It took Hank a lot of strength, patience and words to calm his brother down. Hank didn't expect his brother to fight him off so well in his broken shape. It worried him to see Evan on his knees. He was afraid that he could hurt the already damaged knee cap or his ankle. The drug was obviously taking away the physical pain. Was it a good thing? No! The older Lawson wanted his brother free of pain, sure, but if Evan didn't feel the pain he could easily do things to hurt himself.
After what had seemed an eternity he could finally pull his brother in an embrace that he didn't fight. His brothers struggling against him had stopped so suddenly, that Hank had first feared he had passed out and then hoped the drugs were wearing off, but obviously they weren't.
The hallucinations were still controlling Evan's mind and his body, but he finally let Hank hold him, the bad thing was that he didn't let him examine his body. But the doctor was glad that he could hold him at all and it was anyway too dark to see anything. The light of his cell phone or the light app that, oh wonder, Evan had got him, wasn't bright enough to make a real difference. His brother didn't scream anymore. Hank should have been thankful for that, but the continuing insanely mumbling worried him more.
He had spent a while to let his hands running under Evan's shirt and along his shoulders and arms, his head and his neck to check for any injuries, but Evan made it hard with his shifting and trembling. But he felt a few things that he had to examine closely, when he had some light. What worried him most were Evan's ribs. They didn't feel in place, he hoped that there weren't broken ones, but he was almost sure there were. His anger was growing with every small injury he could feel on the younger mans body.
There was the smell of blood, sweat, sick, urine, alcohol, mold, dust and something like a rotting animal. Many of them came from his brother. But he didn't care. He kissed his hair, kissed his neck, just to comfort him and let him know he was there.
Evan didn't want to be in this new attackers embrace. He was too scared, because the man was so much stronger than the others, like his mother. She was still there terrifying him and this mans grip reminded him of someone else, someone he had known many many years ago, someone that had hurt him. He didn't know who it had been, but his mind was light years away from that time and the thought was washed over with his mothers voice. "Loser, no wonder I got sick. Such a nasty and naughty boy. He's gonna punish you."
He couldn't fight the man anyway. There was no strength left. He noticed after a while though the mans hands were stronger than the other peoples hands, the touch was different. The mans hands were soft, caressing and he suddenly felt safer, still a little afraid, but safe. So he tries to hold on to this feeling. Well, he just does, but his mind is too blown to let him make any conscious decision. It was the only way to deal with his mother and everything that was happening to him.
The light went on in the basement. Hank woke slowly and was angry at himself that he had fallen asleep. He checked on Evan. His younger brother was still effected by the drug, but when Hank's leg touched his side, he groaned in pain. That was good, because the drug was wearing off. But he had to do something to ease the pain. I need to check his ribs.
The door was opened. Hank leaned Evan against the wall and got on his feet. "What do you want, Eddie?"
"Calm down, son. Just bringing you some painkillers for your head."
"I don't need them. But they will help Evan."
"No, they are for you. You don't need them. I'll keep them."
"What the fuck?!" He stepped closer to his father.
"You touch him, I shoot this little failure of yours."
"You bitch! Evan was right about you!"
Emily laughed. "Yeah, seems the idiot isn't that dumb at all. Too bad you figured out so early. Took me the fun of tearing you guys apart."
"You're insane! Dream on, bitch. You're not even special enough to think about love!"
"But special enough to take care of your little brother that is oh so precious to you..." False smile on her face.
The words hit him. Oh God, she's right. It's my fault. I left him in her care. Trusted her to keep an eye on him. Hank! What did you think? They didn't like each other! "You're right, but I'm not going to make the mistake again. You won't get another chance to be alone with him."
Hank went back to his brother and knelt down. He started to lift the shirt, when his fathers voice stopped him from behind. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Examine him and see if I can help."
"Go away from him, son."
"No!" Hank knew that Evan's pants were wet from his own urine, well he thought he knew, but to actually see it hurt much more. Evan had been a bed wetter for many years. It had been better in college, but did never stop until he started working and had become so good in his job, that he was actually quite successful and it hadn't been good for his self-consciousness. He got him out of the pants.
He then pulled the shirt over his brothers head. There were bruises all over his torso, front and back, new and old, in every possible color. The tension was rising. He saw the raw flesh on Evans wrists. Several new small marks on Evan's arm. Too many and looking down on the body, he found more and more of them, there were a few on his neck, hidden under the hair that he loved so much on his brother. "How many," he had to swallow a lump down his throat. "How often, how long have you injected him and WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU GIVE HIM?" He was up on his feet in no time and throwing hateful looks at the couple.
