As one furious kick landed in my side, all the air in my lungs rushed out and I struggled to breathe. My ribs screamed in agony at the assault and I couldn’t do anything about it. Like I was going to say ‘please stop’ like a pathetic little girl.
Coincidentally, another kick attacked my thigh and the sickening thud noise my leg made when it came into contact with his foot was enough to make me feel queasy. Blood seeped out of several wounds, collecting in a thick puddle beneath me. It was everywhere, in my hair, on my body, on my clothes. You would think he was murdering me. This continued for about ten minutes, him beating the living crap out of me whilst the other merely watched, enjoying my grunts of pain that refused to turn into screams of self-pity.
“You disgust me” the doctor growled from where I lay chained up to the wall. My arms were tied harshly behind my back and my muscles ached at the awkward positioning. I didn’t respond to his verbal assault, my mind and body still trying to recover from the battering that he had forced Joey to inflict upon me. I made it my mission to ignore him, spitting out some blood next to the pile that was spreading. That thick, iron-like smell of blood filled the room and its muskiness threatened to suffocate me. Nonetheless, I held it back.
Everything was just numb. Nothing seemed to diminish the pain, my legs bruising easily. The mixture of blue and black mottled on my arms and legs told me that I am definitely going to have trouble getting up tomorrow morning. Ironically they left my face alone, knowing that questions would be asked.
“That was reprehensible behaviour!” he continued to yell, spit flying from his mouth in various directions as he did so. I looked up, watching his face contort in anger, his blonde hair dishevelled. In that moment, only one thing ran through my mind.
Why the hell did he choose to wear a bulletproof vest today of all days?
That was the only thing that saved him, that kept him alive and somewhat well. If he wasn’t wearing it, it would be safe to say that I would be planning a funeral right now.
“Reprehensible behaviour” I clipped out blankly after what seemed like forever. My eyes bored into his, the light of my anger being ignited almost instantly. Leaning against the wall, I struggled to pull myself up without the use of my arms, wiggling up the wall effectively. My legs still hurt and I bit my lip in an attempt to stop the moans from escaping. They won’t see me cry over something as small as a battering. It was interesting watching them watching me thrash about against the wall, none of them moving towards me to assist me at all. Finally I stood, deciding against trying to walk as I knew the chains behind me would just pull me out.
“Do you wanna know what I think is reprehensible?” I hissed angrily, focusing all my anger on him as he smirked knowingly. “The fact that you lived!” I screamed in fury, finding it hard to physically keep myself from leaping towards him. Joey suddenly appeared at my side, pushing me back against the wall. I glared at him before shrinking back from his expression.
“Don’t say that” he whispered, his blue eyes avoiding my glare. With immense strength I yanked my body away from his hold.
“And why shouldn’t I?!” I shrieked, stealing one more look at the despicable creature we were debating about. A moment of hesitation hit him before he pushed himself off the wall and ran a hand through his blonde hair. He suddenly whipped around and looked at me pleadingly.
“Sheesh, he’s my brother Meg’s!”
It was like time had stopped and I just remained mute and statuesque. Joey looked at me with such a sad look in his eye and I wanted to just hug him. I felt sorry for him for the same reason I felt sorry for him when we first met all those weeks ago and that scar on his cheek had somehow managed to bring across a pain that was alien to me.
I blinked at him blindly for a minute before sliding down the wall. Words couldn’t describe what I felt at that moment in time. My mind was trying to conjure up some reason as to why I felt this… this… this feeling of betrayal almost. They’re related. Looking up from the ground I suddenly saw the resemblance. The blonde hair, the stance. They really were brothers. The only thing that stood out between them right now was their eyes. Joeys beautiful blue eyes that seemed to light up the room and the doctors muddy brown ones that brought out the anger in me every time.
How can two different people be so related?
“Oh.”
After all of that deliberation, all of that reasoning and the confusion I had put myself through and all I could say were ‘oh’. A feeling of repulsion at the foolishness of my actions caught up with me and I scowled before hiding my blushing face from them.
“Release her” the doctor suddenly said.
Shocked, I looked up just in time to see him shut the door behind him, leaving me and Joey in the room by ourselves. I stared at the door for so long that I hadn’t even realised that Joey was behind me untying the chains that held me back. Feeling the weight on my arms decrease, I shook them and hugged myself as if my life depended on it. Remembering the beating Joey had inflicted on me earlier, I rushed to the other side of the room, looking for my bag pack.
“It’s not here” Joey said solemnly, looking at the ground as my heart fell.
