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1783 Words
Meeting them at the hospital, Ambrosia scowled at the young man on the gurney. She had spoken to him on many occasions about being consistent with his meds, yet he was still so defiant about it. Her phone rang again, and she raised her head slightly to glare at Trace. Checking the number, she rolled her eyes.
“Should you get that, Doctor?” a nurse asked cautiously.
Ambrosia shook her head and slipped the phone back into her pocket. “It’s just my oldest son. He can wait. Get this one to my floor, private room, and get his chart out while I talk with his father.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“This is getting ridiculous. If he continues on this path, I may take it on myself to keep him in an induced sleep to help him,” she said as Trace groaned. She looked at him, frowning as he heaved a dry sob. “T?”
“What do I do, Amber? Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently?” He pleaded, wondering how he’d missed the obvious signs of his son’s behaviour.
She crouched beside him, brushing a few stray strands of black hair out of his face. Taking his chin in her hands, she shook her head. “Trace, there was nothing you could have done to avoid this happening. This is the result of him not asking for help and waiting too long to do anything to fix his issues. Trust me, Jaxon’s going to eventually snap, and, when he does, Mark will know exactly how badly he screwed up over the years. This is no longer your battle to fight.”
Trying not to break down, he nodded, but his eyes held a fear she’d never seen in him before. The man in front of her was the team joker, a prankster who enjoyed making his friends laugh. Now, even though she knew there was a serious, down-to-earth side to him, she saw that he held himself accountable for the actions of his children.
One of which was already an adult in his own right.
“Trace?”
Looking over her shoulder, Ambrosia scowled. Her green eyes flared with visible annoyance as she glared at Lukas, Jaxon, and Erika. “What the hell are you three doing here?”
“We finished our class work early, Ma’am,” Erika explained. “When we realized that Mark’s car was still in the parking lot and he was nowhere to be seen, we asked the dean what happened. Jax got upset, so Luke grabbed the keys to his brother’s car, Jaxon drove his, and I rode with him. Should I have forced them to go home instead?”
Sighing, Ambrosia shook her head. Beckoning them closer, she rubbed the girl’s arm. “No, you did the right thing. These two are like the rest of their crew and will decline listening to orders to get their own way. Especially if my son has a hand in it. Come along.”
As the boys passed Trace, the man got to his feet. His eyes shimmering with unshed tears as he grabbed Lukas by the arm. “Has he been sleeping? Do you know if he’s been taking his meds when I’m out?”
“His meds? I thought he was. There were a few times he was working on homework, yawned a few times, and went to bed. Well, that’s what he told me he was doing,” Lukas replied in confusion. His eyes went wide as he realized what was going on. “He slipped, didn’t he?”
Trace nodded slowly, his eyes wandering over to the other teen, “And you?”
“If he slipped up, he’s been hiding it really well. I’ll stick with him, Trace. I won’t abandon him unless he gives me no other choice. Right now, he’s still coming to terms with the harsh reality of the truth. He needs me,” Jaxon said calmly.
“If that man puts his hands on you, I’m dealing the damage,” Lukas snapped. “My brother needs a kick in the pants, not sympathy.”
Jaxon breathed a soft laugh, shaking his head. “Be that as it may, my father raised me to believe that there was always some good in everyone. We just have to find it. I know he’s a good man, Luke. He just needs to know that those with him now are not going to walk away at the first sign of trouble.”
“I know you believe that, Jax, but sometimes people need tough love to snap out of their bad habits.” Lukas muttered.
Jaxon shook his head, his voice steady. “I get it, Luke. I really do. But right now, Markus needs to know that we’re here for him. He needs to feel secure and supported, not abandoned or judged. We can help him through this.”
His grey eyes softening, Lukas winced at his best friend’s words. Regardless of how he felt, it wasn’t his place to make relationship decisions for his brother. Setting his jaw, he glanced at his father and Ambrosia. “Yeah, I know. Fine, but I’m still on your side of this crap. If he starts his s**t again, you call me in to help, though.”
“I can deal with that,” Jaxon said with a wry smile. “Trace, I’m leaving the decision up to you. Can we stay, or would you rather we go home for now?”
