Blackmail

Chapter 11

I sit anxiously in the car as Dan pulls up to our dad's house. He stops the car and I practically launch out. Antonio laughs and catches up to me.
I stare at the tan house that stands in front of me. Dad hung lights up on the front porch and put plants on the wide wooden railings. The front door has a doorbell right beside it.
Mike walks up the steps with us trailing behind him. He brings his hand up and presses the doorbell. A quiet chime rings from inside the house. He steps back and stands beside Dan.
A man opens crack the door open and peers out, before opening it all the way. He walks out and smiles widely at us. I move behind Antonio a bit and he grabs my hand.
"Hello boys. It's nice to see you again," he says. My heart swells when I hear him say boys. Dan shakes his hand and they talk for a minute. I stand beside Antonio and look out into the neighborhood, seeing little kids running around on the lawn across from ours.
"Come in so I can show you your rooms," dad says. I follow him up the stairs and he shows my brothers their rooms. They walk back outside to grab their stuff from the car and leave me with dad.
"Your room is over here," he says leading me down the hallway. We stop at the second to last door in the hall, the last being a bathroom, and he opens it. He moves aside and lets me through.
I peer inside and see a queen sized bed with blue bed sheets on it. A wooden desk sits idly in the corner, pens and pencils in a cup. A black dresser sits beside the bed. I stand and stare at the room in awe.
"Is it okay?" He asks worriedly. I manage to nod. He grins and walks back the way we came. I snap out of my daze and follow him outside to find my brothers fighting over who carries my suitcase. The movers are supposed to bring the rest of our stuff tomorrow morning.
I roll my eyes and walk over, quickly grabbing my suitcase. I ignore the pain in my arms as I pull it up the stairs. I set it down next to my bed and glance at my bandages. Blood is starting to stain the bottom of my right arm's bandage.
"Dang it," I mumble. I walk out of my room and to Dan's. His suitcase lays on his bed as he unpacks his clothes. Even though the door is open I knock on the wall next to it. He turns around and looks at me.
"I think I broke open one of the cuts," I tell him holding my arm out. The bandage is soaked in blood now and I grimace at the sight of it. Dan's eyes widen.
"Mike! Dad!" He yells. Everyone bolts to his room and immediately Mike sees my arm. Dad sees it and runs back out, coming back with new bandages. Antonio walks by and sees me.
"I could've taken it up for you Max. Please don't overdo it," he says. I nod and watch as dad takes off my bandages and examines my arm. One of the stitches came out and opened a cut back up. He sigh and puts a new bandage over it.
"Well, we're going back to the hospital, " he sighs. We walk out to the car and get it. Antonio buckles my seat belt for me, even though I could've done it with my left arm.
We drive to the hospital slowly. Antonio talks to dad about the scenery and Mike listens to something on his headphones. Dan watches out the window and occasionally cracks a joke that even Mike smiles to.
We get to the hospital and check in. We wait for a while in the waiting room. A child sits in a kids chair and plays with a couple of toys. Their mom walks in after a couple of minutes and tells the child that it's time to leave.
The child peers up at her face before hugging her. The mom starts crying and picks up the child. They quickly walk out of the room.
Antonio looks like he's about to cry. I hug him softly and he clings onto me. He pulls back and smiles sadly. A woman walks in and calls out my deadname. I frown and get up from my chair.
The lady takes us into a room. She unwraps my arm and takes out the old stitches. She then puts new stitches in. She bandages my arm again and makes sure it's tight.
She asks dad a couple of questions and types them down on her computer. She hands him a sheet to fill out and takes it when he's done. She then releases us from the hospital.
Mike opens the door for us and we walk out of the room. I look down and see my bandaged arms. I sigh and follow dad down the winding hallways walking beside Dan. The florescent lights slightly bother my eyes as we walk down the hallways.
"Sorry," I say. Dan shakes his head and ruffles my hair. We walk back out to the car and drive back to my dad's house. The sun slowly goes down and lights the car up in an orange glow. I smile and lean back against the seat.
Dan and Antonio talk about some band beside me while Mike texts someone on his phone. Dad drives us back home and shows Mike some cool places we haven't seen before.
I sigh contentedly and watch the trees pass by outside the window, glowing in the light of the setting sun. Life's finally taking a turn for the better.