Chapter 7

       While I was at work standing by the front desk to talk to the receptionist, someone came into the hospital I would never want to treat. Not because I didn't want them to get well, but because I didn't want them to ever get hurt so badly.

       Holden was walking into the hospital looking extremely beat up, and he was being lead by Shaw Thomas, the son of my mom's best friend. Though Mom's best friend passed away quite a while ago, so Mom kind of took Shaw under her wing since he wasn't in a bright place in life.

       Holden was walking with a limp and he was holding his side, and he had cuts on his lip and his cheek, and a bruise was forming around his eye.

       I walked over to him, and he tried giving me a smile, but it didn't work. "What on earth happened to you?" I asked.

       "Nothing," Holden said.

       "I found him like this when I was getting off of my shift at The Gold Mine," Shaw said. "He didn't tell me what happened though and he tried refusing to come here."

       "I don't want to get in trouble," Holden said.

       "Why?" I asked. "What did you do?"

       Holden sighed. "Some jerks were bothering Julian and Noah, so I got into a fight. It wasn't smart since there was three of them and only one of me. You're not going to tell Mom and Dad, are you?"

       I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, first of all, they're going to see that you're injured regardless if I tell them or not, which I won't. They should hear what happened from you. And second, they're not going to be mad if you did it to defend your brothers."

       "Uh, yes, they will," Holden said. "They'll probably say something like 'You should have just talked things out between them'."

       "Don't they know that talking things out with teenagers never work?" Shaw asked. "I should know, I was a teenager before and I was never able to talk things out with other teenagers."

       "Obviously not," Holden said. "They're also the parents who think I'll just magically get A's on my report card after years of me getting C minuses."

       "Don't worry, I'm not going to say what happened to Mom and Dad," I said. "Like I said before, you need to be the one to tell them. Now come on, let's get you checked out."

       "Can you do it?" Holden asked. "I don't want any other doctor examining me. I hate hospitals."

       "Yeah, of course," I said before looking at Shaw. "Thanks for bringing him here."

       "No problem," Shaw said. "Make sure you take things easy, Holden."

       I led Holden to the examination room, really hoping he wasn't too badly injured. One thing I didn't want as a doctor was treating my own family. Of course I wanted them to get treated if they were hurt or sick, but me being the one to do it put way too much pressure on me. I hated seeing  someone I personally knew like this, especially since Cassidy passed away and I was on shift at the hospital.

       Thankfully, Holden's injuries weren't too bad. The cuts weren't deep, and his ribs weren't broken but his skin was bruised around their. It was going to be way easier treating bruises than a broken rib.

       When I finished cleaning Holden's cuts, I told him what to do at home to treat the bruises. His reply?

       "Is it possible for me to move in with you?" 

       "I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad won't let that happen," I said.

       "Why not?" Holden asked. "They sent me to a boarding school. It will basically be the same thing for them, except I'll be living with one of my brothers instead."

        "Look, I know you and Mom don't get along well, but you shouldn't just run away from your problems," I said.

       "It's easier than being looked down on like I'm the disappointment of the family, which I am," Holden said.

       I sighed. "You're not a disappointment, Holden. It's not your fault school isn't a thing. There is something out there that you're really good at."

       "I'm good at failing tests and being the idiot of the family. Does that count?"

       "You're not an idiot either," I said. "I told you, it's not your fault school isn't your thing. You're a smart person, it's just your memory that isn't the best, and you know that's not your fault. You do know you're allowed extra help and time during tests and exams, right? Why don't you ask for it?"

       "Because I don't need it," Holden said. "I'm going to fail anyway, so might as well take the shorter amount of time."

       "You're giving up before you even try," I said.

       "I don't need a lecture from you," Holden snapped. "I already receive enough from Mom."

       "I'm not trying to lecture you," I said. "I'm just trying to help."

       "Sorry for snapping at you," Holden said. "I didn't mean it. I just....really hate feeling left out from the rest of the family. You're all geniuses, I'm not. You all meet Mom's expectations and I don't. Not to mention I'm...." He cut himself off before sighing. "I don't know what to do anymore."

       "You need to find a way to get Mom to understand exactly what you're going through," I said. "And I really think you should get that extra help at school that you're allowed to get."

       "No, I don't want it," Holden said. "I don't need it. I'm doing perfectly fine failing without it."

       "Well, I can't convince you otherwise, even if I, the doctor, think you should take it," I said. "Anyway, you're free to leave, though I'm going to be off of my shift in half an hour. Why don't you wait here and I'll help you get home."

       "Fine," Holden said.

