Sure, it was a little farther than I had let on...more like two miles, but I wanted to think. As I walked through the crowded buildings in Westside that were just coming alive for the morning business, I kept to myself. Turning the corner at the edge of town, I headed down a muddy dirt road which led to the edge of the city. The fact that I was wearing jeans and walking through knee high wet grass soon meant that the denim was damp up to my thighs. As I passed the houses on the edge of town, I started remembering all the times that I'd walked this road by myself. Now was just another one of those times.
The affects of the alcohol were starting to wear off, and I felt the tell tale sign of a headache forming in the back of my head. Reaching back into my pockets, I noticed the pack of cigarettes and the lighter. I pulled them out while I stopped walking. Staring at them in my hands, I contemplated lighting another one...and it didn't take long for me to put one to my lips and click the lighter. I slipped the pack and lighter back into my pocket, then continued walking towards the house.
~~Jordan~~ I opened my eyes and was at first confused as to where I was. Worriedly, I looked around before I remembered I was at Nigel's aunt's house. I glanced over at the other bed and noticed that it was still empty. Not wanting to go against the fact that he might be downstairs or on a couch, I got up, pulled a sweatshirt over my tank top, and headed downstairs.
I saw Nigel's aunt rummaging in the cabinets when I poked my head into the kitchen. She turned and smiled when she saw me in the doorway. "Good Morning."
Walking into the room, I looked around. "Morning..." I paused and looked at her.
"Not yet..." She sighed and looked out the window that faced the city. "He's not back yet."
"Oh." I sat down at the kitchen table and ran my fingers through my hair. "Has he called or anything?" I looked around the room at all the pictures on the walls. "Anything?"
"No." She turned and handed me a cup of coffee. "You're very lucky I keep coffee for the occasional guest that doesn't drink tea..."
I smiled and took the cup from her. "How'd you know that I don't drink tea?" I sipped the hot drink carefully, grateful for it being so warm. "Nigel tell you?"
"Yes, he did. When we were in the hospital. Are you hungry for anything?" She smiled and returned to the cabinet.
"No, thank you. I normally don't eat breakfast." I stood and walked over to the wall with my coffee. "Is this Nige?" I pointed to a picture on the wall.
She walked over behind me. "Yes, that's him when he was...17 I think. Cute little bugger he was...still is, mind you." Looking over the pictures she pointed another one out. "This is him and his mother. He was only seven when this one was taken."
"Was that before she got sick?" I looked over at Janice and took a sip of my coffee.
"Yeah...it was." She looked over at me. "So I take it he's told you?"
"About his mom, yeah." I nodded.
"Has he told you about how his dad reacted?" She turned and sat down at the table. "After she died?"
"Yeah I know he got in a big fight when he was 19 or so with him...that's why he joined the military." I sat at the table across from her. "Is there more?"
"There is...but..." She paused before continuing. "He has a tendency not to talk about his dad and his past right?" When I nodded, she nodded too. "Yeah...have you ever seen him without a shirt on?"
"I...when he was in the hospital but he was so bandaged up that I couldn't see any skin..."
"Well...right after she died, Jonathan got very withdrawn. He would drink...a lot and Nigel would just try and stay out of his way if he got mad." She sighed. "There was this one night...it was in the winter...coldest one we've had in a long time. It was about a year after she died...Jonathan was out drinking with a group of buddies, as usual, and he left Nigel home alone for once. The house they lived in didn't have heat yet, so they used the fireplace to keep warm...Nigel started a fire in the fireplace while Jonathan was gone. It was a good fire...Nigel knew how to use it and what not to do, but Jon didn't want him to start one while he wasn't home." She took a sip of her tea and sighed.
"What happened to him?" I looked at her and took a drink of coffee.
"When Jonathan got home, he got mad at Nigel for starting a fire...he knocked him around a little bit...but the worst was when Nigel tried to fight back." She looked at me. "Jonathan grabbed the fire poker out of the coals and laid it across Nigel's back to teach him not to play with fire." His aunt held her hands about a foot apart. "He's got a scar about this long."
I was in shock. "Oh my god...did he ever get Jonathan in trouble?"
"No. He was too afraid to do anything...so he just let the burn heal on it's own without any medication or help...so it's darker than most scars." She shook her head. "A shame really..."
"When did you find out about it?"
