Tortured Trust

9

Mark's pov
I rushed into the room he was in. I saw his weak motionless body lain out across the bed. I felt my heart sink a little when I saw him unmoving. I slowly approached the bed, Felix right behind me and a nurse to the left of him but he was all I saw.

"Officers. He's alive but very weak and will be in a lot of pain when he wakes up," The nurse said, stepping aside as I reached him. My hand found its way into his and held it tightly. I didn't want to let go.

"How did he manage to get ahold of a knife in a mental ward?" Felix asked, anger evident in his voice.

"One of the new nurses let him into the kitchen. She's been fired from her job and isn't allowed to work with people like Sean again," The nurse said.

"Jack," I corrected, keeping my eyes on his resting face. I saw his eyes begin to move and held my breath. His face moved in pain and his eyes fluttered opened. When he saw me he just stared in confusion and disbelief, piecing everything together in his head.

"M-Mark?" His voice barely whispered. His voice was weak and faint but I heard it. The first time I'd heard him speak and it was my name he said.

"Hey Jack. I came back," I said, a weak smile tugging at my face. Tears filled his eyes and he let out a choked sob. I carefully pulled him into a hug and rubbed his back softly. He buried his face into my chest and held tightly onto my shirt.

"It's okay. I'm here now and I promise I won't leave like that again," I whispered for his ears only. It only made him clutch onto me tighter and more tears soak into my shirt.

I held him for the rest of the evening until he fell asleep in my arms and held him still. Felix had left to talk to Evan and the two detectives about the case a while ago but I still remained. I didn't want to ever leave Jack again.

"We're trying to arrange with the mental hospital to see if he can go home with you since he seems to be more comfortable with you. One of his therapists are coming to check on him first though," a nurse said to me quietly.

I nodded, trying not to wake Jack as he peacefully slept in my arms. The nurse quietly left and gave me a chance to look at Jack closer. His messy brown hair sticking up out of place and the slight frown that rested on his blank face. I studied every detail I could before a knock at the door forced me to look away.

"Hey Mark. How you feeling? Heard you got into an accident," Phil's cheerful voice put a smile on my face.

"I'm good. Slight pains but Felix has been looking after me well as I recovered," I said , keeping my voice low.

"That's good," Phil said. His smile fell as his eyes drifted onto Jack. I looked down at his face to see it had changed to one of pain and sorrow. It hurt seeing him like this even in his sleep.

I gently rubbed circles on the back of his hand and his expression slowly relaxed. I smiled down at him and returned my attention to Phil, seeing he was thinking about something.

"What are you thinking Phil?" I asked, though I wasn't worried. Phil always seemed to make good decisions. He might be clumsy but he is pretty smart when he needed to be.

"You just calmed him down with a simple gesture. Most of the time only Cry and Ohm can calm him down. Ohm talking and giving him instructions while Cry would physically comfort him. All you needed to do was run your thumb across his hand," Phil said, sounding slightly surprised.

"And?" I asked, wanting him to continue.

"Maybe he is more comfortable with you since you were the first nice person he saw after so much torture and you're the person he trusts the most. He was doing so much better after you started visiting him and his condition dropped when you couldn't come. He might have become reliant on you and needs you near him for reassurance?" Phil thought out loud.

I thought about it for a moment. Maybe what he was trying to say was true. Maybe Jack thought I wasn't ever going to come back and had nothing to comfort him. Maybe that's why he tried to kill himself, because he had nothing to reassure him it will be okay.

"You know what Phil? I think you're right. What are we going to do about it though?" I asked. He thought for a while before looking directly at me.

"I'm going to see if I can send him home with you since you don't have to come down to the ward every day. He needs more that an hour with you if he wants to get better anyway. Just don't let him near anything he can use to hurt or harm himself and make sure someone is with him all the time, even if it means sharing the same room with him when he sleeps," Phil paused to let me think everything over.

"Okay," I said, waiting for him to continue.

"If he becomes unstable again though you have to bring him back to the hospital so he won't cause any damage to himself. We'll send you the information and medication he needs when he's let out of here. He doesn't have much stuff though so you'll need to get him that if you take him in. If you want to that is," Phil said.

He stopped and looked at me, waiting for my response. I looked down at Jack to see him looking up at me with bright blue eyes, full of hope and emotion. I smiled down at him softly before looking back at Phil.

"Sure, I'll take him in. If that's what he wants that is."