Jonas finally calmed down Travis and helped him sit back down with the others. Loud footsteps echoed in the hall and they all saw the large Chuck running down the hall, frightening anyone in the way. He locked eyes with Jonas and within moments, Jonas was practically tackled.
"Son, are you ok? How's Eli?" He asked, anxiety coursing through him.
Jonas felt his breath hitch while in the hug. Chuck always had a connection with and given him the affection a father would have, especially this last year. Part of him hated fate that made him a Spencer and not a Lappel.
"The doctors are still examining Eli." He didn't answer Chuck's first question because he had no idea how to answer. He was an emotional wreck.
Chuck didn't push him and just patted his back in a comforting way. He saw Hugh next to him with red eyes and he quickly pulled the boy over to be part of the hug. The man was big enough to still overwhelm the two in his arms.
He let go of them when more footsteps approached and Jonas was soon overwhelmed by two small redheads. "Hey Princess. Hi Lily."
He gave Alex an appreciative nod who was already releasing Hugh from an embrace.
He put Lucy down carefully and planted a small kiss on the top of her head. "Thank you guys for coming."
Lily gave him a small smile. "We will always be here when you need us." She pulled his large body down so she can kiss his cheek. Hugh reached out and intertwined his fingers with Jonas' and lightly caressed his hand with his thumb.
They all jerked when the doors of the room open and the large group gathered around Jonas. An older man with a tired look on his face saw Jonas and sighed. "Jonas, although I am thrilled you are not laying in that bed tonight, I am still upset seeing a Spencer boy here."
His friends gave Jonas a questioning glance, wondering what the doctor meant by his comment.
Jonas smiled weakly. "Hey Doc. How is he?"
The doctor looked at the group and raised and eyebrow. Jonas looked around. "We're family."
He snorted a little. "Really?"
Jonas chuckled. "They're the closest family we have, Doc."
He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Considering Eli has been your only visitor in the past, I'll take your word for it."
He looked at his clipboard. "First of all, he's going to be fine." He allowed time for the collective sigh from the group. "But he has some recovery time. He suffered from a fractured skull, cracked orbital bone, two broken ribs, and his left hand was fractured as well. He has lost a lot of blood from the various injuries on his body that were left unattended, so to be safe and to avoid complications we'll do a transfusion. Luckily I already know you're a match."
Jonas nodded. "Should we get started now?"
He started to take off his jacket when the doctor led him to the room. Jonas faltered when he saw the unconscious Eli with tubes everywhere. The familiar beeping from the heart monitor was the only sound in the dimly lit room. Jonas noticed the transfusion station next to a couch adjacent to the bed. He walked over to it the bed and brushed back Eli's hair with care, trying to absorb the peculiar feeling of being the one visiting and not laying in the bed.
He had been in the hospital far too many times because fractured and broken bones were the norm for him. Most of the time, it was because of the beatings from his father and he never bothered to visit Jonas. The hospital staff had become very familiar with Jonas and the types of injuries he sustained. However, in the many years he had been laying in their beds, they had never seen Jonas' parents. They only knew that someone was taking care of him because the hospital bill was always paid.
However, last year was an arduous time for Jonas. He had to deal with the repercussions of the Wolf Challenge and then the increased battering from his father. He knew how to fight, so he normally succeeded in fractures rather than full breaks, but still had to check to be safe so he could continue practicing without worrying Chuck.
He already had a difficult time hiding the fact when he was locked up in the basement. So he would normal avoid going home before he had to go to the gym, and deal with the fallout later so he would not have Chuck notice what was going on in his home life.
The hospital staff saw the noticeable change to Jonas during that year. He was distant and angry, but still tried to get along with the staff. However, things took a drastic change for the worse when he was cut in the stomach. It was the first time he needed a blood transfusion, and luckily he changed Eli to his emergency contact. But after that, his smiles and jokes were completely gone and he became distant. He met Brett shortly after and they thought things would become better for Jonas, but it became worse when Brett took his own life. Even Chuck had started to notice the change in Jonas, and knew something was happening, but Jonas always kept his mouth shut. He always fear if he told anyone or reported his father, Eli would feel his wrath.
