Jeff tried to clear his mind as he taped his ankles up before his match. He had taken Maggie to the doctor the other day and had some tests done on her. The results weren't back yet but they were supposed to be by the end of the week. A bad feeling was forming in the pit of his stomach. He didn't want to say it out loud, but he was scared that something was seriously wrong with poor Maggie. She was so tired still and today she not only had trouble picking up her own backpack, but she was completely winded when she climbed up a set of stairs. Currently she was sitting on the floor staring up at the monitor, watching the match that was happening at the moment. She didn't even want to get up and run around with Sid. She was just too tired.
Randy came back into the locker room. "Where did Sid and Jack go?" he asked. "I can't find them anywhere."
"Hunter and Shawn have Sid with them," Jeff told him. "And Jack went off with Aaron, Jenny and Emma. They should be around here somewhere."
Randy sighed. "Okay, first you let Hunter and Shawn corrupt Jack and now you gave them Sid?" He got down on the floor so he could pretend to whisper to Maggie. "I think your Daddy over there has lost all of his marbles."
Maggie giggled.
Jeff glared at him. "They are not going to corrupt Sid. They promised they were going to be on their best behavior. Besides, Sid knows better than to--"
Sid came bursting into the room decked in a DX t-shirt, ripped jeans and a small leather jacket. His hair was spiked up as much as it would go. "I am an Anti-Christ! I am an anarchist! Don't know what I want but I know how to get it! I want to destroy passerby! Because I wanna be, anarchy!" He picked up the nearest chair and tried to fling it across the room. It didn't actually go very far but it made a loud thump as it hit the floor. "Get pissed, destroy!"
Jeff, Randy and Maggie just stared at Sid for several minutes. "Oh yes, Sid really does know better," Randy said sarcastically. "Acting like he's in the Sex Pistols is a really good sign."
Sid grinned. "Hunter and Shawn said it would make sense because my girlfriend's name is Nancy."
Jeff and Randy exchanged looks. Okay, they had not actually known Sid's girlfriend's name was Nancy. That kind of worried them because the other Sid and Nancy hadn't worked out so well. "Okay Sid, I know Shawn and Hunter think it's funny when you run around like a maniac but we would appreciate it if you wouldn't," Jeff said gently. "It kind of scares us, okay?"
"Okay Daddy," Sid said. He plopped down on the floor next to Maggie. "I'm keeping my hair like this though."
"Okay then," Randy agreed. "The spikey hair stays." He kissed both Maggie and Sid before getting up and going over to Jeff. "Are you going to make it through tonight?" he asked.
Jeff just shrugged. "I'm worried about what the doctor is going to say when they get the test results back," he whispered. He didn't want Maggie to hear them talking about her. "It's bad Randy. I just know it."
Randy sighed and pressed his forehead against Jeff's. "It's going to be okay," he said. He was trying to sound reassuring but his voice was cracking. "She's going to be okay."
Kofi poked his head in the room. "Uh Jeff?"
"I'm coming," Jeff said. His voice was shaking. He wanted to believe Randy's words but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Deep in his gut, he knew that Maggie's situation was serious. And when he heard the news, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to handle it. He wasn't sure if any of them were going to be able to handle it.
XXXXXXX
Jack stuffed his hands into his hoodie pocket. He, Aaron, Jenny and Emma had gone to hang out with some of the other kids in the catering area. Aaron and Emma were all over each other while Jenny and Derek Mizian made gagging noises and crude gestures behind their back. Rachel and Gary were trying to play Monkey in the Middle with little Caleb and the poor kid did not seem to be appreciating it. Emma's little sister Dakota was playing with Sasha Morrison and Doug was talking to Aurora Levesque.
To make it look like he wasn't watching Doug, Jack pretended to be playing a game on his cell phone. He seemed to be doing a good job of it because nobody was bothering him. But he almost wished someone would notice that he was about to go nuts. He appeared calm on the outside but on the inside he felt like screaming. He could see the way Aurora and Doug were flirting with each other and it absolutely killed him.
Stop letting it get to you, he told himself. Doug will never love you the way you love him so quit tormenting yourself. You're only making yourself more miserable.
His phone vibrated as he got a text. He checked it and was surprised to see it was from Dave. Where r u?
He hesitated for a minute before answering. Y do u care?
The next message came only after a couple of minutes. Im sorry. That was all it said.
U cheat on me and u say sorry thru a text? Screw you Dave. Jack sent that and put his phone in his pocket. Anger made him send that message. He wasn't even sure if he meant that. Yes Dave could be an abusive bastard and a selfish prick, but having Doug right in front of him and knowing that he could never have what he really wanted made him desperate for any kind of love--no matter how self destructive.
Not being able to stand being around anyone anymore, Jack grabbed his can of Mountain Dew and bailed out of the room. He went into the nearest men's bathroom and hid in one of the stalls. He took the tab off the can and rolled up his sleeve. Something had to be done to calm his inner turmoil. He had to make himself feel better. He dragged the sharp end of the tab against his arm as hard as he could, making himself bleed. Instant relief washed over him. He had been getting the urge to do this for quite awhile now. He just hadn't had the guts to try it before tonight. But he already liked it. It gave him a release and let him turn his inner pain into physical pain.
The call of the cutting had claimed another victim.
