Chapter 3: A Bit of Burn and Late Night Trauma

*Warning: There will be reference to alcohol and drunken rages in this chapter. You have been warned.*

"Are you sure you are ready to leave?" Alex sat at the tip of the hospital bed, staring intently as the IV was ripped from my arm along with the bandages. He seemed generally worried, like his little sister got into a fight and he wanted to console her. I nodded, wincing as the needle slowly slid out of my skin, feeling as the tip grazed the veins within my arm.

"I am sure Alex. Don't worry too much about me. I am a big girl." His eyebrows scrunched together, forming an almost perfect bridge with ridges running through it. Although his eyes were pure coal black, I could tell he thought otherwise about my decision.

"Well at least let me make you some breakfast before you go." He sauntered into the little kitchen with me on his heels. My muscles, although only absent for a day, felt sore to the bone and stiff as they echoed on the tiled floor. The kitchen, although tiny was cute in its own way. The walls were sadly white, but the cabinets were a nice light oak color toped with various cooking supplies. A stainless steel sink sat on the sink in between the fridge and matching stainless steel stove top. A little light wood table sat in the far right corner with a green, nearly see through vase filled with wild flowers.

"What would you like?" Alex asked, tossing on you guessed it, a white apron.

"Surprise me." He nodded, instantly running to and from the fridge to gather the supplies. I jumped up on the counter, leaning slightly forward so the cabinets behind would not 'accidently' hit my head on their pointy corners. The kitchen began to fill with wonderful perfume of home cooked meals, beckoning most likely everyone to the kitchen. A young looking girl walked into the kitchen, casting a wary glance my way before seating herself at the three seater table. Her short raven hair was cut to rest above her shoulders, swaying slightly when a breeze brushed past. The girls bright emerald eyes scanned her manicured nails delicately, examining each one with care. From the way she dressed, it was obvious she wanted to be a princess or someone of royal stature.

"Hi there." I waved from the counter. Her head snapped up, staring uninterestedly at me. "I am the newcomer Jinx. What is your name?" The girl said nothing and continued to pick out the flaws on her nails. I could tell she was nervous by the way she squirmed in her seat. She must rare to none have attention on her.

"Don't be rude Dia." Alex said from his skillet that popped little grease bubbles from the bacon.

"I am not being rude," Dia snapped, raw fury running through her eyes. " I just do not wish to talk to her." The way she said her hit a hidden memory, one of which the kids surrounded me, mocking faces covering the ceiling from view. Their faces shadowed, marking with cruel laughter and taunting malificent grins at the expense and pain of someone smaller, lower than them. I trembled slightly ,clutching my arms around to either side as a stream of chills ran up them. A clank of a plate snapped me out of my trance. Alex glanced curiously at me from the corner of his eye, but continued to make himself and Dia some breakfast from the remains of his ingredients.

"On second thought," I mumbled, not feeling much of an appetite. "You guys go ahead and eat. I will get my own food."

"Are you sure Jinx? I do not mind really." Dia's heated glare burned holes into the back of my head. Yup, she definitely wanted me gone.

"I am fine really." I threw in a nonchalant laugh to push the lie forward. He nodded, giving a quick hug before returning to the sizzling food. Dia's smirk burned into my back, as if she wanted to taunt me with a comment but bit back her bile tongue. I walked out the door quickly, feeling the door slam with extra intensity on my way out.

'God damn bitch.'

I sighed, running my fingers through the tangled mess that was my hair. I pulled it back into a sloppy pony tail, allowing the slight breeze of the spring air to curl the tips.

"Good morning there. Care for a coffee cake?" A male no more than twenty appeared out of thin air, holding a perfectly sculpted yellow square piece of cake on a white serving plate. He bore a uniform that resembled a waiter at a fancy restaurant and a baby face that looked like a five year old.

"Um...no thank you..." I peered down at his presented name tag engraved into an imitation gold plaque. "Carl. I am fine." Carl shrugged his shoulders, pulling the cake to his side.

"Well hopefully you stop by sometime at my restaurant." He sighed, carefully adjusting the plate to rub the back of his head. "When it is built that is. My dream is finally starting to come true and this land has potential for great crops for my dishes." He trotted off, offering another random person his coffee cake. I sighed, walking at a slow pace towards home. There were a few animals that ran with the breeze, but as soon as they heard my step, they vanished. It was quite upsetting since I loved animals.

