Dysfunctionality Runs In Our Veins

51. On The Brink Of Death

"Well, you could let me go and be with him and by doing that, you would carry me down the stairs so I wouldn't hurt myself even more" I debated, even trying the puppy eyes that I knew would work, and they did. It never got old, pulling that trick on my brothers, as bad as it made me feel. 

I knew that I was making the most of the worried state that Kaiden was in, but this wasn't about Kaiden and I; this was about Colton. This was about Colton, whom had just been stitched together in my room. "Fine, fine" he muttered, taking my crutches and throwing them to the ground before he picked me up and carried me away from the blood stains. 

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I sat on the couch, Colton's head in my lap as I watched whatever movie was on the TV, as I waited for Caleb to come over. I had texted him about the situation, and he had been at training when I texted, so I didn't get a response until he was home, and by then, he had gotten caught up in something, and said that he would drop over early in the morning.

I just really hoped that he stuck by his word. Caleb was probably the only person that would be able to get through to Colton, as much as he would hate to admit that. I had heard that he had stopped drinking and doing drugs for Caleb, hence why he had come over to speak to the two of us about it after the football game, hence why I was relying so heavily on Caleb to be here, for the two of us. 

There was no way that I could do this on my own, especially with Auston having to head into to work in a few hours, for his own checkup, and then Kaiden had gone to get food for us, while Ethan had been pottering around. Cameron had disappeared, with Elias last night, so no one had known where they had gone. 

I was sure that lies were being told here and there, and I didn't care. I really didn't give a damn where they were at the moment, just as long as they were nowhere near the three of us that were currently home. Mackenzie had phoned me, but I had been asleep, for the few hours that I had gotten, so she had left a message saying that she would be coming sooner than Christmas. 

I had messaged her about it, but I had no energy to be as excited as she was, because in truth, I was scared for Christmas. It had been the deadline for everything that we had done together. After Christmas, came New Years Eve, and that was always the worst time. I had always been promised that people would change, and they never did.

People never changed for a new year. That was the life lesson my mother had taught me, year in, year out. A knock on the door scared the shit out of me, but my older brother did not move. Not even a flinch. Concern flooded me as I stroked his hair once more, as a second knock came. Ethan had only just gone for a shower a few minuets ago, and Kaiden had a key, which meant that this was up to me to do. 

Standing up, I gently maneuvered out from under Colton without letting my foot touch the ground, as I grabbed my crutches. I hobbled to the door as a third knock came, but I still made no mention of hearing this person behind the door. Making it to the door, I peeked through the peep hole, and I wanted to back the fuck out of here and not be here anymore. 

It felt like my heart had left my chest, and had just been shattered on the front porch, right where he was standing. "Clara, I know you can see me" his words shattered the broken pieces even further, as I opened the door, only a little so that he could see me and that I could see him, but I was not inviting him. 

This was my fault, and I would say that a thousand times, but that didn't mean that I didn't want him to come into my house, where my brother was passed out cold. He couldn't even move, and here I was, standing in front of the guy that had taken my first kiss, just so he could distract me from my busy life. 

He was standing here, bouquet in hand, as stared dumbfoundedly back at him. "Wyatt, what are you doing here?" I questioned, resting a hand on the door, prepared to shut it so that my heart couldn't break even further. It was already on the floor, at his feet, ready to be kicked away when he decided that I wasn't good enough for him. 

"I wanted to make it up to you, after the way I kissed you and then left you like that. It was wrong, and I know you probably have blamed yourself for it, but really, it was my fault. I know you won't let me take the blame, but for what it's worth, in my mind, it was my fault" most people had always told me that it was easier to blame others, when to me, it was easier to blame myself for something that I didn't even start. 

"Wyatt-" I went to say something, but he rushed to say something else. "I know this is a bad time to be here, I know, because your brother had SOS'd my brother, so that was why I was here. I wanted to make sure that there was someone here, looking after you, while you looked after everyone else" 

I needed him to stop saying such sweet words to me, because he was lying to himself more than he was lying to me. Everyone had been looking after me, hence why Colton was dead asleep on the couch. "Hey Wyatt" a voice behind me caught my attention right as I was about to respond to Wyatt, causing me to turn my head to my brother.

"Hey Ethan. Did you see the game on the weekend?" they were casually starting a conversation over my head, making me feel even more uncomfortable and out of place than I already had. "Okay, Wyatt, I think it's time that you go..." I trailed off, when he took a step forward, directing his attention back to me. 

"Clara, why don't you spend some time away from Colton, and let him rest, while you rest? I will take over for a few hours and then we can swap. Take Wyatt with you, and he can look after you for a little, okay? I think you need to be around someone your own age for a little" Ethan was quick to be the voice of reason, and I couldn't help that he walked through the door with flowers and all my favorite chocolates. 

"Fine, I guess" and with that, I was slowly walking back to the stairs, on my crutches. "Keep the door open" was all I heard as he walked away to the living room, hopefully to care for Colton. They had always been close, until Ethan left for college, and never came back for Colton. "How about I carry you?" Wyatt questioned, and I looked at him, shocked. 

"You sure?" I questioned, but it was too late, as he was already lifting me up onto his back, as he carried me up, tickling my knees, causing me to giggle at the feeling of being that same little girl that would always be thrown around by Wyatt and Levi, because they thought it was funny to do it. Everything they had done together was because they thought it was funny, as back then, we never took anything serious, as we had people that were older than us to do that for us. 

"Here, my princess" I laughed louder at the nickname, as he placed me down on the bed, climbing in beside me after he had placed the flowers on my desk and brought the chocolates with us to the bed. Feeling immediate exhaustion wash over me, I laid down, as Wyatt started to flick through movies. Subconsciously, he moved my head so that it was back to resting on his chest. 

I was guess I was ready to open myself back up, after I had been crushed by the one boy that had always had my attention through elementary and middle school. He had always been the one, no matter how many girls chased after him and however many boys were after me, he had always captured my attention. I knew it was wrong to be sitting here, enjoying my life, when I had promised my brother that I would be with him the whole way, but maybe I was the one that had caused him so much pain, especially from Cameron. 

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thoughts? xx

i will be revealing the story behind why Cameron hit Colton the way he did, but that will be a later chapter, and more indirect, like no one will truly know the fully story.