42nd Country Road

Breathe

"Ethan!" I screamed. I went and gripped his body, "breathe, breathe, breathe,"

Mark's hands went next to mine. Jack was gone and was now going after the attacker. I put my hand on his chest looking for a pulse.

"He's gone," Mark said starting to tear up.

"No, he can't be," I choking. Mark grabbed my shoulders.

"He's gone!" He yelled, he was crying too. Jack came back to us with tears in his eyes.

"Ev, we need to go," Jack choked out.

"No!" I yelled. Mark picked me up, "Mark put me down!", he didn't listen to me. He put me in the backseat of a truck, which looked like it was in a garage. Mark put his head on the steering wheel. I was sobbing hard. Mark started the old truck and drove out onto the road. Everyone was silent until we hit the next empty town. We stopped at an abandoned house, went in and fell asleep. It was midnight when I woke up. Mark was facing away from me shaking.

"I'm sorry Ethan," He whispered to himself. I turned to him.

"Mark?" I whispered. He stopped crying

"Ya, Ev?" He said in a raw voice. He turned to me. There were tears leaking down his face. I wiped them off with my thumb. He started to cry more. I pulled his head to my shoulders.

"It was all my fault," He whispered. Tears started to leak down my face now.

"No, it wasn't," I said. I kissed the top of his head. I fell back asleep with Mark in my arms.

My eyes fluttered open. Mark's side of the bed was empty. I sat up, my scars stinging causing me to wince. I headed out of the room, peeking into all the rooms until I got to the kitchen. Mark was sitting at the counter with a bottle of whiskey.

"Mark," I said. He turned around, he was gone and drunk. His eyes were black. I walked up to him grabbing the bottle from him. I smashed it on the counter next to him.

"Get a grip Mark," I choked, "Ethan's gone okay? I get it, I want to be done, but I can't Mark! You know why? You need me and so does Jack! If I give up now I won't ever get back up, So for the love, Mark, help me," Mark's eyes went back to normal. I pulled him into my arms and stroked his hair.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed.

"It's not your fault," I said, holding back tears. Jack suddenly came into the with tears in his eyes too.

"Uh..." He choked, "We need...to go," I nodded and escorted Mark out to the truck. He wobbled on his own two feet.

"Jack, you got shot gun," I said putting Mark in the back. I hopped into the driver's seat and started the car and started to drive down the empty road.

"Ev can we stop at the liquor store?" Mark mumbled from the back.

"No," I said, not looking back.

"Why?" He asked. I stopped the car and put my head on the steering wheel. Jack touched my back, I reached and shoved his hand away. I winced a little. I put the car in park and walked out. I headed to a nearby building and walked inside. I looked through the cabinets until I found a beer. I walked back out and opened the car door on Mark's side.

" Thank's Ev," He mumbled. I through the bottle to the ground, shattering it.

"Damn," Jack mumbled from the front. I walked back to the driver's seat and continued to drive.