Joe's childhood has been really hard, which has resulted in him having frequent panic attacks now. It makes school even harder than it already is, and some friends have left him for it.
One day, the boy suddenly gets a huge attack, worse than any o...
After a while of breaths in and out, Joe seems to have calmed down a little. "Darling, look at me." Ginnie says, gently forcing her son to look at her. "Are you with me?" Joe slowly starts to nod. "Y-yeah, I... I think so." He sniffles. "Are you happy again Joey?" John asks, looking up at his big brother. Joe nods, forcing a small smile. "Yeah." He mumbles. "Thanks for the hug Johnny. I needed that." Then he looks at Ben. "I'm so sorry, I-" But Ben doesn't allow him to finish that sentence. "Don't you dare apologise for having a panic attack." He says with a reassuring smile on his face. "What caused your attack?" He asks, still quite worried. Ginnie frowns, already knowing what caused it. "What did he text you this time?" She asks. Joe sighs. He nervously starts fiddling with his hands. "He knows I'm not at home. He thinks I'm hiding for him somewhere." He says softly. "He went by our house." He adds in a whispering voice. Ben bites his lip when he can see the fear in Joe's eyes. "Honey, he's never gonna guess that you're in the hospital." Ginnie says reassuringly. Joe looks down. "I know that, mom. But what if he goes by our house again and hurts you instead of me?" He looks at John, who is now lying cuddled up against his chest. Ginnie takes Joe's hand in her own. "Let's not assume the worst, okay? The police know our situation, they assured us that we're safe." She says. Ben takes a deep breath. "Can I uhm, can I read the text?" Somehow he feels he can help Joe better this way. Joe nods, and hands Ben his phone. Once Ben has read the text, he lets out a soft gasp.
Oops! Această imagine nu respectă Ghidul de Conținut. Pentru a continua publicarea, te rugăm să înlături imaginea sau să încarci o altă imagine.
(A/N, This is a real text my father sent me when I was in the hospital. I only translated it from Dutch to English, and censored some of the swear words to keep it a little wattpad-friendly.)
"Joe...- This is awful. I'm so sorry." Ben says softly as he stares at the screen of the device. "What about that restraining order you told me about? If you go to the police and show these texts, can't they lock him up or something?" Joe shrugs. "He has violated that restraining order many times now, and they don't do anything about it. I don't know why this time would be different." He mumbles. Ginnie nods in agreement, looking down at her hands sadly. "Every time these things happen they tell us that some texts aren't enough evidence. Mainly because they come from an unknown number, so they don't know for sure it's him." She explains. Ben frowns at that. "That doesn't make any sense." He grunts, clenching his fist a little. Joe nods. "I know." He says softly. "But anyways, let's talk about something else. I need to get my mind off of this, before I have another panic attack." He admits. The others nod in agreement. Then John pipes up. "Mom, you need to show Joey the baby!" The little boy exclaims. Joe's eyes light up. "You had another ultrasound?" He asks full of excitement. Ginnie nods with a soft chuckle before grabbing some pictures of her last ultrasound.
~~~
After chatting a bit, Ginnie and John had to go home because visitors' hours ended. "Joe?" Ben asks softly. The ginger lets out a questioning hum. "Could you maybe press the button for me? I really need some pain relief." Ben says with a small chuckle. Joe immediately gets up. "Yeah of course." He says before pressing the button that's dangling next to Ben's bed. After pressing it, he puts it next to Ben, so it will be within reach the next time. He sits down on the edge of the bed with a worried look. "Is the pain really that bad?" He asks, a bit scared about his own surgery. Ben shrugs. "It's bearable. But it I can tell it's about to get worse, so I'd rather just have something against the pain." He shows the boy a small smile. Joe nods. "Yeah, I get that."
It doesn't take long before the door of their room opens. "Hi guys. Ben, you pressed the button?" Lucy asks with a sweet smile. Ben nods. "Could I get something against the pain? It really hurts." He says, trying to force a smile. Lucy nods. "Of course. I'll go make an IV with pain relief ready. The doctor will be right here." She says before leaving the room again. A brief silence falls. "Can I ask you something? About that panic attack you had?" Ben suddenly asks Joe. The latter is still seated on the edge of the bed. Joe swallows and nods. "Uhm, yeah, sure." He mumbles. "Well.... You said something during your attack, and...-" Ben stops talking, not sure if he wants to finish this sentence. He knows how hard it is for Joe to talk about. Joe sighs softly, moving his gaze down to his hands. "The thing about the knife?" He says softly. Ben nods. "Yeah." He says. Joe takes a deep breath. "Sometimes, when I'm having an attack, I get flashbacks to the moments my mom and I were still living with him. That's what happened today." He explains. Ben's eyes widen a little. "He... he had a knife?" He asks. Joe nods. He's about to say something when the door of the room opens again.
The doctor walks in with the same emotionless expression on his face. "Here's the pain relief you asked for." The doctor says to Ben before walking over to the boy so he can attach the IV. "Thanks." Ben mutters. "We gave you quite a high dose, so you can get through the night." The doctor explains. When he's done attaching the IV to Ben's hand, he leaves the room again. Ben takes Joe's hand in his own. "Did he ever... u-use it? The knife?" He whispers. The ginger looks away, and briefly nods. He frees his hand out of Ben's, and slowly lifts up his hospital shirt a bit. He stops when the skin above his left hip is just revealed enough to show a big scar. Ben lets out a soft gasp. "He once stabbed me when I was six years old. After that he only used it as a way to scare me. But I didn't know that. I thought I could be stabbed any moment." Joe says softly. Ben slaps his hand in front of his mouth, completely in shock. "Jesus...-" He whispers. "Yeah." Joe mutters, not sure what else to say about it. Ben grabs the boy's hand again. "I'm so sorry. You deserve so much better." He whispers. "I'd love to hug you right now, but I'm afraid you gotta work with me here." He adds with a small smile. He opens his arms for Joe to lie down in his embrace. Joe smiles at that, and very carefully he lies down next to Ben. "But, won't I hurt you?" The ginger whispers softly. Ben shakes his head. "These drugs kick in pretty fast. My chest is basically numb by now." He says with a giggle. Joe smiles and carefully lets his head rest on the boy's shoulder. "Is there anything I can do when you have an attack?" Ben asks softly. Joe shrugs. "A hug can do miracles." He mumbles before closing his eyes.
