Kings of Hawkings [bxb]

Chapter 44

Jonas' gaze reached Hugh who was struggling with holding back his tears. Jonas beckoned him over and pulled him down to sit on his lap. He nuzzled Hugh's neck and sighed with exhaustion.

Hugh ran his hands through Jonas' hair and would kiss him from time to time. Jonas let out a long sigh. "Aright, I'm ready for your questions."

They shuffled around uncomfortably, unsure what to ask. "We keep finding new things about you Jonas.  I don't know what to ask.  I think we just want to know all of it."  Rodgers said quietly. 

Jonas nodded.  His history was a jumbled mess.  So he quietly explained on a high level, starting how the first time he was hit by his father, when trying to stop him from hurting Eli.  They neglected them so at the age of 5, Jonas started to take care of his brother and raised him.  He explained his father's cycles and how he would have his father focus his anger on him to shield Eli.  His voice cracked when he told them about how Eli came out to him, and how he had to tell his brother to hide his sexuality, something he should be proud of.

And tears fell when he revealed that this was also the moment that Eli found out how horrible their father was.  He hated how that day should have been something monumental, but with was marred by the fear instigated by their own flesh and blood.

He told them how he and Eli worked together to protect each other, but he still hid how much he took on from his father.  But he did what he could to take care of Eli, working multiple jobs and giving him money so they would not have to rely on their father.  They didn't want him to have any excuses to stop them from leaving.  They also set up cameras to gather evidence and have numerous videos stored.  However, they felt hopeless despite their efforts because of how many people Clark had in his pocket.  They saw the influence he had.

But then then things changed when Michael crossed the line the beginning of his junior year and Jonas lost control, beating him senseless, being dubbed the Wolf.  Jonas avoided telling the group names or details, because he did not want Lucy to know what he did to her attacker or blame herself for him becoming the Wolf.

He watched for her reaction, and after confirming she did not suspect anything, he continued on to explain that when he became the Wolf, he lost his Elite status, his position as track co-captain, and his friends turned on him, except for Lukas.  He told them how Lukas would still encourage him and support him away from prying eyes.  With that friendship he though he could still endure the pranks and attacks from his classmates.  However, when he was attacked in the classroom with the broken bottle, he found out the truth about Lukas instigating the Wolf Challenge. He broke and accepted his role. 

He woke up in the hospital with a frantic Eli next to him, and he slowly recovered.  That was when he met and eventually lost Brett. Because of his loss, he made his deal with the school to stop the hunts and he would not retaliate.  However, that gave St. Vincent's leeway to step up the the attacks. They became life threateningly severe and he started to become more confrontational with his father, which resulted in more bruises and fractures.  His visits to the hospital were increasingly more frequent the last half of his Junior year.

At the end of the year, he was jumped by Lukas and his friends.  Although he won the fight, he lost his will to continue enduring it all, so he left.  He left his home and St. Vincent's, only coming to visit his father to reset the cycle of his aggression. 

When he left the house he became his father's enemy, which meant that he had to be Eli's enemy as well.  So they played along and distanced themselves from each other, relying on their the secret way of communication to know what was happening and if they were safe.  They had to pretend to hate each other for not just his father, but so St. Vincent's would not shift their wrath to Eli in Jonas' absence.

Jonas comforted himself knowing that his father was supposed to be gone for the year, and Eli should have been safe.  He then initiated the process of breaking away from his father. When he attempted to emancipate himself and failed, he and Eli agreed that they would wait until he was 18 and fight for custody. They hoped their hours of evidence would be enough to help them break free.  But he had a miscalculation - their father came back.

It would have been resolved so many years ago if their father didn't control so many people in the government.  It would have been over if he didn't illicit an unprecedented fear in both of the boys. They were terrified that if they did not succeed, they would suffer more.  They were stifled.

For the years, Jonas accepted this as part of his reality, counting down the days to be legally free from the Spencer name. He would have endured and waited if it was his father only beating him.  But Clark Spencer encroached on Jonas' taboo; he touched Eli.  He would no longer be passive and he would shoulder the fallout.

He took a deep breath when he got to this point and the room fell silent, just the beeping from the monitor sounded in the room. The nurse came in and adjusted the transfusion and started the process to have Jonas' blood be directed to Eli. She gave him a tight smile and left so they could continue their conversation in private.

Emilia was back in Sam's arms and sobbing helplessly while the others were wiping away stray tears.  Hugh had picked up Lucy and sat her next to them on the couch as she cried into Jonas' shoulder.

"You didn't mention it... What was that place?" Travis finally asked meekly.

Hugh let out a growl from deep in his chest thinking about it. He knew exactly what that place and the scar it left in Jonas' mind.

Jonas sighed. "Our father would call it a place of reflection... Eli was never supposed to ever see the inside of it."

Hugh ran his fingers across his busted knuckles. "And how many times were you in there?"

A cynical laugh escaped Jonas' lips. "Quite a few times."

"Jo..." Hugh pleaded.

Jonas sighed. "Always.  After every fight, I would end up there.  It wasn't that often at first, but the frequency and duration increased my Junior year."

Hugh cursed.  He hated the thought of the 17 year old Jonas enduring that basement, but was absolutely appalled that the 5 year old Jonas would suffer that place too.  No wonder he was scared of the dark.

Emilia let out a small sniffle. "Duration?  Oh my god, Joey.  The sick days... Do you know how many sick days you had last year?  If you didn't ace those tests, they would have held you back!  Are you say you were in that horrible room all that time?"

He forgot that Emilia was in the room and remembered how many days he missed at school. "The Elites caused quite a few sick days as well.  No one really noticed or cared about the Wolf being present.  They only cared if I wasn't there when they wanted to mess with me."

"I cared!  I should have done something more.  I shouldn't have been so scared.  I did this to you too!"  Her voice turned to a distraught screech as she realized how much he suffered.  She let out a cry because she realized that she also left him last year.  She abandoned him while he was abused at home and at school. 

He sighed when seeing her internal struggle. "I scared you Mila, hell I scared myself.  I became someone else that year and you had every right to break it off with me.  I wouldn't have been good for you and we weren't right for each other."

He turned to Hugh and caressed his face, leaning in for a small kiss.  "Besides, I got something pretty fucking great in the end."

Hugh snorted. "Is that so?"

Jonas smiled warmly. "I would go through all of that again if I knew you would be waiting for me at the end."

Hugh grinned. "That was so fucking cheesy, and I love it."

Sam rolled his eyes and groaned. "It's seriously non stop with you two."

The tense atmosphere was relieved a little with the laughter from the group.

Millan was a little quiet though. "So, how is Lukas involved in this scenario with your brother?"

Jonas and Hugh flinched when Millan asked the question they were not prepared to answer.

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Hello! I know that there have been a lot of moving pieces with Jonas's past, so I was hoping to bring it all together and recap/fill in blanks.