Jonas had to deal with more bullying from the Wolf Challenge, and would have to visit the hospital when he was hit by a car, stabbed in a couple of cases, or was careless when breaking windows to escape the locked rooms. Eli was there every time to donate his own blood, so Jonas was willing to give up as much blood as possible for Eli because of how many times Eli did the same for him.
After he was jumped, he refused to go to the hospital. He couldn't let them call Eli and have him see him in that state. He knew how broken hearted Eli would get every time he would see him in the hospital, and that night was terrible. He gave up at that point. He gave up on St. Vincent's and his father and decided to stay with Chuck. He decided to cut out one toxic thing from his life, and worked with Chuck to get him out of St. Vincent's and enroll in Hawkings.
He only needed to focus on deterring his father's anger as much as possible. But now he felt like he made the wrong choice and regretted that he was unable to ensure both. He shouldn't have left him, or perhaps he should have spoken up despite the fear, or just taken him away. He could have done a thousand other things. But it didn't change the fact that he did not protect his brother. And now Eli knew the horrors that kept Jonas up at night, and the reason why the dark terrifies him.
Everything inside of Jonas was telling him that it should have been him in that bed.
Warm arms snaked around his waist from behind and Jonas could feel Hugh's soft lips on his shoulder. "Stop, Jo. I know the fucked up thoughts running through your head right now, but we got him out. He's safe now."
Jonas shuddered. "I should have fought harder earlier."
Hugh kissed him again. "Sweetheart, how many years have you been fighting? How about we just focus on rebuilding? You're here now and you're not alone."
Jonas turned so he was facing Hugh and rested his forehead on his. "Thank you." Jonas whispered.
Hugh grinned. "Now let's get you hooked up." He guided Jonas away from the bed and to the couch with the nurse waiting for Jonas to sit down. Everyone was giving him time, knowing that it must be difficult to accept Eli's condition. It was obvious that he wasn't used to being in this situation.
Jonas started to roll up his sleeves when the doctor groaned and grabbed his bloodied hand. He pressed on a couple of spots and with out any direction from the doctor, Jonas clenched his fist and opened it as if they had done this countless times. "You seriously need to stop punching random things, Jonas."
Jonas rubbed the back of his neck and decided to change the subject. "The fracture on the skull, please tell me it's a mild fracture."
The doctor nodded. "It is. No internal bleeding or swelling."
Jonas bit his lip, hesitant about the next question. "Doc, he loves the piano. Will the hand fracture get in the way of that?"
The doctor patted him on the shoulder. "He may need some excises to strengthen it again but he'll heal with some time. You should remember the strengthening exercises considering your history, but I can still call Theresa over to see if there is anything else we can add."
"Thank you. You know Theresa is probably going to put me in a hospital bed next to Eli when she sees me." Jonas joked as a nurse started to draw blood from him.
The doctor chuckled. "Probably, but she means well. You know she just worries about our frequent flyer."
"To be fair, you haven't seen me in a while, Doc." Jonas said with a smile.
The doctor gave him a dark look. "Six to seven months is nothing compared to the last six to seven years of hospital visits."
Jonas nodded with resignation as the nurse started to draw blood. "I know Doc."
The doctor sighed. "I ask this every time and I already know your answer, but I'm compelled to try. With type of injuries Eli has sustained, should I be contacting the children protection services?"
Jonas ran his hand through his hair, nervousness wracking his body. "Yes." His voice as almost a whisper.
The doctor dropped the clipboard and stared at with him with wide eyes. "Did I hear you right?"
Jonas nodded and he could hear the relieved exhale of air from the doctor. It was was enough to make Jonas realized how much he had wanted him to say 'yes' every time before.
Alex came up and shook the doctor's hand. "I'm representing the Spencer boys, so I can assist in this matter."
Jonas gave him a grateful smile because he would rather stay with Eli. Chuck and Lily gave Jonas some encouraging words when they followed the doctor and Alex out of the room. Shortly after, the nurse also left stating she will check back in a bit, but Jonas knew that she was giving them their space. His friends remained in the room; the Kings, Travis, Jaiden, Emilia, and Lucy.