Damaged

Chapter 3

The ride hone from the hospital was silent, to say the least. I couldn't even look at Luke without tears springing to mt eyes and Beau was trying his hardest to comfort me despite the situation that we were in. I needed my twin brother. Without him, I wasn't me.

"So, where are we going, Beau-zo?" Luke asked suddenly, making Beau and I glance at him worriedly.

"What did you just call me?" Beau asked.

"Answer the question!" Luke demanded, his short temper seeming to be even shorter than usual.

"We're going home, Lukey." I answered for Beau. He was in shock, apparently and I really couldn't blame him. Beau-zo was the name Luke and I called him when we were about 4 years old. In fact, I don't think either of us has called him that since we were 6. It was only normal for Beau to be shocked.

"Okay, Jai Jai!" Luke giggled. I had to squeeze my eyes shut to stop the tears from escaping. I couldn't cry. Luke had it worse than I did right now, even though it didn't feel like it.

"It'll be okay, Jai." Beau promised, patting my knee reassuringly. I could only nod mutely as the car lapsed into silence (if you didn't count likes aimless humming) the rest of the way home.

"Come on, Luke. Time to get out of the car!" I tried to appear enthusiastic for my twin brother, but honestly I was only fooling myself. There was nothing good about this situation.

"Hey, this place looks familiar." Luke's eyes widened in recognition.

"Yes, Luke. This is our house." I explained, biting back a sob. "Let's hurry inside, you must be exhausted."

"Whatever you say Jai!" Luke winked at me sassily. He was still Luke yet he was so much different at the same time. I hated it.

I opened Luke's door and helped him out of the car. Beau went ahead of us to open the door. Luke squeezed my hand in response. It was almost like he was reassuring me about something, but I wasn't sure why. I just wanted my older twin back.

"My goodness, Luke!" The high-pitched sound of our mother's voice rang out as we stepped inside. Luke immediately started to scream and cover his ears in response. He would have ran away too if it wasn't for the fact that I had a tight grip around his waist.

"Luke. Luke, it's okay. That was just Mum. Please, just calm down." I spoke into his ear soothingly as I restrained him. Luke seemed to snap out of whatever it was that had made him act like this, and he sunk against my chest lazily. I hurriedly took him up to his room and made sure he fell asleep before joining Beau and my mother downstairs.

"I was trying to explain to Mum about Luke." Beau supplied as I sat down next to my mother on the couch.

"You only told me he had minor brain damage." My mother stated, giving Beau a tiny glare.

"That's what we thought!" Beau defended himself. "I never expected that to ever happen."

"It did, though." I sighed in frustration. "He may look like me, but that's not my twin brother. At least not anymore."

"Jai, it'll be alright. The doctor said there was a chance of him getting better, right?" My Mum tried to reason with me. I heaved another sigh and slumped against her shoulder in defeat.

"No, it won't be okay!" I raised my voice. "It won't ever be okay again. I just lost my twin all over again. He was my other half. I don't know how this would possibly be okay..."

"Simple. Don't lose hope." I looked up at my oldest brother in surprise. His voice had held a grim tone to it. It was the same tone he used when he was trying to act strong in front of Luke and I when he was about to hit his breaking point. I nodded my head at him and looked away.

The doctor had said that Luke could recover, but he had also said that it was highly unlikely. His odds weren't good at all. It's funny how you can call someone retarded as a joke, but then when it actually happens, it's not funny at all. You feel like your world is falling apart because the truth is, mental retardation is the last thing you wanted someone else to suffer with.

I had always relied on Luke to be my voice of reason. The person who could tell me when I was being stupid or utterly ridiculous. Luke kept me Sane when nothing else could.

I needed my Lukey, but now I couldn't rely on him when I needed him most.