The Misadventures of Jake Foley

Jake's Misadventure # 29: Battered Ego.

Hours of waiting patiently for an answer, Jake hears the best news he's heard all week.

 "It appears that Tristan is going to be okay. Have some major bruising along his left side but he should be okay in a few weeks. Would you like to go see him?" Jake nods and immediately follows the doctor. Arriving at the door, Jake peaks through to see a sullied Tristan, staring angrily at the wall across from him. Jake knocks softly, watching Tristan's lack of reaction. 

"Tristan? It's Jake. May I come in?" Tristan nods, crossing his arms. Jake shuts the door softly behind him and laid eyes on the battered and bruised Tristan. Jake shakes his head, holding his mouth trying not to gasp at the bruise on his face. 

"Before you say anything Foley, I do not want your sympathy. I don't want you feeling bad for me."

"You make it sound so bad." Tristan didn't retort with the same sarcasm. 

"How did this happen? Who did this to you?" Tristan's jaw begins to clench. 

"I know who did this, and I'm going to make them pay for this." Jake quickly scans the mind for any noticeable name to come of mind. 

"We should've never kicked you out. None of that should've gone down like that and I realized that you're only trying to look out for me." Tristan says nothing, his eyes staring blankly to the white pasty wall in front of him. 

"What happened is now in the past, because we want you back where you belong Tristan. With us."  

"It doesn't look like I have a choice in the matter do I?" Jake smirks while walking closer to the side of the bed. 

"It doesn't look like you do my homeless friend." 

A moment of silence falls on the room. 

"He was looking for you." Jake's head peers out of his palms. 

"Who? Who was looking for me?" Tristan leans back into his bed. 

"I'm not going to tell you who. I don't want you to go off and tell the Principle and have him suspended. I need my revenge first before that happens." 

"I don't think that would be such a great idea, what if this happens again?" Tristan laughs. Quickly realizing he did so, Tristan rests a heavy hand on his left side, trying not to cry while going through the pain. 

"It will NEVER happen again." Jake sighs. 

"He told me he's coming for you as well." Suddenly Jake realized who the identity is all along. Jake looked down at his fist and replayed when it collided with the jaw of Devin. 

"No way." Tristan nods his head.

"He's still very pissed about you hitting him in the face months ago." Jake nervously paces in front of the hospital bed. 

"I never meant for you to get caught up in all of this." Tristan rolls his eyes, 

"Of course you didn't but it happened anyway. We got to deal with it." Jake nods his head, his eyes peering at the black and blue mark scattered along the left rib cage of Tristan. 

A moment of silence ensues. The minds of both begin to race to look for things to say.                         

"Why'd you come looking for me?" Jake smiles sheepishly, 

"Because you're my brother. No matter what happened back there, it doesn't change our brotherhood." 

Jake can see Tristan's thoughts run silent. "I was really upset at you, you know?" 

"I know, you have every right to be. But, I don't know about you, but I'm tired of arguing. I just want to go back to simpler times, where we play video games for hours and eat shitty snacks." A comforting laugh releases the tension. 

"I'd like that."