What About Us?

Chapter 2

Charlie

I woke up to the sound of someone rushing down the hall and the bathroom door slamming shut. I rolled over and cracked my eyes open. Teddy's side was empty. I heard a muffled sob from the bathroom and jumped out of bed. As I got closer to the door the sobs got louder.

"Teddy?" I asked knocking on the door

"Go . . . away!" He said, I could hear him having a panic attack through the door. I jiggled the door knob

"Teddy please open the door."

"No!"

"Open it or I kick it in." I threatened. I heard the lock click and I opened the door.

Teddy was huddled in the corner. His knees drawn up to his chest, his breaths were coming out in irregular sobs, his dark hair plastered to his forehead. I knelt to his level.

"Teddy just breathe with me." I started to exaggerate my breathing and he tried to follow but just couldn't calm down. His black eyes were the size of saucers and full of panic and fear. I did the last thing any medical professional would do, I hugged him. We are told repeatedly in med school not to touch patients that are having a panic attack, but every instinct in my body was telling me to ignore that. I held onto him and slowly he began to calm down.

"Thanks," He mumbled pulling away from my grip and walking out of the bathroom. I caught his arm right before he walked out, and he tensed under my grip.

"Aren't you going to tell me what's going on?" I asked pulling him onto the porch

"It's nothing." He replied looking away

"That was not nothing, THAT was a serious panic attack and I'm concerned!" My voice raised unintentionally, and he raised his hands above his head ready to deflect any hits, "Teddy, I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm not ready to talk about it. I just need some time to think." He slowly lowered his arms but didn't look reassured. He walked off leaving me along on the porch. I heard Angela yelling at Jackson and ran in to see what was going on.

Jackson had her thrown over his shoulder and was parading around the house while Melisa and Jacob made breakfast.

"JACKSON, PUT ME DOWN! NOW!" Angela yelled

"You should toss her into the lake." Jacob suggested

"NOOOOOOO!" She wailed

"Naw, I won't do that." Jackson said flipping her onto the couch and placing a kiss on her forehead.

<*>

After breakfast I was stuck with dishes duty. I was nearly done when Teddy returned.

"There's a plate for you in the fridge." I said not looking up

I heard the door open and the next moment he was standing next to me munching on some eggs and bacon.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened this morning. I want to tell you, I do, I'm just not ready to talk about it." He said putting down his now empty plate

"I know, I just want to know what's going on. I mean, my best friend wakes up at the crack of dawn and goes into a panic attack. I just want to help you."

"I'm not ready to relive it yet."

I turned to face him with a pan in my hand and he cowered before me.

"I'm not going to hit you." I said. I remembered when I first met Jackson. He would flinch at everything and had some nasty scars. It took 4 years for Angela to gain his trust. He's a bit better now, doesn't flinch as much and is good around kids. The camp director will call him whenever we get a new kid, somehow Jackson calms them down. 

<*>

The rest of the day went by in a blur. We mostly hung out with Teddy's sister. She looked exactly like him, same dark hair and eyes but she had a bubbly personality. Later that night we met up with his mom and went out to eat. I never got a chance to talk to him because when we returned to the camp he passed out.

<*>

The rest of the week went by mostly that same. I didn't get to talk the Teddy much. He was always busy with his sister or mom or just avoiding me all together. Jackson seemed different, he was more jumpy than usual and really, quiet. Angela told me he used to live around here with his dad.

Finally, it was that last day and we all spent it lounging around and packing. I had just finished shoving everything into my bag when Teddy walked in and mumbled something.

"What?" I asked

"I wanted to tell you something." He said closing the door, "The other day . . . what happened . . . in the bathroom . . . I had a dream about . . . my dad. He used to come home drunk and would beat me senseless. I would wait for him to come home, I was never allowed to fall asleep before he came home or else he would beat me more."

I noticed his face darken as he continued the story

"That night he had been out later than usual, he came home drunk. I wasn't fast enough . . . he got ahold of me and a hammer . . ."

I suddenly understood his behavior, why he flinched whenever someone raised their voice, or why he would jump three feet in the air whenever something surprised him. I slowly walked towards him.

"We all have stories, since you shared yours with me, can I tell you mine?"

"Y-yeah," He said

"Well, you already know how my dad beat me like yours. I went to live with my mom, who was normal. But she dis-owned me when I told her I was . . . gay." I had never told anyone, much less someone I had a crush on. I suddenly felt really, self-conscious about the way Teddy was staring at me.

"Y-you haven't told anyone?"

"I think our group might know but no one else."

"You should tell them, not right now though, Jackson is freaking out."

"About what?"

"He saw his dad today and it didn't go so well."

I had almost forgotten he used to live here. His dad must've surprised him while he was out grabbing some groceries for the ride home.

"What happened?" I asked

"His dad wasn't too happy to see him, let's just say he had to pay for the 6 pack of dented beer cans."

"Oh crap!" I rushed out of the room to see everyone crowded around Jackson who was slumped over the counter whispering urgently.

"He's coming, he's going to kill me!" Jackson repeated over and over. He groaned and rested his forehead on the counter. The left side of his face was all bruised up and bleeding

"No, he's not, you're fine. We're safe now. You're ok." Angela soothed rubbing calming circles on his back.

I rushed back into my room and flung open my bag. I grabbed some bandages and antiseptic. I walked back over to him slowly, Angela managed to calm down enough for me to clean up his face.