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Chapter 20

Mack opened her eyes before looking around. She saw five blurry figures. She rubbed her eyes and saw that the blurry figures were Bailey, Keisha, Adam, Teagan and her mom. The memories flooded back to her. Calum and Alyx, Mr. Boucher, Troy...

"Where's Troy," she said worried.

"He's in surgery to get the bullet out. He's going to be just fine, sore but fine," Elaine said.

Mack frowned slightly. Troy was in surgery and she came out with bruises around her neck. She didn't think it was quite fair. Troy was only trying to save her.

"Where's dad?"

"He's up in the waiting room, just in case." Mack shut her eyes, knowing that just in case meant if something bad happened.

"We were so worried," Bailey said as the group made their way to Mack's bed side. "We went looking for you after you ran off, but you were gone."

"Yeah, you scared us," Adam said.

"I'm going to go up with your father," Elaine said walking out the door.

"Where's Calum," Mack asked looking around the room.

Bailey and Keisha both grimaced at the name and exchanged glances. Teagan saw this and decided to tell Mack himself. "He thought you probably didn't want to see him. What with him and Alyx..."

Mack shut her eyes, reliving the moment she walked into the gym to see Calum and Alyx kissing. She nodded as her heart began to break for a second time. Calum had been the first person she ever felt that way about. She thought what she had with Calum was special. 'But,' she thought. 'I guess he thought otherwise.'

"We know that it hurts," Keisha said. "You can let out your feelings. He already did."

"Keisha," Bailey scolded, slapping her arm lightly.

"What do you mean," Mack asked.

"He's hurting pretty bad," Adam answered. "He feels horrible."

"Is he going out with Alyx now?"

"No," Teagan said. "Definitely not."

Mack laid her head back down on the pillow. "Do you guys know when I'm getting out of here," she asked, having had enough of talking about Calum.

"Your mom said that the doctors just have to okay you. It's just going to be like a physical probably," Bailey said.

"I can't believe Troy got shot," Mack whispered.

"He'll be okay," Teagan said sitting next to her on the bed.

"Yeah, he's going to be just fine. He's a fighter Mack," Adam said. "A little bullet's not going to stop him."

"Of course," Mack said quietly.

"We've got to go, we'll see you later?"

"Yeah," she said. "Later."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Calum slammed the door behind him and sat at the kitchen table opposite Cam. The younger of the Boucher brothers laid his head on the table, making the older- who was finish a lab report- look up. "What's up?"

"My life's ruined."

Cam shook his head. "You're too young to have your life ruined. You're fourteen."

"I'll be fifteen soon."

"Oh, big difference." Cam pushed the lab report to the side. "What happened."

"Alyx happened," he said flatly.

"What is an 'Alyx' and what does it have to do with your life being ruined?"

"An 'Alyx' is a girl and she kissed me, then Mack walked in...then Mack ran out and got kidnapped."

"Yeah, I knew the second part," Cam said, his eyes narrowing. "You were the reason why this happened. Troy called me told me about Mack. You, tell me about Alyx...now!"

"She had my backpack and wanted something in return for it-"

"So you kissed her," Cam yelled.

"No, she kissed me!"

"But you kissed back?"

"I didn't mean to." He sighed. "Mack's at the hospital right now."

"I know, Chad called. Did you know Troy got shot?"

"No," Calum said laying his head back on the table.

"So you don't know who shot him," Cam asked.

Calum lifted his head up. "No, do you?"

"Yeah," Cam said. "Dad."

hsmhsmhsmhsmhsm

Mack walked up to where her father was standing. She had just been released and could go home anytime. Except for the bruises around her neck from the rope, Mack was fine physically. Mentally, emotionally...that was another story.

"How is he," she asked leaning against the wall like Jack was. He looked down at his daughter and smiled, before staring at the wall across the room.

"He's asking for you."

Mack looked up at her father, as if she didn't believe that Troy wanted to see her. Jack just kept looking at the wall and Mack was unsure whether that meant he was doing good or doing poorly.

She walked to the room that her mother said Troy had been assigned and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so she knocked again louder this time. Again there was no answer, so she opened the door slightly and peeked in. The television was on some sport channel, a rerun of a basketball game and she knew she was in the right room. Carefully, she walked in and took a seat in the chair farthest away from Troy.

His eyes were shut and Mack thought that he was asleep. He looked so peaceful that she didn't want to say anything, in fear that he might wake from his slumber. She turned her head so she could see the televised game.

