Part 15: Another Brick In The Wall
A/N: Lalala! Guess what? I UPDATED! Heeheehee. I just got my Microsoft Word back, so...yeah. I was kind of having some technical difficulties, but NO LONGER! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHA! Um...yeah. So, let's get started with the story.
It had been two days since Joey had found Craig in an old house with Jay and some of his friends, smoking weed. Not a word had been spoken between the two. Craig couldn't look at Joey, and Joey couldn't look at Craig. It hurt Craig not to talk to Joey, but he couldn't get himself out of this problem.
He was about to talk to Joey, but looking up at him made him forget what he was about to say and he closed his mouth. Craig looked over at Alex, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged. She'd just gotten out of the shower and her hair was wet. Alex looked different without makeup and dry hair and earrings. But, nonetheless, she looked good.
Craig closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Joey and Caitlin were quiet when they talked, and Craig was starting to miss both of their voices. The only person that spoke openly and loudly was Angela, who had taken quite nicely to Alex.
Caitlin looked up at Craig, and then continued talking quietly to Joey. Craig desperately wanted to hear what they were saying. Alex pulled on Craig's arm, and they went upstairs so that they could get ready for school. Craig and Alex were simply comfortable getting dressed in front of each other. There was no "Don't look; I'm taking off my shirt". It was just, "Lalala. Let's get dressed."
They both went into the bathroom (or washroom, as y'all awesome-ass Canadians call it), and Alex put on her makeup and Craig combed his hair and brushed his teeth. When the two were done, they left the room and went downstairs. Craig skipped breakfast and they left for school.
Craig's car was the only place Craig ever really talked lately.
"I think they're scheming to get rid of me," Craig said, not taking his eyes off the road. "Scratch that. I know."
"They're not gonna get rid of you, Craig. Calm down. I'm sure there's a...perfectly good explanation for why they're talking the way they have been," Alex said.
"No, no. They've done it before," said Craig. He turned a corner and kept going.
"Well, then it's not like they'd do it again. They're probably just trying to torment you." When Craig pulled up to the school, he and Alex got out of the car and walked up the steps to the building. Craig knew that Caitlin and Joey had reasons to "torment" him, but he didn't see why they'd bother. After a few minutes, when Craig and Alex were at Alex's locker, JT and Liberty approached them. Craig rolled his eyes; he was getting sick of these two.
"What?" Craig demanded, turning and facing them.
"Oh, nothing," JT said in mock innocence. "I was just wondering...why do they let people like you out of the madhouse?"
"Hey, JT," Craig said. "Just wondering—how is it that you and Liberty have fun having sex? It's not like she can feel anything! He wore an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weenie, yellow, little condom-ini..." JT was instantly insulted. He had hoped that Craig would have hit him or something so that he would be the one that would get suspended. Alex, however, laughed, until Liberty slapped her.
Craig heard it and looked over. He laughed with anticipation of what Alex would do now; she never backed down from anything. Alex pushed Liberty into a locker and started punching her repeatedly in the face. She seemed to have no care for the fact that Liberty was pregnant; all she wanted was revenge. Liberty's lip was swollen and bleeding. JT was afraid to step in, but he wanted to help her. Desperately. Finally, JT got some courage and pushed Alex. Alex turned. When JT saw the look in Alex's eyes, he backed away several feet. Suddenly, Alex threw JT to the floor. Craig wasn't about to stop her; JT and Liberty were harassing them. It was NOT the other way around.
Eventually, when the younger couple was battered, they walked away. Alex closed her locker and she and Craig walked off contently. That was just about the only good thing that happened in Craig's day.
During lunch, Alex's father came to the school and said that he was there to get her and that he now had legal custody of her. Her demeanor changed completely when her father walked in. He looked decent; T-shirt and jeans, short, brown hair. Alex stared at him for a second, and then jumped into his arms. She was happy now; no more problems. Except...Craig. Her father lived far away. How was she supposed to see her friends now? Obviously, she had to break up with Craig, but she didn't know how.
Her father had a new family now, but she figured that they were all decent people. And this also meant that she would lose her job at the movie theater...oh, well. She'd have to deal with that reality someway. And at least now, she might have a chance to go to university.
"Dad?" she said quietly. "I have to go talk to someone really quick. So...you'll meet me here after school and take me home with you?"
"Yes, Alex," her father said, smiling softly. "I'll meet you here after school." Now, Alex had to find Craig. She believed he was serving detention with Ms. Kwan for saying something about JT's mom.
She stopped at Ms. Kwan's room and walked in. "Craig, I'm moving!" Alex cried. She was ecstatic, to say the least.
"What? Where?" Craig asked, standing up.
"To Vancouver! With my dad!" Alex answered.
"Vancouver?"
"Yeah. I know. But...it's my dad. And he's gonna pay for me to go to university. And I get to live with a stable family. He has a room for me and everything! He doesn't have a new girlfriend every week, and I can finally be happy again!"
