Chapter 2

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I walked through the hospital slowly feeling incredibly sick of the white walls. It seemed like I was here constantly since Shiloh got beat up.

It turned out Alexander had been kidnapped by the uncle he never knew he had, Ben had helped keep him captive and Sergio had gotten shot somewhere in their escape. All so eventful, yet I had known nothing about it until Sergio's guy, Clyde explained.

Jesus, they were a lot to deal with. I usually didn't care much about school, art came naturally to me and I didn't have to try too hard to improve or do well in school, but the amount of distraction Sergio and his gang brought was ridiculous. Even though Alexander was safe now, he wasn't healthy because Sergio had been in a coma for the past two weeks. I guess I should be grateful, Sergio loved him enough to take bullets to keep him safe. Of course it was Sergio's fault there were bullets firing Alexander's way to being with...

I frowned as I turned a corner and saw Ben in the hallway with his phone against his ear, as it usually was while he handled all of his boss's business while he was... out of commission? I stepped forward but stopped seeing the dark circles around Ben's eyes as he turned in my direction, but did not seem to notice me. It didn't take a genius to see that he truly cared about the unconscious man in the room he stood outside of. I looked down at the bag in my hand. It was food for Alexander. Maybe I should have brought Ben some too.

I snorted. Fuck that. He was the reason Alexander got kidnapped. He had been playing really important roles in both gangs.

I watched as he pulled his phone from his ear and leaned into the room before he turned and began walking towards while still busy on his phone. He looked up as he almost bumped into me and neither of us stepped aside to let the other walk by. Ben gave an annoyed sigh as he looked at me.

"Move." He demanded.

I rolled my eyes shoving by him. He grabbed my arm but I twisted it from his grip and continued my way towards Sergio's room without looking back at him. Asshole.

I stopped as I heard a sudden cry and turned to see that a nurse had tripped and dropped all the food she was holding, Ben immediately jogged up to her and began helping her up. I shook my head. He's probably only helping because she's good looking and he thinks it will get him some. Wait, he's attracted to Sergio though. He's probably bisexual.

I turned into the room.

Alexander sat beside Sergio's bed barely awake as he stared blankly into the wall.

"Hey, I brought you lunch. Also, you have an assignment due on Monday." I said walking up to him.

"Not hungry. I'll email her." He mumbled.

He never ate the food I brought him, I was getting dangerously close to shoving it down his throat, he was causing all of us distress.

"You're in a hospital, if you faint, I'll tell them to keep you that way and stick a tube down your throat." I said.

He didn't reply, didn't react.

"Alex, come on. You have to eat, you need some air, you need to wash up –"

"I'm too tired for this." his brown eyes moved to me. He really was. He sighed as he leaned forward and rested his head beside Sergio taking the sleeping man's hand. "I'll get sleep. I'm not hungry." He mumbled reopening the book he had been reading for the past two days. He peered by it at me, "You should get to class"

Right, I had left school to bring him some food. I patted his shoulder lightly before I walked out. I ended up giving the food to the receptionist like I had for the past three days after I realised Alexander never touched it when I left it with him as I was leaving I spotted Sergio's doctor in the parking lot and ran up to him.

"Jordan." He greeted with a tight smile glancing away from me.

"Dr Ray." I said uncertainly. I followed his eyes and spotted Sergio's mother and the cook that worked at his house not far from us. She was crying. I bit the inside of my cheek and looked back at Dr Ray. "Uh... I know it's confidential but I'm worried about Alexander. When... when is Sergio going to wake up?" I asked looking back at him slowly.

He looked at me before he sighed. "Your friend's behaviour is quite unhealthy." he said. I stared at him and he nodded. "Look, Jordan... We're doing what we can but the chances of him making it out of this are very slim." He stopped and put his hand on my shoulder. I narrowed my eyes, "I would advise that you prepare for the worst." he said before he turned as his name was called, excused himself and walked away.

I looked at the couple again before I looked back at the hospital holding my breath. I never understood Alexander's feelings for Sergio, nor did I understand our friend Shiloh and Clair's feelings for each other, but I didn't need to understand it to know that this would break him. The doctor was right, Alexander's behaviour was quite unhealthy. Maybe if he knew it was coming it would be easier for him to accept. Right, school could wait right now.

I began to make my way back into the hospital lost in my thoughts of how to handle Alexander and almost walked right into someone as the screen doors slid open, their hand on my chest gently pushing me back away from them snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up ready to apologise but the thought disappeared from my mind as my eyes met Ben's annoyed blue pair.

"What the hell?" He asked.

Why does he think he can speak to me? I gave a scoff.

"Hey, watch where you –" I roughly shoved by Ben cutting him off and ignored him as he called after me angrily. Really, I was in no mood to deal with anything Sergio related.

