BAD BOY SAVED (male pov)

Mom

If I needed her she was only fifteen houses away.

It's not going to get that far Liam, not this time.

I walked up my garden path, it was worse than I remembered or maybe I just imagine it better than what it actually was. I kicked empty beer cans out of my way and looked up at the dump in front of me. There was still smashed windows that had been poorly boarded up and foot marks to door, some were new, others I could recall happening and they had been there for a while. A shiver ran down my spine remembering his heavy boots.

I hope he isn't wearing the boots.

I lifted my hand ready to put it through the broken window but I could see it trembling, betraying my confidence. I clenched my fingers tightly into a ball and unclenched, trying desperately to settle my tremors but it didn't work so I slipped my hand through the window and pulled down the handle to let myself in.

It was the smell that hit me first, the air was so dry and dusky. I could smell stale alcohol and cigarettes and it churned my stomach because that was the smell of home. The stench of dust and old carpets made my nose twitch, trying to force me to sneeze. The whole house was draped in darkness with a warm glow pooling in from the window making dust particles dance in the air. I tried flipping the light switch but the house appeared to not have any electricity.

The armchair was empty besides the shape of Jax from where the foam had sunk in but everything else remained the same. I walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, it was empty with the exception of a few bottles of beer. They clanged loudly as I slammed the door shut.

Mess lay everywhere like nobody had bothered to take the trash out in months and small fruit flies hovered in the air. Dirt lay thick on all of the counters and the air smelt musky.

"This is home." I said to myself as I walked towards the stairs.

As I dodged the heaps of unwashed clothes on the stairs I wrapped my hand around the banister and it felt wet, when I released my grip my hand was red with blood.

"What the fuck?" I whispered out loud.

My feet carried me upstairs but along the way I was now noticing small droplets of blood on every other step. My mouth dried and I forgot how to swallow as my heart ticked loudly in my ears. I didn't know what I was expecting to find once I got to the end of the blood trail. I didn't know what I wanted to find.

I pushed open the door to Moms bedroom and spotted her instantly. Her limp body lay in a puddle of her own blood, somewhere in the corner on the hard floor.

"Mom?" I called out to her but her eye lids remained firmly shut. Her breathing was shallow, making her chest barely move and the blood was pouring out from her mid-drift.

I grabbed the nearest clothes I could find and pressed them against the open wound, trying desperately to stop or slow the bleeding. With my other hand I pressed for 911. Mom looked so small and injured, her face had been drained of all colour leaving her complexion grey and clammy.

Since I had been gone her body had become more frail, thinner and I wasn't sure if that was the lack of food in the cupboards or due to the excessive heavy drugs. She had cuts and bruises all over her, Jax had been using his boots on her instead of me.

"Ambulance." I said to the operator.

"I've just found my mom, she's been stabbed and she's unconscious."

The clothes were soaking through so I grabbed some more and continued holding pressure down on her stomach. She didn't move or grumble in the slightest and I could see her breathing becoming even more slowed.

Just leave her Liam, she never cared about you. Why do you care about her?

I put my hand on her wrist, the same wrist that was full of small round scabs. Scars left behind from her continuously injecting herself. Her pulse was dropping. The smell of blood filled the room, blocking out the stench of unwashed sheets and rotten food. It was the smell of pain and suffering, I knew it well but this was extreme. It was the smell of death.

Before my eyes my moms lifeless body was slowly slipping away and I needed to make the choice between trying to save her or letting her go. I've lost count of the amount times I've asked my mom to be there for me. I've lay on the floor in her position praying she would help me at least one time. I've wished to an innumerable amount that she would console me after one of my beatings. I would even understand if she waited for Jax to leave before she comforted me, she had a right to be scared of him, I was too.

But mom was never there for me, not once.

So why was my hands hovering above her heart ready to perform CPR now that her pulse had completely flat-lined?

I could hear the nearing sirens as I pushed down into my moms chest hard with my clasped fingers and started counting each compression I made in a bid to save my moms life. Thankfully it didn't take too long before the paramedics where in my hallway calling my name.

"We're upstairs. Her pulse has stopped and I've started CPR."

The paramedics made quick work of unbuttoning her blouse and starting defibrillation by strapping electrical pads to her body and shocking her heart rate back. I stood back helpless as I watched my moms life slipping away from her.

It was a numbing experience for me, my mom lay stiff on the floor, bleeding out with no lifeline left. These could be her last few moments on this Earth and I desperately tried to think of a single good memory I shared with her. Just one. I wanted to cling onto one good thing so I could be sad about her dying but I came up with nothing.

"Oh my God." My head spun around so fast I almost cracked my neck.

"Liv, what are you doing here?" I asked sternly.

"I saw the ambulance and though it was you!" She said without taking her eyes off the scene in front of her.

Jesus, has this girl learnt nothing? Don't come into the house Liv, I've made that clear from day one. Yet she sees an ambulance, thinks something potentially lethal has happened to me and her first thought is to come into the house.

"I told you not to come into the house." I spoke through gritted teeth, she gave me a side glance but it didn't linger because she was too focused on my moms health.

"If the roles were reversed you would have done the same thing." She pointed out.

Too fucking right I would.

"We'll talk about this later." I muttered knowing I had lost the argument.

"We have a heartbeat." The paramedic shouted.

I expected to feel relief but I didn't. I felt nothing.

"We're going to take her to Raysen Hospital, the officer will want to speak with you so do you want to travel with us or are you going to meet us there?"

"Officer?" Liv questioned.

"This lady has been stabbed, you can't stay here either because it's a crime scene now and the forensics are on their way. Is there anyone else who lives at the property?"

"Yeah, Jax." I answered with a menacing tone.

"I'll let the law enforcement know. We gotta get moving now, your mom needs surgery."

"I'll ride with mom." I decide.