Josh took a deep breath, head between his knees. Annie slid down to the ground next to him too and there they remained for a good hour, just staring into nothingness.
"They're not, Josh. They can't replace you and Connor with that kid, whoever that kid is," Annie tried reassuring Josh but she knew it was pointless. His heart had already started to break.
"How could they be so heartless? I'm not even dead yet," Josh muttered with clenched teeth.
***
They heard his mother leave the room but she didn't stop to comfort him when she saw him by the door, slumped on the floor. She simply walked away. His father followed after that and he looked away too, as if he was disregarding a stain on the wall. Annie stood up.
"What in the world?" She said with a look of disbelief, watching Josh's parents turn a corner and disappear out of sight.
Josh choked out a laugh, "So it is true, huh?"
His parents were easy like that. They kept complications out of their heads by doing what they did best with broken things, they bought new things to replace it. He thought of when Connor passed away and how his mother grieved for a month or two, then she got herself into pottery. He thought of his father's irregular visits after that too, knowing his father was keeping extra busy at work. They ignore and ignore everything shitty in their lives until it gets too big a pile to hide.
With a heavy heart, he stood up and took Annie's hand. "Let's get out of here," he said.
"You just woke up, Josh. Getting out of here is not a good idea," she told him.
"Then humor me, Annie. Humor me and let's leave. I'm not strong enough to deal with whatever is in there," he pointed his thumb to the door behind him. "I'm neither strong nor ready to face that."
"Josh..." Annie sighed, reluctant to let him go about with his crazy idea. He could barely step out of his room without feeling dizzy, now he wants to run away? But she thought, to hell with being safe, she could take care of him enough.
Josh let go of her hand, frustrated. "I'll go by myself then," he said, dejectedly, turning his back towards her. Annie rolled her eyes but she went along with him anyway.
She went to get him a change of clothes from his drawer in his room, avoiding all eye contact from both Lucas and Kayne. Hurriedly, she plucked a shirt and a pair of jeans from the drawer and retrieved his shoes from beside his bed.
"Where are you two off to?" Kayne asked, pretending to seem like he couldn't care less.
Annie ignored his question and walked out, feeling their dagger-like stares against her back. They couldn't know because she didn't know either.
"Did they say anything?" Josh asked when he had changed into his proper clothes. Annie shook her head.
***
With careful steps, they sneaked out of the building; tiptoeing pass security and familiar nurses. When they passed the entrance to the hospital, Josh breathed a sigh of relief. Together, they made their way to the nearest bus stop.
"I want to go back to our river," Josh said quietly. Annie sat next to him on the bus, her head on his shoulder. She was playing with his fingers. "I miss it. I miss all the beautiful things we used to be able to do before this happened," he sighed, brushing what was left of his hair with his other hand.
"I miss it too. But that was then and this is now. You're here. That's enough for me," Annie told him and kissed him on the cheek. Josh only smiled. She couldn't tell if he agreed with her or if he was allowing himself to feel unnecessary guilt.
It was a long ride home but for what it was worth, they endured it anyway. Annie snuggled up to Josh, listening to his heart beat. They raced at first, slowing down after awhile; it eventually lulled her to sleep.
Josh wrapped one arm around her, stroking her soft cheek. "I hope when this is over, you'll love me just the same," Josh whispered.
***
When they arrived at the slow-paced neighbourhood of their home, Annie headed straight towards the river. Josh stopped her midway, just as they were walking by his house. "I want to go home for a bit. See what has changed. Is that okay?"
Annie hesitated, knowing that if his parents were comfortable with bringing Lucas to the hospital, Lucas must have already lived here long enough and warmed up to his share of the Hutchersons' space. Josh went ahead and unlocked the door with the spare key they usually hid in a dried up wreath by their window.
"I can't believe it's still here," he chuckled to himself.
"Josh, you sure you want to do this?" Annie asked, uncertain.
"Don't worry. It's my home, Annie. I'll be fine."
