The Dark Mark

A new home?

Mark -

As I forced Dark back to where ever it is he goes, I turned to the door. Jack practically fell through the door and onto my bed. His breathing was heavy and his hair covered his baby blue eyes.

"Jack?"

He turned to face me, and I noticed the tears that stained his cheeks, his eyes puffy and red. Deep down I knew that the pain he was feeling was my fault and the guilt washed through me.

How could I hurt someone so innocent, so kind?

Jack opened his mouth to say something but soon shut it again, turning his head away from me and showing me his back. Just showing above his hospital gown, I could see a red mark that could only be Dark's doing.

I carefully undid the gown and looked at Jack's back. Holding in a gasp was hard when I saw Dark's words written badly across his back. A tear rolled down my cheek, which I wiped away before Jack could see. But I seemed to fail because he sat up and took my hand into his own.

"Dark did this... didn't he?" Jack whispered, barely audible. I took a deep breath before squeezing his hand. I didn't want to answer.

"Mark?" Desperation filled his voice. Flinching was all I could muster but I knew Jack wanted an answer. I took a long, deep breath before finally responding.

"Yeah... he did...he did..." I whispered, looking down and trying to keep eye contact to a minimum.

Tears fell from my cheeks willingly, as I couldn't keep the pain in anymore. Jack stared at me, his hand still holding mine.

"Mark... I think I have something that might cheer you up. To prove that you don't have to apologize for something that wasn't your fau-"

"But it is my fault! I let him in! I let him hurt you! The one person who stuck with me and wouldn't leave! The one person who actually cared!"

I burst out. The anger and fear of losing Jack taking over. Dark was a sick bastard who needed to rot in hell.

"Mark please don't say that." Jack wept, wiping the tears that threatened to fall.

"You're not going back to the asylum Mark. Your going to live with me and my roomate Felix." Jack blurted out, so quickly that I just managed to hear it.

He wiped away a few more tears and smiled. A small smile tugged at my lips. A real home? No padded walls of a white room? Actual friends? No cracks in walls that I used to count every day?

"Really?" I choked. The thought of living with Jack was overwhelming.

"Really." Jack's smile beamed and I couldn't help leaping on him and trapping him in a tight embrace.

I finally had a home...