Can We Find A Way Out?

7. Jack's POV

"So uh how have you guys been?"  Patrick casually asked, glancing over at Sky for the hundredth time.

I huffed loud enough for them to hear and crossed my arms in disapproval. "You don't have to pretend to care about me just to get at Skylar." I snapped.

Her eyes widened and she stared back at me astonished. "Be nice." She mouthed to me.

I sighed and looked out the window.

"Anyway, I've been okay. It's just hard, you know?" Sky sighed.

Patrick nodded and was about to say something but I blew up.
He nodded as if he understood when he didn't! He didn't know a thing about loss and yet, here he was, playing the martyr.
"Of course he doesn't know! He still has Pete, his best friend!" I shouted.

Sky turned back and glared at me. "Alright, that's enough, Jack! Why are you attacking Patrick?! He's only trying to help us!"

"Why? Because he's only helping in order to get something out of this! Don't you see, Sky!? He doesn't care what happened to Alex, in fact, he couldn't be happier because now he might actually have a chance with you?!"

"Shut up, Jack." She huffed and turned to face forward again.

"Alex knew this would happen." I whispered under my breath, thinking she wouldn't hear but that was her breaking point.

"Patrick, stop the car." She demanded.

"I don't think---"

"Stop the car!" She yelled, making him step on the break immediately.

"Get out." She said to me.

I huffed. "Gladly." I pushed the door opened and slammed it shut right after, causing a scene to the people walking past. I stormed off, heading nowhere yet far from wherever they were going.

I hated her. I hated them. Her and Patrick. This was... this was all her fault?
Yes, it was her fault. Alex was trying so hard to make it up to her for things he did because of Lisa. It was Skylar's fault because she didn't let him know that he was forgiven. Alex had done nothing!
I had treated him like shit, I took Sky's side when he needed me! He needed me to help him out and I had failed him.

This feeling of... guilt was far too much for me to cope with. Because I had killed Alex. Not intentionally, of course. But it was done. I was the one behind the steering wheel of that car and even though everyone said it couldn't possibly be my fault, I knew. This sorrow we were all trying to cope with was because of me. I had took my best friend's life. He would never get to preform again. He would never get the girl. He would never marry her. He would never have a family of his own, kids. He would never get to do anything again even though there was still everything left. For that I hated myself and god, I'm so sorry for everything. But it was too little, too late. Alex was dead.

As my thoughts continued to torture me further into my depressive state, I hadn't noticed the crowd of fans starting to gather around me. Each one of their faces showed pity and excitement.

Pity towards me because everyone now knew of Alex's death and I was the mourning band mate. Just the fellow band member, or the best friend. But Alex was my brother. He was family. He was... everything I ever wanted to be.

These fans, they had no idea how to approach me anymore. Had I truly changed that much?

"Jack?" one of them said, looking intently at me.

I looked over at her and frowned. I didn't want to be in this position. Having to put on a fake smile for them. They didn't deserve that. I didn't deserve that.

"I- I'm sorry." I mumbled and quickly turned on my heels and ran in the opposite direction.

They didn't run after me, not that I wanted them to. But they knew. They knew all the pain and suffering I was going through. And so, they gave me my space and for that, I was thankful.

I entered a small coffee shop, which was basically empty aside from the one worker who couldn't be bothered about anything at the moment. They looked empty and didn't seem to care about anything... almost like me. I sat down at one of the empty tables. And here I was, feeling sorry for myself and no one, not even Sky could tell me that everything was going to be okay. Because it wasn't. No one would ever get over this. Not me, not Sky, not Zack or Rian. No one. Alex was a huge part of everyone's lives and now we all walked around with empty, mourning souls.

"Jack?" a voice called for me.

I didn't care to look up. Whoever it was would eventually go away.

"Jack?" they called again which only made me sink deeper into my seat, trying to make myself invisible. God, if only I could just disappear.

"Jack!" they screamed this time and that's when I finally decided to look up. 

It was him.

I cringed at his face. His figure showing authority and I wanted nothing else but to punch him for what he had done in the past. He was fine while the rest of us were hurting. I hated him. I hated what he had done to Sky. I hated that he was fine. I hated that he was doing much better than Alex. I hated that a prick like him was alive and Alex wasn't.

"What do you want?" I spat and I made sure he knew that he wasn't welcomed anywhere near my presence.

"Wow. Is that any way to talk to the guy that saved your friend? I mean, I could have left him to die." he laughed.

"What?" I looked at him quizzically. "You mean she. As in Skylar."

"No, Jack. I meant he. Alex is still alive."

He was playing now and that made me want to rip his heart out. Somehow word had gotten to him that Alex was... no longer with us and he wanted to hurt me, torture me about it. It took everything in me not to smash his fucking face in. I bit the inside of my cheek as a way of restraint and I could taste iron as I bit. Blood. Yet the urge to kill him, finish him right there and then was way too strong.

"Leave me alone." I manage to say through gritted teeth.

"Don't believe me?" he questioned. I only stared back which made him sigh and pull out his phone. "See for yourself."

The image... was beyond words. There in a small, dark, and almost empty room with nothing but a bed was Alex. His hair was messy and seemed filthy. His beard was the fullest I had ever seen it, and trust me, I had seen plenty "Jesus Gaskarth" phases. His clothes was torn and dirty to an extent. He was almost unrecognizable. He stood in a corner hiding some figure behind him and he looked at the person holding the phone with such rage.

"Alex..." I mumbled.

Tobias smiled like the prick he was. "Believe me now? Of course you do. And if you want to keep him alive, you'll get me those traffic camera tapes that your friends are looking for." With nothing more than a threat, he vanished.

I could think of nothing more to do than go tell Patrick and Sky to stop looking for those tapes or Alex's life would be in danger. At that moment, I didn't even bother to question whether the picture was real or not. In my mind, Alex was alive because there was nothing in the universe that I wanted more than to have my best friend back. So I allowed myself to believe that Alex was still breathing the same air as me.

With only that in mind, I ran. I had to find Sky and Patrick before it was too late. Alex's life (for real this time) depended on it.