Running From Lions

My eyes fluttered open to bright lights causing tears to form in my eyes but there was no pain anymore, I heard beeping noises and my side hurt along with my arm.

I tried to breathe but resulted in coughs that made my side hurt worse and I felt someone at my side.

“Hey babe, how are you?” they whispered and I looked around to see Jack and I nodded laying back down.

“Good, your okay now. They operated on you and your fine,” he said and I nodded as he held my hand.

“Where are they?” I asked.

“Who?” he asked and I coughed again.

“Mom and dad,” I said and he shook his head.

“We don’t know still,” he said and I looked confused.

“Then how did they operate?” I asked and he smiled.

“I took one for the team,” I heard a voice say as Xavier stood up with Alex still attached to him.

“You?” I asked and he nodded.

“I signed for you, I’m 19 so technically I can do it. Plus these 2 would’ve murdered me if I didn’t,” he said and I smiled.

“Thanks,” I said and he smiled back.

“Now you need to get some sleep,” Jack said and I shook my head.

“Alex,” I said and he looked at me.

“Are you okay?” I asked and he nodded.

“Do you hate me?” I asked and he shook his head.

”Do you hate me?” he asked and I shook my head and he smiled.

“Good, I thought you’d hate me,” he said and I shook my head.

“I thought you’d hate me for what Jonah did,” I said and he laughed.

“I know better than to associate anything he does with you,” he said smiling.

Jack convinced me to go back to sleep and I woke up to hear voices again.

“Rory!” my dad shouted.

“We got the message, where do we need to sign?” he asked.

“You don’t need to, she got worse and I signed for you, you don’t mind do you? It’s just she was getting worse and I thought it’d be better to do it now then wait,” Xavier said and my dad grabbed him.

“Thank you Xavier,” he said and Xavier looked terrified as my dad squashed him against his chest, my dad let him go before checking on me and sitting down with the Gaskarth’s.

Alex and Xavier were sat on my right with Jack on my left holding my hand, I heard the door open again.

“Like fuck!” I heard Xavier shout before running at whoever had walked through the door.

I heard a bang followed by my mom screaming and Jack tightened his grip on me as I tried to sit up.

“You think you’re fucking cool forcing yourself on him?” Xavier growled at the body he had forced against the wall.

“Let him go, you don’t do this in a hospital room,” my mom snapped.

“I’ll kill him,” Jack grumbled.

“Leave it Jack, I’ve got this one,” Xavier replied keeping his eyes on the person.

“She’s right, get outside right now! We’ll see how much of a big man you are, nobody hurts my boyfriend and gets away with it!” Xavier growled pushing them towards the door.

“Do something,” my mom said to my dad who just watched them.

“No,” he stated.

“He stabbed his own sister and you still want to save him? He deserves more than Alex gave him that’s for sure. He’s not a baby anymore! Who knows what he’d have done to Alex and he’s carrying a knife around now! This has gone too far, how you can even think about bringing him in here is beyond me,” dad said.

“He’s our son,” she argued.

“Yeah and she’s our daughter, we’ve overlooked her in his favor long enough. We have no clue what she can or can’t do because we’re that bothered about what he is or isn’t doing. I can’t take it anymore,” dad snapped.

I heard crying.

“That’s it cry now, feeling sorry for yourself are you?” Xavier snapped at the figure as they slide down the wall hugging their knees to their chest.

I couldn’t see him enough to know but I figured it was Jonah, why had they brought him here after this? I heard mumbles but I couldn’t make it out.

“Rory,” I heard him say and I ignored him.

“Please,” he begged. I heard him sniffle before standing up.

“Rory lion please,” he begged and I looked at him as Xavier had his hoodie in his fists.

“What?” I asked.

“Rory you don’t have to talk to him,” Jack said and I nodded.

“He’s right, say the word and I’ll escort him off the premises,” Xavier said looking at me and I shook my head.

“What do you want? Let him go,” I said and Xavier did I said.