"When Nigel came to visit with me in the summer and him and his cousin went swimming down in the pond a few miles down the road. I went to go take them lunch and I saw it...asked him about it later that night and he told me everything." She stood. "More coffee?"
I shook my head. "I'm going to go walk around outside, if that's alright...?"
"Sure thing! Just be careful, it's a bit muddy outside because of last night's rain." She smiled at me.
"Okay." I stood up and headed up the stairs, changing into a pair of jeans and real shoes and putting my hair into a bun. As I walked down the stairs, I sighed to myself. I slipped out the front door and stood out on the porch. Yeah...muddy was right. Walking around the back of the house, I noticed that they had a barn or another building out back, and I decided to go check it out. I hiked up the slight hill and as I got closer, I realized that yes in fact it was a barn which held some sort of animal. The side door was open, so I walked in and heard the soft breathing of horses. Letting my eyes readjust to the light, I walked over to the stalls and saw two horses munching on hay. I sat and watched them for a moment, then decided that I would go back into the house and see if Janice needed help with anything.
I walked outside and scanned the road from my higher vantage point, and I saw someone walking towards the house. Tall...black hair...wearing what Nigel had been wearing yesterday...quickly, I headed down the hill and onto the dirt road, being careful not to slip on the mud.
~~Nigel~~ Pulling out the pack of cigarettes again, I lit another one and took a long drag off it as I walked. I looked up and saw Jordan standing on the road in front of the house. Coughing as the smoke tickled my throat, I took another deep breath as I walked, exhaling the smoke into the air. I stopped and finished the cigarette before I got any closer to the house and to Jordan.
I walked up to her and looked her in the eyes.
~~Jordan~~ He was smoking...something I'd never known him to do. When he looked at me, I saw straight into his mind. He was tired...he was cold...he had a headache and he was hurting so deep inside that I didn't know what to do. I tried to talk, but it didn't work...my voice wouldn't come. Swallowing hard, I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes because I couldn't help him.
"Walk with me." He looked up the road. "Please...I can't do it alone."
As we started to walk, past the house and continuing to head up the road, walking in silence. When we came to a heavier wooded area of the countryside, Nigel motioned for me to follow him off the road and down a small dirt path. I did, curious as to where we were going, but I was more concerned with Nigel's well being than where we were headed. After a while of walking through the trees, I couldn't stand it. "Nigel...where are we going?"
"Here." Nigel stopped at a large boulder and climbed up it and sat down. "Sit."
Climbing up the rock, I was surprised when I made it up without killing myself. "Alright."
"Now...stay here for just a second." He got up, climbed down the rock, and walked over to another, much smaller rock. He leaned over and picked it up, then grabbed a stick and started digging in the soil. He dug about six inches down until he stopped and pulled something wrapped in plastic out of the ground. He carried it back to the rock , climbed back up next to me, and sat back down.
"What's that?" I looked at it. A dirty piece of plastic.
He pulled the plastic off of it and looked up at me. "Did she...tell you about this?"
Looking down, I saw that it was a fire poker. I nodded. "Yeah...she did..." I looked up at him and saw tears forming in his eyes. "Nige...I...don't know what to say...to help you..."
"Jordan...right now...I don't know what's going on inside of me...I feel like I should be crying...screaming...sleeping...I don't know what I need to do myself..." He lowered his head into his hands. "I just...don't know..."
I leaned over and hugged him. As I held him, I smelled alcohol on his breath and smoke in his hair. "Nige...where'd you go last night?"
"Tried to drink away the pain but only made it worse." He coughed weakly and pulled away from me. "Worse."
I looked at him. His face was pale, his hair was wet and so were his jeans. His eyes were red from the smoke and the tears, and he looked like he hadn't slept in years. "Nigel...lets go back to the house...your aunt's pretty worried about you and you need to get some sleep."
He nodded, and I helped him up and we headed back for the house.
TBC...
**A/N: thanks for reading...hope you like it...reviews are loved!**
A/N: Right after 33.
********* Chapter 34 *********
~~Nigel~~ I stumbled out of the brightly lit hospital and into the cold, wet air of a rainy London night. I couldn't breathe. I wasn't thinking straight. I was shaking like a leaf. Hailing for a cab, one soon pulled up to the curb and I slid into the backseat.
"Where'll it be tonight mate?" The cab driver turned and looked at me.
I thought for a minute. "The Old Red Lion. On High Holborn..." I couldn't remember the exact address to save my life...
