Chapter Five
I groaned softly as I rolled over onto my side. I wasn't sure how long I'd been out of it, but it had to of been quite a while, because when I opened my eyes to look out the window a bright full moon looked back at me.
I didn't want to leave the bed I was in, it was so warm and comfortable. I debated on going back to sleep, but then decided against it. I was sure the others wanted to know if I was alright. I sighed heavily and pulled myself up out of bed, holding onto the table beside me until my head stopped spinning.
I walked into the hallway, and heard yelling coming from down the hall. I walked down and looked inside. Jc was yelling at Joey. Lance and Justin were with him, looking kind of intimidated. Jc never yelled.
Joey was sitting down, calmly taking in Jc's yelling like it was nothing different. He looked like he didn't even care.
Lance glanced towards the door, and saw me standing there. He nudged Justin, and then Jc. Jc stopped yelling and looked over at me.
"Chris, you're awake! How are you feeling?" Jc said as he came over to me.
"Kinda dizzy..." I replied.
Jc helped me over to a chair and sat me down. I looked over at Joey with sad eyes, I wished that I knew why Joey was doing drugs. I wished I had the old Joey back.
He looked back at me, with the same empty stare as before. I was beginning to wonder if the real Joey was even alive anymore. If he was, was there a chance we could get him back, or was he to far gone?
Joey stood up, and started to head for the door. Jc went to the door and blocked his way.
"Where are you going?" Jc asked.
"Going out," Joey answered.
"No, you're not. Sit down."
"Don't try and tell me what to do."
"You're not leaving."
Joey went to push past Jc, but at that moment the door opened, and Johnny was standing there, looking very upset. Joey sighed heavily and went back over to his chair. Johnny looked at Jc, who had a look of relief on his face.
He looked around the room, and his eyes landed on me. I looked up at him weakly, and tried to smile to let him know I was okay, but my emotions just wouldn't allow me that luxury. He walked over and gave me a gentle hug, and then pulled up a chair.
"Okay guys, Lonnie told me what's going on, so all that's left to do is fix it," he said, looking around again.
"What if I don't want it to be fixed?" Joey asked irritably.
"Joey, why did you start in the first place?" Lance asked softly.
"That's none of your business," Joey crossed his arms with a huff.
"Joey come on... we want to help you," said Justin.
"Well you can help by letting me go."
"We can't do that, Joe," Johnny said sternly.
"So what? You're just gonna make me stay here?" Joey asked, panic in his voice.
"Until you decide to let us help you, yes," Johnny replied.
"But... but I... I need..." Joey started to squirm in his chair.
I looked up at him, locking my eyes with his. He looked back at me, and for the first time I saw fear and realization.
"Chris..." he said softly.
I bit my lip to keep from crying. There he was. There was Joey...
Johnny knew Joey would start acting up once all the drugs were out of his system, so he told Lonnie to stay with him, and to make sure he didn't try anything. I could feel myself getting dizzy again as we all left the room, and I guess Lance noticed, because he came over and put an arm around me just as I almost fell over.
"Guys, I'm gonna take Chris back to his room to lay down," he said as he started to lead me slowly down the hall back to my room.
The guys all nodded, and headed to their own rooms.
Lance walked me into the room and set me down on the bed. I looked up at him and grinned slightly.
"I feel like an old man."
"You are an old man," Lance said, and noticed my grin grow wider as he said it.
"Get some rest Chris. We both know this isn't over..." I nodded slowly, and crawled the rest of the way into bed, pulling the covers up.
"Lance?" I asked as he walked to the door.
"Yeah Chris?" He stopped and turned around.
"Thanks for helping me."
"Anytime," He turned to leave again.
"Hey Lance?" He stopped again and looked at me.
"Joe's gonna be okay... right?" I asked softly.
"Yeah Chris, he'll be okay."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Okay. G'Night, Lance..."
"Goodnight, Chris."
I watched as he turned off my light and closed my door. I rolled over onto my back and looked up into the darkness. When I closed my eyes my head filled with a bunch of images, like a little movie, but then it stopped. I was left with the feeling I had gotten when I had looked into Joey's eyes, and for the first time in months, saw my brother.
| Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight |
