Sibling Reunion

Giving up

Trigger warning: Mention of rape/sexual abuse. If uncomfortable with this topic, I'd advise you don't read this chapter.

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August 5th 2020:

Grabbing his bag from his desk, Gavin turned to leave, only to come face to face with his boss.

He jumped back slightly with a yelp, putting a bit more distance between.

She let out a sigh. "You're still here, Ng? You need to go home, get some rest damn it."

"Rest? But I still need to file that repo-"

"No you don't."

His face fell. "What? What do you mean?"

She glanced away, licking her lips nervously. "Look, kid, I know there's already so much on your plate, but that's the problem. It's putting you off at work, affecting your performance. I'm afraid...we're gonna have to let you go."

Gavin stared at her in shock for a couple seconds, trying to process what he'd just been told.

After coming to his senses, he spoke again. "Y...You're firing me?"

Guiltily, his boss nodded. "I'm sorry, but we can't just let you sit by and get nothing done after months of working here."

"But I did something! Please, you can't fire me..." He pleaded. "I'll do anything.."

She shook her head, sighing. "There's nothing you can do. If you really want to keep working here, go sort out whatever's distracting you then come back."

Gavin went quiet for a while, then shook his head. "He won't talk to me...he won't even look at me.."

She nodded. "Well...that's it, then. I suggest grabbing a box and putting your stuff in it. I want you out by...well, now."

Gavin just nodded robotically, moving on autopilot as he packed up his desk, leaving the office a lot more unmotivated than when he'd arrived.

September 4th 2020:

Stephen stared at the door before him, exhaling shakily. He was finally ready to open it, to face his brother again for the first time in almost a year.

Pushing the door open, he realised he wasn't ready for the sight in front of him.

Gavin was laying flat on the hospital bed, left arm wrapped in a cast, wires surrounding him, and the only thing keeping him breathing was a small oxygen mask placed on his face.

Stephen almost collapsed at the sight.

He barely had time to process it before a doctor walked in, carrying a clipboard and pen in hand. Spotting him, she stopped writing momentarily and placed the clipboard down at the bottom of Gavin's bed.

"I assume you're his brother. Stephen, is it?"

"Yeah, that's me.."

Sighing, the doctor crossed her arms, pacing slightly. "I don't know where to begin...he's taken a lot of damage to head and ribs. Though no lasting damage is done to his brain, I'm afraid his ribs are broken."

"...What about his arm?" Stephen cautiously asked, pointing to the one that was in a cast.

"Ah, yes, his arm..." She trailed off, swallowing slightly. "It's not broken, thankfully, just fractured, but...that's not the worst of it, I'm afraid.."

"What could possibly be worse than everything you've just told me?" He asked.

Stephen had never before regretted speaking in his entire life.

"We aren't sure just yet, tests are still being run, but..." The doctor paused, avoiding eye contact with him. "Whilst examining his body for injuries, we found...blood between his legs, indicating that he.."

The rest of her words fell on deaf ears. Stephen's mind and heart were racing at 1,000 miles per hour.

She was still talking, but nothing got through. Only one word rang loud in his ears.

Rape.

His baby brother had been raped.

Stephen felt sick to his stomach. He could feel the bile rising in his throat, reaching the top, then-

He was dry heaving into the bin, emptying his body of earlier's lunch and the drink that came with it.

Wiping the vomit away with a tissue the doctor offered to him, he stood shakily and walked over to his brother's unconscious form, tears filling his eyes as he sat on the chair next to the bed, gently taking his cold hand.

"I'm so sorry Gav....I should have been there...I'm so, so sorry..for everything.."