In Love With A Warbler

Chapter 28 : The not so bad uncle

Chapter 28

Alex POV

"I don't think Jeff is going anywhere. But stay here in case he tries to leave or something. I'm going to tell my uncle."

"Ok."

I ran down the hall, and opened the door.

"Wake up!" I yelled, turning the lights on.

"What?"

"You need to call the police. Right now."

"Why? What's going on?"

He sat up.

"You know Jeff? Jeff Sterling? My roommate and best friend?"

"Yeah?"

"He's been getting abused by his father. And over the weekend he got sexually abused, and he told me. That is the truth, and you need to call the police."

"We need to take him to the hospital. I will call the police once we're there."

We walked down the hall to my room. Jeff was screaming now.

"It hurts him to walk," Nick said.

My uncle picked Jeff up. Jeff didn't even struggle. He just hung there over my uncle's shoulder, screaming. A few of our classmates had opened their doors, and were watching as the 4 of us walked down the hall. It seriously felt like everything was in slow motion.

We got out to my uncle's car, and we helped get Jeff in the car. Jeff sat in the middle. Nick and I sat on both sides of him. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, and so did Nick.

"Jeff, please don't cry. This ends tonight, ok? Your dad won't be able to hurt you anymore," I said, taking one of his hands.

He started hiccuping. I looked at him, and his face was all wet with tears. This poor boy...

We got to the hospital. They took him in immediately. We weren't allowed in at the moment. They were making sure he was alright and doing tests on him.

I sat with Nick in the waiting room. My uncle was calling the police. And they were going to talk to Jeff before we got to see him again.

Later...

Alex POV

I had my head on Nick's shoulder. And he had his arm around me. We were both trying not to fall asleep. It's close to 3:30 in the morning now.

"Hey. They've got Jeff's test results back, and good news. He doesn't have any sexually transmitted diseases or anything. The police talked to him, and apparently he told them everything about this weekend and everything about his past. His father's getting arrested. Jeff is on some tranquilizers right now so he's pretty calm. And we're allowed to go see him now if you guys want," my uncle said.

Nick and I jumped up. We found Jeff's room. Jeff was laying in a hospital bed with an IV in his arm. He wasn't crying, but he looked absolutely miserable.

"Hey. How are you doing?" I asked, sitting on the edge of his bed.

He looked at me, but didn't say anything.

"Are you mad at me? Please don't be mad at me for telling, Jeff. I had to. And I should've done that in the first place. Your dad's getting arrested, and he'll never be able to hurt you again."

Tears formed in his eyes, and started spilling down his cheeks. But he was silent.

"Hey. Don't cry. Everything's going to be ok now. I promise."

I took one of his hands in mine.

My uncle and a police officer walked in. Nick sat down on the other side of Jeff's bed.

"So he has no legal guardian now. He has no other family either. So he's going to get put in a foster home," the police officer said, talking to my uncle.

Jeff overheard, and he started to freak out beside me.

"Hey, stop. You'll be fine," I said, tightening my grip on his hand.

Jeff started crying more.

"Here. Take this," I said, holding out Jeff's hand to Nick.

I got up, and grabbed my uncle's arm.

"Can we talk for a second?" I asked, pulling him out of the room.

"What is it?"

"Ok, well you know how you adopted me since my parents died, and somehow they thought you were a person capable of handling a kid?"

"Uh... Sure?"

"You barely do anything. I live at the school. They provide the meals, education, and housing."

"Where are you going with this?"

"You barely have to do anything. You have barely any responsibility. I want you to adopt Jeff."

"Alex-"

"Before you say no, just wait. Jeff is the sweetest boy I know. He's struggling with a ton of things like depression, anxiety, anorexia... Those are just a few of the things. He has trust issues. He's been neglected and made fun of his whole life. If he gets shipped off to some foster home, he's going to end up killing himself. He needs a support system, and for him, that's me and Nick. We're there for him. And I think he can recover from all of this, but only if he gets to stay right here with us, at Dalton."

My uncle sighed, looking at me.

"I don't even care if you get me a laptop. I just want Jeff. He's also my boyfriend," I said, quietly.

"He's your boyfriend?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Because... He's just... a mess."

"I know. But he's my mess. And I love him."

He sighed again.

"You know, you honestly haven't caused me much trouble. I guess maybe I could consider it."

"You have to tell me you'll do it right now. Jeff is going to be stressing over this until he gets an answer. Please! If you did this one thing for me, I would have so much respect for you, and I would try to be the best adopted daughter you've ever had."

He sighed once again.

"Fine. I'll do it," he said, smiling slightly.

"Thank you."

I never thought I would do this. But I hugged my uncle tightly.

"You don't know how much this means to me. And to Jeff."

I grabbed his hand, and pulled him back inside.

"My uncle would like to adopt Jeff," I told the police officer.

"Let's talk out there," the police officer said.

I went over to Jeff, who was dead silent now.

"My uncle's adopting you, Jeff. You don't even have to worry. You're staying at Dalton with us. And your dad won't be able to hurt you. No more worrying about grades or weekends or anything. You will be safe."

"Promise?" He whispered.

"I promise, Jeff."

The end.

A/N: So yes, there will be a sequel. And the sequel will be called "New Beginnings" because Jeff gets a fresh start. But he's even more broken now. The first chapter might be up later today. Thanks for reading and commenting! ~ Kylie