I was somewhat angry at him. If Alex had never met Sergio, he wouldn't be here right now sick with worry and starving himself. And everything about Ben annoyed me. The way he lived, what he did for a living, that gun I knew he kept tucked under his shirt, his eyes, the sound of his fucking voice...

I shook him from my head knowing that continuing to think about him would just piss me off more and I had better people to worry about.

I jogged up the hospital stairs after deciding there were too many people waiting for the elevator before I found Sergio's room again.

"Alex." I said as I walked in.

"Mmm?" He was reading, or rather staring at a book.

I leaned against the wall and watched him 'read' the page of the book for fifteen minutes but not turn over.

"No matter how many times you read it, it's still going to say the same thing." I spoke up eventually.

"Huh...? Oh..." He shut the book slowly. His eyes moved to his boyfriend's face and I decided now was the time to bring up food again.

I told him about a new restaurant I had spotted on the way and how it seemed really popular already. When I was done I waited for his reply but none came. I frowned.

"Alex?" He looked at me half dazed. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

He turned to give me a flat look, he looked incredibly tired. I gave a sigh shaking my head. I knew this was hard for him, but he was perfectly fine without Sergio before. Wouldn't he be again?

"What?" He asked softly.

"Come get some lunch with me." I wasn't asking anymore.

"I'm not hungry." he mumbled

"You need to eat. I'm not leaving until you do." I said sternly. "We're getting lunch."

He turned away from me, but I still caught the frown he gave me before he looked at Sergio again. I almost sighed in relief as he got up putting his book down. I walked out hearing him follow me.

We made our way to the cafeteria in silence and I bought food before I handed him a pie as we took a seat at one of the tables. He looked at it before he shook his head.

"I'm really not hungry." his voice was soft again.

"You are. When was the last time you ate?" I asked. He shrugged glancing at the massive clock that hung on the wall across the room. Was I wasting his time? Amusing.

My eyes shifted towards the glass wall across the room, the table Ben and I had first met at instantly bringing the memory to my mind. I almost thought he was a good person back then.

"Don't you have a lecture right now?"

"Same as you." I replied looking back at Alexander.

He shook his head.

"You can't just stop going to school."

"I'll just do this semester next year." he mumbled. What?! "Uh... Thanks for lunch... I'm going back, see you later." He took the pie. I could tell he was taking it only so I would shut up about his eating habits, well I wasn't going to. I got up and followed him out of the cafeteria.

He walked towards the elevator before I could make us take the stairs like we had on our way down here. We waited for it in silence. Him staring at the pie in his hands and me watching him.

"You can't just drop everything, Alexander." I said turning to him once we were inside the elevator. We were alone.

"I'm not. I'm... putting it on pause." he said before he let out a sigh, "Look, I just can't do this right now, okay?"

"You have to. You don't have a choice. You have to keep living; he won't hate you for it." I said.

"I can't." He snapped at me and I lifted my brows at him. He turned away from me mumbling another "I can't." as he shut his eyes and gripped the railing in front of him.

I felt my heart hammer in my chest at how fragile he seemed. It reminded me of how he looked when his parents died. I had been trying to convince myself Sergio didn't matter that much to him because for the life of me I couldn't understand why he would matter that much, but he did. He needed to know he couldn't be this attached to the man, especially right now.

"Alexander, look at me." My voice was serious. He looked at my reflection, not turning from the mirror. His eyes were filled with fear so I grabbed his shoulders gently. "I came to see you earlier and the doctor was speaking to Kent and his mom. Alex..." I didn't want him to get hurt anymore, "The doctors... they don't think he's going to wake up." I whispered.

He stared at him blankly.

"I am so sorry... but you have to try to keep living..." I said.

My eyes were drawn to the movement of his hands as they clenched around the bar tightly, his knuckles whitening.

"He'll be fine." He said through grit teeth.

"Alex –"

He turned to me, shoving my hands from his shoulders and glared at me.

"Don't come back here if you can't be positive." He looked livid and incredibly scared; it suddenly made me regret telling him, I didn't want to hurt him more. "He'll be alright."

He walked out of the elevator before I could say or do anything. I lifted my hands to my face feeling my eyes burn. Had I been insensitive? He had lost so much already. I hated not being able to help him. I hated knowing someone I considered family was in so much pain. I sighed grabbing my phone as it began ringing in my pocket.

"Clair?"

"Where are you? You said you would drive me home." She said. Right. She usually used her dad's car but it had gone in for repairs and Shiloh had not been at school because he had an interview today.

"Ah. I left to see Alex, I'll be right there. Stay on campus."

"Yes, Dad." I could picture her rolling her eyes and I gave a light chuckle as I hung up before I made my way out of the hospital

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