Dirty Work
Chapter Ten
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
"Chill the fuck out! Nothing's gonna get figured out if you're blowing up at people."
"I can't fucking chill out! Where is he?!"
"Alex, none of us know."
"Vinny, do you know where Jack is?!"
"No."
"Zack?"
"No idea."
"Fuck!"
"Alex.."
"Rian. Don't. Just.. don't."
"Alex, not even his parents know and his phone goes straight to voicemail after ringing once."
"Ri.."
"I know. We're gonna find him. I'm sure he's fine. Just don't go completely postal on us."
"Ri, I can't lose him. Not now."
"I know. Trust me, I do. We all need him. We will find him."
"What if he's in trouble? What if its that dick of an ex?"
"He's in jail though."
"He could've gotten out somehow."
"Let's not jump to any conclusions. Vinny and Zack, go to the park make sure he's not there. Alex, you'll go with me to talk to his parents and anywhere else we can think of."
"Ri, I see smoke..."
"That could be anything."
"It's in their neighborhood.. And close to where his house is..."
"It's their house.. Fuck."
We both got out and ran over to where Jack's parents were standing.
"Are you guys alright? What happened?"
"We're fine, the oven caught fire and it quickly spread. Any word on Jack?"
"None yet. We're still trying to find him. Any idea where he might've gone?"
"I think he said something about going to some party or something of the sort."
"Do you know where about or who'd be there?"
"No idea. I'm sorry guys, I'm sure he'll be back by tomorrow though."
"I hope so.. I'm sorry about the house, you guys can stay at my place till you can repair it."
"Thank you, Alex. Are you sure though?We wouldn't want to impose.."
"Oh, you wouldn't be. We'd love to have you guys over, especially after this. We have a spare bedroom you guys can use."
"But isn't that where Jack sleeps when he's over?"
"..uh..."
"Kidding, I kinda figured that much."
"..so, uh, yeah.. I'll let my parents know. We're gonna head out and try to track down Jack."
"Good luck boys."
"Thanks."
"That was awkward.."
"At least he was kidding around and wasn't being dead serious."
"True and he didn't really make me answer."
"True. Why.. never mind."
"What?"
"Nothing, where do you think this party is?"
"No, what were you going to say?"
"I was going to ask a question and then decided I truly didn't want to know the answer. Back to the real issue here, you know the one where we're looking for Jack? The issue you were flipping your shit about earlier."
"Oh, shut up. I've calmed down a bit."
We drove around aimlessly while I continuously called Jack's phone. No answer. I left at least ten voicemails. Then we saw what looked like Jack's car off to the side of the road. But it was rammed into a tree and there was smoke emanating from the hood.. I hoped to god that wasn't his car. Unfortunately, with his bad luck mixed with my own, it was his. I quickly headed to the driver's side and Rian went to check the engine. When he lifted the hood the engine caught fire and we both got nervous. Jack's window was cracked open a bit so I called into it, hoping he could hear me. He was unconscious and the door was locked. Rian broke the passenger window with a decent sized rock from the side of the road. The fire was spreading so we'd have to get him out as quickly as possible. We got the car unlocked and then the seatbelt was jammed and I couldn't get it off him. He started to stir a little and then he opened his eyes, saw the flames and started freaking out. I finally got the seatbelt un-jammed, pulled him out and fell far enough away as the engine exploded. Today was proving to be a bad day for everyone. He was all banged up, covered in bruises and blood, and was trying so hard not to cry. I heard Rian on the phone in the distance. Jack turned to me and was barely able to choke out that his ankle hurt as well as his head. I made sure he stayed where he was and looked at his ankle. It was bruised and swollen. And he had a gash just above his ankle that was still bleeding. I got Rian to get a towel from our car and then we wrapped it around his leg. Off in the distance, we could hear sirens and they were becoming louder every second; then they finally got there. Jack's car was toast, literally speaking, and they put out the remaining flames. The ambulance got there, shortly after the fire truck, and they got the stretcher out to load Jack onto it. As they were loading him into the back, I grabbed my jacket from Rian's car and hopped in back with him. We headed to the hospital where we found out that Jack had a broken ankle, a concussion, and he tweaked his back a little. His parents arrived not long after we got settled into his room. His mom had been close to hysterics before coming into the room and you could tell it was mainly just the mom in her freaking out.
