Chapter Two-Hundred and Ninety
Claire pulled John's jacket closer around herself, feeling the back of the stitches that displayed his many monikers against her shoulders. She'd spent six days on the jacket, stitching each letter into the leather with careful consideration. The lining still smelled like him. The salt of his sweat, the oil and metallic tang of the shop, the sweet scent of his deodorant, the musk that always seemed to gather around him, and just a hint of baby powder from holding the quads and Johanna.
Jessica grabbed the collar of the jacket, ripping it away from Claire's shoulders. "You did a shit job with this! You'll never be a fashion designer. All you'll ever be is a boyfriend stealing whore!" She tore the coat in half, right through the middle of the words 'El Jefe' and the 'Uncle Johnny' beneath the image of a healing heart in the center. "He's just gonna leave you when he gets out of the hospital, so what's the point of even keeping his shit? I'd just throw it out. Who knows, maybe you'll actually make a few bucks off of his sorry ass."
Claire fought the tears as she looked at the two halves of John's jacket, growling as she lunged at the snake. "Don't you say that about him!" She screamed, wrapping her hands around her throat. "How do you like being choked?" She cried, forcing Jessica to the ground and beating her fists into the other teen's body. "He's in the fucking hospital because of you! He can't even support his own head! And you're telling me to give up on him?" She let a broken sob escape her as Andy pulled her off of Jessica, turning into his chest and beating her aching hands weakly against his chest. "I will never give up on him. Not even when hell freezes over."
Jessica pinched her bleeding nose, blocking the blood. "I call dibs on him! You knew I loved him! And you stole him from me!" She turned her back on Claire, glancing over her shoulder and glaring at her. "I thought we were friends."
John coughed, his throat grating with each harsh breath. "Uncle… A-sher?" He barely cracked his eyes open as Asher wiped his chin of the spit. "I… want to go home…"
Asher placed his hand on John's head, adjusting the feeding tube and moving his oxygen canula to where it would be more comfortable for him. "I know, Kiddo… I know." He wiped John's chin again, listening to his labored breath as he tried to fight the infection in his lungs.
"Want… Cl-aire." He hacked in the middle of her name, wheezing when his breath tried to return.
"She'll be here soon." Asher smiled, moving John's head back into the proper positioning. "Just another hour and school will be out." He handed John a paper, helping the teen unroll it to show the high school diploma. "You graduated early. The homework you filled out last week was just a few tests from the accelerated classes at school."
"I'm… graduated?" He croaked, his lips quirking upwards in a weak smile.
Asher nodded, offering John a drink of water. "Yep."