I'll Be Okay

13

Jack couldn't sit down and relax no matter how much they tried to comfort him. He was supposed to protect Zach. He was supposed to know when something was wrong. Corbyn seemed to read his mind. "You can't blame yourself for this. There's a last straw for everyone. The important thing is that we did what we could. It's up to the doctors," he said hugging his friend.

"Hey, you know how he wants to do music as his career?" Daniel asked.

The others nodded, interested in what he was about to say. Daniel grinned as he leaned forward in his seat. "What if we started a band. I've heard all of you sing. We could make it. And with Logan's help, we could get a bigger audience from the beginning."

Jonah gave a small chuckle. "So basically you're saying, why don't we start a band?"

"Yes?" Daniel replied in confusion.

"You know what we could call it?" Jonah asked with a grin. "Why Don't We."

The boys thought about this for a moment before agreeing that they all liked the ring to it as long as Zach liked it.

A doctor walked out interrupting the exciting conversation. Jack stood up, his smile disappeared almost immediately seeing the doctor's serious face. "Where is he?"

"He's in his room resting. He was examined by a psychologist which is why this took so long but they say he's okay to go home as long he goes to therapy," the doctor replied. "If you all sign these he can go."

Jonah took the papers as a nurse led Zach over to them. Jack ran over when he saw Zach with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry guys," he whimpered.

Jack shook his head as he hugged his boyfriend. "No. Don't apologize. I'm just so glad you're okay baby."

Daniel and Corbyn joined in the hug as they reassured Zach. Jonah finished the transaction and joined the hug. "Come on. Let's get him home."

The rest of the night Jack laid with Zach next to him gently rubbing his back. Daniel found himself standing in the doorway. "You think the band idea will help?"

Corbyn shrugged as he rested against the wall and crossed his arms. "It can't hurt. Music is like therapy for the rest of us."

That morning Jonah found Jack sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee. He wasn't drinking it, he was just staring into the mug. "You okay?" Jonah asked as he sat down.

"Yeah," Jack muttered. "I'm finishing this and then I'm going to go lay down with him again. He woke up in tears a while ago."

Jack finished his coffee and went back upstairs to see Zach on his phone. "Hey bud. We had an idea but we wanted to ask you first."

Zach nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

Daniel walked in, followed by Corbyn and Jonah. "What if we started a band?"

"A band? I love it," Zach replied excitedly. "What would we call it?"

Corbyn grinned as he sat down beside the boys. "Well since we basically said why don't we start a band, Jonah suggested Why Don't We should be our name." 

Zach rested against Jack, still tired from the medication he was on, and pulled the hood over his head. "And we could get some views because of Logan. I'm sure he'd be happy to help." 

"Speaking of Logan," Daniel said with a small smile as he heard a car pull into the driveway. 

Zach's smile grew. "No... he's here now? Logan's back?" 

"Go see for yourself," Jack replied with a smile. 

Zach scrambled out of bed and raced down the stairs and through the kitchen. Logan opened the door and pulled Zach into his arms as he set down all the suitcases. "Zach, I've missed you so much." 

Zach didn't move from Logan's arms. It had been too long away from him. The other boys waved hello before going to the kitchen to give Logan and Zach some time to themselves. Logan instinctively pulled up Zach's sleeves. There were no new cuts. "I'm so proud of you," he whispered in the boy's ear as he led him to the couch. 

"Logan, I want to live with them, but I don't want you to leave the area for that long again," Zach said quietly. "It was too long." 

"It was too long for me too, buddy," Logan replied. "And yes, you can live here and you're free to come to my house as often as you want." 

After a few minutes, the two of them headed into the kitchen to join in the rest of the conversation. They explained the band idea to Logan who was ready to help them gain listeners. They found themselves in the studio showing Logan some of the songs each of them had written. This would be one of the things that would keep Zach safe and out of therapy. 

We're getting close to the end but not quite. No more drama though. Anyways, I'm so excited for the mafia book I'm writing. It will be so much better. Til the next chapter though, stay safe 💕