Chapter One-Hundred and Fifty-Three

Clarissa smiled as she made her way through the living room, chuckling at the sight before her. John was passed out on the sofa, one arm wrapped around Claire as she napped against his chest. She brushed her fingers through John's hair, chuckling at the way his nose wrinkled up. "Oh Johnny…" She remembered the first time she'd seen him, he'd only been in kindergarten with Claire. His hair had been dirty and unbrushed, he'd been the smallest in his class, and every time the teacher had gotten close to him, he'd shied away. How she'd missed those signs of abuse in him, she had no idea, but the guilt of letting him continue to live that way still haunted her to this day. "I wish I had known…"

He moaned in his sleep, his head turning until his nose was buried in Claire's hair. "No…"

Clarissa moved away from him, recognizing the signs of a nightmare as his muscles tightened and his brow furrowed. "Please don't be too bad…"

Claire woke a few seconds before the nightmare set in completely, nudging John awake as he began to cry out in his sleep. "Babe." She mumbled, kissing his lips as he woke. "Nightmare again."

He sighed, leaning his head back on the arm of the couch as he began to relax. "Sorry."

Clarissa smiled, waving at the young couple to follow her downstairs to the basement. "Come on you two, I've got something to show you."

John pushed himself up, taking Claire's hand as they walked to the basement.

"Close your eyes." Mary smiled, taking their hands as they cover their eyes. She led them down the stairs, stopping right in the middle of the room. "Open them!"

"Holy shit…" John breathed, looking around at the sound proofing and the recording equipment placed in the room. "Is this our own recording studio?"

Asher wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow, placing his hammer in the toolbelt at his hips. "Yep."

John looked up at the school, his time for play had passed, and it was time for him to go back to school. He swung his leg over the seat of his motorcycle, tucking his helmet under his arm, letting Chance out of the side car she rode in, and placing his sunglasses over his eyes. He sneered at a few of the kids who were watching him with fear, making sure they knew he was an alfa even with his limp and addictions. Sure, he wasn't interested in fighting anymore, but Principal Anderson had been calling nearly every day about boxing team try-outs and he was determined to find a way to show that he wasn't weak.

He stopped at his locker, taking his Spanish book out and slamming it closed before he started toward his class. He glared at Mrs. Hernandez as he walked in with Chance as his heals, slamming his book down on his desk as letting Chance curl up on his coat to settle down for the class.

Toby leaned forward, tapping John on the shoulder. "Hey, Bender." He smiled as John turned around, offering him a lunch bag of chocolate chip cookies that he and his sister had made. "Emma and I made these for you. She saw you with Claire after the storm and she thought you were looking like you needed some comfort food."

John chuckled, taking the cookies from the blond. "Thanks man. Means a lot right now."

Toby grinned, noticing that in the last few weeks John's weight had dropped drastically. "You're trying out for the boxing team, right?" He asked, knowing that John would be in at least one weight class lower than he should be. "Because you're gonna need a little more weight on you."

John nodded, fighting the urge to eat the cookies with the knowledge that they would all come up again if he did eat them. "Don't worry, I'll get some weight packed on soon."