Tonight the World Dies

Matt's words resonated in my head, and the tone of his voice kept ringing. She was hurt bad, real bad from the sound of it. I hung the phone up with Matt and grabbed my keys heading to the door. Gena grabbed my arm.

"Baby, what's wrong?" She asked me, concerned.

"Beks is in the hospital, I have to go." I told her and went to walk away but she didn't let go.

"Well, wait a second, I'll go with you."

I shook my head. I didn't want her there asking questions or trying to comfort me. I just wanted to go alone and see Beks before it was too late. "No."

"Why not? You're not the only one who cares about her, Zack!" She huffed.

"Gena! I just need you to stay here, okay? I don't want you up there fucking bothering me while I'm freaking out about this, okay? She's my best fucking friend, I can't lose her so please just fucking stay here." I jerked away from her and walked out of the house, slamming the door behind me.

I didn't have time to feel bad about treating Gena that way, so instead I just sped off in the direction of the hospital daring a cop to pull me over.

I arrived and basically ran into the hospital. Matt saw me and walked up to me briskly. "What the fuck happened?" My voice cracked but I refused to break down before getting some answers.

Matt had already broken down though. His eyes were still red and his voice was weak when he spoke. "I don't know dude. I was at home and Bekah called me, but when I answered she didn't say anything. At first I thought it was just a bad connection but then I called her several times and didn't get a response. So I went over there, and let myself in." He stopped and took a deep breath. I knew he was fighting the urge to break down again but I didn't care, I needed answers.

"She was lying at the bottom of the stairs in her underwear. There was so much blood coming from her head. And the bruises on her body, dude. I just...I thought she was dead." Matt covered his face and he broke down.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and pushed my swelling emotions down. "Have they told you anything yet?"

Matt shook his head. "No, because I’m not fucking family. I called her parents they should be here soon."

A few minutes later a couple in their forty or fifties ran into the hospital. Matt was staring at the floor, so I walked up to greet them instead.

"Zachary," Beks's mom embraced me, she had tears in her eyes. "How is she?"

I shook my head when we parted. "They won't tell us anything."

Beks's dad cleared his throat and walked to the nearest nurse. Beks's mom hugged me again. "I’m so glad you're here," she told me.

"Me too." I said, my voice cracked and I tried to push my emotions back down.

"Does Matthew know what happened?" She asked me.

I shook my head again. I didn't want to lie to her, but I didn't want to tell her that her daughter was almost beat to death. There was also a part of me that hoped and prayed it wasn't true. I didn't want Beks to have gone through something like that. I hoped there was more to the story.
Johnny and Brian walked in and walked up to us. Beks's mom excused herself and walked up to the nurse’s station where her husband stood.

"Hey, is she okay?" Brian asked me. I explained to them everything Matt told me. When I finished they looked at each other and then back to me.

"So why the fuck are we here and not tearing that asshole to shreds?" Johnny asked.
I shook my head. "As much as I want to do that, we have to be here for Beks when she wakes up."

They both nodded and we went and sat by Matt. Beks's parents walked up to us a few moments later.

"She's having an ultrasound done right now to see if there's any internal bleeding. After that they're going to take her up and do an X-ray and MRI, if needed. They think she has a severe concussion and a couple of broken ribs." Beks's dad explained.

"But she's going to be okay?" I asked.

Beks's mom nodded. "They believe so."

That was all it took. I felt the tears well up and I quickly excused myself. I stepped out into the cool night air and the tears began to fall silently. I kicked the outside wall of the hospital and ignored the stares I received afterwards. I turned and slid my back down the wall and sat on the ground. I hugged my knees and sobbed silently into my knees.

I was relieved because she was going to be okay. I was disappointed because she didn't belong with someone who would do this to her. I was angry because she didn't tell me what was happening. I was angrier because I allowed it to happen.

When I first met Jake I got a really bad vibe from him. I shook it off as jealousy because of my past with Beks. So, when I met Jake and instantly knew I didn't like him, I thought that's why. But I was wrong. There really was a reason to dislike him, I just ignored it. I should have never left her with him. I should have made her come with us.