"That's great."
"This isn't the way I wanted it to happen...between us, I mean. I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. I have...a lot of stuff to sort out with Joey right now." Alex hugged Craig and ran out of the room.
However, Alex leaving was just one of Craig's latest problems.
When he got home, the house was quiet...more than it had been in the last few days. Joey and Caitlin were sitting in the kitchen, not speaking. Craig went up to his room silently and put his stuff on his bed.
He sat down and waited to hear something: a yell, a scream...a whisper would suffice. But he heard nothing. Deciding that he was pretty much waiting for nothing, he got up and turned on his stereo. He listened to Jimi Hendrix for the next forty minutes. There wasn't much of a reason for him to make noise, so he kept the volume down. Caitlin, whom he'd seen pass his room about fifteen minutes ago, passed again, holding two suitcases. Craig stood up immediately and left his room, rushing toward her. He caught her at the end of the stairs.
Caitlin looked at him sadly. "Where are you going?" Craig asked.
"I'm leaving," Caitlin answered.
"When are you coming back?"
"I'm not." The words burned through Craig.
"Why?"
"You need Joey a lot more than I do right now. You need help, and I'm standing in the way of that."
"I don't need Joey. I'm seventeen now, Caitlin. I can take care of myself." Caitlin looked at him for a few moments.
"You need a lot more than Joey. You're doing drugs, and that's not helping you... Do you want me to tell you what I see when I look into your eyes?" she asked. Craig was silent. "I see a sad, frightened, pathetic little boy, too scared to face reality." Craig stared at her, shocked. Caitlin took her suitcases and left. Craig couldn't believe what she'd just said.
Pathetic little boy? He was far from that. Too scared to face reality. Pshh. Craig was sure that this wasn't the case.
That was the single rudest thing that Caitlin had ever said to him in his life. Suddenly, Craig realized that Angela wasn't home.
"Where the hell is Angela?" he shouted. Joey slowly looked up at the clock, and, seeing what time it was, jumped up.
"Screw it, Joey! I'll go get her!" Craig grabbed his keys and ran out the door. Angie was staying after school that day. She was on the after-school cheerleading squad. Craig didn't really have much of an opinion on that, but sadly, he thought, Angela would soon turn into the old, stuck-up Paige. He didn't even want to think about that. Whatever. It was just Angie.
After picking up the very unhappy, very annoyed little girl, Craig went straight home and they went inside.
Days passed. Craig had no idea what he was going to do. He didn't talk to Joey. Joey didn't talk to him. Craig had skipped breakfast every day for a week now to avoid a conversation. He fortunately hadn't lost any weight; he knew that skipping meals didn't make you lose weight anyway.
On the fourth day of Caitlin's leaving, Craig had just gotten home from his job at the Dot, and the house was quiet. Angie must have been sleeping. Joey, however, was nowhere to be found. His car was parked in front of the house, but he wasn't up. Maybe he was in bed, too.
But, no. A few minutes later, Joey emerged from his bedroom. Maybe not even emerged—it was more like he swayed out. Craig instantly came to the sad conclusion—Joey was drunk. "C-Craig..." he mumbled. Craig watched him carefully. Joey stumbled into the wall and almost fell down the stairs. Craig caught him.
"Don't...don't...touch me..." Joey said.
"Joey, you were about to fall down the stairs. What was I supposed to do? Let you fall?" Craig said loudly.
"Y-yeah. You should've just...let me...fall to my death...Caitlin...doesn't..."
"This is about Caitlin? God, Joey! Go to bed!"
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"Are you supposed to tell me what to do? You're not even in the state of mind to do that." Joey glared at him.
"What are you saying?" he shouted.
"That you're drunk!" Suddenly, Joey threw Craig into the wall. Craig was still for a minute, but then he stood up. He put his hand to the back of his head, where he'd collided with the wall. It ached badly. Joey pushed him back again, only this time, harder. Again, Craig stood up and looked at Joey. Now his arm hurt like hell. Joey stared at Craig for a second before collapsing on the floor. Craig sighed heavily and picked him up. He carried him to his bed and dropped him in. Then, he retreated to his own room. Slowly but surely, he fell asleep.
The next day, Craig was in the bathroom, looking at his arm. There was a large bruise near his elbow, and it hurt to touch it. He covered it up with his sweatshirt and left. Checking Joey's room to make sure he was asleep, he got Angela ready for school, and they both left.
"Craig?" Angie said.
"What?" Craig asked.
"What was all the noise coming from the hallway last night?" Craig looked at her.
"Um...I got home late, and uh...I guess that...I don't know." Angie watched Craig sadly for a second, and then got out of the car, waving at some of her friends.
Then, Craig headed for his own school. He didn't want to talk to anyone, but he talked to Jimmy during MI. Jimmy was pretty cool; he talked about basketball he had the day before, and this cool new trick on the wheelchair that Craig just had to see when class was over.