"Don't worry. I'm quite aware of where the Lion is..." he smiled at me, then started driving away from the hospital.
We rode in silence, which was strange for London cab rides. The Lion was on the west side of London, so we had to go across town to get there. I leaned my head back against the seat and sighed. Frowning to myself, I worried about Jordan and how she was going to react to all this. I had just...up and left work, now I was up and leaving her at the hospital. My train of though wandered until I felt the cab driver tap me on the leg.
"Hey...we're here, mate."
I looked up at him. "Oh, sorry." I dug into my pocket and pulled out an American $20 bill. I handed it to him. "Here. Keep it."
"Is that all you've got?"
I nodded. "Yeah...the rest of my cash is in my bag...which is at home."
He handed the twenty back to me and hit the paid button on the meter. "You're gonna need this inside."
I smiled. "You sure?"
He nodded and motioned for me to get out of the cab. "Look here. This guy's piss drunk and he probably lives a LONG way away from here..." He pointed to a man sitting on the curb. "Don't worry about it."
Reaching forwards, I shook his hand. "Thanks." Climbing out of the cab, I took a look up at the face of the building. I hadn't been here in ages...
I pushed open the door and walked into the smoke filled room. It was relatively busy for being this late in the evening, but the Lion was one of the only all hours pubs in the city. Crossing the room, I sat down at a table against the back wall and was soon greeted by a woman taking drink orders. Ordering a pint of guiness, I smiled at her and then surveyed the rest of the room. It was still full of the same type of people who had been here when I was a kid. The smokers, the bohemians...outcasts of society, you know the type.
The woman brought my drink back and set it on the table before turning and heading for the other tables with their drinks. I took a sip off of mine and sighed. There was another bar where I could do the same thing...only that one was back in Boston with my life. My friends. My family. Only that bar was run by Jordan's dad...her dad...
The thought of it made me take a long drink off my pint and cough. I stared down at the table, tracing my fingers in the grain of the rough hewn wood. It was still like I remembered it...even though I never really drank here when I came here with my dad. I was too young, and it was after my mother had died and he started drinking again. Yet, he would drag me along and make me sit with him because he didn't want to leave me at the house by myself.
I drained the rest of my beer and motioned for another one to be brought to the table. While I was waiting, a man walked up and stood on the other side of the table from me. I looked up at him. "Yes?"
"You look like you need somebody to talk to...and you look familiar." He sat in a chair at the table and pulled a pack of smokes out of his pocket. He took one, stuck it in his mouth, and lit up. "You want one?"
Considering the fact that I didn't really care what I did at the moment, I nodded and took one. I hadn't smoked in probably...since I went to the States. But I still knew how. Placing it in my mouth, I reached for his lighter and lit mine. The acidic smoke burned down my throat as I inhaled, but I didn't cough. Reaching for my new beer as the woman set it down, I took a long drink off of it and shook my head. "You said I looked familiar?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Something about you reminds me of a friend of mine."
"Who's your friend?" I took another drag off the cigarette and exhaled deeply.
"You probably don't know him...I'm probably just being odd." He smiled and took a drink off the beer he had ordered. "Jon."
I swallowed hard. "Jon what?" Taking another breath, I exhaled the smoke into the room.
"Ugden." He looked at me funny. "Why, you know a Jon that comes here?"
"Came here." I glanced down at the table, then took another drink off my beer. Finishing that, I finished the cigarette as well. "Never mind though. I don't want to talk about it." I looked at him.
"Fine by me, mate. You don't have to talk." He ordered another two beers for himself and two for me. "You don't live here in London do you?"
"I used to." I shrugged. "And I'm back."
"Where do you live now?" He put the two beers in front of me. "Here. I know only someone who's come here before would be brave enough to try these."
Reaching for the bottle, I tipped it back and drank about half of it. "I've been here." I said as I set the bottle on the table. "What's it to you?"
"Nothing, I was just wondering, that's all." He shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Sorry if I made you mad."
"It's not you." I drank the rest of that beer and started on the next one. "I'm just not in the mood. Alright?" I coughed weakly and stared back down at the table top.
We sat in silence, drinking and staring. I must have shut up for an hour or so, because he was the first to speak. "Hey."
"What?" I looked across the table at him.
"It's been a while...when are you headed home? I've gotta get home to my girl." He stood up and extended his hand. "Nice meeting you."
Standing, I took his hand and shook it. "I'm going somewhere pretty close. I'll walk."
