Chapter 4 Finally
The guys rush inside the apartment, where Mrs. Knight and Katie are already standing at the bedroom door, pounding on it. They look up, scared looks on their faces as they see the other boys. The two step out of the way to give the boys room to take over.
"Carlos?" Kendall yells as he tries to open the door. Locked. "Carlos, open the door!"
The only response heard is more stuff being thrown around and then a loud thud on the wall. The guys share worried glances and pound harder on the door.
"Carlos? Carlos, please open the door!" Logan yells.
"Stand back, guys, I'll handle this." James suddenly announces from next to them. The other two look at him with raised eyebrows when they see Carlos' helmet on his head.
"Uh, James, are you sure you should be doing that?" Kendall asks him.
"Yeah, I mean, what about your hair? You'll get helmet-hair." Logan warns him.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures." James says as he gets ready to crash down the door. With one loud scream, James launches himself at the door, nearly breaking it off its hinges as it flies open.
Logan and Kendall quickly hurry inside and gasp at the destruction that took place in their bedroom. There are some holes in the walls, clothes strewn everywhere. The doors of Carlos' closet lay half broken on the floor, along with a shattered picture frame. Kendall picks it up and his heart nearly breaks as he sees the picture of Carlos and his dad inside.
He looks over his shoulder and sees Logan picking a dizzy James off the floor. He walks over to them, handing the picture to Logan. He takes it and shakes his head.
"Uh, guys? Where is he?" James asks, making the guys look around in confusion.
"Carlos?"
"Guys." Logan quietly tells them as he stares behind one of the turned over bunk beds. The others look in the same direction and find Carlos sitting in a corner, holding his arm to his chest, his eyes wide. They sigh and head over to him.
"No, stay back!" Carlos yells out and the guys ease up, but they keep walking.
"Easy, Carlos. We just want to help you." Kendall tells him.
"I got your helmet back from the pool." James tells him with a smile.
"Keep that thing away from me!" Carlos yells in anger and tries to smack the offensive object out of James' hands. But then he cries out in pain and cradles his hand to his chest again.
"What happened to your hand?" Logan asks, rushing to his side.
"Don't touch me."
"Just let me take a look." Logan calmly says, before gently grabbing his arm. Carlos hisses, but lets him pull up his sleeve. "Can you move it?"
Carlos tries to move it, tries to put his hand into a fist, but cries out in pain again.
Logan winces. "Yeah, it may be broken. But you'll need x-rays to be sure. What did you do to it?"
Carlos just shrugs. The guys slowly go to sit down next to him. For a moment no one says anything.
"Carlos…" Kendall starts, when Carlos sighs loudly.
"I don't want to talk." He mutters.
"Carlos, we should go let a doctor take a look at that hand." Logan suggests.
"I'm fine."
"Carlos.."
"I said I'm fine!" he yells as he gets up and stands in front of them. "You guys really need to stop asking if I'm okay, because I am fine!"
"Look around, dude." James tells him, standing up and pointing at all the mess around them. "You did all of this by yourself and you say you're fine?"
"I just got frustrated, alright?" He says and starts to walk towards the door. The guys start to follow him, when he turns around. "Just leave me alone!"
Carlos walks through the living room, where Mrs. Knight and Katie stare after him with worried looks. Katie then suddenly stands up and stands in front of the front door, preventing Carlos from leaving.
"Katie, what are you doing?" he asks her and tries to get past, but she won't budge.
"I'm not leaving until you talk to us." She tells him, crossing her arms.
"Talk about what? There is nothing to talk about!"
"Look, we all know you. You keep saying you're fine, but we know you're not. It hurts to lose someone and it's okay to let go." She tells him, slowly walking closer to him.
"I don't need to let go of anything.." He says, slightly backing up.
"Sweetie, you just lost your dad. You don't need to stay strong for us." Mrs. Knight says with a motherly tone, putting a hand on his shoulder. He tenses up immediately.
The guys are quietly standing behind them, looking at the situation from a distance.
"I-I'm not trying to stay strong.." Carlos says, his voice starting to shake slightly as he looks at the ground.
"Honey, it's okay. We're right here for you." Mrs. Knight says, putting a hand under his chin and making him look at her. Her heart breaks at the distress she sees in his eyes. He tries to walks away again, when suddenly he freezes.
His breathing becomes heavier as he looks down. There's Katie, with her arms pulled tightly around his body. Her whole body is affectionately wrapped around his. He stands in the living room, too shocked to move. But his breathing becomes worse as his body slightly starts to tremble.
"Please let go…" He nearly whispers. The others can hear the waiver in his voice.
James is the first to walk up and follow Katie's example, by wrapping his arms around Carlos from the back.
"Please don't.. just stop…" He pleads, but it's hardly audible anymore. Very soon two more sets of arms wrap around his sides. He trembles more and more when tears finally fill up his eyes and he can't hold it in any longer.
Everyone holds on tightly and Mrs. Knight watches with her hand covering her mouth as Carlos finally breaks down. He can't hold on as he lets his body slide to the floor, the others sliding down with him as he wails and tears flow down freely. They silently cry with him and are soon joined by Mrs. Knight, who kisses his forehead and hugs him as well.
They stay in this position for what seems like forever, until his sobbing finally subsides. They slowly let go as Carlos tries to catch his breath and still sniffles. They all wipe their eyes and silently look at their friend, who manages to put on a small smile, one they haven't seen for a while. They smile back at him.