Josh took a step inside and his heart melted at the familiar scent of his home. Suddenly, he was 15 again and Connor was calling dibs on the last chocolate popsicle in the freezer. He felt a strong wave of emotions, memories, waft through him. He was finally home.
They ascended up the stairs to his room that he shared with his brother. He opened the door and found that their beds were no longer there, replaced with a single queen-sized bed. His shelves of books remained by his wardrobe but they were wrapped up in plastic sheets, almost as if whoever did that did not want to see them anymore. His once brown wardrobe that was covered in posters and poetry was now a pale gray and clean. Even the vanilla-scented candles that used to be the staple of their room was now replaced with a faint smell of detergent and cheap cologne.
Josh closed his eyes. Their room was no longer 'Josh and Connor's' but rather a stranger's and it was difficult to comprehend how quickly it got replaced. Annie held his hand and gave him a comforting squeeze.
"This is not my room. I mean it was but it isn't anymore. Nothing I own remains in this hellhole except my books and look at how they're hidden away like that!" Josh pointed furiously at the sad display of his favourite classics and trilogies, hidden behind a translucent sheet of plastic.
"What have they done?!" he shouted. He stormed towards the plastic sheet and ripped it off. "This is my home but my room is no longer my own! Who the hell is Lucas and what does he want from me?!" Josh shouted, tearing down the plastic and kicking down the trophies that littered the entire lower shelf. "These aren't even mine! Where are Connor's trophies? Where are our diaries and Nintendos? Did they sell it all to buy this piece of shit?!"
Annie gasped, watching as Josh wrecked the room that was once his. Josh sweeped everything off his old desk and emptied the tiny drawers. He pulled the giant framed jersey off his wall and broke the glass. "They don't need a hard-headed idiot who chases a stupid ball around as a son. I am their son! Connor and I!"
"Josh! Calm down! Please!"
"Calm down? How can I? Look around you, Annie! My own room is a stranger to me. I have nothing and I am nothing to my own parents. Even they don't think I'm going to make it home anymore," Josh snapped, his face a burning red. A trail of blood started to flow out of his nose.
Annie stood in shock as she watched Josh wipe his nose with the back of his hand. "Shit," was all he could say. That was the second time Josh blacked out that week.
***
"How could you be so irresponsible, Annie Silverman? To allow my sick son out of this facility?! What if something worse happened?" Josh's mother howled from one end of his room while Annie stood on the other end. She had her head hung low, feeling absolutely no remorse for what she had supposedly done. It was after all a good eye-opener.
Josh had woken up as they arrived back to the hospital in the ambulance earlier. He stirred for a moment then opened his eyes. The first person he saw was Annie and her blotchy red face. She was crying but he kissed her anyway.
"Thank you, Annie," he managed to say before they wheeled him away.
Annie rolled her eyes at how his mother sobbed and how worried his father got when they heard the news. Apparently, while Josh and Annie were away, they were at a coffee-shop having tea. They cared about Josh but it was beginning to seem like they only cared because they're supposed to, rather than because they love him.
Lucas was the least fazed and he only watched as the commotion disturbed him from his lazing on the sofa with a book under his nose. Kayne was nowhere to be seen, making Annie all the more tensed because his sarcasm usually calmed her down in desperate times.
"I think you should go home, Annie. And maybe not come back for awhile. Until we're sure you're not going to whisk him off to some far away place and leave him to die," Josh's father said, a serious look in his eyes. His mother sniffed and looked away.
Annie shrugged. "Fine. I'll go. But there's something you need to know."
They looked at her half-heartedly, almost with a look of disgust.
"Don't abandon him. Don't replace him. And most importantly, do not hurt him any longer. Get Lucas out of his sight," she spat before storming out of the room.
************************************************************
A/N: Whoosh, there goes 2014. How is everyone doing this new year? I hope this chapter was a good read. Tell me what you think. Do comment, vote and all the good stuff!
P.S: What are your thoughts on his parents and Lucas?