Scared

JT nodded and put his arm around Bree as they aimed back for the room. “Of course…I’ll do the talking, okay?” She needed to be there – it couldn’t be avoided. But at least he could shoulder some of this burden. 

Gunner was tugging at his wrist restraints but stopped when they came back into the room. “Thought maybe you’d left,” he mumbled. 

“Not hardly.” JT came over to the bed and just studied Gunner for a few moments. Was he lucid enough to discuss this? He reached down widened Gunner’s eye to check his pupils. “Follow my finger.” Gunner grudgingly obeyed and let his eyes travel back and forth. “How long you been here, Gunner?”

“Since… earlier. I was causing too much trouble and they wouldn’t leave me be.”

“Uh-huh.” JT frowned and grabbed Gunner’s chart to look and see how much they’d medicated him. It wasn’t much – just enough to take the edge off and it had been a little while. He was probably feeling lethargic but thinking clearly enough to talk. “So why did they take you in, in the first place?”

Gunner’s eyes narrowed and he wriggled his wrists under the straps. “As if you don’t already know.”

JT sighed. “Yeah…we know. And… Doctor Brytle, he’s gonna have you transferred to Northside here in a while, unless we can come up with another plan.”

“I did have a plan,” Gunner muttered. 

“Look, your plan isn’t good enough. So you got a choice. You can go to Northside or you can go to Brookshire.” JT decided just to narrow it down to those two options. There really was no other way. 

“I don’t wanna go anywhere.”

“Well, you have to. They’re not gonna keep you here.”

“Then they should just let me go.”

“So you can do what? Find another bridge?”

“You can’t stop me, and you shouldn’t be here.” Gunner set his jaw stubbornly. “You weren’t supposed to find me.”

“Why not?” JT folded his arms. “What is it with you and running away, huh?” He hadn’t planned on getting upset, but he just couldn’t keep it all in any longer. “What is it with you and always thinking about yourself?”

“I wasn’t thinking of me!” Gunner raised his voice as the tears started again, and he refused to look at Bree. “If I was gone, I’d quit… I’d quit hurting people!”

“You’re hurting them now!” JT forcibly turned Gunner’s head so he had to look at Bree. “See her? Look at her, Gunner! She hasn’t slept for days because of you, and I’ve had to force her to eat. If we hadn’t found you, she was gonna waste away to nothing. Is that what you want?”

“No!” Gunner torqued his head to get away from JT’s grip. More tears came. “I’m not worth it! Just… just go. Leave me alone!” 

“Not gonna happen! I will not watch my niece die inside because of you!”

Gunner swallowed hard. He’d wipe his eyes if he could, but he couldn’t. Silence ruled the room for long enough that he finally turned his head once more, and caught sight of Bree. He hadn’t noticed before how pale she looked. How tired her eyes were. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He’d tried to release her of the burden he was. But…but instead, he’d just made things worse…again? “I’m…I’m sorry,” he whimpered. 

JT straightened a little. He hated seeing how fast Gunner could crash like that, but maybe in this case it was a good thing. “We care about you, Gunner. That means when you leave us, it hurts us even more. If you’re trying to make us feel better by throwing yourself off a bridge, then you’re sorely mistaken. Nothing could be further from the truth.” He paused and shook his head. Seeing Gunner like this hurt his heart. “You can’t keep running from this. You can’t keep sweeping it under the rug. And you can’t expect us to keep living like this either. Are you ready to face this thing?” 

Gunner looked between both of them until his eyes landed on Bree’s. “I…I don’t know… I’m…I’m scared.”


Eli grinned and passed the helmet back to Ryan. “I always have something figured out. Hop on.” He waited until she was settled behind him before starting forward and heading down the street. He didn’t stop at any of their normal spots though, and wound up on the edge of town. He reached back to pat Ryan’s leg to warn her before shifting gears as they hit the highway, and sped up a good ways past the speed limit, passing car and taking the curves with speed only someone with experience should risk.

It didn’t take long to get to the little stand by the lake where they were still selling burgers and ice cream. Finally slowing to park and shut off the engine, Eli removed his helmet and turned to smile at his sister. “Thought you could use a long lunch today.” It was a little chilly, but with their jackets on, sitting outside would be nice, and at least the sun was shining. “I’ll even buy you ice cream.”