Hopelessly Broken

12. True Family

4.15.20

Jack's POV

"Right, well, I'll pick you up at 8 like we planned," my mother declared into the phone before hanging up.

"Mom I think you should go get him," I inserted.

"No. You're my family too, and I don't want to be showing favoritism."

"Mom it just feels kind of off? Did you hear his voice?"

"Jack, drop it!" Mom snapped. I sighed deeply. This is part of my problem with behavior. Whenever I have proper concern for other people, I get shoved down by my family. Talking to Devon was the first time that I got to tell my whole story without being stopped by my parents.

"You're going to regret this," I warned lightly before shoveling more food into my mouth angrily. My intuition has never been wrong before, so I have no reason to ignore it now.

***

"I'm going to go pick up Dev!" Mom declared.

"Can I come with?" I asked.

"Fine."

We drove down to Jerry's and waited parked in the parking lot. My mom decided to call Devon after about ten minutes, and she immediately began to freak out when he didn't respond.

When he didn't respond after 5 calls, I realized what happened. It didn't take a genius, but sometimes my mom can be really dull. It was obvious to me since the first time that I met him that he wasn't the most stable person. Something must have happened that pushed him over the edge.

"Jack, is this your fault? You're the one that said I would regret this?" My mother asked. Seriously, you're blaming me?

"Obviously not. You know as well as everyone else that I have very strong intuition," I shot back.

"I think I have to call 911 and report a missing child."

"I would report it as a runaway, mom."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? What could have happened to make him run away from us?"

"And I quote, 'I'll pick you up at 8 like we planned.' Mom, it was really obvious that he wasn't okay when he called you. When you said that, you probably reflected the message that your dinner is more important to you than he was."

"Well I think this is your fault! If you hadn't been so hell bent on sending him away from our family then this wouldn't have happened. Now shut up, I'm calling the police."

I sighed. Brushed off as I always am. I swear sometimes it's like I'm buried under 6 inches of ice, and my mother is just ignoring me. My father is clearly trying to understand me, but my mother is just pushing the real me down farther.

"Right, they tracked his cell," mom declared before shifting the car into drive. Once we arrived at the location it was at, my mom commanded, "get out and look for him. It's your fault anyways."

I didn't see the point in arguing with her, so I leapt out of the car. I pulled my phone out of my pocket for the flashlight and began to search the reported location that looked like a ditch on the side of the road. As I had expected, all I found was a discarded cell phone. I returned the car and handed the still mostly put together phone to my mother wordlessly. "He doesn't want to be followed," I muttered.

"Well then what do you suggest we do, genius?"

"We go after him anyways. That's what he wants whether or not he knows it."

"If he wants to be this selfish then I don't think I care what he wants from me."

"He's mentally unstable!"

"That doesn't give him the right to pull a stunt like this."

"Let me out of the car," I demanded lowly. She slowed down in question, and as soon as the car got to be moving slowly enough, I leaped out of the vehicle.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm saving my brother," I snapped before running down the road. I heard the car drive away, and suddenly reality hit me. My mother just drove away from me in the middle of the night on a remote road!

I forced my feet to move along the road until I reached the town of Bridgeville. That's the only place this road goes, so I assumed that I would find him in here somewhere. I walked through the streets until my legs burned alongside my lungs. It felt kind of shady, but I think I can hold my own against anyone that tries to hurt me. I was walking down a totally abandoned street when I heard really loud breathing from the inside of a dumpster. I would have just kept walking, but my gut feeling told me that I should search inside of the dumpster. I pulled the lid back to find the large green container totally empty excluding the pair of eyes staring back at me from the opposite side.

I turned on my flashlight and shone it into the bin, and sure enough Devon was laying at the bottom staring at me. I leaped in with him and closed the lid behind me.

"Y-you came for me?" Devon asked me. His voice was broken, and I realized that he had been crying and that was why his breathing was so loud.

"I couldn't just leave my brother behind, could I?"

"B-brother?" I could hear the hope and disbelief laced into his voice.

"Yes, Devon, I think of you as my brother now." I felt his arms wrap firmly around my shoulders, and I was quick to hug him back. "Can I ask what triggered you to run? If you aren't ready to answer that, I understand."

"Eveline stood me up, and I realized that I'm just sort of a burden on everyone. I thought it would be better if I just left."

"Devon, even if the world crashes down around you, I'll be here."

"Why are you being so nice all of the sudden?"

"You were the first person that listened to the way I truly felt... Well... Ever. Sometimes around my own mother I can't even get a sentence out without being stopped and reprimanded for my views on things. I tried to tell her to go get her during dinner, and she just brushed me off like the dirt on her shoulder." I sighed lowly. "My mom was about ready to just abandon you. We found your phone in the ditch, and she was convinced that you wouldn't want us to try and find you. She thought that you were being selfish for acting the way you did. I didn't agree with that at all, so I came here on my own. She dropped me off on a rural road at 10pm and just drove away. I can tell you're just unstable because I've been there, Devon. It's important to remember that you aren't alone."

"I didn't know anyone cared about me that much," he murmured, and I felt my chest tighten. He reminds me too much of 13 year old me right after the death of my sister. It's officially my mission to not let him end up like me.

"I'm here for you even when I'm far away," I reassured, "because that's what true family is. We support each other no matter what."