The farm that was once abandoned shinned in the distance dully, the sun not doing much except showing off it's flaws. The roof was painted a pinkish red color with noticeable sized gaps poking randomly throughout the roof. The panels holding the house together seemed to be falling off slowly due to age and neglect of the little worn shack. It was not it's fault it looked this way on the outside, but rather those who chose to neglect it hid it's true potential.

"Avery!" I whistled, hearing his frantic barks in the distance. His little orange and white spotted body appeared from the open doorway; his tongue slopping saliva with every jump. Avery jumped into my arms, nearly knocking my body over in the process.

"Humph. I wondered whose mutt that was." An irritated voice appeared out of no where. Jamie appeared from the shadows, his head tipped down into the shadows of the brim of his hat.

"Hi to you too Jamie." I rolled my eyes, walking towards him while Avery jumped excitedly out of my arms to play with another dog. The dog was nearly pure black with a little brown on the tip of the paws and the muzzle. Its ears were pointed, a typical look for dogs who have their ears cut.

"Such a cute dog," I cooed, reaching out for the pointy eared dog. It looked at my hand menacing, snapping it's jaws around until my whole hand was encased in the slimy caves. A light pain rivered through, but nothing that could not be hidden.

"Raven," Jamie growled at the dog who proceeded to retract its fangs on command. Raven whimpered slightly, returning to her master.

"Anyway," I shivered slightly, feeling the blood slowly seep from the puncture wounds. "How are things on your farm going?" He merely glared, sighing angrily as he proceeded to walk towards me. Under the cowboy hat shined his infamous ice eyes that reflected in the sun beautifully. They almost looked hypnotic compared to his shadowed frame.

"Let me see," he grumbled, examining my hand. The blood streamed down like small rivers, plopping silently into the grass staining it red. A pale, meaty finger slid carefully through the streams, staining red as it passed over the puncture wounds. The touch was soft, gentle, as if the wound was a fragile child that could break at any second. The small gesture sent chills up my spine, but a good kind.

"There." Jamie pat the bandage down with a final tap, instantly standing up and walking away with Raven on his heels. I examined the bandage, tracing my index finger over the fabric. It was not like any medical bandages that contained a rough shell like texture, but soft like it was never there. A black pattern enticed my eyes towards it, following every swirl and curve it weaved. The band aid was Jamie's bandana.

"Oh! Um..." His frame vanished before I could utter a word. I glanced down at the bandana, tracing the pattern with the tip of my fingers.

"Thank you." I whispered to no one. The rest of the day went on uneventfully. Well, not entirely uneventfully. Joe had stopped by again, apologizing for his brother's actions and swore up and down over something. Then proceeded to fall into a mud pit, dressing up like a giant mud ball. There was so much dark almost swamp mud on his skin that he could pass it off like an extremely dark tan. It made it all the funnier when he began walking home with giant globs of mud landing in his foot prints.

After a quick shower (who wants to go relax when they are all sweaty?) I plopped down on the bed, wiggling around to get conformable. As small and cramped as this house was, it grew on me more of a cozy home that needed a little love to shine.

'Maybe I can ask Woody for some paint to touch the place up...' I frowned. 'But then I would have to see Kurt and he made it obvious that he did not want to deal with me anymore than for business...'

"What do you think Avery?" The pup looked at me from the edge of the bed with tired, droopy eyes. He yelped slightly, drifting back into whatever dream he had been dreaming.

"Yeah...I guess you are right... Save it for the morning." I glanced at the red digital numbers that flashed nine forty five p.m. It was early, but early to bed early to rise I guess. I tossed the duffle cover overhead, burying my face into the fluff of the pillow. At least, for once, things were not as bad as it could of been.

A loud rapping alerted not only myself, but Avery as well. He ran to the door, barking hysterically at the intruder who continued to bang loudly. The digits on the clock read faintly around one thirty, give or take a number due to sleep blindness.

'Who the hell is up this hour?' All the warmth washed away into fear. I gripped the edge of the bed, feeling the cold wood planks beneath my feet.

'What if it is them? There is no way they could have followed me this far.' I grabbed the closest object into a grip, which happened to be the tacky green shaded lamp with a rusted out "gold" colored base. My footsteps were silent compared to the rapping that beat the door nearly down. With each step, my heart beat quickened, fear and adrenaline pumping through my brain into a fuzzed thought. Avery backed up, staying close on my heels as the free hand reached for the doorknob, the lamp raised in the other in attack. I swung the door open, meeting a fogged turquoise eye color staring back at me. Through the street lamp near by, a blue tee shirt illuminated. Blue stood in the doorway, one hand raised to continue rapping and the other holding an object. Although it was dark, a bulk frame that narrowed into the palm of his hand.

