I was afraid to hear what Kevin had to say...my throat was completely closed up. I didn't even want to take my sunglasses off, but dad reached over and yanked them off my face, making me squint. "Pay attention to what your brother has to say, Nicholas." He said sternly, tucking my glasses into his shirt pocket. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I noticed Joe had turned his cell off, and then I focused back on Kevin; he was staring blankly at the floor as tears streamed down his gaunt cheeks. Mom had her arm around him, and said gently, "We need to tell them Kevin." He glanced up, not looking any of us in particular, and said, "Umm...I'm not sure how to tell you this..."
*20 minutes earlier*
Kevin's POV:
I couldn't stop fidgeting in the office as mom and I waited for the doctor to come back. I had just spent over an hour taking different kinds of tests...blood, urine, and any other test they could use as an excuse to poke me with needles. Now that they had given me something for the pain, all I could feel was fear. My hands were shaking, and mom reached over to grab them. "I'm here for you sweetheart, no matter what. We'll get through this...okay?" I nodded, unable to open my mouth in fear of vomiting. Suddenly I heard the click of the door lock, and I saw the door drift open. "Hello Kevin, Mrs. Jonas, how are we feeling right now?" I looked up at him confused. Was he serious? "Fine I guess..." I muttered. Mom sighed, "Dr. Collins, we're just very nervous. Please tell us what to do to heal Kevin." The doctor sat in his chair, leaning back and sighing. I was trying to focus on anything that would take my mind off what he was about to say. Dr. Collins was pretty large...round almost. Bald head? Check. Cheesy 80's mustache? Double check. Suddenly he cleared his throat and looked at me, breaking my concentration of studying his awkward features. "Kevin, how often would you say you drink?" I raised an eyebrow. "Uhh, I don't know. Are you looking for specifics here?" Mom touched my arm, "Kevin, now is not the time...just tell him what he wants to know; I'm not going to say anything." I coughed, "Well, a lot. I don't know how much exactly...but more than I should, I know that." He nodded, almost as if he was expecting to hear that. "Well, after we ran the tests...we've determined that you may be having trouble with your liver. I don't want to scare you, but this could be potentially fatal, so I want you to come back in tomorrow and we'll run some more specific tests, alright?" My heart stopped. Fatal? He couldn't possibly mean that. Mom drew in a breath and didn't move...she was clearly just as shocked as I was. Neither of us expected it to be this bad. "Mommy?" I said as I looked at her, almost childlike. Dr. Collins got up from his chair, clearing his throat again. "I'll uhh, give you some time here. Just don't forget to make an appointment with Janet out front, okay? I'm very sorry Kevin." With that, he left. I couldn't move...I couldn't breathe. "Mommy..." I said again, "What's gonna happen to me?" She continued to hold her composure as best she could. "You're going to get better. No question. Now, let's go make that appointment and get you on the road to being healed, okay?"
We stood and slowly walked back out to the waiting room. Everything was a blur...the only thing I could hear was mom say, "We need to tell them Kevin." I sighed, and glanced up. "Umm...I'm not sure how to tell you this..."
Nick's POV:
"I could have some serious problems...with my liver. I have to come back tomorrow for more tests." Kevin droned, clearly not lucid at all. I felt sick. "Are you gonna be okay?" I said quietly. He shrugged, and then plopped down in the seat that was right next to him. I glanced over at Dad and Joe; both hadn't moved since Kevin had spoken, only their eyes had followed him to where he was sitting. It felt like time was crawling...none of us knew what to say. "I'm sorry" didn't fit...I just wanted to go home. Mom finally convinced Kevin to stand again, and they made their way to the desk to make another appointment. "Shit..." Joe said, exasperated. Dad normally would have cut him down for that, but at this moment, it didn't matter. "What...what do we do dad?" he said, looking over at our father who was as still as a stone statue. He sighed and said, "The most we can do is support him, and pray for him. He needs to get better...whatever he's suffering from."
Joe's POV:
I couldn't believe what was happening...it was something out of a terrible soap opera. I wanted to text Brianne so badly...but after her last, I didn't know if she'd want to hear from me. I pulled my cell out, and stared at the screen; unsure of whether or not I should tell her what happened. Nick looked over at me, frustrated. "Dude, can we talk outside?" he said, his voice wavering in anger. I nodded, and the two of us walked outside the hospital. I crossed my arms, wondering what he could possibly have to say to me. He paced a little, and then started slowly, "Is that all you care about?" I raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?" he frowned. "Are you serious? The texting! Our brother could die, and all you want to do is talk to your fucking girlfriend!" I could feel the anger rising in me, "Dude, she's the only one that gets me. Of course now she doesn't even want to talk to me until I make a decision about-" Nick cut me off. "I don't care. You're being selfish. She's not even family! I mean, you act like you don't even want to talk to us anymore. You used to tell me everything, and now you barely say hi in the morning." I was boiling...he can't be serious. He spent all his time locked in his room doing God knows what, not speaking to anyone. "She's like family to me...and if you didn't spend so much time being an emo masochist, maybe I'd talk to you more!" Nick's eyes burned, "Shut up. You have NO idea what you're talking about." I paused; wait, what WAS he talking about? Why had that comment made him so angry? I pulled out my cell and started to text Bri, but Nick grabbed it from me. I lunged at him, and the two of us fell to the ground, wrestling for the phone. "Give it back, you ass!" I yelled. "BOYS!" I stopped and looked up to see Dad glaring at us. "Get in the car...NOW. We're going home."
Nick's POV:
The whole ride home I was fuming. I had never been so angry at my brother...why was he acting like this? As soon as we got to the house, I ran inside to the bathroom. I paced back and forth, my head pounding. I had this crazy urge to slam my fists into the countertop, but i resisted. I knew there was only one thing that would ease my suffering right now. I slid the cabinet drawer open, looking for my altoids box. I sighed as I opened it, reaching for the tiny piece of metal that could at least temporarily solve my problems. It glistened as I held it up, and I slid my right sleeve up to the elbow. I paused for a moment, listening to make sure that no one was outside the bathroom door. When I was sure, I brought the metal to my skin, slowly draggin it across my forearm. I winced and squinted as my arm seared...taking away my emotional pain. I reached for some toilet paper to clean my arm, when all of a sudden someone pounded on the door. I dropped the razor, and scrambled to clean up my mess. "Shit..." I muttered. "Yo, everything okay in there Nick?" The doorknob jiggled, "Dude, why is the door locked?" I tossed the altoids box back in the cabinet and attempted to flush away the evidence...
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