Chapter 13

Much of Bam's cereal had gone uneaten and turned into mush. He stirred his plastic spoon around in it slowly as he stared into space.

He was told that he was making a lot of progress but he didn't realize it. All he knew was, he didn't want to be in the hospital any more.

A few times a nurse or two came up to where he sat, to try to talk to him and bring him out of his thoughts. He either responded with a mumbled answer or he didn't respond at all.

That led the nurses to leave him alone. His body was seated at the table with his unfinished breakfast, but the rest of him was trapped in the dark room. The difference was, there were no mirrors following him and there was one light hanging overhead shining down on him, this was the only light in the room.

"Welcome back Bam." Came his voice from the far corner.

He turned and saw himself across the room, leaning against the wall casually.

The clean Bam smiled at him. "I knew I would see you here again."

Bam looked at him, then down at himself with a frown. From what he could see, without looking in a mirror, he was still very much a sobbingly mess. He looked up timidly at his counterpart.

"I don't understand what's going on."

"You don't have to. All you have to do is trust me again."

"What about…"

"The little guy? Once you are able to trust me again, you won't have to worry about him any more."

"You keep telling me to trust you, he keeps telling me to trust him. You're both saying that the other one is trying to hurt me. How do I know which one of you is telling the truth?"

"You make a good point there, Bam." He started to approach him, the smile still upon his lips. "But what I'd like to know is, why in the hell would you ever listen to a little kid?"

He was stunned at the question. He never thought about that until that moment. "I… I…" He stammered before closing his eyes.

The other Bam placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok Bam."

"You're just saying that."

"No I'm not. Please just trust me. I don't know how many times I can ask you that so…. What do you say? Give me another chance?"

"I… I don't know. I…"

"Bam please. Don't make me beg."

"What if you get me to trust you and it turns out to be a big mistake?"

"Damn it Bam! When you stopped listening to me, that's when everything got fucked up for you. You thought he was protecting you, but he's causing you more harm than good."

"No he didn't!"

"He's the reason why you're in the hospital!" he grabbed him by the sides of his face giving him a firm shake. "Wake the fuck up! For the sake of both of us, and everyone else…"

"No!" Bam pulled away from him. "I won't listen to you! Fuck off!"

The other Bam shook his head and threw his hands up in the air.

"I don't believe it. You're just going to give up? That's it?"

"Yup!"

"Ok. Ok fine. I didn't want to have to resort to this, but I guess it's the only way I'm going to get you to help yourself."

He clenched his fist and raised it. Pulling it back, he then put all his strength and force into it. His fist came forward, hard into the original Bam's face. He punched him again, this time drawing blood from his mouth. Another punch, this time much harder, caused him to fall back.

"You have enough you little bitch?" The clean Bam laughed as he stood over him. "I can and will give you some more!"

He stood over him and bent down to pick him up by his shirt collar. The injured Bam huffed as he struggled to balance on his feet. He tried to hit him back, but he was pushed back to the floor. He brought his arms up to block more punches, much to no avail. He was bruised and bleeding as the beating went on.

Finally the clean Bam stood back and lowered his fists, while his beaten equivalent lied on the floor struggling to sit up.

"So. Now are you going to let me help you? Or do you need a little more?"

Bam looked at him through the pain of his black eyes and tried to catch is breath. He mustered enough strength to nod his head.

"Are you agreeing to my help or saying you need more?"

"H…Help me." He sputtered.

"It's about time." He held his hand out for Bam to take.

Bam was reaching for his hand just as the scene was fading away. Someone touched him on the back, causing his to jump in his seat.

He glanced down at the still uneaten cereal then up at whomever was standing there.

"Oh Sorry Bam Bam, didn't think that was going to startle you so much." Said Phil with a smile.

"Oh uh… hi. I didn't know you were coming to see me today."

"Yeah your mom and I decided to stop by and surprise you."

"Hi Brandon!" April said cheerfully as she finally came up to the table where Bam sat.

Bam's eyes brightened and he smiled as he reached out for a hug. "Hi nice to see you."

"So how are you feeling Brandon?" Phil asked.

"I'm fine. Actually I'm a little better now that you're here." He paused. And looked at both of them for a second with a slight frown.

"What's the matter?" asked his mom in concern.

"Nothing… nothing just… could you maybe not call me Brandon or Bam Bam any more?"

His parents were taken aback, but they composed themselves.

"Oh of course."

"If it will make you feel better."

"It will. Just… call me Bam now. I uh…" He glanced away from them to gather his thoughts. "I think it will help me to be better."

April and Phil sighed in relief over Bam's words and sat down on either side of him. They both put their arms around him and they sat there for a while not saying a word.