Behind Closed Hearts

Chapter 14

It was dark and James was breathing hard as he clutched his throbbing arm tightly to his chest. He was sure that the bleeding had stopped, but it still hurt and was sticky to the touch.

Leaning back into the door, he closed his eyes, trying to control his breathing and the ebbing sense of panic clutching at his heart. Dark, small areas... James hated it. He forced himself to breathe. He just had to make it through the night. So he squeezed his eyes tighter, wishing for sleep to take him.

--

Aleks woke immediately at the sound of his alarm clock and pulled back the covers enthusiastically before slamming his hand down on the beeping clock. Ein shook her head from her perch on Aleks' bed and stood warily. Aleks whistled at the pup, waving her to him. "Come on you lazy dog! Don't you want to get fed?"

Ein immediately flew to her paws and raced past Aleks and down the hall. He chuckled and followed until he arrived in the kitchen where he quickly dumped a good portion of dog food into Ein's bowl. The dog dug instantly, snorting as she ate.

Aleks returned to his room quickly and grabbed some clothes from his closet and lumbered into the bathroom that he claimed as his own.

His adoptive parents had their own master bathroom hooked into their room. Aleks whistled to himself as he got ready for a shower but then paused, staring at the picture taped to the corner of his mirror. It was the photo of his family, his real family.

Feeling a quick pang of sadness, Aleks turned away and jumped into the shower. He didn't allow himself to feel sad these days.

--

James wasn't on the bus. That was the first thing that caught Aleks' attention as he sat nervously on the edge of his bus seat. Then again, James didn't have his cell phone, so he couldn't just call James if he was getting a ride to school.

"Where's James?" Aleks asked Jordan who had been looking out the window in the seat opposite from his.

He looked up with haunted eyes. "I haven't seen him," he said slowly. But then he leaned in towards him to say lowly, "But I heard a ton of yelling from their house yesterday."

Aleks frowned at him before scooting into his seat so that they could sit together in a little more privacy. "I was at their house not too long ago and things seemed okay. James keeps telling me everything is fine over there."

Jordan nodded slowly. "But... I just feel like more is going on over there than James is letting on."

Aleks shook his head. "I don't think so," he said despite the creeping sensation of dread. "I think he's okay."

--

James didn't show to school that morning, not to lunch, not to anything that day. Then, when James didn't show up in the locker room for practice, Aleks sat defeated on the bench, staring at his and James' sports lockers. Aleks hadn't even bothered to change into his uniform yet.

Eddie poked Aleks in the shoulder. "Aren't you going to change?"

Aleks rose from his seat but made no move to open his locker. "Do you think something is wrong with my brother?" Aleks asked Eddie.

Eddie tilted his head slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Jordan was saying that he heard yelling from James' house last night."

"I don't think so. James' been really happy and talkative lately. I think things got better. You shouldn't jump to conclusions so easily," Eddie replied, pulling his foot up onto the bench to tie the laces.

Just then, the door opened and Jordan waltzed right into the locker room in the midst of all the guys changing.

Eddie sputtered, turning pure red, even though he was completely dressed. "Jordan! You can't be in here! You aren't even part of the team!"