Jonah walked slowly towards me and Alex shook, Xavier pushed in front of Jonah grabbing Alex’s hand and pulling him into his body.

Jack tightened his grip on my hand as Jonah stood at my side, he had a black eye and he looked like he might collapse any second.

“Rory,” he said as tears feel down his face. He reached out to touch me and Jack stood up.

“Don’t!” he snapped and Jonah moved his hand to his hair.

“I never…I just didn’t…I’m sorry,” he said and I just looked at him.

“Why?” I asked and he looked away before answering.

“I didn’t know it was you,” he admitted.

“So it would be okay to do that to someone else?” I asked and he shook his head.

“What were you doing Jonah?” I asked and he shrugged.

“Well it sure as hell looked like you had plans,” I snapped at him and he looked at Alex who looked away.

“How many other people have you done that to? Why are you carrying a knife in the first place?” I asked as he cried.

“I’ve never done that before and it’s complicated Rory,” he said and I shook my head.

“No Jonah you mean to say you don’t remember doing that before,” I stated and he just looked at me.

“I really thought you were over this when we were talking the other day but you obviously don’t even care anymore, do you even know what this does? You go around living like nothing matters and we all take the fall back. I got beat up because of you! We lie to cover for you, people never want anything to do with me because of you, mom and dad never even notice me because of you!” I said and he just shook his head.

“I never mean to do it, nobody ever tells me to stop so I don’t,” he said and I started to cry.

“I told you stop when you used to pick on me for money and you never listened,” I stated and he looked away.

“I’m sorry, I saw her and she said she never even cared Rory. She told me I meant nothing and I went out drinking, I saw Alex on the way home and I don’t know,” he said looking at his feet.

“I never feel good enough for anything, nobody deserves to have to put up with me and yes I can talk my way around any girl I want but they always leave me. I guess I deserve it but I just felt so tired of being rejected by everyone, nobody ever wants to be friends with me let alone anything else,” he admitted.

“What so you thought forcing yourself on me would help that?” Alex asked and Jonah shook his head.

“I never thought that’s the point, I don’t even know why I did it,” he said.

“So why the knife?” I asked and he looked at me.

“I was going to see someone,” he said as I looked at him and he carried on.

“Them guys that hurt you guys,” he admitted.

“What the hell were you going to do to them?” I asked and he looked away.

“Make sure they left you alone, you’re my sister Rory. Me being a dick had always protected you before but they weren’t scared anymore so I had to do something to stop everyone thinking it was okay to take shots at you,” he said.

“What so hurting them was the right thing to do?” I asked.

“If one person thinks it’s okay then everyone will do it Rory, I was trying to protect you! I thought if I showed them you can’t hurt you then everyone would hear about it and nobody would hurt you ever again,” he said.

“Except you hurt her,” Jack said and Jonah nodded slowly.

“Rory lion I never meant to hurt you, I do stupid things and I hurt people and I know I do it. I know I hurt mom and dad but part of me doesn’t even care, when I hurt them they give me attention, they make me feel like I matter. But I never meant to hurt you; you’re my baby sister. Every time I’ve ever hurt you I hate myself afterwards, I hate that I’ve made you cry before. I have the stupidest ways of showing it but I love you Rory,” he said through tears.

“So what you say that and I forgive you? No Jonah you fucked up,” I snapped at him and he nodded.

“I know Rory, you think I don’t know what I’ve done? I just don’t know what to do with myself anymore; I’m tired of my life. I can’t keep this all up,” he said scratching at his arms.

“This is our fault, we’ve let him get this far. Look at him, he’s our son and he’s a mess. Our son has stabbed our daughter, we’ve failed as parents,” dad snapped and mom just glared at him.

“How is this our fault?” she asked.

“How is this not our fault, nobody else’s kids do stuff like this. The Gaskarth’s think they did a bad job because Alex likes boys, that’s nothing our son stabs people, takes drugs, drinks and apparently forces himself on others! How is this not our fault?” dad shouted.