Chapter Two-Hundred and Eighty-Nine
Thomas glared at Leon as he paced before the judge. "My son, Johnathan, is currently in critical condition thanks to Leon's act of attempted hanging." He showed a photo of John in the hospital, placing several enlarged pictures of the torn skin, around his throat, the bruises on his body and face, the x-ray of his left foot that showed the broken toes, and an image that showed the swelling inside of his throat taken with a scope. "He's on oxygen, sedatives, and anti-inflammatories. He's bedridden, unable to support his own head, and is in capable of staying awake for more than a few minutes."
Leon barked a laugh, placing the note on the stand. "That kid wanted to die. He wrote a note, and asked me to deliver it after he passed."
"I saw you kick the chair out from under him!" Thomas shouted, his eyes landing on the ring around Leon's neck. "I saw the hope in his eyes, the joy at seeing us. He didn't want to die."
"Look in the kid's mental files. Depression. PTSD. Anxiety. Not to mention the other fucked up things about him." He tucked John's ring into his shirt, ignoring the glower he got from Dominic. "He's a druggy. Been high since he was a kid. You can't trust a damn word the little rat says."
Brian and Kaylie sat beside each other in the hospital cafeteria, sipping on burned coffee and stale donuts while they waited for John's treatments to be finished. He was getting his lungs drained of the fluid that had built up with the pneumonia.
"Do you think he'll recover?" Kaylie asked, picking at her food before she lifted her eyes to Brian. "I mean…"
"Do I think that he'll walk after this?" Brian shrugged, looking up as Clarissa and his mother walked into the room. "I'm not sure."
Mary patted the teens on the shoulders, smiling with the news. "John's lungs are drained, and he's in recovery."
John groaned as he came too, listening to the music playing to the right of him. "Allison…" He asked, blinking against the too bright lights of the recovery room.
She smiled, turning the cassette player down and stepping over to where he could see her better. "Morning."
"Hurts…"
She chuckled, knowing exactly what he meant. "Well, you did just have a tube stuck down your trachea and an infection pumped from your lungs." She combed his hair back, letting him go back to sleep and recover a little more.