***TRIGGER WARNING*** DOMESTIC ABUSE AND VIOLENCE
She walks in with a clink of the doorbell. I stop in my tracks and stare at her.
Wow.
She sure looks better in a dress than her uniform, and she looks great in that. She smiles at me, then looks over at Camren. I stumble over her chair and after almost falling over, pull it out for her. She thanks me with her eyes. I sit down across from her. Camren gets our food ready, and we sit in silence. I listen to the slight buzz from the freezer and wonder why we scheduled our date after the dinner rush. We're the only people left.
"Okay you two, keep it down," Camren jokes, coming back with burgers and shakes. I thank them, while Sharon just looks at them. I take a bite of my burger.
"So, how's the movie theatre?" I ask, breaking the silence. She shrugs.
"Well, you already know about the deep-fry situation, but other than that it's boring." She laughs. I laugh with her.
"How's your job?" She asks. I smile.
"It's great, I actually just came off work. Dinner rush is my favorite time of the week, the old couples all come in." Sharon nods.
"So, that's why you have lipstick on your cheeks."
I blush and wipe it away with a napkin.
"I thought you were cheating," She adds. I look at her, puzzled. Cheating? We aren't together.
Are we?
The conversation goes on. I ask her about what she does other than the movies, and what she wants to do. She asks me about my schedule and why I don't come to school. I don't want to tell her, but she forces it out of me. I decide to keep it vague.
I'm only halfway through my shake when my phone rings. Sharon looks disappointed when I answer it, but judging that it's a state-regulated number, I figure its important.
"Hello?" I say.
"Is this Wallace Heart?" A woman asks.
"That is he," I reply.
"I'm doctor Jefferson. I've called to inform you that your brother, Jordan, is currently being hospitalized and is in a medically-induced coma. He'll be alright, but we were told to call you in an emergency."
I feel the blood drain from my face.
"What happened?" I demand.
"Sir to give that Information you will need to come in and sign a few papers."
"Can I see him?" I ask.
"Since you are a family member, visiting hours are extended, so yes."
"Okay, thank you. I'll be right there."
I hang up and stand, calling to Camren. Sharon stands too.
"Yeah?" Camren asks.
"Cam we need to go, right now," I say. They see the expression in my eyes and nod, grabbing the keys to their car and grabbing our coats.
"What?" Sharon asks. I look over at her.
"You need to go. I'm sorry, something came up-"
"What happened, because there better be a damn good reason for this," She says, looking angry and ready to cry.
"My brother is in the hospital in a coma," I reply. Her face softens. Just as I think she's about to say sorry, she does something else.
She kisses me.
It's short but passionate. I don't know what to feel. Happy that she kissed me, but it doesn't overpower anything else. I'm still full of fear and sadness and hatred because of what happened to Jordan. Maybe, under different circumstances, it would be better. She leans back and smiles sweetly.
"Go and help your brother."
I don't think she wants me to leave though, judging from the death grip she has on my arm. I pull away and head out the back. Camren and I speed off towards the hospital, as I fill them in and call Adam afterward.
"Adam you and mom and dad need to go to the hospital right now. Something happened with Jordan." I say. Adam doesn't even question it.
"I'm on my way."
The next hour is a blur. We drive to the hospital as fast as possible, park, and find his room. When we get there, he has more visitors than expected. Everyone is there, by his bedside. There's also a nurse there.
"What happened," I say, bursting through the door. The nurse turns to me.
"Wallace?" She asks. I nod.
"His neighbor called 911 after hearing crashes in their house. We found Jordan in severe condition and unconscious. There were traces of his blood on his father's hands. We inspected the house and found the terrible conditions he was living in and arrested your parents."
"They aren't my parents," I say. "They kicked me out a few months ago, and signed the abandonment papers."
The nurse nods.
"Well, because Jordan isn't old enough to live on his own, he'll be put in the foster system until he finds a suitable home."
"Can't I keep him with me?" I ask. The nurse shakes her head.
"Sadly, because you aren't of age, you can't legally adopt him."
"Please," I beg. "Jordan's been in the foster system most of his life."
"I'm sorry sir, but unless someone is willing to adopt him, he'll be forced to."
As soon as she says this, Adam and our parents walk in.
"What's going on?" Mom says, looking straight to Jordan. The nurse looks at them, then to me.
"Are these your relatives?" She asks.
"My foster parents, yes."
I look over at them.
"You need to adopt him."
"What?" Dad says.
"He'll be taken away again if you don't. You need to adopt him. Please, I'll do anything."
Mom walks over.
"Wallace we can't support him, we don't have enough money."
"I'll sleep in my car, or at the shelter! I can't lose him."
I look over at Jordan. Mom sighs and gives me a kiss on the forehead before turning and walking back to dad.
"And you're sure you can stay there?" They ask. I nod.
"Okay, we'll do it," Dad says, turning to the nurse. I smile.
"I'll get the information ready." She says. I walk over to them and hug them both tight.
"Thank you," I whisper. Mom strokes my hair.
"What's family for?"
I let them go and walk to my brother's bedside. I study him, my eyes scrolling every bruise and cut. His chest is hidden, but I can tell from his arms and face that it's just as bad. One of his eyes is swollen, his lip is cracked, there's a bandage on his forehead. I don't see the extent of his wounds, but I see enough for a blind, red, throbbing fury to rise out of my body.
The next time I see that fucking man I'm killing him with my bare hands.
After a few hours, the others leave. It's almost midnight. It's only Adam and Max here with me. Max goes to get food. I'm outside, sitting next to the door on a chair. Adam's watching Jordan. I'm exhausted out of my mind but determined to stay awake. I watch as Max comes down the hallway with a tray. He sits next to me and offers a pudding. I shake my head and lean forward.
"Why are you still here, Max," I say, my voice hoarse. He sighs and puts the tray to the side.
"I need to tell you something."
I look over at him. Max takes a deep breath.
"When I was eleven, my mother would beat me as a punishment for anything. Even if I was just late for dinner. She drank and smoke, but that was the time when my father left, so it got excessive. I would go to school with bruises and cuts, scars and black eyes. No one questioned it."
Max' eyes start to water. For comfort, I take his hand. He seems affected by this and squeezes it before continuing.
"One day, I came home with a note from the teacher, saying I had failed a test. I didn't want to go home but I didn't have anywhere else to go, and I knew if I was late I would be beaten anyways, along with the punishment for the test."
A tear falls on my hand, and Max draws in a shaky breath. He finishes the story while sobbing.
"She was drunker than usual. I didn't recognize her... She snapped when I gave her the note. Threw me into the wall, broke a lamp over my head. She beat me until I was nothing but a bloody, bruised, shivering lump of flesh on the ground. After that, she took a knife and..."
He trails off. I know he can't say it. Slowly, he raises his hand to the collar of his shirt and pulls it down, revealing his collarbone. There's a long, nasty scar there, along with a bent collarbone.
"She broke it and carved a line in it so everyone could see. It didn't set right, but the scar was too tender for the doctors to rebreak the bone, so that's how it stayed."
I take him by the neck and pull him into a hug. I let him cry on my shoulder.
"No one was there for me... I'm not letting Jordan share that experience."
He pulls back, then leans forward a little, adjusting himself. Suddenly the door opens behind us. We look over at Adam. He looks terrified.
"Come on," He says.
Max and I scramble to the door.
"Jordan?"