Chapter One-Hundred and Fifty-Six

Mrs. Hernandez smiled as John slowly pushed himself to sit up, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder when she noticed the shaking in his muscles. "Ahí tienes." She soothed, noticing that his breath was rushed and the air was leaving his lungs in harsh breaths that were left from his years of smoking. "You're alright."

He looked at her, his brow furrowing for a moment, before he launched at her, his strong arms nearly crushing her in his hug. "Gracias." He breathed, squeezing his eyes shut as he found comfort in her arms. He'd never liked Mrs. Hernandez, but for some reason she'd changed her attitude toward him.

She shushed him, moving to sit on the sofa as to hold him better. "I know what happened…" She spoke in Spanish, knowing that the other teachers didn't know enough to know what they were talking about. "I know what they did."

John pushed away from her, fear in his eyes as she rolled the sleeve of her dress up to show the upside-down cross cut into her skin. "They… they?" He looked at her almost forgetting to speak in Spanish. "When?"

Her eyes softened, remembering the faces of two teens who'd looked far too much like this child as they'd abused her and taken every pleasure from her with that gang. "I was fifteen. I don't remember much of it… but I remember two young men who looked almost exactly like you in that gang." She handed John a towel so he could dry himself off better, noticing the new wounds on his back that showed that it had been the same gang. "They were twins…"

John's lip curled, remembering the day his father had tried to get him into the branch of the gang that had followed them to Chicago. "They were triplets actually." He growled. "They were my old man and my uncle. I never told anyone about the family being involved with the Dead Cross gang… but my granddad started it years ago… Jacob and Rueben got into it, and… part of initiation is you have to take someone at marked locations. And the first part of that… is before you can get a map to the locations… you have to willingly give yourself to the gang." He looked up at her, remembering how Jacob had bribed him with food. "Jacob… he tried to get me into it when I was nine… when I refused… he forced me to watch him take my mother. He tied me to the door, and when he caught me trying not to watch… he'd whip me until I watched." He took a breath, balling his fists. "I guess, I kinda got initiated anyway…"

Mrs. Hernandez gave a little smile, rubbing his back as Principal Anderson brought his clothes in along with Chance carrying his Converse. "It gets better with time."

Toby set a huge plateful of food in front of John, noticing the hunger and fear in his eyes. "Dude, eat. You've gotta put on ten pounds by next week."

John looked at Claire, hesitantly picking up his fork and taking a bite of the mashed potatoes. "This is too much…" He mumbled, swallowing before he continued. "I can't eat all of this."

Claire dropped her gaze, fully aware that John's body would most likely reject the food when he finished eating. "You can. It's just a matter of keeping it down."

He turned on her, confusion in his eyes. "How did you-"

"I heard you throwing up after dinner last night." She stated, turning back to her pizza. "And after lunch and breakfast."

He pushed his tongue into his cheek, looking up as Toby began munching on his salad. "If you really wanna lose weight, get drugged with a bunch of new drugs without a name and try to force yourself to eat."

Toby swallowed, his brow furrowing. "Don't you have any appetite anymore?"

John shook his head, looking around the table that the Breakfast Club had claimed from day one. "No. If I could live without eating, I would never think of it."

Andy pushed a can of Coke toward his friend knowing that was his favorite. "I heard Ryan and Sara talking about trying the tube again after your last weigh in." He took Allison's hand in his own. "But I think if they do it they're gonna sedate you to avoid the fight."

John nodded, knowing that tube was his best chance to gain what he needed. "As much as I hate that damn thing, I'd rather have that down my throat than be puking my guts out."

Toby looked between the group, puzzled as to what 'the tube' could be. "What is that?" He asked, noticing the look that passed between John and Claire that seemed to hold an entire conversation.

Claire sighed, resting her hand on John's as he began to act as if he were getting sick. "It's a feeding tube. Basically-"

"Excuse me." John stood, rushing toward the bathroom with a hand pressed to his stomach.

"Basically, it gets the nutrition he needs to survive into him, so that he can avoid that." She finished, watching as Brian stood to check on their friend. "See, he… already eats so little, and after he disappeared for those few days… he stopped eating completely. He hasn't had a solid meal in almost two weeks and when he does manage to keep one down, it's not near enough of what he needs."

Toby looked toward the restroom, hardly able to believe that John was able to go so long without a full stomach. "Woah…"