A New Life: Sequel to Amber

Chapter 6

Christy's POV

Link seemed to calm down for a second and I breathed a sigh of relief. Then, just as soon as I was calming down my rapidly beating heart, he began to shake uncontrollably. I firmly grabbed his shoulders, but I couldn't stop him.

"Link! Link, calm down. Oh dear Lord, what do I do?" I shouted. Link couldn't hear me at all. I began to cry as his thin frame convulsed. Next thing I knew, he stopped and his eyes rolled back into his head. He fell forward onto me and I held his unconscious body close to me. I wrapped my arms around his back and gently pulled him from his wheelchair and next to me on the couch. I leaned him against me and rested my chin atop his head. I closed my eyes as tears flooded to them. Poor Link, he was such a sweet, amazing person who didn't deserve the slightest bit of torment he was going through. I can only pray that Amber is alright and Link will be too.

I heard the sound of a car door slamming and running. The door opened and Rhett ran in, a very panicked look on his face. He ran over to us and knelt down next to Link and I. He grabbed Link's hand and squeezed it. 

"Hey brother, are you alright?" he asked gently while rubbing Link's back. I slowly shook my head at Rhett and he furrowed his brow.

"He's unconscious, Rhett. He started having a seizure and just blacked out. Rhett, there's a voice in his head. It's telling all these horrible things and he's believing it. I'm so scared for him. What do we do?" I sobbed. Rhett pulled me into a gentle, yet consoling hug. He moved away and sighed, running his fingers trough his hair.

"I'm afraid I don't know for certain, but if it doesn't stop, he may have to go to a psychiatrist," Rhett said glumly.

Rhett's POV

My heart ached as I saw my brother in such agony. His daughter was kidnapped, he was shot, and now, he was having a mental break down. I just wanted this whole darn thing to be a nightmare that I would wake up to and find everything happy. Link and Amber would be fine, no one would be a complete mess. Why did this have to be happening?

Christy was still crying and I felt some tears fall from my eyes and slowly roll down my cheeks. I didn't care that they were there. I had every right to let the waterfall of tears that was building up behind my eyes go. The man I have known, loved, cherished, my best friend, my brother, was breaking down. He began to shift slightly and his baby blue eyes fluttered open. He looked at me with fear in his eyes. Not fear of me, but something else. He wrapped his arms around Christy and cried into her side. She pet his hair gently in an attempt to calm him.

"Brother, the voice, is it there?" I asked softly, dreading his reply. He looked up at me and without a word or gesture, I knew it was. I sat beside him on the couch and looked at Christy. "May I?" I asked quietly. Understanding what I was asking, she nodded. I wrapped my arms around Link and pulled him against my side. He sobbed into my shirt and I rubbed his back.

"Rhett, it's relentless. It won't stop. Please, brother, help me. Rhett, please, please make it stop! Why won't it stop, Rhett? Why?" Link wailed, his voice cracking as he spoke.

"Link, whatever it's telling you, whatever horrible things it says, you know it's wrong. Link, we're here for you always. We're going to help you. Why don't you tell my everything that's going through your head, brother."

"Amber, I was never the right choice for her. I am not ready to be a father, let along a single father. She's suffering and it's all my fault. She doesn't deserve me. The voice, it's so cold and sneering, Rhett. It tells me I ruined her life just because I was greedy. It says I'm a horrible excuse for a father, a sissy, and a big baby. It's telling me that you and Christy don't actually care for me. That you hate me. Everyone hates me. My parents, Louis, Amber, the Mythical Beasts. It just won't stop. It's right, I'm worthless and I would be better off if I had never existed," Link said. He sobbed harder and harder as he went on. 

My heart felt like it had been stabbed. Christy grabbed Link's hand and pulled his head away from my side for a minute. She looked him dead in the eye, tears in both of their eyes, and smashed her lips to his in a passionate kiss. After quite a long time, she pulled away and looked at him with such passion and love in her eyes. "Link, do you still think we hate you? How could anyone who hates you do that? They couldn't. Link, we both love you so much and hearing you say that we hated you killed me inside. We feel the exact opposite towards you. We really love you so much, Link. Never for get that, ever."

Link kept crying, but he turned back to me.

"Brother, I've known you for practically my whole life. You've always been there for me and me for you. We're blood brothers. We see each other nearly everyday. We work together. If I hated you, I wouldn't have stuck around. There were plenty of other boys I could have chosen to be my lifelong friend, but we chose each other, Link. No one else could ever be a better friend to me than you have been and are. No one in this whole world. All seven billion people, just you, Link. I don't hate you at all. I love you, brother," I said and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Rhett and Christy. It's not there right now. I'm finally a little happier, but I won't be myself until Amber is back and well. I love you two so much as well. I don't know how I could ever believe you hated me or anyone I mentioned. I'm not myself now. I can barely hold myself together. I think I need some sort of help," Link said glumly.

I nodded. "That's nothing to be ashamed of brother. A psychiatrist is just a doctor for the mind. We're going to help you through this and, if you're alright with it, I think I should stay with you until everything's better again. I think it would be the best for you, if you don't mind," I suggested.

"I really appreciate that, Rhett. So much. You're always welcome here. I've got a couple spare bedrooms and I think you being here will help. Especially if I have another breakdown, you'll be here right away," Link smiled sadly. I could see in his eyes how grateful he was that we were here and that I was going to stay. He grabbed the picture of Amber and himself and hugged it tightly to his chest as he heaved a deep breath. A single tear escaped from his eye and Christy gently wiped it away with the back of her thumb.

She leaned her head against Link's shoulder and placed a small kiss upon his cheek.He smiled at her and grabbed her hand. Their fingers intertwined and Link pulled her hand to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss upon it. I put my hand on his shoulder and stood up. 

"I'll be back. I have to pack my things so I can stay here. Christy, do you mind waiting around until I'm back?" I asked.

"Not at all. We'll be waiting. Thank you, Rhett," she smiled.

"No thanks necessary. Thank you for calling me so soon. Keep an eye on him until I'm back. If anything goes wrong, call me immediately. Be back shortly," I said and headed out the door. 

I took a deep breath of the cool air, calming my nerves. Thankfully, Link seemed pretty stable right now, but there's not telling when he could breakdown again. I can only hope the voice doesn't come back and he will be alright until it's all over. I hope he's going to be okay. I really, really do.