Trace raised a brow, blinking back the tears that threatened to make themselves known. “Stay, for now at least. If he wakes before Amber gets to him, I may need you, kid. I do expect you to call your father.”
“Already done. He told me to tell you updates are necessary,” Jaxon answered as they made their way into the hospital. Pulling out his phone, he called someone who’d gone through the same thing not long ago. “Mark’s in the hospital. Again. I have a more... um, personal question to ask.”
“Shoot, I got time,” the man replied.
“How do you stop blaming yourself? I mean, I know it’s not my fault, and I know that there was nothing I really could have done to stop it, but how do I stop blaming myself?” Jaxon asked.
On the other end of the line, Memphis went silent. “You push it out of your mind as much as you can. Find something to focus on other than the person you’re thinking of, and keep yourself as busy as possible. You called because of how s**t went down between me and Ken, huh?”
Wearily watching the teen out of the corner of his eye, Trace picked up on the conversation. He wasn’t the only one blaming himself for the current state of affairs, but it was what it was. There was nothing he could ever do to force things that had already happened to change. Things were already in motion, yet the boy had asked the question that had been on all their minds.
How could they have let things get this far?
“Jaxon?” Memphis asked on the phone. “You’ve gone radio silent, buddy.”
Blinking, Jaxon forced a smile. “I’m okay, I just... I think I’m going to follow your advice for once. And yes, that was exactly why I called you. I knew you would understand because of how your relationship with Kenni started. I know that Mark is your best friend, but I don’t know—”
“Stop right there, Ji-hoon,” Memphis snapped. “Yeah, he’s my ride-or-die friend, but I would beat his ass sideways if he ever hurt you. Hell, my wife would gladly hold my jacket if it came to that.”
Snickering beside him, Lukas muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “I told you so.” Elbowing his best friend, Jaxon shook his head. “It’s true, though. The entire team has been saying it, man.”
Clearing his throat, Memphis brought the attention back to the conversation at hand. “One, tell Lukie to eff off. Two, if you’re at the hospital and near Amber, hand me to her when we’re done. Three, Boss just found out what’s been going on the last year, so get ready to answer a rapid-fire inquiry. Anything else you needed, lil bro?”
“No, there’s not. Yes, I’ll tell him to STFU. How did Boss find out?”
“As one of the four team geniuses, did you seriously just ask me that? Who the holy hell do you think told that motha… um, trucker?” Memphis snarled, obviously watching his language in front of his infant.
Jaxon laughed, “Anyway, handing you off to Amber.”
Giving his phone to Ambrosia, he watched her pull out her own phone to send a quick message to someone. Within a few minutes, she nodded, “Right. Well, this is certainly not out of the ordinary, but to ease your minds, bring him by the peid's unit tomorrow at eleven thirty. Doctor Yaziel’s accepted the task of being Francis’ doctor, so he’s in good hands.”
Not hearing what Memphis said, but noting the smile on the woman’s face, Jaxon knew that the man obviously accepted the appointment. Deep in his heart, he knew that the woman he’d grown up around would stop at nothing to ensure Markus got back on his feet.
Sighing, he felt the unexpected warmth of Erika’s arms surrounding him in a firm, but gentle hug. “Um…”
“Just shut up and accept the comfort being offered,” she whispered harshly.
Turning in her embrace, he hugged her back. She rested her chin on his head, rubbing his back soothingly as he let his emotions out before the elevator had a chance to stop. Stepping back, he smiled, “Thanks. I didn’t really realize how badly I actually needed to cry.”
“Honestly, seeing a guy cry is a little… unnerving. You’re not embarrassed?” She asked cautiously.
“Men cry all the time, Erika,” Trace muttered. “It’s just that we’re not into showing you females our weaknesses. Besides, you try having a murderous woman as your bosses boss.”
She grinned, “Oh? Well, as Beyoncé said, girls run the world.”
“You said it, hun. I’m glad you joined the crew. It’s nice to see the youngest of my son’s team with a capable guard at their back,” Ambrosia laughed.
- Writer
