Georgia's POV
Is there anything worse than watching someone in physical pain? And I don't mean a tiny scratch or bruise due to their own accidental clumsiness. I mean the type of physical pain which coursed through your body.
Sucking in the air, grimacing at the slightest of movements.
You want to do everything, but you feel like you can do nothing. You know they're hurting and it cuts you into a million pieces. Nothing you say or do will ever erase that pain.
All I could do was sit next to him and watch as every jostle sent ripples of pain through him.
Pat rarely showed any pain on his face. He always looked tough enough to handle any sort of discomfort. Of course, knowing him, I never believed it. He demanded no sympathy but I never gave in.
I had been there for every knee issue, broken leg, jaw, concussion that he had ever endured out on the football field. None of which came close to the pain I could see on his face in this very moment.
Some people cry out in pain, others show no response at all, and this is why empathy is so vital, to allow ourselves to feel what others are feeling rather than opting for shallow sympathies.
Typically my personal response would be to steer clear of an outpouring of emotions. I felt like it dramatised situations that didn't need to be broadcasted for all of the neighbours to hear.
Today was the only exception. My screams of stricken fear moments ago could have been heard blocks away.
Now I was sat beside him, attempting to comfort him in any way imaginable. A stroke of the hair, small joke whispered in his ear. It was the least I could do for him. There was nothing that could take away the responsibility I felt.
Darcy always resented Pat's role in my life. I never fully understood it. I just assumed it was Darcy's ego taking a hit seeing Pat take care of me when he couldn't. Looking out for me the way he was supposed to.
Maybe he sensed the undeniable love I have always had for Pat and jealousy consumed him. Or maybe he knew him and I were never going to work out.
Because I was always in love with someone else.
Yet nothing gave him a valid reason to act on it. He chose violence in the most unflattering way. It was an ambush in untimely circumstances.
As much displeasure as I felt being around Pat on this day of all days, I wasn't planning on leaving his side. We were still on shaky terms. Our very last conversation had me swearing to stay away from him.
My ability to be resilient was coming to the end of it's life. There was nothing left to say to myself to push me through it.
We both knew that we weren't the same anymore. As people and in our friendship. We had changed and I still didn't know if it was for the better or worse.
Could you salvage a friendship which had taken so many hits? Is it possible to return to how we were before. That was still to be decided.
In the current situation we were both stuck in, our dying friendship was the last thing on both our minds.
I was thinking about him, feeling for him, and begging for him to walk away with the majority of him unharmed.
My positive affirmations weren't heading toward success as Pat continued to lay on the floor.
His head hurt too much. His body hurt too much. It seemed that everything hurt too much. Slowly, his sense started to send reports back to his brain. The pain was setting in.
Every few minutes he doubled over in pain and gasped for air. It sheeted through him with a terrible intensity. Then it would settle down and he would be back in my lap.
Josh and Marcus crouched beside him. Marcus attempting to help him off the hollow turf, Josh on his knees at Pat's head. Violently flipping his attention back and forth between myself and Pat, he begged for answers.
I wasn't unaware of my surroundings but my mind was still coming to terms with what had just unfolded before me.
Even though Pat was fine, with no risk of severe injuries, I still worried. The words out of his mouth weren't enough to convince me, but the ability for him to continually squeeze my hand and remain conscious gave me some confidence.
"Georgia what happened" Josh begged for the final time before I finally choked out a response.
"I-I don't know. Darcy was here. Him and Pat were fighting. I-I just came to pick you up" I barely got my words out, the disbelief evident by the way I looked around frantically.
Himself and Marcus shared an equally rattled glance at one another before redirecting their attention back to Pat.
"I'm fine, he just got me right in the gut" Pat butt in midway, once again proving his own strength when it wasn't needed.
He grabbed onto my hand and used it to help himself up. Inch by inch he crept up to a seated position, but clutched at his stomach as soon as he reached an upright stance.
Determined to complete his task he ignored the pain and carried on. Marcus and Josh wrapped an arm each around him, bringing him back to his feet.
"Let's go inside" I suggested and followed closely behind the 3 boys as they slowly cruised their way through the front door.
Carefully placing Pat on his back amongst the comfort of our couch, they both looked terrified to put a foot wrong. As if simply touching him could send that pain right back.
I sat right beside him on the longest of couches. Handing him anything I could find which might have an effect on the pain, but I wasn't confident it would.
Unpacking our first aid kit, all I could muster up was a few bandaids, strapping tape and a lousy pack of extra gum. Not much considering it was Marcus's stolen from his very own football club.
Both boys sat opposite, still puzzled at all of the things which just didn't add up. I even had some questions of my own, but I didn't plan on asking them until he felt better.
My brother had other plans. No filter most of the time, this was no different. He ripped the bandaid off with one tug.
"Pat what the hell happened?" He interrogated him, but more so in a concerned way. He didn't tower over him, or raise his voice.
Pat turned to me without hesitation. Staring at me as if I had any more answers than he did. I waited for him to speak up, I was just as confused as the others.
"George can you go grab my phone" He asked.
"What? No way. I want to know what happened too. This involves me just as much as it involves those 2" I responded. There was no way he was trying to kick me out.
My ex boyfriend had just pounded into someone I cared about, leaving him fragile and appearing lifeless in the driveway, and he didn't want me to hear how he even got in that position.