“Look can we just talk about this” he pleaded desperately as I became adamant in not looking at him. I just couldn’t help it. I will never perceive Joey the same way ever again. He has now been forever tainted by the ties he has to his brother, boundless blood ties that I could not destroy.
“What is there to talk about?” I replied without emotion, although my brain was asking otherwise.
“You. And Adrian.”
I shivered involuntarily. Just the sound of his name sent shivers down my spine, shivers filled with anger and fear. But I ignored it because to be completely honest, I was just as curious about what he had to say. I motioned for him to go on and it was like relief had flooded through him as his previously rigid stance had relaxed. He sat down and after an passing of thirty awkward seconds, I reluctantly joined him before facing him.
“Is there anything you wanna say before I start?” he asked genuinely, smiling a little. I opened my mouth to start before closing it again after a wicked thought crossed my mind. Actions speak louder than words don’t they? At that, I leaned forward slowly, watching as he visibly panicked. Relentlessly I kept leaning forwards before watching him close his eyes.
Great, this is exactly what I wanted. Before he had a chance to acknowledge what was happening, I stuck my closed fist out and unleashed the most deafening punch against his cheek, my knuckles aching from the force of my swing. A loud smack echoed throughout the room and I smiled. He practically fell to the floor, holding his cheek in pain as I saw the skin visibly swell. That should leave quite a shiner I thought, withdrawing my closed fist.
“That was for beating the living hell out of me and lying about your imbecile of a brother” I hissed out before he could complain. Instead of complaining like I thought he would, he nodded curtly and took the punch like a man. He continued to sit down, instead moving away from me to increase the distance slightly. That’s right; be afraid.
“My imbecile of a brother saved my life” he said into the silence, scowling at me slightly. I waited for him to continue, keeping my face as blank as possible even though on the inside, I was shrieking and freaking out. He saved Joey’s life? My thoughts ran back to the scar on his cheek and my eyes started to burn again with fresh tears. I don’t know what it was but the thought of him being in so much pain that death was an option shocked me.
“It was five years ago when I was thirteen and Adrian was eighteen. My mother, God bless her soul, was dating this control freak. He abused her in every way possible but she stayed with him because he was literally the only thing left of my father-”
“What happened to your dad?” I asked, my emotionless mask falling away as curiosity got the better of me. He looked up at the ceiling as if contacting some invisible force.
“He died fighting in Afghanistan. He was stopping a grenade from killing this little girl and her mother.”
“I’m so sorry” I blurted out again.
“Yeah well, it’s not your fault. He died in vain anyway because all three of them died. The girl and the mother sustained burns so serious they died from it.”
Something about the way he said it had some sort of venom laced inside, like he was annoyed at that concept. I would be too I guess. He risked his own life to save these people and they perished anyway. That’s so sad, I thought as a tear slid down my cheek. Wiping it away quickly, I waited for him to continue.
“Yeah, this thug my mom was dating turned out to be my terrible Uncle Jack. He was nothing like my father other than the physical appearance but my mom was grieving. So she held onto what little she could, until one day he ruined everything.
I came home from school and he was on a rampage almost. He had already beaten my mom senseless and she was just lying there unconscious on the ground. And then I walked in. He was holding a knife and he just ran towards me. See this line here” he said, pointing towards the jagged scar across his cheek. I nodded mutely, the tears falling.
“He caused that. He was trying to cut the skin off my face because that’s what he said he would do to me to make my mom suffer. I was so… I was terrified” he choked out, his voice breaking as his eyes started to fill with water. “He wanted me dead. My own uncle!”
He wiped his eyes roughly before staring blankly into space.
“Luckily, my brother was coming home from school around the same time and he stopped him and called 911. They managed to save me from the blood loss and nerve damage but my mom… he had hit her skull so many times it broke into pieces and impaled her brain. That time when she was lying unconscious her brain was bleeding internally and I couldn’t do anything!” he cried, hiding his head in his hands.
His sobs came out uncontrollably and before I could register my actions I jumped forward and hugged him as tight as I possibly could, rocking him back and forth. His tears soaked my shirt whilst my tears soaked his hair and we remained that way, consoling each other’s pain. Although I don’t think anything can ease his pain.
When he finally composed himself, he looked at me with wet blue eyes.
“If it wasn’t for Adrian, I wouldn’t be here right now. That’s why we need that pink diamond. With the money we get from selling it, we can find that psycho in the mental hospital in Sweden and make him pay” he growled into my ear, still holding onto me.
I knew what he was getting at. T
hat underlying message- their intentions were clear enough. Did I care? For what I knew I hope we get that Argyle diamond as soon as possible.