"Oh we'll let you know, but not yet."
"Eddie, darling, did you forget? We don't have to." She smiled at her husband.
"Yes, you're right. Glad you remind me, my love."
"You're sick! Both of you! Evan needs to be in a hospital."
"No chance, my son!"
"I told you to stop calling me your son!" He spit in his fathers face. "Let me bring him to your bed."
"No."
"The couch!"
"No way."
"Bring me some blankets, towels, warm water, soap, cold water, something to drink, food, my bag from the car and whatever your first aid kid has to offer." He tried to calm down for Evan's sake. "Please."
"You know son, Henry, we'll give you some water to drink, some food and one blanket. That's enough."
"Eddie, I have to clean his wounds, clean his legs and he needs medical help. It's so cold and wet here. We need more blankets that I can keep him warm, dry and comfortable. And maybe pants and a shirt, if you have some for him. The dust and the dirt here isn't making it better."
"You don't want to understand it, don't ya? I don't care if he's in pain or has wounds or if he sleeps well and I surely won't give him any of my clothes. He peed in his, don't want any of it in mine."
Hank got up again, but before he was able to say something, Emily spoke up: "Go get him the stuff so that we can go ahead. I'll take care of them." The gun still in her hand. She whispered something to Eddie, he nodded and left.
Hank was still standing and staring at her. "What's the plan? Why are you doing this? I want to know what my brother ever did to you and Eddie to deserve this?"
She smiled. Her eyes filled with amusement. Hank turned around to follow her line of gaze. Evan was fighting against something, clutching his head over and over against the wall, when his head and arms finally fell limp, the tension in his body was build up right away and he started cramping.
"Evan?" Hank was next to him, tried to hold him tight. Careful that he didn't hurt himself. Hank saw something in his brothers face right before the fit started. Evan was totally clear for the first time since Hank got there. Kiddo, you so have a bad timing! The seizure was going on for 160 seconds, not too long, but it was bad. The convulsions washed over Evan's whole body, causing pain, hurting his ribs even more. What were supposed to be painful screams came out as "Ahhnnnnaannnn" through his clenched teeth. His eyes kept rolling around in his head. Through the whole time Hank was holding on to him, talking to him, let him know he was there. The seizure passed slowly and Evan's body relaxed with that.
"That's good." Hank said, tears in his eyes, his heart a bit more broken, because his brother had to wake up right, when the seizure started and was so totally aware of it and the horrible pain it had caused.
"E-ny?"
"I'm here, Evan." He tried to smile for him. He said Eny, didn't say it since, I don't know – guess since I could afford to get him out of the horrible foster home. The memory of the first time Evan had called him Eny came back.
Hank comes back from school. A neighbor picked her son and him up, because his mother is at her parents place this week. Evan is screaming. Hank calls for his father, but doesn't get an answer, so he walks ahead to Evan's room. He knocks on the door 'Dad, you're in there?' Evan's screaming ends in sobs and he opens the door without waiting for an answer... but nobody is there!
He tries to make out where the sobs come from. The bathroom door is open. There is his baby brother sitting in the shower, water running down on him, alone. Hank turns the water off, it was far too cold. The 30 months old boy is shivering in his arms. Hank gets a towel and rubs the boy dry, then gets the bathrobe that his mother always uses for Evan.
He leaves the bathroom and calls for his father again. He comes out of their bed room, just closing his trousers. He seems stressed, like he was interrupted doing something. His mother always says that she can see it in his eyes, when he is trying to hide things and Hank is sure that the look on his fathers face is the same that his mother sees, when he lies to her. He makes a mental note to change his face, when he has to hide things from his mommy.
'Why did you leave Evan alone in the shower? The water was real cold, Dad.'
'Got no time. The boy drives me insane, couldn't rest at all. Needed some kind of punishment. Gotta go to work.'
Punishment. Hank is shocked. That's way too hard for a boy who's not even three years old. Even he knows that and is almost seven. His dad should know, too. He brings his brother to his own room and lays down on the bed with him, the boy is still crying. Hank holds him tight and tells him, he will make him warm again and take care of him, because that's his job as a big brother. The kid stops crying and with a sad look in his eyes he says...'Eny?'... Henry smiles about the first time his brother tries to say his name. He will learn to say Henry later, but whenever he will be very sick or down, he will come back to the old nickname.
It seemed like eternity now that he had last heard it. He felt his brother squeezing his hand, before the eyes rolled back in his head and his head rolled to the side.