The Boy I Used To Know ( A Josh Hutcherson FanFic)

Chapter 30

Josh's POV

What is it with loss and the compelling need to instantly replace it with something less valuable, but still present nonetheless?

I sat upon the window sill and let my mind ponder on all the possibilities, all the different ways my mother or father conjured up the idea to find themselves a replacement for my brother's space in their hearts. He was their son. Connor was a person of their own flesh and blood, but they found it convenient for them to fill the void their precious son left with another who could not even spell his new last name right.

Kayne returned with a knowing look in his eyes the night before my parents brought Lucas in. I didn't think too much of it. Now I wish I held him by the collar and made him spill word-for-word what he knew was about to happen. At least he would have spared me the heart break.

My mother sat up in her seat, finally awake. She yawned a lazy, "Good morning, Joshua." I grunted, not wanting to look at her. She walked up to where I was sitting, almost stumbling on Kayne's prosthetic leg. She stretched and put an arm on my shoulder.

"What are you looking at?" she asks me.

"A way to make all of you leave," I tell her frankly. I could no longer stand having their presence in my room. My own mother held no remorse, so why should I?

"Joshua, you don't mean--"

"Yes, I do," I said, clenching my jaw. I looked up at her and took a deep breath. She stepped backwards once, pain-strickened eyes glaring back at me. Slowly shaking her head, she huffed before walking away. From my seat, I watched her pack her handbag - wiping tears from her eyes as she collected the tattered piece of paper that was Lucas' 'Get Well Soon' note - and walk out the door. When it slammed shut, I exhaled.

"That was harsh," Kayne whispered. He sat up slowly.

"I know," I told him. "She deserved it."

***

Annie's POV

The hospital was strict on honouring the wishes of a patient's family. I had called the reception 10 times before they allowed Nurse Judy to speak to me personally.

"Annie, I apologise. The Hutchersons have specifically demanded that you are to not be allowed to visit Josh again without their prior approval," she explained to me.

'Please, Nurse Judy. He's the only person I have left. Please..." I pleaded.

She exhaled heavily. There was a moment of silence before I heard some scuffling on the other end. A sudden click of a door being locked suggested that she might be hiding in another room. Then, she whispered, "The Hutchersons left half an hour ago. If you're close by, come now and I can sneak you in for a little while. But only for a little while, okay?"

I thanked her profusely and made my way to the hospital. After they threw me out two nights ago, my mother drove up to meet me. We found a place near the hospital to stay until the Hutchersons would let me visit him again which was clearly not going to happen. That is, until today.

When I arrived at the main entrance with my mother, Nurse Judy was already waiting for me there. She gave me a quick hug and smiled at my mother. 

"We have to be quick, alright?" she told me. I nodded.

She rushed us up to Josh's room and I burst into the room, grinning like a thousand suns. Josh, who was about to make his bed, turned around and we ran, like children, stumbling into each other's embrace.

"Oh my god, Annie. I thought I was never going to see you again," he said. 

I chuckled, "You can't get rid of me so easily."

We kissed briefly and my mother jokingly cleared her throat. Josh immediately pulled away and I laughed at how he managed to turn beet red in a matter of seconds. She quickly gave Josh a hug as well and told us she'd be outside with Nurse Judy. 

"No funny business," she warned us, but she half-chuckled as she left.

"I don't think any funny businesses will be going down today," Kayne piped up from his corner of the room. 

"Hi, Kayne," I offered him a smile, which he obviously ignored.

"Do inform us if you plan to drag ol' Hutcherson across the continent and bring him back unconscious," he said pointedly.

I backed away from Josh and stormed towards the insolent prick. He stood up too, with a smirk and an eyebrow arched. Ready to kill, I assumed.

"He chose to leave the place and I let him. It was my fault and I won't deny it, but if you, for a second, think that you are better than me, you are not," I spat, looking down at his one leg and back up to meet his eyes, "and you will never be."

He shoved me to the ground. I knew my insult was of poor taste, using his disability against him, but I was furious and annoyed. I could have stabbed him in the gut a million other ways but I somehow chose to drive a dagger straight into his chest and for that, I felt slightly awful.

He held me down against the cold floor and said, with hate pulsating in every word, "Say that again and I will shove my fist so far down your throat--"

Josh pushed him off me with a grunt. "What the hell, Kayne?!"

He looked at us in horror when Kayne shoved him away and reached across to grab me by the collar. I managed to land a punch in his face before Josh separated us.

"Annie! What in the world is going on?!" he yelled at me as he held Kayne by the elbow. I straightened my shirt and glared at Kayne. 

Kayne, visibly dissatisfied, pointed a finger at me. "I'd watch my back from now on if I were you, Annie Silverman." He yanked his arm from Josh's grasp and stormed out the door.

Josh stood there in disbelief, staring at me with more disappointment than I had ever seen. 

"I can't believe you'd do that, Annie. Seriously," he said. He clutched his neck and threw his head back, waiting for me to say something, anything to prove that what I did was even remotely excusable.

I looked away. My shoulders began to ache from Kayne's strong grip but I refused to show Josh that I was in pain. We stood like that for awhile. Josh took a deep breath and went to sit on his bed. I tried to follow, but he stopped me. 

"I think you should go home, Annie," he said softly.

I gave him a pained look, pleading with my eyes. 

"And maybe not come over for awhile," he added, not making eye contact.

It was exactly like before. He was making me leave like he did all those weeks ago. All because I needed him more than he could fathom and i couldn't put it into words like a normal human being would. I had to hurt the boy he loved and break his heart.

"Don't say that. Please," I choked. Every part of me was falling apart. I clenched my fist and tried to breathe.

"Annie, please go."

I nodded.

And I left without a word.

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A/N: It's been half a year! I really am sorry for not updating in forever. I am in college now and things can get pretty hectic there. I hope you, at least mildly, enjoyed this chapter. Yes, I made Josh cruelly make two people leave him. How dramatic. Do comment, vote and all the good stuff. :)

- Adelynn