"I guess you guys were right, huh? I guess I really did need to let go." He quietly says, looking at his hands.
"It's okay, Carlos. Everyone deals with grief in a different way." Logan suggests. Carlos just nods.
"I did break a lot of stuff, though. You think Gustavo is mad at me?" He asks in a childlike voice.
"When isn't he angry?" the guys chuckle as James says this and puts an arm around his friends shoulders. "Besides, I think he's more scared of you than mad."
"I'm really sorry, guys." He says, his voice breaking slightly once again.
"Don't be, Carlos. It's alright, we still love ya." Kendall says, ruffling his hair. Carlos smiles a little, before hugging with all three of them.
"And thank you, Katie." He softly says, looking at his little sister, who has quietly been sitting next to him. He pulls her into a tight hug.
"Don't mention it. Just don't do that again." She warns him sternly after pulling away from him and standing up. Carlos smiles.
The guys slowly stand up and pull Carlos up with them.
"Well, I guess I should call my mom. She's probably worried sick." James pats him on the back.
"It'll be okay. We'll book the tickets and start packing. Let us know if you need anything." He tells his friend as the three guys head into their bedroom.
"But remember; we are going to the hospital to check your hand first." Logan calls from the bedroom.
Carlos just chuckles and nods before sighing deeply and pulling out his cell phone, dialing a familiar number.
"Hey, mom." He softly says. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'll be home as soon as I can…"
Mrs. Knight smiles and kisses her daughter on the forehead as Carlos keeps talking to his mother.
Three days later…
The boys of Big Time Rush have gathered at Carlos' house for Mr. Garcia's funeral. All are dressed in black suits and ties as they watch the different family members looking grim.
The three friends stand around, looking nervous with their hands in their pockets. None of them really know what to say, what can you say in a situation like this. Their eyes light up as they finally see Carlos coming down the stairs.
He looks exhausted, his eyes red and puffy. It's clear to see he's been crying again. He tightly has his hand wrapped around the smaller hand of his sister, Abigail. She looks scared as she holds his hand. He whispers something to her, she nods slowly and reluctantly lets go of his hand, walking towards the kitchen.
Carlos lets out a deep breath, before noticing his friends. His eyes light up immediately and he heads over to them. They all hug him.
"hey, man. How you holding up?" Kendall asks him. He shrugs.
"I'm okay, I guess. Just feeling a little awkward with all these people here." They nod in understanding. They stand around a little, before they notice people heading outside. The guys watch as they notice Carlos' breath quickening.
"Are you alright?" James quietly asks him.
"I don't think I can do this." Carlos says, sounding nervous.
"Carlos, I know this is hard, but just remember, we'll be right there with you." Kendall tells him.
"They asked me to say something about him." Carlos tells his friends, looking scared. "It's not that I don't want to… but it's so hard…" He says, his voice breaking again.
The guys quickly envelop him in another embrace.
"You're going to do fine, Carlos. We're here for you. If you feel like you're going to break down, just look behind you and we'll be there." Logan says in the embrace.
"I don't want to say goodbye to him…" He says in a whisper as tears begin to fall once more.
"It's okay, Carlitos, it's okay…" James soothingly says as the group of friends stands in the hallway, not noticing anyone else around them.
A few hours later…
Carlos stands in front of the headstone made for his father with his hands in his pockets. He just stares with dried up tears on his cheeks. He's done with crying.
"Carlos?" Logan's hesitant voice comes from behind him. He looks back and sees all three of his friends looking at him with worried glances.
"I'm okay, guys. I just wanted some time alone with him." He says with a slight smile. The guys come to stand next to him.
"It's a nice headstone." James says, before mentally smacking himself. But to his surprise, Carlos starts to laugh. Pretty soon all four guys are crying until tears fall down their cheeks.
"That was the most awkward comment ever." Carlos says as he wipes away his tears. The others just nod as they too calm down. "Thanks, James. I needed that."
"You're welcome. I think." James says with raised eyebrows.
"Let's go home, guys. I bet my family's already worried about me." Carlos says as he puts his arms around his friend's shoulders.
"If you mean them driving around town, yelling your name and calling us every five minutes to ask if we've heard anything, then yeah. I say they are worried." Kendall says with a grin.
They start walking, before James stops suddenly.
"Oh, wait! Before I forget." Carlos looks confused when James pulls an object out of thin air. He grins when he sees the black hockey helmet in his friend's hands. He does look a little scared, though.
"Don't worry, James. I won't throw it out anymore." James relaxes and gently places the helmet on his friend's head.
Carlos looks back just once. "Goodbye, dad." He whispers and smiles as he swears he can see his dad standing there watching him. A goofy grin plastered on his face as he wears his police uniform and then slaps his helmet twice. He nods at his son and he smiles back, nodding as well.
"Carlos?" Kendall asks, looking a little worried. Carlos just shakes his head.
"Let's go home." He says, before breaking loose from his friend's shoulders. "Race you to the car!" He yells and starts to run. His friends roll their eyes, but quickly it's replaced with a grin as they start to run after the loveable goofball they all missed so much.
I know, it's so soon. But I did say this story wouldn't last long. There's only so much emotion someone can throw out there, before breaking down.
Anyway, I hope you all liked it. I liked writing it and want to thank you for your reviews and alerts. Sorry if I don't always reply to reviews, I just don't really know what to say. So here again, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, you keep us writers going
Until next time!
Love, Baxxie