When class was over, and Craig did watch this new thing Jimmy had mastered yesterday, he wasn't surprised; Jimmy had been on that thing for almost a year now.
"Pretty cool, Jims," Craig said flatly.
"You okay?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired."
"Maybe you should sleep more." Craig felt someone tapping on his shoulder and he turned. It was Mr. Simpson.
"Can I help you?" he said.
"Um, yeah, you can. Give this to Joey," Mr. Simpson answered. He handed Craig an envelope, and Craig stared at it. Mr. Simpson walked off and Craig sighed. He opened the envelope and read the piece of paper inside.
"Blah, blah, blah...'needs more effort...' blah, blah, blah... 'conference.' Conference?" Craig rolled his eyes and put the envelope in his pocket.
"I hate school."
Finally, the day was over. Craig went to his 'wonderful' job at the Dot washing dishes. He was fast at his job, too. And, he enjoyed working with Spinner. Sadly, he wanted to work all night so that he didn't have to go home again.
After his shift was over, he got in the car and slowly drove home. He prayed that Joey was either sleeping or sober. So, naturally, it was no surprise that to him that when he got home, Joey was stumbling around the house, drunk. Nothing ever went the way Craig wanted it to.
Angela was sitting on the couch, watching TV.
"Angie, what're you doing up? You need to go to bed."
"Don't tell my daughter what to do!" Joey cried. "She's my daughter! Not yours!"
"Well, God, Joey! I'm so sorry that you can't take care of her and I have to do it myself!" Craig shouted.
"I can take care of her!"
"No, you can't! Drunk people can't take care of their families! That's why Sean moved out! Come on, Angie, it's time for bed." Angie stood up.
"Don't listen to him!" Then, she sat back down.
"Joey! Knock it off!" said Craig. Joey walked toward Craig slowly and looked at him for a second. Craig glared at him. A second later, Joey had punched Craig so hard in the eye that he'd fallen onto the stairs. Craig took a moment to clear his head, then stood up and hit Joey, knocking him to the floor.
While Joey was down, Craig picked up Angie and took her out to the car. It was nine-thirty now, and Craig hoped that Emma was still up. He drove off with Angela, who was confused about the entire situation. Finally, they reached their destination. Craig turned on the light inside the car and checked his eye in the mirror. Bruised already.
The two got out of the car and Craig led her up to the house and knocked on the door. Spike answered.
"Craig...Angela...is everything okay?" Spike asked. Emma heard Spike talking and appeared next to her a minute later.
"Yeah, um...can Angie stay here tonight?" Craig said quietly.
"Yes, of course," said Spike. Emma looked at the ground, and then back up at Craig.
"Craig, you're bleeding."
Craig put his hand up to the side of his face. There was blood coming from the edge of his eye.
"Um, I know. Listen, thanks for letting her stay here." Craig turned and went toward his car.
"Where're you going?"
"I'm going home. I have to...go to bed. And do homework." Craig got in and left. Spike and Emma were both worried about Craig, and wondered what was going on at home right now.
"Come on, Angie," Emma said sweetly. "It's time to go to bed." Angela followed Emma into her room, and Spike closed the door.
Snake came out of the bathroom and looked at Spike.
"Who was that?" he asked.
"It was Craig. Angela's staying here tonight," Spike responded. Snake was confused now, but he turned off all the lights and went to bed.
The day after was Thursday, and Snake had been watching Craig all the way through class. His eye was severely bruised. He couldn't stand it anymore; he had to talk to him. "Everyone, please continue, you're doing great," he said. Walking over to Craig, he asked to see him in the hall. Craig stood up, bowing his head, and followed Snake out to the hall.
Craig leaned up against a locker, and watched as Snake closed the door.
"How are things at home?" asked Snake. Craig shrugged silently. "Craig." Craig gave him a cold stare. Snake could see it in his eyes; he wanted to die. Something was seriously wrong, and he had to get Craig to tell him what it was. He placed his hands gently on Craig's shoulders.
"I need you to tell me what's been going on." Craig shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Then why did you bring Angie over last night?"
"I couldn't let her stay at home," Craig whispered. "Joey was drunk. He couldn't even take care of Angie. Don't worry about it; she'll be at home tonight."
"She's not who I'm worried about." Craig looked at the floor and sighed.
"I'm fine," he said simply.
"No, you're not. Emma told me that your eye was bleeding last night. That's not 'fine'."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to tell me the truth."
"You're not gonna get any more truth than I've already voluntarily given you. I can put up with Joey. Angela can't. I can't leave her alone. I don't need Joey to make my life more of a hell than it already is, but there's really nothing I can do."
"Why don't you just take Angela to Caitlin's and have her take care of her for a while?"