       I got back to work, though there wasn't too much for me to do before my shift ended. When it did, I headed back to the hospital room Holden was in. He carefully got up from the hospital bed before following me out of the hospital.

       It did take a while to walk home since Holden had to walk slow with his limp. When we got to my family's house, I opened the door and let Holden walk inside first before following.

       Mom was sitting on the couch and when she saw Holden, she gasped before getting up and hurrying over to him. "What on earth happened to you?!" she said, examining his cuts.

       Holden pushed Mom's arms away. "I'm fine, Josh already checked me over."

       "That still doesn't answer my questions."

       "I got into a fight."

       "You what?! Why on earth would you do that?! You know fighting is dangerous for you, Holden!"

       "I know, sorry. I was just standing up for Julian and Noah because they were being picked on. I told those jerks to leave them alone, but they weren't, so one thing led to another."

       Mom didn't say anything before turning towards the stairs and calling the twins down. As soon as they were both downstairs, Mom said, "Why didn't you tell me what happened to your brother?"

       "We knew you were going to get mad at him even though all he did was defend us," Julian said.

       "That's because he's not supposed to be getting into fights," Mom said.

       "See?" Noah said. "Who cares if he's not supposed to get into fights? Well, I do care, but still. He only did it to defend us. It wasn't like he went looking for a fight."

       "That doesn't make things better," Mom said. "He could have really gotten hurt."

       Mom didn't like listening to us at all, apparently. While she was right that Holden shouldn't be getting into fights, he only did it to defend his younger brothers. He didn't go looking for a fight at all.

       I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, so I took it out to read the message. It was Cleo, asking if I was busy because she really needed help. I replied, telling her I would be right over.

       "I have to go," I said. "Mom, please go easy on Holden. He doesn't need you being mad at him on top of everything else going on."

       I then left the house before heading over to Cleo's house. Shortly after I knocked on the door, she answered, looking extremely exhausted. "Thank you for coming," she said, letting me in the house, which was when I heard Celeste crying. "You're the only one I could think of that could help. Celeste won't stop trying and I tried everything. She was fed, burped, she doesn't need a diaper change, she just recently had a nap, and I tried cuddling her and rocking her to calm her down but nothing is working."

       I walked over to Celeste's cradle where she was laying and gently picked her up. I was able to tell the difference between all types of baby cries and hers was that she needed a cuddle. So why was she still crying when Cleo tried that?

       "Hey," I said, and Celeste's crying slowly faded before she looked at me.

       And that was soon followed by a smile.

       "It's official," Cleo said. "You're a miracle working. Seriously though, thank you so much. I don't know how you made he stopped crying. I just wished something would work out for me for once."

       "Is everything okay?" I asked.

       "Not really, no," Cleo said, flopping down on her couch. "There's no way I'm going to be able to pay the rent by the end of the month."

       "I thought you said you had enough money to," I said, sitting down beside her.

       "I did," Cleo said. "But I forgot my ex-husband had access to my bank account. He ended up taking all my money."

       "What?" I asked. "Why would he do that?"

       "Let's just say that the marriage didn't end well," Cleo said. "Now he has all my money, I can't even afford to pay for food right now, and I'm going to be kicked out of here with nowhere to stay."

       I couldn't believe I was about to suggest this, but she really needed the help. 

       "Why don't you and Celeste move in with me?" I suggested.

       "What?" Cleo asked. "Josh, I can't let you do that."

       "Why not?" I asked. "You need a place to stay, food to eat, and quite frankly, it will be a lot easier for the both of us when you're at work and I'm babysitting her. Everything will already be at the house."

       "Are you sure it won't be a problem for you?" Cleo asked. "Because I really don't want us to be a bother to you. You're already doing so much for us."

       "Of course it won't be a problem," I said. "And you definitely won't be a bother. I really love spending time with Celeste. Besides, I'm already paying for a two bedroom house. I might as well have someone living there so it won't go to waste."

       "Only if you're sure," Cleo said.

       "Cleo, it will be fine," I said. "You're my friend and you're going to need a place to stay. I can't just turn my back on you."

       "Thank you so much," Cleo said. "Seriously, you don't know how much this means to me."

_______________

Holden, my new child, I love you. <3

I was very angery earlier. Jackson released his clothing line and for the first couple hours, it was only available to the US. cx It changed now, so all I have to do is wait until Tuesday to order what I want. If it's sold out before then, I'm sobbing.

ANYWAY Holden is a precious smol bean and needs protecting. <3 <3 I'll fight anyone who messes with him. (ง •̀_•́)ง