Chapter 8

The rest of the day went by peacefully. Jack slept the whole rest of the day and that whole night. The boys all stayed home with there mother who didn't go to work or leave the house. They were all extremely worried about little Jackie. This kid's life was just one bad thing after another.

The next morning everyone but Jack got up at some ungodly hour because none of them were able to get a sound enough sleep.

By that morning they all decided to get back to their somewhat normal routine. Evelyn went to work, but promised to be home early, Jerry and Angel were going to have both their girls come over, and Bobby didn't really have much of a life at the moment so there was really no change for him. He wouldn't be able to go play hockey because after the incident with the skate blade and the guys arm, nobody would be playing a pick up game with him for a while.

At about three in the morning Angel and Jerry had both their girls over and were sitting on the couch watching a romance movie. Jerry and Camille were really the only ones watching though because Sophi was sitting on Angel's lap making out. Bobby had to sit in the kitchen a chug a beer just to keep himself from throwing up. He was starting to get really worried about Jack though. The kid had been asleep for a little over 24 hours and that's not normal even for their family.

Bobby walked into the living room and stood in front of the TV.

"Common Bobby, we're watching that." Whined Angel.

Bobby crossed his arms over his chest. "Like hell you were. You were too busy deep throughting you're your Loco bitch."

He and Sophie went on like that for awhile before Jerry intervened. "What do you want Bobby?" He said tiredly.

Bobby snapped up as if he remembered something. "Someone should go check on the pip squeak." He stated simply.

"That's it man. Why don't you just go do it?" Said Jerry.

"Cause I'm not exactly good at waking people up."

"That's fer sure! You flip me over on my mattress when you wake me up. You'd probably scare the shit outa the kid." Angel scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah we get it, now will someone go see what's up with him?" Bobby replied.

"Yeah, I guess I'll go." Jerry said as he stood up.

"Can I go Jer?" Camille asked looping her hand threw his.

"Sure babe." Jerry said while pulling her up from the couch.

"Okay well why don't you two get on that." Bobby said while scratching the back of his head.

When Jerry and Camille walked into Jack's room they saw that Jack was lying on top of the covers with his head buried in his pillows. He seemed to have been crying because upon further inspection they could see that the pillow was still wet.

Jerry very gently called out Jack's name. Jack awoke immediately with alarm written on his face. He calmed down when he realized it was just Jerry. He knew that the girl next to him was Camille, his girlfriend, because Evelyn had shown him a picture of the two together.

"Jacky, are you okay man?" Jerry asked concerned.

Jack shook his head up and down. Unfortunately for Jack, Jerry wasn't buying it.

"Why were you crying?" Jerry asked.

"I wasn't." Jack stated a little too quickly.

"Jacky c'mon. Would you rather talk to Bobby?"

"No!" Jack looked frantic. He still wouldn't look anyone in the eye, but it wasn't exactly hard to tell. "Don't tell Bobby."

Jerry looked at him confused. "Why not?"

Jack didn't answer. He just sat there silently, staring at the wall behind Camille and Jerry.

Jerry was about to ask the question again when Camille decided to say something. "Bobby won't think that you're weak Jack." Camille sat on the opposite side of the bed as Jack, knowing from Jerry that close contact wasn't really Jack's thing. "Bobby would be happy to know that you trust him enough to tell him what you're feeling."

Jack looked in Camille's general direction and could tell from her body language that she meant what she was saying.

"Promise?" Jack asked desperately.

"Of course, I would never dream of lying to you." Camille assured with a smile.

Jack looked Camille directly in the eyes and flashed her a rare smile that seemed to catch her with surprise. It only lasted a second though and then he went neutral again and reverted his eyes somewhere else.

"Is it okay if I go get Bobby then?" Jerry asked.

Jack shook his head yes and watched as Jerry and Camille left the room, shutting the door behind them. The next time it opened was when Bobby entered with a concerned look on his face.

"You okay Jacky?" Bobby asked taking a seat about two inches from where Jack was sitting on the bed. Jack didn't mind Evelyn or Bobby being close anymore. He would probably even let Jerry and Angel get some what close, but if the touched him, he would definitely freak out.

Jack kept his stoic composure. "Bobby, when will I forget?" Jack asked blatantly.

Bobby was a bit taken aback by Jack being to forward for once, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Forget what Jack?" Bobby asked, even though he had a pretty good idea of what Jack was talking about.

"Everything. When will I forget it all?" Jack asked as his stoic expression broke and tears began to fall.

Bobby pulled Jack on to his lap and enveloped him in a gentle hug. "You probably won't ever forget it Jack. Things like that aren't there to be forgotten, but you will learn to live with them. I know that doesn't sound all that helpful right now, but if you get used to the life you have here. And you get used to this kind of affection, and then all those other things will fade into the background. They'll still be there, but they won't hurt anymore because you'll know that it's all over. You're safe now Jack." Bobby said in a hushed tone as he rocked his baby brother back and forth.

"You promise. It won't hurt anymore? I'm tired of being hurt." Jack whimpered.

Bobby felt rage and sadness all at the same time. Rage for the people that made him feel that way and sadness for the fact that such a sweet kid could be hurting so much.

"I promise Jacky. No more hurt. And I never break my promises."

He and Jack sat like that for a moment, until Bobby remembered that they hadn't been able to treat Jack's injuries in awhile. "Jacky?" Bobby asked, checking to see if he was still awake.

"Hmm?" Jack answered.

"Why don't we go get you fixed up again okay? It looks like your neck is starting to bleed again."

Jack got up reluctantly and Bobby followed Jack into the bathroom. When Bobby finished cleaning all of Jack's injuries, he led Jack back to his bad, seeing that Jack hadn't slept at all during that whole time. The kid looked exhausted. He had asked Jack if he had slept any of the time being up stairs and Jack answered him by saying he slept a little, but he couldn't sleep for the most part.

Bobby helped Jack crawl into his covers again. Jack was sore from his injuries being treated. They stung with the peroxide and Bobby had accidentally bumped a few of them when he was bandaging them. He felt horrible, but he gave the kid kudos for not crying and staying still this time. Bobby didn't know if he would be able to keep curse words from escaping his mouth with injuries like that.

"Thanks Bobby." Jack said once he was in bed and as comfortable as he was going to be able to get.

"Yeah no problem Cracker Jack." Bobby said in a teasing, but loving manor as he closed the blinds the best he could so light didn't interfere with Jack's sleep.

Bobby walked over the door and turned off the light. He had started to leave when he heard Jack whisper out his name. Bobby turned around and asked Jack what was wrong.

"C-could you st-stay with me?" Jack asked timidly as if the question were going to get him beat.

Bobby turned around and sat up against Jack's bed. "Sure kid'o. Whatever you need. Just get some sleep and I'll be here when you wake up."

"Thanks." Jack replied weakly as he drifted off to sleep.