"Do you know what Caitlin said to me before she left? She said I'm a 'sad, frightened, pathetic little boy, too scared to face reality.' What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm not leaving my sister with Caitlin!"
"Craig, if you love her enough, you'll let her stay with Caitlin." Craig sighed, defeated.
"Fine. I'll take her there after school."
"Okay. And...?"
"And...I'll try and do something about Joey. But..."
"It's okay. Let's go back to class now." Craig nodded and followed Mr. Simpson back into the classroom, receiving many stares from his peers. He stared at his computer screen, trying hard to concentrate, but he couldn't.
When the bell finally rang, he immediately stood up and left.
Today, he had to go to the shrink. Joey had told him he didn't have to go back, but, again, he'd lied to him.
Whatever.
Craig drove to the mental clinic and sat down for ten minutes. Then, he went up to his shrink's office.
"Hey, Craig," the shrink said sweetly, sipping some tea. Craig said nothing, but irritatedly sat down. He stared at the wall for a minute.
"So, how are you today?"
"Like you care," Craig said coldly.
"Craig. This is my job. I do this to help people. I need you to work with me."
"Why? If you're such an expert on helping people, why don't you leave them alone? They don't want to talk to you!"
The therapist sighed. She had problems with this kid. Oh, well.
"I talked to Joey. He said you've been getting high."
"Yeah...so?"
"That's not healthy."
"You know what I'm gonna do as soon as I leave this place? I'm gonna pick up my cell phone, call Jay, and go get high with him. I'm telling you the truth now. I enjoy getting high." Craig's eyes were cold, but the therapist could tell that he was hiding something else.
"My husband told me that you haven't been in the hospital lately," the woman said coolly.
"Your husband? Who the hell's your husband?"
"Frank Rennips."
"You're his wife? He could do so much better." Now Craig was working to piss her off.
"So could I." The shrink put her hand on Craig's knee, and he looked up at her in shock.
"What in the hell are you doing? I don't want you! I think you're a stupid bitch and if you ever touch me again I'm calling the cops! Sicko!" Craig stood up and walked out of the room.
Just as he said he would, Craig picked his cell phone up and called Jay. A few minutes later, both of their cars were parked outside the old house, and they were inside.
Sitting down on the old mattress in the back bedroom where Craig had been just a week before, were Jay and Craig. Jay had something in his pocket, and pulled it out. A small bag of white tablets. Hmm. Craig took one and swallowed it.
"What was that?" Craig asked.
"Ecstasy. Know and love it. By the way, you owe me thirty bucks."
"For what?"
"For the pill you just swallowed. Those things aren't cheap."
"Oh, well. I can just steal some money from Joey."
"Why can't you just use the money you get from your job?" asked Jay, swallowing one of the ecstasy pills.
"Because I use that to pay for my gas and insurance." Jay shrugged.
About six-and-a-half minutes later, Jay and Craig had taken two of the pills each and were sitting in Jay's car, with Jay driving around. They stopped at the mall, where they kept running into people from school. After running around everywhere, they went to the movie theatre. Paige was working there, alone.
"Hi, Paige," Craig said energetically.
"Hi, Craig," Paige said in a low tone.
"Whatcha doin'? Makin' popcorn?" Craig asked.
"Yeah...what're you doing? Buying some of it?"
"Nah. I have to pay Jay back," Craig said in a matter-of-fact kind of voice.
"For what?" asked Paige. Craig and Jay began to laugh maniacally.
"For...X-T-C," Craig said, still laughing. His stomach was beginning to hurt; this laughing was building muscle.
"Ecstasy? First Ash, and then you...God, why me?" Paige said, defeated. "How did you two get here?"
"I drove," Jay said.
"You drove? While you were high?"
"Yup. But look—we're okay."
"That doesn't mean that you're going to be on your way back. You two...stay here. I need to go talk to my manager for a minute. Don't move!" Craig and Jay leaned up against the counter and stood still. Another odd turn of events occurred when Emma, Manny, Spike, Mr. Simpson, and Jack showed up.
"Hi, guys," Emma and Manny said. Craig and Jay tried to hold back laughter, but gave in a second later. They started laughing again.
Paige appeared again, with Meeri right behind her. "Meeri will be serving you all for now. I'll be back in a few minutes. Come on, Craig," Paige commanded.
"Where are we going?" Craig asked happily.
"I'm taking you home! You're in no condition to drive yourself!" Paige said.
"Fine! Bye, Jay! I'm going home now! Wait...what about my car? It's still at the other house."
"Where are your car keys?" Craig pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Okay, Craig, this is how it's gonna work. I'm going to take you and drop you off at home. I'll call Spinner and have him meet us at your house. I'll take him to your car, he'll drive it back to you, and we'll all be very nice, happy, and safe. Okay?"
Craig stared at Paige blankly for a second, and then nodded. He followed Paige out to her mom's green van. Hopping into the front passenger seat, he inhaled deeply. "This car smells...odd," he said.