I consumed myself in thoughts for the next couple of hours. I didn't want to be around anyone, and I knew someone would come get me when she woke up. Visiting hours ended hours ago, but I overheard the nurse telling Beks's parents that they'll extend them strictly for us when she wakes up for ten minutes before I walked out.

I heard footsteps approaching me and I looked up to see Matt towering over me. "She's awake." Matt offered me a hand and pulled me to my feet.

I stood silently for a moment and then looked at him. "How are we going to approach this?" I asked him.

Matt didn't reply immediately. He slowly began to shake his head. "I don't know dude. I'm not even ready to see her yet."

I sighed. "Neither am I. I don't know what we would have done if you didn't find her. I thought we lost her. First Jimmy and then..."

Matt and I hugged. "I know, dude. Thank God she's okay."

We saw Beks's parents walk out of the hospital, and we decided we better go in. Johnny and Brian were entering Beks's room when we arrived. I sat down in the chair and gripped the arms of it to keep my hands from shaking. I was so nervous to see her. I didn't know what to expect.
Not even two minutes later Johnny and Brian walked out. Matt and I stood to our feet expectedly.

"She really wants to talk to you." Brian told Matt. "Five minutes left."

We nodded and walked to her door. I entered first and Matt followed. When I saw her I stopped in my tracks. She had her head wrapped in gauze. Her body was bruised, I could tell she had been crying and she looked more broken than before. "Beks..." I whispered. I couldn't see her this way, so I turned my gaze to the floor.

She apologized immediately. I looked back up at her and then heard Matt behind me, "What the fuck happened?" His voice was still weak from crying.

She nibbled at her lip for a few moments before saying, "I fell down the stairs." She was lying.

Matt confronted her about her lie but she insisted it was the truth. He walked up to her and held her wrist at her eye level. She had a near perfect handprint shaped bruise it.

"Those aren't anything," she insisted, jerking her hand out of his fist.
Matt shook his head and tugged the hospital gown from her shoulder. She had a bite mark on her shoulder with a bruise forming around it.

"Want to tell me how you got something like this from falling out the stairs?" Matt asked. His thoughts were the same as mine, but in reality we knew she was lying.

"Matt..." I began. "We could do this another time," is what I was going to say but he cut me off before I had the chance to.

"No, Zack," he glared at me. I knew why I received the glare, we were supposed to be in this together and he thought I believed her. I didn’t, I just didn’t think any of us had it in us to talk about it right now.

"She's lying to us!” He continued, “That asshole is beating her. You didn't see her lying motionless at the bottom of the stairs. Something happened and that asshole pushed her down them." He was right, I knew he was. "I can't be here right now," he said before pushing passed me and walking out the door.

After he left I approached her bedside with reluctance. "Is it true?" I asked her.

She began to cry and apologize simultaneously. I wanted to hold her, so I sat on the bed and pulled her head into my chest.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her. My voice cracked but I refused to start crying again.

"I'm sorry, I don't know." She whispered.

I pulled away from her and asked her how long it had been going on.

"A while," she answered.

Anger washed over me and I clenched my fists searching for something in the room to hit. I was going to kill him. He couldn't get away with this. I wouldn't let him. "I'm going to kill him," I mumbled.

Beks began to protest but the nurse walked in. "Sir, I'm sorry but the extended visiting hours ended a few minutes ago."

Beks asked if I could stay just a few minutes longer but the nurse rejected her request. I nodded and kissed Beks on her forehead.

"Don't do anything stupid," she begged me.

I ignored her and looked at the nurse. "When do visiting hours begin?"

"Ten in the morning," she told me.

I looked back at Beks. "I'll see you then." I told her before leaving. I checked my phone and noticed I had a couple of missed calls and texts from Gena. The time at the top of my phone told me it was after three in the morning.

I pushed my phone back into my pocket ignoring Gena's missed messages and walked back to my car.

I was halfway home before I stopped fighting with myself inside my head and turned the car down a street that would lead me to Beks's.

I arrived at her house a few minutes later and got out of my car, slamming the door shut behind me. Beks's car was in the driveway but Jake's wasn't. He wasn't here. Maybe his car was just somewhere else.

I stormed up to the door and pounded on it. "Open the goddamn door, motherfucker." No answer. I pounded on it again and again until my hand was sore. Finally I gave up and got back in the car and sped off, allowing him to live a little while longer.