We both walked together up to the bar, and I laid the twenty on the bar. "Enough?" I looked at the woman who was in charge of tabs.
"Yeah." She started to make change for me, but I shook my head.
"Keep it." I nudged it towards her, then turned and walked out of the pub into the cold air. It was just before dawn, and the rain had stopped and was now just more of a mist. "If I don't see you around..."
"Yeah. Nice meeting you, mate." He handed me his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. "You'll need these." The man climbed into a waiting cab and drove off as I turned and headed down the street.
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I walked along the road in silence. I knew the way home. Sure, it was a little farther than I had let on...more like two miles, but I wanted to think. As I walked through the crowded buildings in Westside that were just coming alive for the morning business, I kept to myself. Turning the corner at the edge of town, I headed down a muddy dirt road which led to the edge of the city. The fact that I was wearing jeans and walking through knee high wet grass soon meant that the denim was damp up to my thighs. As I passed the houses on the edge of town, I started remembering all the times that I'd walked this road by myself. Now was just another one of those times.
The affects of the alcohol were starting to wear off, and I felt the tell tale sign of a headache forming in the back of my head. Reaching back into my pockets, I noticed the pack of cigarettes and the lighter. I pulled them out while I stopped walking. Staring at them in my hands, I contemplated lighting another one...and it didn't take long for me to put one to my lips and click the lighter. I slipped the pack and lighter back into my pocket, then continued walking towards the house.
~~Jordan~~ I opened my eyes and was at first confused as to where I was. Worriedly, I looked around before I remembered I was at Nigel's aunt's house. I glanced over at the other bed and noticed that it was still empty. Not wanting to go against the fact that he might be downstairs or on a couch, I got up, pulled a sweatshirt over my tank top, and headed downstairs.
I saw Nigel's aunt rummaging in the cabinets when I poked my head into the kitchen. She turned and smiled when she saw me in the doorway. "Good Morning."
Walking into the room, I looked around. "Morning..." I paused and looked at her.
"Not yet..." She sighed and looked out the window that faced the city. "He's not back yet."
"Oh." I sat down at the kitchen table and ran my fingers through my hair. "Has he called or anything?" I looked around the room at all the pictures on the walls. "Anything?"
"No." She turned and handed me a cup of coffee. "You're very lucky I keep coffee for the occasional guest that doesn't drink tea..."
I smiled and took the cup from her. "How'd you know that I don't drink tea?" I sipped the hot drink carefully, grateful for it being so warm. "Nigel tell you?"
"Yes, he did. When we were in the hospital. Are you hungry for anything?" She smiled and returned to the cabinet.
"No, thank you. I normally don't eat breakfast." I stood and walked over to the wall with my coffee. "Is this Nige?" I pointed to a picture on the wall.
She walked over behind me. "Yes, that's him when he was...17 I think. Cute little bugger he was...still is, mind you." Looking over the pictures she pointed another one out. "This is him and his mother. He was only seven when this one was taken."
"Was that before she got sick?" I looked over at Janice and took a sip of my coffee.
"Yeah...it was." She looked over at me. "So I take it he's told you?"
"About his mom, yeah." I nodded.
"Has he told you about how his dad reacted?" She turned and sat down at the table. "After she died?"
"Yeah I know he got in a big fight when he was 19 or so with him...that's why he joined the military." I sat at the table across from her. "Is there more?"
"There is...but..." She paused before continuing. "He has a tendency not to talk about his dad and his past right?" When I nodded, she nodded too. "Yeah...have you ever seen him without a shirt on?"
"I...when he was in the hospital but he was so bandaged up that I couldn't see any skin..."
"Well...right after she died, Jonathan got very withdrawn. He would drink...a lot and Nigel would just try and stay out of his way if he got mad." She sighed. "There was this one night...it was in the winter...coldest one we've had in a long time. It was about a year after she died...Jonathan was out drinking with a group of buddies, as usual, and he left Nigel home alone for once. The house they lived in didn't have heat yet, so they used the fireplace to keep warm...Nigel started a fire in the fireplace while Jonathan was gone. It was a good fire...Nigel knew how to use it and what not to do, but Jon didn't want him to start one while he wasn't home." She took a sip of her tea and sighed.
"What happened to him?" I looked at her and took a drink of coffee.
