Pretty Boy (boyxboy)

Chapter Thirty Two

SUNDAY

It's pitch black outside now, not even the moon seems to shine tonight. Jamie was hysterical, no matter what I did to try and calm her she only seemed to worsen. 
The police arrived shortly after Nate made the call, and the man-who I learned was Robert, the neighbor-was taken into custody. A few officers filed into her bedroom after he was removed from the premises, and tried to ask her questions about what happened. I begged them to wait and let her calm down before they tried to get a report out of her, she was in no shape to do it at the time. 

Nate and I ended up rushing her to emergency room to run a rape kit and Ana met us there. She seemed to be the only thing that Jamie responded to. She was allowed to go back with JJ while they ran her tests, two police officers going in an hour later, leaving Nate and I sitting in the waiting room. 

We haven't spoken a word to each other since we left the apartment and I couldn't bring myself to speak. What do you say to someone who had to see his sister being assaulted after years of seeing his own mother being abused? 

His hands haven't stopped shaking since he sat down beside me in the plastic chairs. His dark eyes stay focused on the tile floor, peeking up every few minutes to check the time. We must have been here for at least two hours, now. 

I lick my dry lips and clear my throat.
"Do you want something to eat?" 

He shakes his head. 

My eyes wander to his hands and examine them. His knuckles are cut open and likely bruised, dried blood sticking to his skin. 
I slowly place my hand on his shoulder. I can feel his body stiffen but it's enough to jerk his attention to me instead of the floor. 

"Come with me." 

I think he's going to refuse, but he doesn't. I slowly stand up, and pull him by gently by his arm to follow me to the single bathroom at the other side of the room.

I flick the light on and pull him inside, shutting and locking the door behind us. I push the toilet seat down and motion for him to sit. He does as he's told, but he moves like a zombie. His eyes are dazed and sad, accompanied by dark rings circling underneath them. 

I grab a handful of paper towels, holding them under the faucet of cold water. Wringing out the excess water, I squat down to the cold floor, placing myself on my knees in front of him. 

He barely blinks when I grab his hand, laying the cold cloth over this busted knuckles, dabbing lightly to remove the blood from them. 

"I should have been there." 

His voice is hoarse and low, making me stop my movements on his hand and look up at his sad eyes. 
"You can't blame yourself for this."

"The hell I can't. If I had been there, then he would've never gotten to her." He retorts, his voice rising. 

I swallow harshly and search my mind for the right thing to say, if there is a such thing. I come up with nothing. 

"You couldn't have known that this would happen. Nobody blames you." I tell him calmly. 

He shakes his head, standing up from the toilet seat quickly, knocking me back on my ass. He doesn't seem to notice though, as his hands begin pulling at his hair and his breathing gets harsh. 

"I blame me!" He shouts. 

I gulp and slide myself back against the wall. 

"I'm supposed to protect her. I couldn't protect her from my dad back then, and I still can't now. She doesn't deserve this. She's just a kid..." His voice cracks and his angry facade begins to fade. 

"She's just a kid." He whispers, falling to the ground, hands covering his face as his sobs fill the room. 

I am snapped out of my fearful state and slide myself over to him, wrapping his large body into mine, and letting a few of my own tears fall from my cheeks along with him.

"I know, baby, I know." I whisper. 

"I hate myself!" He yells between sobs, punching the floor underneath him. 

I grab his hands, holding them together to stop him from worsening his knuckles, and kissing his head. 
"You're okay, you're alright. I got you." I soothe. 

His eyes close and he breathes deeply, trying to calm himself down. I hear him sigh loudly and his teary eyes lift themselves from my shirt, meeting mine. His brown eyes, that usual shine so brightly with happiness, are now weak and dreary with hurt and anguish. 

He places a hard kiss onto my mouth, his tears falling between our lips for me to taste. He breaks away to take a breath, placing his forehead onto mine as his lips quiver. 

"I think I'm falling in love with you." He breathes. 

My heart stops and I lick my lips.
"You're really emotional right now, Nate." I tell him softly. 

He sniffs and nods his head, casting his eyes back down to the floor. 
"I know. But I know how I feel. You don't have to say it back, I just needed you to know that." 

I don't say anything, I can't say anything. 
"We need to get back. Jamie should be done any minute now." 

He nods again and lets me pull him to stand to his feet. He wipes the stray tears off of his face and follows me back out to the practically empty waiting room. 

I intertwine my fingers with his and bring him with me over to the front desk. 

"Ma'am? Can we please go see our sister?" 

I know I'll have to lie to get back there. They're not going to let anyone outside of the family in to see her. 

She barely looks up at me.
"Name?"

"Jamie Summers." 

Her fingers click loudly on the computer keyboard.
"Yeah, go ahead. Room 209." She tells us, pointing down the hallway to the partially opened door. 

Nate's ears seem to perk up at that and he practically drags me down the hallway, rushing into the room. 
Jamie is sitting on the hospital bed in a set of clothes that I've never seen before. Her hair is wet, falling down over her shoulders, and her face is blank. Nate wastes no time in rushing over to her, pulling her small body to him, nearly crushing her. 

Her head buries itself into his chest and her hands fist themselves into his t shirt, clinging to him for dear life. 

I stay in my place by the door, letting him be with her. He needs it more than me. I glance over at Ana who sits in the hard chair beside the bed. She watches her children, a small smile gracing over her tired features. 

I can hear them whispering something to each other as they hold one another, but I can't understand what they're saying. He rubs her back, up and down slowly, as he releases her from his arms and she settles back onto the white pillow. 

Her weak eyes focus themselves onto me as I stand near the door wearily. 

"You better get your ass over here." She teases, choking out a laugh.

Even in the worst of times, this strong and independent girl still finds a way to laugh. I could only dream of having the strength she does. 

I do as I'm told and make my way to her, letting her curl herself into my arms like she did hours earlier. I rest my cheek against her hair. 

"You alright?" I whisper. 

She nods against my chest and pulls away, giving me as good a smile as she can manage right now. 

"What did the cops say?" Nate asks, turning to his mother. 

"Not a lot. We filed the report, and they took her clothes and everything for evidence. Robert is still in custody. I guess now we just wait." 

"I wanna go home, mama." JJ speaks, leaning her head back on me. 

"We're going home nena."