"That's because you're used to your car's smell of men's body spray and leather," Paige replied.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Spinner.
"Spinner, I need you to meet me at Craig's," she said.
"Okay."
Sadly, every day for the next week was hell for Craig. His grades were slipping even more than they already had been, and Joey was drunk every night. Angie wasn't there anymore; she was with Caitlin. He had to take care of Joey. Even though Joey beat the crap out of him almost every time, he knew it was because of Caitlin. Everything led back to Caitlin. That would teach Joey. Anyway, at around 9:00 every night, Joey would finally pass out, and Craig, aching all over, had the strength and heart to pick him up and put him in bed.
Craig's headaches were becoming more frequent and painful. He was getting sick because of them and he had vomited several times at school, and spent almost half of the days at school in the health room.
When Craig got home from school one day, there was no running water and no electricity in the house.
"JOEY! DAMMIT! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PAY THE WATER AND ELECTRIC BILLS!" he shouted. Craig watched Joey stumble around the house and scoffed. He could call Caitlin; but it wasn't her house anymore. Well, technically, it was, but she didn't live here and she didn't have any responsibility over it. Now, it was Craig's responsibility; Joey, and the house. Plus school and work. But how does a seventeen-year-old with a part-time job at a busy café and school balance all these things? He had no idea how to balance it, but he eventually did.
Craig took the remainder of his money he had saved from his job at the Dot and heavy-heartedly handed it over to the water and electric company. He knew that this wasn't fair to him; he wasn't supposed to be paying the bills. He was supposed to be paying for his car. But, no. Joey had to be stumbling around the house, drunk.
Several times during one week, Joey wouldn't pass out until it was four in the morning. And, Craig, having to be Mr. Responsible, stayed up until then and put Joey to bed. He had stopped focusing in class; he was too tired. He'd started walking to school to keep himself awake. It had been three weeks since Caitlin had left, and this troubled teen was putting up with all this crap.
And, on the first Wednesday in March, during English, Craig passed out. Several girls screamed and a small crowd surrounded him. Spinner, who was the strongest person in the class (except Craig. Y'all know that Craig could take Spinner, 'cept he's kinda passed out right now), carried Craig to the health room.
"There's nothing wrong with him," Spinner said simply. "He's tired. Hasn't slept in a week." Mr. Simpson, who heard about Craig, called Joey. Joey answered the phone, and thank God, he was sober for once.
"Hello?" Joey said.
"Jeremiah, I need you to come here right now. I need to talk to you," Mr. Simpson demanded.
"Okay. I'll be right there," Joey answered. They hung up and Joey arrived a few minutes later.
"Do you have any idea where your son is right now?" Snake shouted.
"He's in school," said Joey.
"Right. And which part of the school?"
"I don't know..."
"He's in the nurse's office, passed out from exhaustion! Are you aware that Craig hasn't been sleeping? Do you know where he is every day?"
"Oh my God...I never noticed," Joey muttered.
"Drunk people don't tend to! Craig told Sean that he has to pay all the bills and take care of your sorry ass every night after you pass out! Oh, not to mention the fact that you're beating him half to death! He doesn't need all that put on his shoulders! He has enough to worry about now!"
"I don't need you telling me how to take care of my son!"
"Son? Son? You mean the one that was being abused by his father, and you jumped in and said, 'Oh, lala! You can live with me!'? The one that you fought so hard to keep? The one that's probably on the edge of killing himself? That son? You've already lost him, Joey! The only reason he's staying with you is so that he doesn't have to put up with his guilty conscience after you drunkenly fall down the stairs and die! If you lived in a one-story house, he'd be gone by now! He could move in with his friends! You're lucky he's not selfish and stayed this long! And what have you been doing about his headaches? Did you know that he's suffering from migraines during the day? Or that he hasn't taken medication for over a month? Do you even care?"
Joey stared at the ground shamefully. "Yeah. I do," he whispered. "But..."
"But nothing."
"Can I just go see him?" Joey asked. Snake nodded, and Joey walked to the nurse's office. Craig was stretched out on one of the white beds, and Spinner was standing there talking to the nurse. Spinner turned around, saw Joey, and walked out of the room. Joey knelt down next to Craig. He shook him awake. Craig saw him and flinched.
"Shh. It's okay," Joey said serenely. "You wanna go home and sleep?" Craig nodded groggily and rolled off of the bed. He slowly stood up and Joey helped support him while they walked out to the car. Craig fell asleep in the car, and Joey gently woke him up when they got home.
Craig weakly went up the stairs and dropped himself onto his bed. Joey assisted him in taking off his jacket, and he could see all the bruises up and down his arms.