"I won't bite you know," came a voice from the bed. Mack turned and looked at her brother. His eyes were open showing the 'Bolton Blues' that all the girls at East High fell in love with. She herself had those eyes; same shape, same color, but Mack hated her eyes. One of the reasons being they were Troy's eyes and they would always be Troy's eyes. He had had them first and when ever she was being talked to by a teacher that had had Troy, it was always, "you have your brother's eyes."

But, not only did they have the same eyes, they had the same hair, the same skin tone, the same nose, mouth, body structure. Mack smiled. "I have my dad's smirk though. Troy doesn't."

"You can come closer," Troy said, trying to get her attention. She scooted her chair a closer but stopped. 'Mack,' she scolded herself. 'You almost killed him because you were kidnapped. This is entirely your fault! If you hadn't run away like a cry baby when you saw Calum and Alyx this never would have happened. Why did your attitude change, if this had happened a year ago you would have slapped Calum and stormed off."

"Mack come here," Troy said gently, patting the mattress. She stood up and walked over slowly. After taking her time walking over, she sat down on the very edge of the mattress almost falling off. Troy held on to her, but she felt stiff. He sensed that she was blaming herself, so he hugged her even tighter. "I don't blame you," he whispered.

"But I do," she whispered back. "It's all my fault."

"No it's not," Troy said firmly. "It's not your fault that he kidnapped you and I didn't listen to Dad and ran in after you anyway."

She looked down, fake fascination of her shoes taking over her body. "Why weren't you with your friends when he took you. Keisha said you were alone."

"You mean they didn't tell you?"

"No."

"I would have thought Bailey would have told you," she said. She sighed. "We were walking down the hallway when Calum realized he left his backpack in the gym. He told us to wait up so we did. When he didn't come back, we went in looking for him...he was kissing another girl."

Troy's eyes narrowed. "Don't hurt him though," she said. Troy was about to say something when she stopped him. "I'm okay with it. Really I am."

"I never thought he would be one to do something like that."

"Me either, that's why I don't want you to hurt him. And plus, I want to stay friends with him and if you beat him up, he'll be scared away."

Troy's eyes returned to normal and he laid down in the bed. "How are you doing after your first hospital visit."

She laughed. "After seeing what you go through, I would hardly call it a hospital visit. I already get to leave." She sighed looking at Troy's arm. It was sewn up, another battle scar. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, this is probably the best hospital visit yet. I mean, I haven't been close to death at all." The siblings laughed together and Mack turned her head toward the door. 'We even laugh the same,' she thought remembering her former thoughts.

"You have some visitors," she said seeing a face up against the window of Troy's door. She could tell it was Chad because of the hair.

Troy looked up and shook his head. "Hey Danforth," he yelled. "Are you going to come in or just admire me from the window?"

The door opened and Chad walked in, holding a video camera. "Admire you? What's there to admire?"

"Very funny," Troy said sarcastically as Jason, Zeke, Cam and Ryan walked in. Ryan was holding a bunch of cards and Cam, Jason and Zeke all held presents.

"We haven't even been to school one day without you and these people come to Chad's door, 'are you going to visit Troy? Can you give this to him?' Jeez," Cam said, throwing a box of chocolates at Troy's head. Troy caught it with his good arm and looked at it. "I believe that one is from some freshman, Mack probably knows her, Shelly or something...I don't know."

Mack rolled her eyes and Troy threw the chocolates on the ground. "Even if I wanted to I can't eat any of these, hospital told me not to. You can have them," he told the group of boys. Cam dropped all of his on the floor, Jason and Zeke doing the same thing moments later. Ryan placed the cards on Troy's bedside table.

"So Troy, how are you feeling," Chad said, pushing buttons on the camera.

"Chad, I don't need a 'Troy in the Hospital Volume 12' video. I have a whole shelf full."

Cam laughed. "Chad told me that he tapes you every time you're in here, but I didn't think it was true."

"You should watch some of them, they're actually pretty good," Chad said. "My favorite is of Troy walking down the hall with an I.V. It's pretty funny."

"Because you're telling me to say stupid things," Troy said.

"I think they're pretty cool," Mack said, earning a shove from Troy.

"You're supposed to be on my side," he teased.

Chad laughed. "You're just jealous that she likes me better."

Troy smiled. "I know, I'm just so heart broken," he said dramatically.

Mack looked over at Chad, who was now pressing some more buttons getting a close up of Troy's wounded arm. 'What is he doing,' she thought to herself as she looked at Chad who was more focused than Mack had ever seen him.

So...why is Chad so focused?

Tell me what you think!

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