Shattered Dreams

Chapter 13

The words 'Tonight, at my house' repeat in my mind all day. What time is 'tonight' exactly? As I sit on my bed, trying to finish my design project, thoughts of Jaxon spin around my brain. My phone buzzes as a notification pops up. Leaning back, I unlock my phone to see a message from Christen. 

<Hey Cynthea. How r u?> My lips twitch into a tiny smile and I quickly message back with a 'hi'. 

<You wanna reschedule the date?> My fingers hover over the keyboard before I slowly type out an unsure message. 

<Depends on where we're going?> Christen replies with a winking emoji and adds.

<It's a surprise. Are you free friday at 8pm?> Friday's are my days off, so I quickly type a 'yes' and send a smiling emoji. I'm about to text 'can't wait' when I'm interrupted by yelling. I jump up from my bed and toss my phone onto it before slowly making my way down. This is unusual, Mom and Dad never fight or yell at us. When I reach the kitchen, I see Dad sitting on the tiny breakfast table with his bleeding hand cradled in his other arm. There's an empty alcohol bottle on the table in front of him and I stare in shock because I've never seen Dad drink, like ever. Mom shoves past me with the first aid kit in her hand, she gently grabs Dad's hand and starts pulling out the glass shards in his hands. Hearing footsteps behind me, I turn to see Owen staring at Dad in shock. Taking tiny steps, I walk closer to Mom and offer help which she turns down. Now that I'm closer, I see tears falling into Dad's lap and can't help but let out a tiny gasp. Mom hears my gasp and looks up at both Owen and I with watery eyes. 

"Can you guys please go to a friends house? He wouldn't want you guys to see him like this." My feet stay planted on the ground as I stare in shock at my Dad before Owen steers my shoulder to the door. My eyes catch the kitchen clock and I realize that its almost 9 and that maybe I should be going to Jaxons by now. Holding up my finger to Owen, I quickly run upstairs and throw on a pair of jeans and a maroon sweatshirt. My hand grabs my phone and I run to meet Owen in the car. As Owen starts driving, I run my fingers through my hair before tying it up in a messy bun. 

"So, where do you want to go? Should we go chill at a restaurant?" My eyes snap away from the tiny car mirror and reluctantly turn him down. 

"I-I actually have to meet up with someone." Hurt flashes in Owens eyes before he quickly covers it up and mouthes out an 'oh'. "Can you drop me at Crown Black?"

"C-C-Crown Black??" Owen chokes on his spit. Immediately realizing my implications, I try to explain myself. 

"I'm not going in, they live close by." I see Owen's shoulders sag in relief and he nods in understanding. The entire car ride is quiet as we reflect about the events that took place at home. I don't bother asking Owen if he knew why Dad would do it because I know that if he did know, he would've told me already. Owen pulls at the curb by Crown Black, and immediately I unbuckle my seatbelt before jumping out of the car. As I'm about to turn, Owen leans towards the passenger side and narrows his eyes in suspicion. 

"Who's the friend?" I roll my eyes in annoyance and snap back.

"Oh no need to become the overprotective brother all of a sudden." After contemplating it for a second, I add with a wink. "By the way, I saw that panty on your bed...you've been keeping secrets." I watch Owens mouth open in shock before he pulls away from the curb and drives off. I start making my way up to Jaxons apartment and just as I reach his door, it opens and he pushes past me to sprint down the stairs. I stare at his retreating back in confusion before I quickly run after him. My hand grabs his arm and I twist him to take a look at him, there's panic written in his eyes and I drop my hand in shock. Taking this to his advantage, Jaxon spins back around and walks over to his car in the parking lot. My feet pound on the ground as I try to keep up with his long legs. Breathing heavily, I slip into the passengers seat just as Jaxon shoves the key into the ignition. Suprisingly he doesn't mention anything about my presence. My hands clench into fist in my lap as Jaxon speeds down the streets of New York to the local hospital. His door is already swinging shut as I step out of the car and stare at the building in front of me in confusion. For the second time today, I find myself trying to keep up with Jaxon as he races down the hospital halls. He halts suddenly causing me to bump into him but he still pays no mind to me. Jaxon slowly steps into a hospital room and I follow him. My eyes immediately go to the fragile women lying on the bed. Her skin is sunken and her bones are starting to show but as I look at her face, I can still kind of see her beauty. Although her hair is gone, her sharp jaweline and straight nose pop up on her face. The nurses around the lady turn towards him and one of them immediately walks towards us.