All Along

014

"Tessa, its not the size of the man in the fight its the size of the fight in the man." Those were the last words my brother spoke before being admitted to the hospital.

After screaming back and forth for hours Michael had enough and ran over my brother with his car before taking off. He was hardly conscious when the ambulance arrived. All I remember was the blood. I don't know where exactly it had been coming from but there was a lot of it. By the time my brother had arrived at the hospital, he was no longer conscious and he was a bloody mess.

My mother refuses to tell me what is wrong with my brother because she doesn't want me worrying about him. That's the thing though; keeping me from knowing is just going to increase the anxiety and my stress levels. The only thing I know is that my brother is unconscious with a broken ankle. When the car hit my brother, it damaged his ribs on impact because of how fast the car was going. Once my brother had fallen, Michael proceeded to drive and ran over my brothers ankle twice. Once with the front left tire and a second time with the back left tire. The bone is shattered and this could effect his career in football in the future.

Kyle, Cory's dad, was nice enough to let me stay over at his house for the night. I didn't want to be alone after everything that has happened today. Cory agreed to skipping school with me tomorrow. There is no way I'm going back to that place this week. I've got way too much on my plate right now and they can forget about that project because there is no way I want to deal with that right now.

I can't bring myself to fall asleep. Even with Cory sleeping right next to me, I feel so alone. I roll over and tap Cory's shoulder and he jerks away and his eyes snap open. "Tess, you okay?" He asks.

"I can't sleep," I mutter. "Here" he says, pulling me into his arms. I nuzzle myself into his chest and listen to the sound of his heart beating. I don't know if its the fact that I'm so upset over everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours but right now I feel completely emotionally attached to Cory. Other than Jack, I don't think I have ever loved a boy so much in my entire life. Not the way I love Cory. Cory is different. Cory would never hurt me. Not on purpose at least.

"I love you," I whisper.

"I love you you," he smiles back, looking into my eyes. He's so perfect.

...

I wake to the sound of two men laughing.

I pull myself off of Cory's bed and walk into their kitchen.

"Morning, Tess." Cory smiles.

"Morning!"

"Well I've got to head off to work. You guys be careful. Lock the doors too. Oh and keep your phones on and call me if you need anything. I've got both of your numbers programmed into my phone. After what happened yesterday, I don't know if I should leave you home alone..."

"Dad, we will be fine, okay? Go to work, I promise if anything happens, we will call you. Don't worry about us. We can take care of our selves," Cory guides his father towards the door and hands him a cup of coffee before telling him he loves him, to be careful and drive safe and closes the door behind him.

He leans aganist the door and giggles. "I know, I know. I look terrible," I reply, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

He's probably laughing at how ridiculous I must look. The tee-shirt I'm wearing is actually Jacks and I only wore it because I liked how it smelled like his cologne. My shorts are a bright neon blue color with navy stripes on the sides.

"No, no thats...thats not it at all!"

"Then what's so funny?" I ask.

"You. You worry so much about how you look and if your makeup looks okay and if your outfit fits perfectly and in reality... You- you don't need all that stuff! Your so beautiful the way you are! You don't need makeup and to be completely honest, Tessa, you would look amazing wearing a trash bag," he admired the blue shorts as he walks closer to me.

"You are the most beautiful woman on Earth. I am so lucky. I'm so so lucky, Tessa," he smiles as I blush.

I can't tell if he means what he is saying or if he is saying it out of pity because my brother is in the hospital.

I smile back at him as he finishes making my coffee for me.

"You would be a lot happier if you didn't let every little thing get to you," he says, handing me a cup of coffee. I give him a weak smile. I know he is right. I do worry too much but its hard not to worry when your brother is in the hospital after your father ran him over with a car.

"How about I take you out tonight? We can see a movie, get something to eat. It will be fun... It'll take your mind off things."

"That... That sounds amazing." I reply.

"Well then I will pick you up from your apartment at eight O'Clock," he says, grabbing his backpack.

"Wait, where are you going? I thought we agreed on ditching today."

"I have to go to work. I'll be back around one o'clock."

"Oh, okay. Um drive safe, okay?" I say.

"I will, Tessa. Call me if you need anything..."

"Okay, Cory," I reply.

He closes the door behind him and not a second later he opens it back up.

"Oh, and one more thing," he walks over to where I am standing and lifts my chin up, and out of no where our lips connect as he kisses me softly. "I love you."