Young Life

Heartbreak

I can't believe he never told me, even while we were dating. I wish he'd told me. I could've done something. I could've gotten him outta there. I look over to the couch and sigh at the sight of Nate's bruised and scarred chest and arms. I smile; Mat is blushing while comfortably rubbing Nate's arms because Nate is laying his head on his shoulder. I look back over to Jack and see him standing in the corner of the room, his arms crossed over his chest and looking down at the floor.

I walk over to him and gently set my hand on his cheek, causing him to look up. After a second, Jack engrosses me in a hug. I feel tears soak my shirt. I wrap my arms around him and let him cry. I run my fingers through his lime-green hair to calm him down.

Minutes later, once he's calm, I let go of him as he backs up.

"I'm sahrry. I dedn't mean to break down ahn you and soak yooehr shirt," He manages to say through his hiccups.

"It's fine, as long as you know that I am, and always will be here for you. I care about you, ok? I won't judge you about anything. I'll never push you away." Jack sniffs and nods, tears springing to the corner of his eyes once more. I give him a small kiss.

"I'm gonna see how Nate is, all right? I'll be right back." He nods and wipes away his tears. It's heartbreaking him to see him like this. A quiet shell of who he usually is; a loud, funny, and caring Irishman. Right now, he's just a quiet, reserved, and broken man. I give him one last kiss, then walk over to the couch. I kneel down and Nate turns his head to look at me.

"How are you?"

"I-I'm fine. Really." He takes a deep breath, and I can almost hear him holding back a sob. I look at Mat, and we share a look.

What is Nate still hiding? The phone rings. I sigh and ruffle up his hair, then go the kitchen to answer it.

"Hi, is this Mary Fischbach?" My eyes widen and I stiffen. I motion over Ethan, Tyler, Thomas, and Felix.

"No, this is her son, Mark." I move the receiver end away from my mouth and whisper to the guys. "It's Nate's mom." Their eyes widen as well and they all look at Nate.

"Oh, hi Mark. I haven't seen you in a while. I was just wondering if Nate is there. He's not answering his phone." I whisper to Thomas to ask Nate if he wants to talk.

"Uh." I look to Nate and he nods. "Yeah, he's here. Give me a second." MatPat helps him stand and helps him walk over. I hand him the phone and he leans against the wall as we all walk back to the living room. Mat, Thomas, Jack, and I sit on the couch, Felix sits in the armchair, and Tyler and Ethan sit on the floor. I lean over and place my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands, my fingers running through my hair. God, I hope we get him away from his family.

We all look up as we hear a loud thump. Nate's sitting on the floor, phone hanging by the cord and lightly banging against the wall. Nate was breathing heavily and fast. Mat gets up and runs to Nate and sits down beside him, leaning Nate's head against his chest.

"Hey, hey, Nate, It's ok. There's nothing to be scared of. Just breathe with me, come on. I'm right here." Slowly but surely, Nate's breathing eventually slowed down and his panic attack completely disappeared. Everyone gets off the couch and I run over to the kitchen. I pick up Nate and lay him on the couch. I take a step back as Mat runs up and kneels down beside the couch, running his fingers through Nate's hair. I look to the others, and I know we're all asking the same question...

"What the hell did Nate's mom say to him?"