"I'm sorry," Joey said apologetically. "I'm so sorry." Joey took the car keys out of the jacket pocket. He ran his hand through Craig's hair and could tell that he was exhausted from the last three weeks. Covering him with four blankets and cushioning his head with the softest pillows he could find in the house, Joey still felt like crap. He didn't realize he'd been drinking the way he had for this long, or that he'd been hurting Craig, or that Craig had to pay the bills with his own money.
Now, there was a painful void that would fill both of their minds for life.
Whatever was happening to the two was not good. They were close just two years ago; and now, they were so far apart, so...distant. Craig was off doing drugs with Jay, and Joey was at home, getting drunk and not going to work, beating his already-traumatized stepson.
Later that day, Joey got a call from the mental-health clinic. Craig's shrink suggested hypnotherapy to figure out things from his past. Joey hesitated for a second, but then decided to do it. He was willing to do almost anything to help Craig now.
Craig woke up at around midnight that night. Joey hadn't been able to sleep, and he couldn't even look at Craig; he felt horrible now. Craig got up and cooked himself some Top Ramen. He saw several empty bottles of vodka sitting on the counter. He glanced over at Joey worriedly, and then saw that he wasn't acting the way he did when he was drunk, so he figured it was from all the other times.
He sat down on the couch and ate his hot chicken Top Ramen in peace. His body was stiff and tense; he was nervous about being this close to Joey. When he finished eating, he got up and washed the bowl. He sat back down on the couch. Joey stretched, and Craig flinched. His body began shaking, and Joey watched him sadly, examining all the bruises on his arms. Joey opened his mouth and spoke.
"You have a hypnotherapy session tomorrow. At 10:30." Craig was silent. "Where's Angela?"
"She's at Caitlin's. She's been there for three weeks now. Had you been sober, you would've known that. Actually, if you had been sober, she wouldn't have been there in the first place. I'm going back to bed."
Craig got up and went to bed.
The next day, at nine, Craig got up, and was glad that he didn't have to go to school, but was a little skeptical about this 'hypnotherapy'. He took a very hot shower and combed his hair. He brushed his teeth and went to his room. Finding some fresh, clean clothes, he put them on and found his jacket.
When they arrived at the mental clinic, they went up several flights of stairs and down two hallways to reach a room with the word "HYPNOTHERAPY" across the door. They met with an old man with a bald spot covering a rather large portion of his scalp. He explained the process in about five minutes.
Several minutes after the explanation was over, Craig was laying on a small couch, under the 'hypnotherapy', doing exactly what he never hoped to do again—relive his past.
"What's he doing now, Craig?" the old man asked. Craig didn't have enough clear thought to answer. He was groaning in pain—more than pain. Misery. Something went wrong when he was twelve, but Joey wasn't sure what. His father had held him down...something...there was something...held him down by his wrists, and...it just wasn't clicking in Joey's mind. He remembered something that had to do with Craig's wrists...a few years ago...Julia had freaked out about it...she had refused to talk about it...
Craig was crying out in suffering now. The old man was trying to wake him up. Joey kept trying to figure this out. Finally, Craig did wake up, and he gasped for air. He looked at Joey for a second, and then curled up into fetal position.
He shook violently, and Joey was finally able to get him to the car. Craig was still and quiet on the way home. His hands were still shaking, and they walked in the door, and Craig went up to his room, quietly closing the door behind him. Joey was now extremely worried. He went up the bedroom, and opened the door. Craig was lying on his bed. Joey sat on the bed, against the wall, and put his hand on Craig's back. Craig sat up and rested his head on Joey's chest. Joey barely moved; he didn't speak. He just sat there, holding Craig. Craig didn't make any noise, either.
When Craig lowered his head to Joey's lap, Joey noticed that the front of his shirt was wet. He looked down at Craig, who was now sound asleep. Now he wished that Craig's father was alive so that he could kill him.
The phone started ringing. Joey gently picked up Craig's head and replaced his lap with a pillow. He jogged downstairs to answer the phone. "Hello?" he said. It was a telemarketer. Joey hung up and went back upstairs.
Craig was curled up on the bed, hugging the pillow. The dark, purple bruises still showed clearly on Craig's arms, and Joey's heart burned. Craig yawned and stretched, and then pushed himself up. He found another section of the bed that was soft and cool and laid down on it. Joey slowly entered the room and sat down on the bed next to Craig. Craig weakly turned over and looked at Joey.
"Are you feeling better?" Joey asked. Craig stretched his arms again.
"A little bit," he answered. "Why?"
"I was just wondering. I'm worried about you, Craig."
"I know." Craig fell back on the pillow he'd been hugging just minutes before. "I know."
"Craig." Joey stared at Craig.
"What?"
"I need you to tell me what happened." Craig sat up and walked over to the window.
"When?"
"When you were twelve. What happened?"
"A lot of things happened, Joey. A lot."
"You know what I'm talking about," Joey said firmly. "What in the hell did he do to you?" Even though Joey already had a good idea of what had happened, he wanted to hear it from Craig.
