Hello again! Thank you all for the wonderful feedback, it has helped me make a decision. The stories will stay but I might make some changes to the more violent chapters to tone them down a bit. BUT I'll finish this story before I start doing that. Please keep the great reviews coming. Love you all
Chapter 22: An Unlikely Friend
As soon as Lorenzo heard the whiskey glasses clink he quickly grabbed a spare medical kit and hurried into Joe's room. For the second time that day his eyes were met with the ghastly remains of Joe Hardy. The poor boy looked sickly, if it wasn't for the rapid rising and falling of his chest Lorenzo would've thought he was too late. The poor boy was almost unrecognizable, black and blue bruises covered every part of his body that wasn't caked in blood. The unconscious teen was still laying on his stomach, red stripes across his back still bleeding freely.
Lorenzo wasted no time wetting a cloth and cleaning the horrible wounds. He dabbed the lashes with antiseptic before dressing them. The Italian struggled to flip Joe onto his back but managed, being gentle to not disturb his wounds. The injured teen groaned but did not stir. He began cleaning the nasty burns, long cut along his collarbone and his head wound, as well as his other injuries. Luckily none of the gashes would cause him to bleed out but some needed stitches and Lorenzo didn't want them to get infected, but by the looks of some of the older lacerations and the fever the boy was running, they already were.
He didn't understand why his uncle and Freakshow hated these boys so much but he knew it wasn't right. These boys were just teenagers, not much younger than Lorenzo himself. Sure the gang had killed before, Hell he had taken part in the torturing of innocent people. But this was going too far, they were just kids. He didn't trust Freakshow, the man was a ticking time bomb and was going to blow the whole operation. He was careless and insane and acted like he was in charge. Who let him run this show? Why was he so obsessed with these two boys? His uncle didn't explain it to him but he thought it had something to do with Fenton Hardy, the man who caused the gang to go underground. Uncle Bernie wanted the gang to rise again, and ultimately take over New York, reliving the Glory Days as he called them. A time of police and government corruption where citizens bowed down in fear and everything was practically handed to them. But Lorenzo was content with keeping a relatively low profile, it meant they could still be a family and pull off small jobs without drawing too much attention. Attention got you killed or even worse, arrested.
He had already lost his mom, he couldn't lose his uncle too. He had to get these boys out of there before Freakshow killed them.
Once he was finished bandaging the blonde, Lorenzo tried to awake him. He shook him vigorously but realized if the burning of the antiseptic didn't wake him nothing could. Before leaving, Lorenzo unchained his wrists and hoped the boy would understand what to do when he woke up. He hadn't uncuffed him earlier because he was afraid Joe would fight back if he awoke. Maybe he'd have better luck with Frank.
Before grabbing a fresh cloth and another bottle of antiseptic he peeked in on his uncle and his friend. They were laughing and about half way through the whiskey bottle. Careful not to draw attention to himself he slipped into the next room.
With his good foot, Frank continued to work the nail out of the footboard. A few more minutes and he'd have it! The door creaked open and Frank immediately stopped, looking up at his visitor. He glared, "is it already time for more sick games?" But to his surprise, Lorenzo shook his head and closed the door silently and showed Frank the medical kit. Understanding dawned on his face and he visibly relaxed.
Lorenzo's eyes fell on the nail that was halfway out of the headboard and Frank's bloody toes. He brown eyes filled with pity and he smiled before producing a key to the handcuffs and freeing his bound wrists. Frank rubbed the skin where the cuffs were while Lorenzo examined his wounds.
"Parli Italiano?" Do you speak Italian? Lorenzo asked Frank, tucking a long brown strand behind his ear.
Frank who had studied Italian in school a few years ago replied "sì, un po." Yes, a little.
While Lorenzo pulled items from the medical kit he detailed his plan. Once he treated the wounds, Frank and Joe would make a run for it. There was a hiking trail a few miles away and if they could get there, they might have a chance of flagging down a hiker. Lorenzo would help by getting them out of the house and keep Louis and Snake occupied for as long as he could. Because what they were doing just wasn't right. Frank winced as Lorenzo took his swollen foot.
Frank's foot and finger were definitely broken as they both were doubled in size due to the swelling. His face was a mess of awful bruises and dried blood around his mouth and nose. But Lorenzo was most concerned about was the fresh wound on Frank's abdomen. He carefully laid a damp cloth over it to try to get some salt out of the wound before bandaging it. It wasn't perfect and would certainly need proper medical attention but that would do for now. Lorenzo set to work on the broken bones, he didn't know how to set them properly but he did splint his finger and wrapped his foot, enough for him to put pressure on. It'd have to do for now. Lorenzo stood, helping Frank up with him. He tested his foot and found he could put a decent amount of pressure on it, thanks to the multiple layers of gauze. It would still be a long limping walk to the hiking trails.
"Grazie mille Lorenzo, non capisci quanto questo significhi per me e mio fratello." Thank you so much Lorenzo, you don't understand how much this means to me and my brother. Frank couldn't find enough words to express the amount of gratitude he felt towards the tall, skinny, boy who needed a haircut. He felt relieved they had finally found an ally but still fear because they weren't out of the woods yet. He hoped once this was all over they could help Lorenzo escape a life of crime, and maybe pursue a career in medicine.
The boy smiled and nodded, leading Frank towards the door. But as soon as Lorenzo grasped the knob, the door flew open revealing a very pissed-off looking Snake and Louis.
"I think we need to have a chat, dear nephew" Snake growled, pulling out a pistol from his waistband and aiming it at his nephew.
Lorenzo gulped, he stood perfectly still for just a moment. "Run!" He yelled to Frank as he sprang at Snake, tackling him to the floor. The sound of a gunshot rang in the air. Frank tried to do just that, but with his broken foot and his hesitancy to leave Joe or Lorenzo he didn't make it far. Louis easily grabbed him around the waist, body slamming him into the wall, pinning him.
"Where'd ya think ya were gonna go huh?" He snarled, punching Frank in the face.
Out of no where, Louis was pulled backwards. He stumbled, losing his grip on Frank. Louis turned to face Joe who delivered an swift uppercut putting Louis on his ass. Joe was about to kick Louis's face when Frank grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "Let's go!" He yelled and both brothers hurried out the bedroom door, Frank leaning heavily on Joe.
They stepped into the living room and froze, meeting ten sets of eyes and more than ten weapons.
"Shit." Joe muttered, no one in the room moved.
"Joe I'm going to slow you down." Frank whispered, eyes trained on the weapons valet in front of him.
"I'm not leaving you." Joe shot back.
"No one is going anywhere." Snake emerged from the room, one arm wrapped around Lorenzo's neck, the other pressing a gun under his chin. "Or he dies." Snake held Lorenzo's head back so they couldn't see his face. Frank looked on in horror as a dark red stain was growing on Lorenzo's chest, he had already been shot.
Louis emerged from the room and without warning struck both Hardy's in the head with a baseball bat, knocking them both to the floor.
Before everything went dark, Frank saw Snake toss Lorenzo aside. The boy fell to the ground in a heap, lifeless. Dead.
What'd you think? Yes the boys will catch a break soon