LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 47

Jack attempted to look out the glass beside the door, but it was painted stained glass; a beautiful work of art his father paid a lot of money for. It was translucent but thick, and Jack couldn't see a goddamn thing out it. The door was banged on fiercely again from the other side, and Jack was so close to it, he practically jumped out of his skin. There was nobody worse than his mother, and she already showed up here, and he survived it somehow. So Jack put that brave face on as he made the decision to crack open the door a little, just to see what kind of lunatic was hammering on the door like they were.

Jack would've been less surprised if it had been his mother. He was taken aback when he saw Ralph Langley standing on his doorstep after dark. The brunette boy was holding his fist near the door when Jack opened it, just about to hit it a tenth or maybe twelfth time.

Jack opened the door the rest of the way and stood, stunned to silence for a moment as his eyes found Ralph's. The younger boy looked a wreck; his hair a tattered disaster that likely hadn't been brushed in days. The Outward Bound t-shirt he was wearing Jack had only seen crumpled at the bottom of Ralph's pyjama drawer a time or two. His pants were grey sweatpants that were in desperate need of an iron. He was wearing his old gym sneakers, rips and tears in the parts of the fabric. Jack was suddenly shamefully aware of the fact that he wasn't properly dressed; shirtless and in pyjama bottoms. He hadn't ever considered his attire or lack thereof when he'd been around Ralph before, but for some reason, he felt exposed and uncomfortable about it now.

They'd only been standing there a few seconds as all this information paced through Jack's mind. He had no time to speak before Ralph's eyes went dark with anger.

"You fucking asshole!" Ralph shouted violently as he stepped toward Jack, shoving the blond boy so hard Jack stumbled back into the house behind him, barely catching himself before he nearly fell.

"What the—" Jack began to shout back as he regained his balance, but Ralph just shoved him again, with the same dangerous level of strength. Jack had been better prepared this time, catching himself more quickly. He stepped towards Ralph daringly, laying his palms flat against the front of Ralph's shoulders and shoving him back, hard.

Ralph pushed him back a little before lunging at Jack, the full force of his weight taking both of them down to the floor. Ralph was on top, indifferent to the horrific sound Jack's head made when it collided with the shiny, white vinyl floor beneath them. Ralph sat upright on Jack's torso, the blond laying helplessly beneath him. Ralph continued to punch Jack in the chest, neck, stomach and even his face. But Jack was quick, and he'd managed to soften the blow of most of Ralph's hits, using his arms and hands to deflect the continuous assault.

After a solid, long minute or two of attempting to dodge Ralph's flying fists, Jack felt the younger boy start to slow down. His attacks became slower and weaker, run down by a lagging lack of energy and exhaustion. Ralph was breathing heavily, his chest heaving excessively, his face hot and red. He was too weak to keep fighting, but that didn't stop him from trying. At last, Jack grabbed ahold of both of his wrists, squeezing them firmly to stop the other. Ralph finally realized he was flat out of energy and stopped resisting.

Both boys were breathing heavily, their chests rising and falling as their bodies begged for oxygen. Jack maintained a strong grip on Ralph's wrists in case he decided he wasn't done. But Ralph held his arms out in front of him without resistance, surrendering to Jack's tight hold. They stared exhaustedly into each others eyes as their bodies slowly recovered from the sudden drainage of energy.

"How could you do this to me?" Ralph shouted at the boy beneath him, his voice a little weaker and quieter than it had been when he shouted before. Tears formed in his dark eyes as the grief and anger overwhelmed him, consumed him, forcing him to finally surrender to the grief and agony he'd been suppressing for well over a month. Staring down at Jack's stunned, tired face, Ralph lost the capability to hold up a front any longer.