Someone had to be trying to blind him.

The light in his room was never this bright. Opening his eyes as he woke up was out of the question. Instead, TJ opted for keeping his eyes shut.

If he wasn't in his room, then where the hell was he?

. . .

It took a moment for him to remember. He was walking, realized he went a little too far, then Mikey was there. . .he was outside of his house and told him to call 911. He was in the hospital then.

Damn, did he really want to open his eyes then? No doubt his parents were called and probably waiting for him to wake up. But did Mikey tell them anything? How much? And he was going to tell the other about this, even if he didn't tell his parents.

All this because he indulged a little too much. Fuck.

He felt someone run their fingers through his hair. He could feel that a part of his scalp close to his hairline was exposed to the open air. A nurse probably stitched it up. Any other injures, he would have to open his eyes to see.

Welp, it has to happen sooner or later.

ZZZ

"We can leave for the cabin the day after school lets out for winter break, and stay there a week, and come home in time for Christmas," said Spinelli. "So pack for a week. And figure out who you're sharing a room with because if we don't we're going to be fighting over beds."

The day after Mikey found his friend outside his house, bleeding profusely in his arms as he slipped into unconsciousness, Mkey was questioning his choices in this situation. Never one to approach anything with aggression (unless absolutely needed), he want to take the slow and steady route with this, but now, he had to ask himself if, maybe, he was wrong. Sure, Spinelli's method was pushing TJ away but, it maybe he wouldn't have ended up like Mikey saw him last night.

So many maybe's and if's. . .

"You okay, Mikey?" Gus asked. "You've been quiet this whole time."

"Huh? Oh, yes. I'm fine, Gus," Mikey said. "Just thinking. . ."

"Speaking of winter break, anyone see TJ? Kinda gotta tell him this since he's coming," Spinelli said, folding her arms. "He's not at his table."

"He wasn't in class earlier. I don't think he came today," said Gretchen.

"He's in the hospital," Mikey said.

"The hospital?"

"What happened?"

"I was about to go to sleep when I got a text from him to come outside, and when i did he was there and looked like he got hit by a truck. He told me to call 911 and then passed out. So I did," he explained. "I think he went back to that group that we found beating him up."

"You know he keeps saying he doesn't to die, but he sure as shit doesn't act like it," Spinelli snapped. "How bad was it Mikey?"

"He was bleeding a lot, and he was barely standing when I got to him," he said. "He told me not to give him any shit about this."

"Of course he would say that," she said. "I just want know what's going on in his head, that's all."

"We all do, Spin," Vince said. He couldn't help but think back to Saturday when TJ told him he was going out to that group again. "So are we going over to his house after school?"

"Damn right."

ZZZ

As soon as he open his eyes, his mother was giving him a hug. A hug that felt like it was crushing his chest and forcing the air out of his lungs. His father had to remind her that she wasn't supposed to be doing that. Once the morphine helped the pain subside, he was able to take in everything his doctor was trying to tell him.

While he was right about his rib not being broken, it was severely bruised. But that was just one on a laundry list of injuries.

"TJ, what on Earth happened?" His mother asked once the doctor left.

Well he couldn't tell her what actually happened. So he did something he was great at. Lie.

He spun a story about going out to get some air and a random gang jumping him for his money. His parents, of course, wanted to go to the police, but he told them that he didn't remember what they looked like. It was night after all. For now, that seemed to get them off his case.

. . .

He really didn't like to make his mother worry, though. Both his parents, as far as they knew, had stopped the whole cutting himself not long after going to therapy. They didn't need to know about this, and he sure as hell didn't need to go back to therapy.

This morphine, though, he could go without it.

The doctor told him to avoid heavy lifting, or any sort of strenuous activity, and to get some rest for the next two or three weeks. Which means two or three weeks out of school. Pretty much until winter break. But he was checked out of the hospital by mid-afternoon with a prescription for some pain meds that he probably wasn't going to take.