After his parents left, the nurse came in and told me visiting hours were over. I protested but she continued to be very adamant that I had to go. I kissed Jack's forehead and said goodbye then left with the nurse. As soon as I knew she was gone and the other nurse who'd gone to check on Jack had left, I snuck back in. The grin on his face when he realized it was just me was priceless. We had to go lights out then so I pulled the chair from the corner to the side of his bed and fell asleep holding his hand. At some point in the wee hours of the morning I woke up and heard Jack's voice and some female voice.
"Why is he still here?!"
"Please let him stay..."
"Fine. I'm breaking policy by allowing it but since he's asleep, I don't wanna wake him up."
"Thank you."
"So, what is he to you?"
"He's my boyfriend."
"Oh, that's really sweet. You're adorable together."
"Haha, thanks.. It's been rough but totally worth it."
"That's good, all relationships are rough but I'm sure the situations have been worse for you two. I'm glad you've pushed through them though. It's always sweet to see two young people in a very loving relationship."
"Yeah, sometimes I really wonder how and why he puts up with me. But he makes me happy and I love him so I'm glad he sticks with me."
I fell back asleep before I got a chance to hear any more. The next time I awoke, the room was bright and I was leaning against the back of my chair. The nurse came in and placed Jack's breakfast at the end of his bed. I sat up and as soon as the nurse left again, I half-assed a quick bite from his tray and it ended up on the floor. We both laughed and when I took another bite from the stuff on his plate, I made a disgusted face. Apparently my face contorted in such an ugly way Jack could do nothing but laugh so hard he couldn't breathe.
"What the hell is this stuff?"
"Hospital food."
"Really? You don't say."
"Well it's not supposed to be gourmet food. How much do you love me?"
"Where do you want me to go?"
"McDonald's would be fine. Just get the kids meal waffle stick things."
"Haha, alright. I'll be back in 20 minutes."
We greatly enjoyed our breakfast as soon as it was no longer hospital food. Then we talked to the doctor and found out how long Jack had to stay at the hospital. Unfortunately we were looking at another two to three days.
"Chill the fuck out! Nothing's gonna get figured out if you're blowing up at people."
"I can't fucking chill out! Where is he?!"
"Alex, none of us know."
"Vinny, do you know where Jack is?!"
"No."
"Zack?"
"No idea."
"Fuck!"
"Alex.."
"Rian. Don't. Just.. don't."
"Alex, not even his parents know and his phone goes straight to voicemail after ringing once."
"Ri.."
"I know. We're gonna find him. I'm sure he's fine. Just don't go completely postal on us."
"Ri, I can't lose him. Not now."
"I know. Trust me, I do. We all need him. We will find him."
"What if he's in trouble? What if its that dick of an ex?"
"He's in jail though."
"He could've gotten out somehow."
"Let's not jump to any conclusions. Vinny and Zack, go to the park make sure he's not there. Alex, you'll go with me to talk to his parents and anywhere else we can think of."
"Ri, I see smoke..."
"That could be anything."
"It's in their neighborhood.. And close to where his house is..."
"It's their house.. Fuck."
We both got out and ran over to where Jack's parents were standing.
"Are you guys alright? What happened?"
"We're fine, the oven caught fire and it quickly spread. Any word on Jack?"
"None yet. We're still trying to find him. Any idea where he might've gone?"
"I think he said something about going to some party or something of the sort."
"Do you know where about or who'd be there?"
"No idea. I'm sorry guys, I'm sure he'll be back by tomorrow though."
"I hope so.. I'm sorry about the house, you guys can stay at my place till you can repair it."
"Thank you, Alex. Are you sure though?We wouldn't want to impose.."
"Oh, you wouldn't be. We'd love to have you guys over, especially after this. We have a spare bedroom you guys can use."
"But isn't that where Jack sleeps when he's over?"
"..uh..."
"Kidding, I kinda figured that much."
"..so, uh, yeah.. I'll let my parents know. We're gonna head out and try to track down Jack."
"Good luck boys."
"Thanks."
"That was awkward.."
"At least he was kidding around and wasn't being dead serious."
"True and he didn't really make me answer."
"True. Why.. never mind."
