The Boy Who Loved Cigars

9

I shot up in the bed with a start, but immediately dropping back down with a yelp. There was a sharp pain in my stomach, and I reluctantly pulled up my shirt, stifling a sob at what I saw. My midriff was littered with bruises of all shapes, colors, and sizes, along with some flesh wounds. I heard stirring beside me, and looked down to find Race sleeping beside me. He was laying on a thin tattered blanket, like most of the ones we had here, and a flat pillow, his hat pulled over his eyes. I pushed his arm, hoping to wake him up. "Race." I murmured. "Racetrack. Get up." He finally opened his eyes, moving his hat out of the way.

"Y/N!" He cried, moving to sit on his knees. He threw his arms around me and buried his face in my neck. Race never calls me Y/N. "God, we thought youse was never gonna wake up." He whispered into my shoulder. I hugged him back, and though it hurt, I didn't wanna let go of him. Unfortunately, we had to separate sometime, so he slowly pulled away from me, cupping my face. "I ain't neva seen nobody fight like you did, Y/N." I stared into his eyes, and I could see in that moment how scared he had been then, and how relieved he was now. I won't sugarcoat it for you: in that moment, I really wanted to kiss him.

"What's with the Y/N? What happened to Quick?" I teased quietly, and he didn't look away from me for a even second as he moved his hands gently from my face to the bottom of my neck. We were insanely close.

"I dunno. I guess I got so close to losin' ya, it made me wanna be better, appreciate ya more. I feel like I've never really told ya how much you really mean to me..." He admitted, almost whispering. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I finally just went for it. I slowly got closer to his face, just to see what he'd do, and he didn't stop me. If anything, he got closer. I placed my hands on the sides of his face, and Race closed the gap between us. He gently pressed his lips onto mine, and every part of me seemed to stop working. All I knew was that Race was here with me, and I didn't want to change that one bit. The kiss began to deepen, my hands moving down and wrapping around his neck, and his sliding down to my waist. Without breaking the kiss, I scooted over, allowing room for him in the bed.

Race climbed in with me slowly, so not to hurt me, when a voice rang out through the room. "You're awake." Race and I both snapped our heads up and saw Jack standing in the doorway. Shit. Race jumped out of the bed and I sat up quickly, causing the shooting pain to come back. I cried out, and Race hurried back to my side. "Get out!" Jack snapped, and Race stepped away.

"Jack, I was just tryna help ha'-"

"Oh, yeah? Help ha' by takin' advantage of ha' when she's hurt? Help ha' by puttin' your filthy hands all over my sista? Well why dontcha help ha' and get the hell out!"

"Jack!" I scolded.

"Don't even start, Y/N!" Jack yelled, turning back to me. Race walked out of the room slowly, turning back to me one more time before walking out the door. "What the hell were you thinkin'?!"

"I was thinkin' that I had to help Crutchie, so don't goddamn yell at me, Jack!"

"Wrong answer, Y/N, ya weren't thinkin'! You coulda been killed, you know that? And where the hell would that'a left me, huh? I lost mom and dad already, and now, what, I gotta lose you, too?" My brother walked right up the the bedside, and I sat up slowly, meeting his glare.

"Hey! I lost mom and dad, too. Don't act like youse the only one!"

"That don't matta', cause if you died, I woulda been alone! I love you too much to watch you die, damnit!" Jack sobbed, and that's when it hit me. I had never seen Jack cry before, never. And here he was, sitting on the foot of this small, rickety bed, face buried in his hands. I was absolutely speechless. "God, I'm sorry, Y/N." He whispered. "I'm so sorry."

I couldn't hold back anymore. I let the tears flow freely, and Jack looked up at me. "God." He whispered, rushing to hug me.

"I'm sorry, Jack." I buried my face in his shirt and sobbed while my brother stroked my hair. We cried together for what felt like an eternity, but I still wished it would've lasted just a little bit longer. We had never shared a moment like that, not really. The closest I had ever seen him get to crying was when I found out he'd lied to me about our parents, but that's  a story for another day. In that moment, I felt like everything was stripped away, and my brother and I were even closer than before.