"When Jonathan got home, he got mad at Nigel for starting a fire...he knocked him around a little bit...but the worst was when Nigel tried to fight back." She looked at me. "Jonathan grabbed the fire poker out of the coals and laid it across Nigel's back to teach him not to play with fire." His aunt held her hands about a foot apart. "He's got a scar about this long."
I was in shock. "Oh my god...did he ever get Jonathan in trouble?"
"No. He was too afraid to do anything...so he just let the burn heal on it's own without any medication or help...so it's darker than most scars." She shook her head. "A shame really..."
"When did you find out about it?"
"When Nigel came to visit with me in the summer and him and his cousin went swimming down in the pond a few miles down the road. I went to go take them lunch and I saw it...asked him about it later that night and he told me everything." She stood. "More coffee?"
I shook my head. "I'm going to go walk around outside, if that's alright...?"
"Sure thing! Just be careful, it's a bit muddy outside because of last night's rain." She smiled at me.
"Okay." I stood up and headed up the stairs, changing into a pair of jeans and real shoes and putting my hair into a bun. As I walked down the stairs, I sighed to myself. I slipped out the front door and stood out on the porch. Yeah...muddy was right. Walking around the back of the house, I noticed that they had a barn or another building out back, and I decided to go check it out. I hiked up the slight hill and as I got closer, I realized that yes in fact it was a barn which held some sort of animal. The side door was open, so I walked in and heard the soft breathing of horses. Letting my eyes readjust to the light, I walked over to the stalls and saw two horses munching on hay. I sat and watched them for a moment, then decided that I would go back into the house and see if Janice needed help with anything.
I walked outside and scanned the road from my higher vantage point, and I saw someone walking towards the house. Tall...black hair...wearing what Nigel had been wearing yesterday...quickly, I headed down the hill and onto the dirt road, being careful not to slip on the mud.
~~Nigel~~ Pulling out the pack of cigarettes again, I lit another one and took a long drag off it as I walked. I looked up and saw Jordan standing on the road in front of the house. Coughing as the smoke tickled my throat, I took another deep breath as I walked, exhaling the smoke into the air. I stopped and finished the cigarette before I got any closer to the house and to Jordan.
I walked up to her and looked her in the eyes.
~~Jordan~~ He was smoking...something I'd never known him to do. When he looked at me, I saw straight into his mind. He was tired...he was cold...he had a headache and he was hurting so deep inside that I didn't know what to do. I tried to talk, but it didn't work...my voice wouldn't come. Swallowing hard, I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes because I couldn't help him.
"Walk with me." He looked up the road. "Please...I can't do it alone."
As we started to walk, past the house and continuing to head up the road, walking in silence. When we came to a heavier wooded area of the countryside, Nigel motioned for me to follow him off the road and down a small dirt path. I did, curious as to where we were going, but I was more concerned with Nigel's well being than where we were headed. After a while of walking through the trees, I couldn't stand it. "Nigel...where are we going?"
"Here." Nigel stopped at a large boulder and climbed up it and sat down. "Sit."
Climbing up the rock, I was surprised when I made it up without killing myself. "Alright."
"Now...stay here for just a second." He got up, climbed down the rock, and walked over to another, much smaller rock. He leaned over and picked it up, then grabbed a stick and started digging in the soil. He dug about six inches down until he stopped and pulled something wrapped in plastic out of the ground. He carried it back to the rock , climbed back up next to me, and sat back down.
"What's that?" I looked at it. A dirty piece of plastic.
He pulled the plastic off of it and looked up at me. "Did she...tell you about this?"
Looking down, I saw that it was a fire poker. I nodded. "Yeah...she did..." I looked up at him and saw tears forming in his eyes. "Nige...I...don't know what to say...to help you..."
"Jordan...right now...I don't know what's going on inside of me...I feel like I should be crying...screaming...sleeping...I don't know what I need to do myself..." He lowered his head into his hands. "I just...don't know..."
I leaned over and hugged him. As I held him, I smelled alcohol on his breath and smoke in his hair. "Nige...where'd you go last night?"
"Tried to drink away the pain but only made it worse." He coughed weakly and pulled away from me. "Worse."
I looked at him. His face was pale, his hair was wet and so were his jeans. His eyes were red from the smoke and the tears, and he looked like he hadn't slept in years. "Nigel...lets go back to the house...your aunt's pretty worried about you and you need to get some sleep."
He nodded, and I helped him up and we headed back for the house.
TBC...
**A/N: thanks for reading...hope you like it...reviews are loved!**