"Blue?" I whispered, bringing the lamp down to a less dangerous level. Blue stumbled into the house, tripping every so often on a spec of dust on the floor. He stumbled towards the table, clinking a glass bottle into it causing it nearly to shatter. I had put the lamp down near by, running over to his location in an attempt to steady his stride. Blue's eyes stared into mine for a second, searching for something I was unaware of. He sighed contently, resting his head into the crook of my neck.

"B...blue?" His warm breath carassed my neck, a touch I was not accustomed to and it felt weird.

"Please do not get mad." He giggled, rubbing his head back and forth like a child. "It makes my problems go bye bye!"

"Are you alright?" Blue's head lifted, his breath washing down in quick wisps. A choking smell incased my senses that nearly made me gag. The bottle he had brought in was beer. Blue was drunk.

"Blue. Go home. You are drunk." His gaze hardened, displeased with my response. One of his hands slowly inched up my side, rubbing carefully around my neck.

"No." The honey ice voice slurred into a husky drunk noise that almost sounded like a growl.

"Yes Blue. We can talk when you sober up."

"I said no!" The hand encased my neck, cutting off the supply of oxygen from reaching my lungs. I gasped, clawing at his grip that held my windpipes closed. My legs dangled slightly off the ground, allowing no possible escape. The wind whipped by in an instant, impacting my body into the wooden planks of the floor. Yet, air was not coming. Those eyes held some type of hidden hatred, like fire with someone shoveling piles of coal into it.

"You are not leaving me!" He screeched, tears falling from the flames. "Never again!" He sobbed, crushing my neck even more.

"B...Blue." I gasped, seeing black spots starting to form at the edge of my vision. Avery growled, barking as he charged for the kill and bit Blue's arm. Blue screamed painfully, retracting his hand from my neck. Air rushed in, filling the nearly shriveled lungs with the oxygen it needed.

"Avery sweetie come here!" Avery growled once more, then happily trotted over to my location to survey the damage. There was going to be a huge bruise around my neckline from his grip, but that did not concern me now. Blue was curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth as sobs shook the room. Occasionally he would mumble something, but then continue crying about someone leaving him. I crawled over, wrapping my arms around his frame. His arms shot out, throwing themselves over my shoulder as his tear filled cries fell onto my shoulders. Waterfalls seemed to fall from his eyes, drenching the baggy tee shirt, but that did not matter.

"Blue," I whispered through his sobs. He lifted his head slightly, drunk and tired eyes reflecting back. Any anger that was once there was now gone. "Who keeps going away Blue?"

He shook his head and continued crying, mumbling in a gurgled sob about someone leaving. After about an hour of sobs, Blue's eyes began to shut slowly, dried and wet tear stains ran under his eyes all the way down his tired face. I got up, grabbing my only blanket and pillow from the bed and made him comfortable. It was obvious that he was in no condition of going anywhere tonight...er... this morning.

"Get some sleep Blue. We can talk in the morning." He nodded, burying his face into the pillow. I sighed, running a hand through my tangled hair. It was nice to make sure he had a place to sleep; however, now I was left with no where.

'Maybe I can go sleep outside. It is not exactly sanitary, but the grass is comfortable.'

I began walking to the door when a hand grabbed my ankle. I looked down at it, looking at Blue's frantic turquoise eyes.

"Please stay with me." He whimpered like a puppy that was abused and wanted its mother. Avery glanced at me warily from the corner, watching my every motive. On the one hand, I could stay and keep the drunk Blue happy but cause sober Blue problems. On the other hand, I could get rid of that problem, but make sober Blue feel guilty.

"Okay Blue you win." He wiggled over excitedly, making what little room there was for me. I laid down on the wooden floor, resting on the half pillow. A pair of arms snaked around my waist, pulling me into a warmly toned chest. The same drunk breath washed onto me, but I held in a gag.

"Jinx?" Blue whispered into my ear.

"Yeah Blue?"

"Promise me something?"

"It depends on what it is Blue." He shifted uncomfortably behind me, drawing my body even closer if that were even possible.

"Promise you will never leave me alone." I smiled sadly, remembering what it was truly like to be alone. If a friend had ever needed me, I abide by that promise to remain by their side for as long as I was needed. I turned by body towards him, glancing up the best I could into his eyes. They looked away shyly, a faint blush crossing his features.

"I promise."