"Nothing, Joey!" Craig shouted. "God! Leave it alone!"
"It wasn't nothing. We both know it. Don't try and act like it never happened."
"Why not? Why can't I try and leave parts of my past behind?" Craig turned and stared into Joey's eyes.
"Because you're not getting anywhere by keeping it inside!"
"Yeah, I am! I was doing just fine for the last three weeks! Oh, sure, I couldn't drive, and I had to work more and pay your bills! I had to take care of you! I can take care of myself and I sure as hell don't need to tell you what my father did to me!"
"So there was something else. He didn't just beat you, did he? How many times did that happen?" Craig was silent for a little over a minute.
"It was just that one time."
"Everything makes sense now. The bruises on your wrists that weekend. The silence. It all makes sense."
Woo! Flashback #1
Craig's father had just dropped him off at Joey and Julia's house. Julia, naturally, was over-excited to see her only son again. She ran up and hugged him tightly. Today, however, she noticed that Craig was not as vibrant as he normally would have been. "What's wrong?" Julia asked worriedly.
Craig looked at the ground and sighed sadly. Julia pulled up the sleeves on Craig's sweatshirt and ran her nails across the bruises that were set on the pale skin. Tears formed in her eyes and she led Craig into the house quietly. Joey watched as Julia sat down on the couch with Craig and talked to him quietly. After a few minutes, she hugged him and Craig went to go see Angie. Strangely, no matter how many times Joey asked her what was up with Craig, she refused to speak of it.
Damn, end flashback
"I swear to God, if your father was here right now I would tear his eyes out," Joey said hatefully.
"I've wanted to once or twice," Craig said casually, not moving away from the window.
"Once or twice? After everything he's done to you, you've only wanted to once or twice?"
"Well, yeah, because all the other times I wanted to do something so horrible and gruesome that I probably shouldn't say it."
"It wasn't fair," Joey said calmly. "It was never fair."
"I know."
"You could've said something. So long ago. You could be fine right now."
"What are you talking about? I am fine. Very fine. In fact, there's absolutely nothing wrong with me."
"Snake told me you've been having migraines."
"What? So?" Craig said carelessly.
"So? That information would've been nice to know a month ago! It would have been nice to know that you were off your medication the entire time! You lied to me!"
"And you lied to me! You told me you would always be there for me! But guess what? I had to take care of you? Me! I was the one who paid the bills, and cleaned the house, and put you to bed every night after you passed out! I put the rest of my sanity on the line for you! It's not fair that you made me go through all that crap for you! You're supposed to be the adult here, not me! I was supposed to use the money I made from my job on my car! There was never anything that said I was meant to take care of you! And what about me? You took me away from my father to live with you, and now he's dead, and I live here! I live with some drunk that can't control himself just because his girlfriend walks out on him! What Caitlin did wasn't my fault! See these bruises? They're from you! You're a violent drunk! You need to get a hold of yourself and go to work!"
"Don't tell me how to run my life! You have no idea how hard it is to take care of someone that needs medication!"
"Oh, I don't? Were you EVER the person that needed the medication? You don't even know what if feels like to take medication for something you can't control! You could've left me at the hospital that day, and I would've been fine with it! I would've understood. Why did you take me home after that?"
WOOHOO! FLASHBACK #2!
Craig was sitting in a small room in the hospital. He'd had some tests run on him hours ago, and he was waiting for a diagnosis. No. He was dreading a diagnosis. What he was waiting for was for Joey to come into the room, say that there was nothing wrong, that it was all just built-up tension. It never happened.
He wasn't able to fall asleep; he was anxious to know what was wrong with him, and hoped it was deadly. He couldn't spend the rest of his life with some stupid condition, along with knowing what he'd done to Joey.
The door to the room opened, and Craig looked up. Joey entered the room and sat down in a chair next to the bed. He had a soft expression on his face, but Craig could see right through it; Joey was worried. Craig's heart raced and he shook nervously. The next three words that came out of Joey's mouth would stick in Craig's mind forever.
"Craig...you're bipolar."
Now Craig prayed that a plane would strike this section of the hospital, killing everyone, especially himself. Or that maybe he would spontaneously combust. Or that Joey would and, while trying to save him, burn to death himself. Any way out of this would be good.
"They want me to give you these medications." Joey held out a small bottle filled with little capsules. Craig hesitated for a moment, and then took the bottle. He read the label. "Craig Manning. Take once daily." He scoffed and threw the bottle to the floor. Quickly, he laid down on the bed and turned away from Joey.
There was no more happy left. None. No more good memories; everything fades to black. There would be no more good memories. Everything would turn into ash and fall to the floor. "Craig, come on," Joey said softly. He touched Craig's arm. Craig turned around and sat up, but didn't say anything.
"You haven't said anything for seven hours now." Craig stared at him sadly.
