Sprinting down the street, Jimmy could see his apartment complex up ahead. Beads of sweat tore down his face and his heart was racing. He could see there was a child services car outside the building, reflecting the morning sun. Jimmy pushed himself to run faster, praying that he wasn't too late. In a matter of seconds he had reached the front door and found the lock was broken. Jimmy yanked it open and ran up three flights of stairs until he reached his floor. He heard a scream that, with no doubt in his mind, belonged to Crystal. He flew down the hallway to the only open door on the floor and charged in. He found his mother in an heated argument with two men in business suits who were accompanied by three cops.
"You stay away from her you hear! She's not going anywhere!"
Jimmy broke through the men and stood at his mothers side. His mother glanced over at him and nodded as if in approval. He nodded back and spit at the intruders.
"GET THE FUCK OUT!"
"WATCH YOU ATTITUDE PUNK!" one of the cops roared.
"HE SAID GET THE FUCK-" but before she could finish, one of the suited men slapped Jimmy's mother. Overwhelmed with rage and hatred, Jimmy ran forward and the apartment filled with the sound of knuckles on jaw.
Then all hell broke loose.
The taller of the two suited men socked his mother in the face causing a trickle of blood to fall from her nose. Jimmy ran to punch the man in the face again but was interfered by one of the cops.
"Get the fuck off me!" Jimmy screamed before the cop socked his shoulder sending searing pain through his body. Jimmy screamed but continued to fight. He could see Crystal's head pop out from the doorway. Her mother began to run towards her but the remaining cop grabbed her and dragged her to the kitchen. Jimmy left his current match and followed the others into the kitchen. Jimmy attempted to throw the flower vase at the cops head but the cop reached for him. Suddenly there was a scream the sent Jimmy on a panic. They had Crystal. Her screams were heard through the entire house and jimmy barely escaped the cops hand to aid his sister. Jimmy almost reached her when one of the cops reappeared, lifted him slightly off the ground and threw him into the coffee table, sending unbearable pain throughout his entire body. Jimmy could feel himself fading into an unconscious state but the sight of Crystal being carried off by the bastards gave him the strength to make one last attempt. He sped off the table remains and ran towards the man holding Crystal captive but was grabbed from behind. His hand grazed Crystal's momentarily. Crystal screamed and flailed her body in an attempt to break free, but she was just too small. The police man threw Jimmy onto the ground and kicked him on his bad shoulder, just to make sure there would be no more attempts. Jimmy screamed in agony and shut his eyes tight.
"YOU BASTARDS! COME BACK WITH MY DAUGHTER YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Jimmy couldn't cry. He couldn't even get up. He just continued to lie on the floor with his eyes shut, leaving him in total darkness.
"CRYSTAL!"
The sound of a car engine starting rattled the windows. Jimmy could hear as the his mother opened the window, letting in the cool, May breeze. With a loud crash he heard porcelain hit metal and a car alarm went off.
"FUCK YOU!"
Sobs filled the apartment as the sound of the car began to fade until there was complete silence. Jimmy could feel blood coming out of his shoulder wound. His arms, hands and neck had bruises, scratches and even some chips of wood from his encounter with the coffee table. He struggled to open his eyes back up but closed them once he saw the damage that had been left behind. Furniture, pictures, curtains; everything was ruined. But the thing he couldn't wrap his head around was the fact that she was gone.
Crystal.
The night before they didn't have a care in the world. And her confession made him want to work harder at being the brother she could count on for love and support. That time had come and pass and now he was left alone to drown in his guilt.
He could hear his mother moving around. Screaming, cussing and crying. Everything either of them had truly cared about was taken away.
'Then what's the point of living?'
Jimmy felt the tug once again to let go. Whether it was death or unconsciousness he didn't care. As long as it was taking him away from the hell he was living. He debated whether to open his eyes and see earth once more, should it be death he was approaching. But he decided against it and let go of all resistance.

Jimmy's eyes gradually opened to find he was lying in a hospital bed. The IV was shooting liquids through the veins of his functioning arm and the monitor was humming a low steady beep. The curtains were closed all around him and the lights shined brightly onto his face. For some strange reason he could feel his heart beat against his chest. Jimmy lifted his wounded arm and touched his shoulder. Even through the gown he could feel the new stitches. He groaned in frustration and began to run his hand through his hair. He could footsteps approaching and stopped to decide whether to pretend he was asleep or see who the visitor was. The curtain opened just a hair. Jimmy whispered for who ever it was to enter. The curtain was then fully parted to reveal Gerard and Miguel. They both wore black sweatshirts to cover up the holes in the arms from shooting so much heroin. Out of all his disciples, they had always been most loyal to Jimmy though they still worked for Theo. They were also the only two that truly knew Crystal.
"Hey, sorry about opening that arm injury yesterday." Miguel stated.
"No worries. That dumb ass cop punched it back open." Jimmy replied.
"I'm sorry about Crystal." Gerard said trying to join in on the apologizing. Miguel socked him in the arm and gave Gerard a 'are you stupid?' looks while Gerard squealed in pain.
Jimmy forced a small smile.
Miguel walked over to the side of the bed. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
"You sure?"
Jimmy hesitated a bit but replied, "Yes."
Miguel inspected his face as if he was waiting for Jimmy to break but he never did.
"So why did the cop beat you up?" Gerard asked wanting to quench his curiosity.
"I don't know. But I do know we have a majorly fucked up system here." Jimmy said, "It all happened so fast I just can't wrap my finger around the fact that all that fucking shit happened this morning. But it's all my fault."
"You can't blame yourself." Was all Miguel could say.
"Hey, Miguel?"
"What Gerard?"
"That bitchy nurse is back."
"Fuck!" Miguel turned to Jimmy. "We gotta go but we'll be here if you need us, Saint."
Jimmy smiled at the fact that he had been called Saint in respect and not to degrade him. He watch as Gerard and Miguel rushed out without a sound. For some reason, something in his gut told Jimmy that he would never see them again. He shook it off and began to wonder about the future. Without Crystal.
"Hello Jimmy."
Jimmy came to focus on the nurse.
"Oh, hi."
"The doctor will be with you in just a second."
Jimmy nodded to show his comprehension. Once she had left, Jimmy proceeded to look around, examining the environment around him. He looked to arm and felt his shoulder once again. Something was different. He could feel it. The saint in him had been taken with Crystal. Every stitch in his body was to repair him but every source of healing only killed him more. No more would people hurt for his terrible decisions. He swore that for Crystal. Then slowly the tears began to flow growing in pace as time went by.
'St. Jimmy is dead to me.'
A new life must begin.