Book 3: Saving Scars {BoyxBoy}

Chapter 3

"Emmet," the cop looked over his shoulder to see Collin walking towards him, his eyes flicking back and forth nervously as he clutched his right side with his left hand, "What's everyone doing here? Dylan kind of just grabbed me and drove here like he was in a Fast and Furious movie. What's going on?"

"Chris brought a gun to school," Emmet explained, "He attempted to shoot himself."

Collin stopped and his eyes got wide, "He what? What do you mean attempted?"

Emmet turned his head to look over at the waiting room where the others were sitting, "He succeeded in shooting himself, but was still breathing. The ambulance brought him to the ER, and he is currently in surgery."

"Jesus, where's Steven?" Collin dropped his hand and hurried past Emmet, entering the waiting room and looking back and forth until his eyes landed on his younger brother sitting in a chair beside Kieran, "Steven!" Seth lifted his eyes to Collin, managing an unsteady smile as he stopped by the chair, dropping to a crouch and clapping his hand over Seth's knee, the other holding the arm of the chair, "Are you okay? You look terrible! Emmet told me what happened."

Seth looked up to regard the large man before smiling at Collin, "I'm alright. It just...startled me is all. Chris will be okay."

Collin pressed his lips together and nodded slowly as he looked around the waiting room. It looked like everyone was there, talking to the nurse at the reception desk or sitting huddled in chairs looking half alive. Collin could kind of relate to the situation. He'd seen his sister shoot herself firsthand, he knew what it looked like, and how helpless he felt when she had fallen. The fact Chris was still breathing was insanely comforting.

He stood up slowly, ruffling Seth's hair to provide some amount of comfort before walking back towards the door and leaning up against the wall beside Emmet, his lips pulled into a deep frown as he stared around the room, the pain from his memories echoing loudly in his chest, growing with each passing moment.

Emmet watched him silently for a moment, noting the crease in his forehead, before nudging his shoulder gently to get his attention, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Collin muttered, "I didn't really know the kid, but...it kind of reminds me of what happened with Danielle," he sighed heavily and let his head fall back against the wall, his eyes closing, "This is all so tiring."

Emmet continued to watch Collin after he'd finished, "Everything will be alright," he said firmly, wanting nothing more than to comfort Collin. He could kind of tell that it wasn't the current situation that was bothering Collin. It was his memories, the fact something similar had happened to his older sister, and the fact he'd witnessed it. Being there in the hospital because someone else had attempted the same thing must hurt him. He'd been through a lot after all.

The younger man was filled with so much bitterness and resentment, and that pain only grew in him, acting like a poison and infecting his other emotions. Emmet wanted him to smile. He wanted to be the reason for his smile. It was so odd, after going through his own horrors, to become so tightly attached to someone, but seeing Collin that first time had struck something in his heart, waking emotions he'd thought were long dead and gone. Now that he knew he could still feel these things, he just wanted to treasure them, and treasure the one he felt them for.

Emmet would often catch himself simply staring at Collin, even more now that the younger man had basically confessed. He found it hard to look away, found him so very hard to resist. Even with the disfiguring scar that dragged over his face, Collin was still so beautiful. He was fragile, and acted a lot tougher than he really was. This fact made Emmet all the more resolved to protect him.