Necessary Evil

12

I stopped in front of the hospital and rushed to the back door. I opened it and carefully grabbed TJ's lifeless body out of the back and carried him inside.

"Someone please help us!" Craig shouted, looking around the empty hospital.

A nurse approached us "what seems to be the problem?" She asked.

"It's my boyfriend" Craig started. "He's got a pulse, but it's weak. Please, please help him. I can't lose him." He cried.

Just then two men ran out the double doors with a stretcher.

I laid him down gently and they hurried away. Craig went to follow him, but of course they stopped us before we could.

"Let us do our job. Please" one of the men said.

Craig nodded slowly, turning to look at me. "I'm scared, josh. What if he doesn't make it?" He asked.

I shook my head "don't talk like that. He's gonna be fine. I promise you."

Only I wasn't sure how this was going to end. I want TJ to get better. I want him to walk out of this hospital with Craig. I want all the things for them that I'll never have with Ryan.

Ryan was gone. Chris was gone. Ricky and Ghost, they were gone. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle this without completely breaking down.

That's what I felt like doing. Curling up in the corner and screaming and crying till I can't do it anymore.

But I wouldn't. I couldn't.

I needed to be strong for Craig, and for TJ. And that's just what I was going to do.

"Excuse me, are you Josh Balz?" A cop asked as he approached me.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm josh." I said.

"Would you mind telling us what happened?" He asked, getting out his pen and notepad.

I nodded and began telling them the story about how I met the couple and how they kidnapped me. How they killed my family and now, we were waiting to see if TJ would be okay.

The cop nodded, and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry for your loss. If there is anything we can do, just let us know."

I nodded and offered a small smile as he walked away. I quickly wiped away the tears that had slid down my cheeks, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to regain some composure.

I looked over and didn't see Craig. I panicked. Surely he didn't leave without letting me know.

Did something happen to TJ? I ran to the nurses station, "hey, my friend that was with me when we came in...have you seen him?" I asked.

The nurse nodded toward the exit "he said he was going to step outside for some air." She said.

"Thank you." I said as I headed outside.

There he was, sitting on the bench in front of the fountain. He was crying. I could tell because his shoulders were moving.

My heart broke and I wished I had some good news to tell him.

He looked up when he heard someone near and took a breath. "Have they said anything yet?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Not yet" I said, taking a seat next to him.

"You know what sucks the most about all of this?" I started, causing Craig to turn and look at me. "I never got to tell Ryan I was still in love with him."

And it was true. Now he would never know how I felt about him. How I'd always felt about him. How I would always feel about him.

Craig slipped an arm around my shoulders and the tears started flowing from my eyes.

My best friends, my brothers were gone. The love of my life; was gone. I might as well die with them, because there was nothing left of me anymore. Just the shell of the man I used to be.

"I'm sorry" I began, shaking my head "you don't need to worry about me. TJ needs your attention." I said.

"Josh, if you haven't noticed I'm not allowed in there with TJ right now. So, I'm here for you. Just like you were there for me." He reminded me.

I sighed softly. "I wish I'd never quit the band. Then, I'd have been there with them. Then, maybe they would have killed me too."

"Josh! Don't say that" Craig said. "I don't want to think about losing you too."

I opened my mouth to say something when we heard the doctor yell "family of TJ Bell?"

We all but ran to the doctor.

"Yes?" Craig asked.

"TJ is awake. He's asking for you both. Now, wait a minute....he's not completely out of the woods. He's very dehydrated and he's lost a lot of weight. We're trying to convince him to eat, but he won't. Maybe you could help with that." He said, smiling at Craig.

"I can do my best." He replied.

"He's also very weak. He might be in and out of consciousness, so don't be alarmed. We've given him some stuff that will make him sleepy." He smiled "you can both go in...oh, one more thing, we had to put another patient in there with him. Once we get an empty room, we'll move one of them." He added.

We let out a sigh of relief. No, maybe he wasn't out of the woods, but for now, he was okay.

"Let's go" I said as we made our way back inside and down the hall to his room.

"Baby?" Craig said softly. "Baby?"

TJ's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at his boyfriend. "Craig." He said, crying as he grabbed Craig, pulling him close to him.

"I love you. Don't ever leave me." He said...