Broken Pieces (Jai Brooks)

Chapter 17

Jai wanted to die more than ever now. Luke would not leave him alone and it was driving him crazy. They were back in the United States now, but he still has not let up. The hovering had resulted in numerous fights, but Luke was still going strong.

"Luke will you please back off already?" Jai groaned. He was currently arguing with Luke about how Luke refused to let him be by himself. Luke wouldn't have it, though. He had stopped Jai from attempting suicide while they were visiting their mother. He couldn't just pretend like it never happened.

"I just want you to be okay." Luke mumbled, knowing that he shouldn't yell at Jai when he got like this. Jai was seeing red. Luke could not decided whether he lived or died. That was his decision.

"Well, I just want to be dead!" Jai yelled. "That's all I want. Why can't you just let me be happy?"

"Jai...." Luke didn't know what to say to that. It crushed him knowing that his twin brother didn't want to be alive anymore.

"Did I just hear what I thought I just heard?" Beau asked coming into the room. "Because it sounded Like Jai said he wanted to die..."

"That's exactly what I said!" Jai shouted. "And I would be if Luke would just leave me alone."

"I'm glad o took those pills from you in Australia. I know you're sad right now, but I know you really don't want to die. That's just what you think you want." Luke spoke calmly. Jai looked over at his older twin before running to his room in tears.

"What's this about pills?" Beau asked Luke. He was extremely confused. He must have missed something because he had no idea what was happening.

"Jai stole a bottle of pills from Mum and was planning on taking them but I found them before he could." Luke explained before he hurried after Jai.

Beau didn't know what to think. His baby brother was fighting a downhill battle and losing fast. He didn't know what to do anymore. Jai was becoming more withdrawn by the day and Luke was practically killing himself trying to make sure Jai didn't do anything. He knew he wasn't always the best older brother but he tried. He also hadn't taken Jai's problems seriously when he should have.

There was a time when Jai would run to his oldest brother and tell him everything. Beau missed those days. At least then he always knew what was going through Jai's head. Now, he honestly had no clue. He just knew that Jai had given up and the only way to fix that was to convince Jai that he needed to start fighting again. Honestly, Beau had no idea how to do that.

Beau decided that it was time to man up, because his little brothers needed him. Despite growing up without a father, Luke and Jai had always been okay. Once Michael entered their lives things had seemed better than ever, but then one day Jai had started to become withdrawn. That was Beau's first mistake. Instead of trying to see what was wrong with his youngest brother, he had basked in all of the attention, he had received from the man that was slowly becoming a father-figure to him.

He regretted it now. Especially after finding out what kind of monster that man truly was.  There was nothing he could do to change that now, but Beau knew he couldn't be that ignorant anymore. His brothers needed him, and this time he was going to be there for them. Both of them.

He made his way to Jai's room and nudged the door open. Jai was sobbing into his hands while Luke looked close to tears as well. Beau knew he needed to fix this mess as soon as possible.

"Hey, boys. I think we all need to talk." Beau announced. The twins both looked up at him in sync. It kind of creeped him out sometimes how they managed to do that kind of stuff, but he chose to ignore it this time.

"Because talking makes everything better." Jai mumbled sarcastically, causing Luke to hit him.

"Anyways," Beau cleared his throat. "I'll get straight to it. Why do you want to die so bad, Jai?"

"Beau!" Luke yelled, his anger getting the best of him. "You can't ask something like that!"

"Why not?" Jai chuckled darkly from beside him. "Do you think I'm going to break from a silly little question? Well newsflash, Luke, I'm already broken." The intensity of his anger matched Luke's, and Beau knew that was not good at all. He almost regretted asking the question, but he knew it had to be done.

"You want to answer me, Jai?" Beau urged while Luke pouted.

"You really want to know?" Jai asked. "I'm the reason Mum's heart is broken. I heard her crying and it was all my fault. On top of that, I'm practically ruining your lives. You two had perfect lives until someone had to get into other people's business and discover that I slice my wrists open on a regular basis. Just let me go. I just want to stop ruining things for you guys." Luke had tears dripping down his face by the end of Jai's explanation. He stood up and harshly slapped Jai across the face before tackling him in a hug.

"You didn't ruin our lives, Jai. You could never." Luke cried. "If anything we are the ones who ruined your life. We should have noticed what was happening. I would do anything to take that pain away from you. If I had only known what Michael was doing..."

"What Lukey is trying to say is, we don't want a life without you in it. I'm pretty sure Luke would die without you. As for Mum...Do you really think she would truly want to marry someone who abused her baby for years? No, she was crying because she had no idea that had even happened underneath her own roof. I know, because she told me before we left. Just...I don't know...try to get better, Jai. Our lives would be destroyed if you weren't here."

"I-I....can I just be alone for awhile? I really need time to think." Jai asked quietly. Beau smiled at his baby brother and dragged a reluctant Luke out of the room. Jai needed both time and support. This time, he would make sure Jai had plenty of both things. His little brother would get better. He just had to be there this time.