"What?"
"Nothing, where do you think this party is?"
"No, what were you going to say?"
"I was going to ask a question and then decided I truly didn't want to know the answer. Back to the real issue here, you know the one where we're looking for Jack? The issue you were flipping your shit about earlier."
"Oh, shut up. I've calmed down a bit."
We drove around aimlessly while I continuously called Jack's phone. No answer. I left at least ten voicemails. Then we saw what looked like Jack's car off to the side of the road. But it was rammed into a tree and there was smoke emanating from the hood.. I hoped to god that wasn't his car. Unfortunately, with his bad luck mixed with my own, it was his. I quickly headed to the driver's side and Rian went to check the engine. When he lifted the hood the engine caught fire and we both got nervous. Jack's window was cracked open a bit so I called into it, hoping he could hear me. He was unconscious and the door was locked. Rian broke the passenger window with a decent sized rock from the side of the road. The fire was spreading so we'd have to get him out as quickly as possible. We got the car unlocked and then the seatbelt was jammed and I couldn't get it off him. He started to stir a little and then he opened his eyes, saw the flames and started freaking out. I finally got the seatbelt un-jammed, pulled him out and fell far enough away as the engine exploded. Today was proving to be a bad day for everyone. He was all banged up, covered in bruises and blood, and was trying so hard not to cry. I heard Rian on the phone in the distance. Jack turned to me and was barely able to choke out that his ankle hurt as well as his head. I made sure he stayed where he was and looked at his ankle. It was bruised and swollen. And he had a gash just above his ankle that was still bleeding. I got Rian to get a towel from our car and then we wrapped it around his leg. Off in the distance, we could hear sirens and they were becoming louder every second; then they finally got there. Jack's car was toast, literally speaking, and they put out the remaining flames. The ambulance got there, shortly after the fire truck, and they got the stretcher out to load Jack onto it. As they were loading him into the back, I grabbed my jacket from Rian's car and hopped in back with him. We headed to the hospital where we found out that Jack had a broken ankle, a concussion, and he tweaked his back a little. His parents arrived not long after we got settled into his room. His mom had been close to hysterics before coming into the room and you could tell it was mainly just the mom in her freaking out.
After his parents left, the nurse came in and told me visiting hours were over. I protested but she continued to be very adamant that I had to go. I kissed Jack's forehead and said goodbye then left with the nurse. As soon as I knew she was gone and the other nurse who'd gone to check on Jack had left, I snuck back in. The grin on his face when he realized it was just me was priceless. We had to go lights out then so I pulled the chair from the corner to the side of his bed and fell asleep holding his hand. At some point in the wee hours of the morning I woke up and heard Jack's voice and some female voice.
"Why is he still here?!"
"Please let him stay..."
"Fine. I'm breaking policy by allowing it but since he's asleep, I don't wanna wake him up."
"Thank you."
"So, what is he to you?"
"He's my boyfriend."
"Oh, that's really sweet. You're adorable together."
"Haha, thanks.. It's been rough but totally worth it."
"That's good, all relationships are rough but I'm sure the situations have been worse for you two. I'm glad you've pushed through them though. It's always sweet to see two young people in a very loving relationship."
"Yeah, sometimes I really wonder how and why he puts up with me. But he makes me happy and I love him so I'm glad he sticks with me."
I fell back asleep before I got a chance to hear any more. The next time I awoke, the room was bright and I was leaning against the back of my chair. The nurse came in and placed Jack's breakfast at the end of his bed. I sat up and as soon as the nurse left again, I half-assed a quick bite from his tray and it ended up on the floor. We both laughed and when I took another bite from the stuff on his plate, I made a disgusted face. Apparently my face contorted in such an ugly way Jack could do nothing but laugh so hard he couldn't breathe.
"What the hell is this stuff?"
"Hospital food."
"Really? You don't say."
"Well it's not supposed to be gourmet food. How much do you love me?"
"Where do you want me to go?"
"McDonald's would be fine. Just get the kids meal waffle stick things."
"Haha, alright. I'll be back in 20 minutes."
We greatly enjoyed our breakfast as soon as it was no longer hospital food. Then we talked to the doctor and found out how long Jack had to stay at the hospital. Unfortunately we were looking at another two to three days.