"What is there to say now? I'm effing insane, and you want me to say something? Like what? Mmm, medications, taste like candy! Oh, and this bracelet—very nice. It's gonna make all the other girls at school jealous!" he said, finishing his rant in a high-pitched voice.
"Craig, you don't have to wear the bracelet after we leave. But...I would appreciate it if you took the medications."
"Maybe I don't want to take the medication."
"You have to."
"No, I don't."
"Craig."
"Joey. Do you have any idea how much this stupid 'condition' is ruining my life? If anyone at school ever finds out about it, I'll never go to school again. All of a sudden, it'll be, 'Oh, look, it's Craig! He's crazy and has to take medication!' I can't live like that. I can't, and if I have to...Joey, I think you should just leave."
"I'm not leaving."
"Why not?"
"I don't want to. I'm not leaving you here alone. Not now. You've been through too much right now and I can't let you be alone."
"If you take me home, there's a million things that could happen. I could take all of these medications and overdose on them and kill myself so that I don't have to put up with this crap anymore. I could just not take them. You might wake up and find that your car is in a lake because I went on a psychotic joy ride. Then again, I could take the one-a-day medications, be a good little boy, go to school, and get on with the rest of my life."
Damn. End Flashback #2
"I was willing to take that chance," Joey said. "I wanted to give you a fair chance."
"Well, you shouldn't have. I didn't want you to. What I wanted was to die. And maybe that would've been better for all of us."
"Craig."
"No, Joey. Really. I'm sick of living. It's too hard."
"We just have to get through it."
"Joey, why would I want to get through it? I'm stuck in the same frame of mind I have been since I found out I was crazy. I'm doing more drugs than what comes in the little bottle of lithium. And...I'm sorry. But that's just the way it is."
Joey was quiet. Craig's cell phone started ringing. He turned and picked it up.
"Hello?" he said. "Yes...yeah, okay...hold on. Joey, can I go to Spinner's for a party?" Joey stared at him. "It's Marco! Really! Here, you wanna talk to him?" Joey shook his head, and Craig continued to talk. "Yeah, it's cool. I'll be there...okay, later." Craig hung up and dropped the phone back on the table.
"I'm going to a party at Spinner's later. With some friends. I'll be fine."
And, sadly, Joey believed him.
When Craig arrived at Spinner's, he showed up with Jay. And their new favorite as of late, ecstasy, accompanied them. The two were being completely stupid. Craig saw several people from school, but was too high to care. Someone had a video camera and was filming people at the party.
After having a little bit of beer, Craig went up to Marco. Everyone in the room stopped and stared as Craig randomly started making out with him. Marco didn't try and stop him; he was enjoying it. They kissed for about four minutes, and then Craig simply walked off. Whoever was videotaping started following Craig around. Craig turned and saw who it was—Spinner. He ran off to go find Jay.
"Hey, man, I need to go home," he said when he finally found him. Jay nodded.
"Okay, let's go," Jay said coolly. They'd only been there for...what...two hours? Spinner, who had noticed that Jay was more than a little bit high. He continued filming. He found Marco and they got in to Spinner's car. Waiting for a few minutes, Spinner told Marco to drive. Finally, Jay and Craig left, with Marco and Spinner following close behind to ensure Craig's getting home safely.
Spinner filmed the entire trip behind Jay's car. They were on the main road now; a very busy one at that. A large group of semi trucks were coming from the left. Spinner got a clip of the trucks, following a particular one that had "Pepsi" written on the side. As he followed, the truck did something almost too thrilling for words.
As the truck kept going, it collided with the side of Jay's car. The rest of the world seemed to stop. Marco slammed on the brakes, and they got out of the car. They rushed to the side that hadn't been directly hit—the passenger side. Marco held the camera while Spinner forced the door open and pulled Craig out. He was barely concious, but he wasn't dead.
Spinner carried him for the second time that week. Marco, Spinner, and the almost-lifeless Craig went back to the car and got inside. Marco handed Spinner back the camera. Spinner simply put it on the headboard, facing Craig, who was now moaning in pain. Craig's head was on Marco's lap. He looked up weakly at Marco, while Spinner called Joey.
A/N: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHA! MUUHAHAHAHAHAHA! Okay, before everyone starts freaking out---
I KNOW that it was fast-paced! I had to get it done in like, a week, so...yeah. And I didn't have much time.
I KNOW you all like the Craig/Joey thing, and that's WHY it's in every chapter.
I WILL be pairing Craig up with someone, and you'll probably all hate me for who it is.
I WILL be killing someone. And, as of next week, that dead person will form another half of a chapter. Their name isn't even mentioned until halfway through the next chapter, so...yeah. ALL OF YOU NEED TO SHUT UP! Nah, just playin'. Anyway, REVIEW IT! IF YOU DON'T, THEN...I'LL NEVER UPDATE IT AGAIN! EVER! AND I'M NOT BLUFFING THIS TIME!