"George please. I just need to talk to the boys quickly" He muttered, hoping I would go along with it with ease.
"Are you kidding? I come home to find you fighting my ex-boyfriend, and you won't even tell me what happened?" I bellowed in pure frustration.
"George" Josh chimed in, nodding toward the hall way where he suggested I walked.
"This is a joke" I declared but followed along anyway and walked to Pat's room to grab his phone.
I took my time there and back, now knowing they didn't want me there.
Strolling back in with a hostile expression on my face, the 2 boys looked rattled. They showcased a brave smile, hiding something behind the gentle look in their eyes.
"Who died?" I joked with them in an attempt to lighten the mood. Pat flashed me a shy smile as he got off the couch.
"I'm going to lie down" He told us and headed to his room to rest.
Unimpressed with all 3 of them, my brows furrowed, arms crossed and my foot hit a rapid tapping pace. I blocked the centre of the TV from their view, forcing them into engaging in a conversation.
"So? What did he say?" I hassled them both, knowing one was bound to give in.
Marcus twiddled his thumbs on the remote control, focusing primarily on which finger hit which button. Josh on the other hand snatched my gaze. Even with the amount of begging I did, he stood firm, not giving in, not even for a second.
"Please will one of you just tell me. If this is my fault, I need to know why it happened. Just...tell me" I fumed at them. The longer I stood there, clueless, the worse my built up anger became.
"Darcy blames Pat for your breakup. Pat just said he came over and started having a go at him, trying to pick a fight" Josh spoke up willingly.
"Why wouldn't he just walk away" I questioned. It still didn't add up. Pat didn't like confrontation just as much as the next person. He never involved himself in fights, unless brought to the footy field.
"You know Darcy. He probably just got under his skin and Pat snapped" Josh added reassuringly, but to know affect.
"That doesn't sound like Pat" I shook my head, the irritation becoming stronger, the urge to yell working it's way up my throat.
"That's all he said, okay George. Look is been a long day let's just go home and get some rest" My older brother suggested, stepping toward me and placing his hand on my shoulder. In an attempt to comfort, he did a lousy job.
"No. There's something you're not telling me. What is it? Will someone just tell me? Please" I pleaded with my brother and Marcus.
I knew there had to be more to this sequence of events. Nothing added up in my head and I needed to know the truth. I deserved the truth.
"He let it happen George" Marcus sighed, ignoring Josh's darts in the side of his head.
"What do you mean?" I asked, focusing all my attention to Marcus's posture.
He sat hunched, avoiding eye contact with both Josh and myself. Gathering all of the info he had been told before revealing it to me.
"He let Darcy do that to him George. He said he deserved it after what he put you through" Marcus revealed, clearly not enjoying what he was having to share with me. My eyes flashed angrily.
"He didn't fight back? What-I. I don't understand why he would do that" I debriefed to my own mind.
The room felt like it was closing in around me. My heart raced in my chest as I looked at Marcus. I quickly willed my hand to stop shaking as I gathered the confidence to march towards his room.
Within seconds I was knowing harshly on his door before kindly allowing myself inside. He was just exiting his bathroom as he saw he storm in.
Not thinking anything of it at first, he watched me worriedly. His kind eyes looked nervous for me, reminding me of the times I would rather forget.
My cheeks were flushed, my facial muscles became rigid as I stomped towards him.
But there I stopped, suddenly, for I gave him a look so swift and so venomous, so threatening that the words caught in his throat and he remained quiet.
"How could you do that?" I yelled at him. My blood boiling, clenched fist anger turned into a pool of tears which blurred my vision.
"George" He said softly, placing his stuff down and talking a step closer to me.
"You're an idiot. Do you seriously think I wanted you to get hurt" I hurled words at him.
"I just couldn't forgive myself for what I've done to you" He revealed, searching for an empathetic response from me.
"What if I didn't show up Pat. What if Darcy never stopped? it could have been a lot worse, do you even realise that? I could have lost you" A great tremor overtook me, the tears boiled over and I failed to hold them in any longer.
"George I'm fine" He assured me, taking that last step and consuming me in a hug. My arms reached around his torso as he rubbed my back soothingly. A great sob escaped me, and I covered my face with shaking hands.
"But what if you weren't. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you" I explained as he comforted my stricken fear.
"It's okay, I'm right here" He told me, holding me tighter as we stood in the middle of his room. I could only imagine what Josh and Marcus could have been hearing. "I'm not going anywhere" He added.
Maybe today's events had given me the answer I needed. Maybe it was possible for us to be the Georgia and Pat we used to be.
Somehow a moment like this one always brought us closer. Putting aside all our issues, having him safe and in his arms never got old. It only made me realise how scary it would be to lose him.
He will always be my number one.
No matter who else I love in my life.
He will always be the guy I think about when I go to sleep.
Always the guy I compare other guys to.
I have always loved him. But everything comes to an end at some point.
Right?
..........
A/N
A bit of a cute moment there at the end but poor Georgia had an emotional rollercoaster of a day! Her and Pat haven't fully buried all their issues, but they're on speaking terms at least 😂
I'm sorry I haven't updated in a fair while. This chapter was a fair hurdle to get past. But now that it's done, I'm hoping the next few chapters don't take quite as long!
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thank you all for being so loyal to my book even though the updates aren't very regular :)
Thank you so much!