Found

Twenty Four

"Scott? Wake up!" I pried open my eyes, neck at an awkward angle. I was back in the hospital. I was sitting in that awful chair. But it wasn't Kirstie talking. It was Nel. She still seemed worried, but no one was crying. "He's out of surgery. He's not as stable as they would like him to be, but he made it through." It was all a dream! Oh thank god! Mitch was still alive. He was still breathing.

I stood up and was almost instantly taken out as the woman wrapped her arms around me. "The doctors said that, had you found him even five minutes later, we would have lost him. Thank you!"

"You're...welcome!" I gasped out. For such a tiny thing, Mrs. Grassi had a strong grip and was literally squeezing the air out of me. Thankfully, before I had to say anything, Mike came to my rescue.

"Dear, let the poor boy go before you crush his lungs." She immediately let me go with an apology, which I accepted with a small smile and a chuckle.

Mitch was still in recovery, so we all passed the time until we could see him. I mostly stared at the wall, or paced back and forth, anxious. Avi, Kevin, Kirstie, and Jeremy shared stories that they remembered about him, Mike and Nel passed it by sitting together.

At long last, they wheeled him down the hall and into a room. I watched as they pushed him passed us. He looked so frail and tiny, wrapped in bandaged, hooked up to multiple machines, nurses keeping a close eye on all of the numbers.

His fingers were wrapped, and so was the main part of his hand, with a little strip hand, his knuckles, showing. His arms looked like the one thing they were the most careful with when bandaging it up because it was thick on his sickly pale wrist.

I was almost afraid to touch him because I feared that even the lightest of touches would break him. I followed at the back of the group, into the room. There, in the far corner, where I could still watch over Mitchie, was a chair that I quickly commandeered as the unofficial guarding post.

Hours past before I dared approach Mitch. I wanted to see him but I was so tired. I had slept only a few hours in over twenty four hours and it was catching up with me.

Shaking the sleepiness away, I reached forward and gently took his cold, bandaged hand in mine, thumb running over the bandages on his hand.

I took a seat in the chair by the bad and just sat there, stroking his hand, watching his heart beat on the monitor, my own heart stuttering when, every so often, the line would change. It would suddenly start to beat faster, or, sometimes, even slowed down. But, like this boy, it was resilient and kept going.

"I'm so, so sorry that I wasn't able to save you from this. Please. Please, come back to me. But if you really feel like it is your time, know that I will always be waiting to meet you again." I murmured softly, though I doubted he would even hear me.

As I brought his hand up to my lips, there was a knock at the door and all three of us, his parents and I, looked up and over.

We were met with a man who couldn't have been any older than late twenties, early thirties. "You are parents and...?" He stressed Mike and Nel first, then turned to me, eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Before I could respond, Nel spoke up. "A very, very close family friend. Now what is it?" Even when her words took on a hard edge, her voice was soft and sweet.

"Well, because of the kind of drugs we did manage to pump out of his stomach, we were able to run the correct toxicology tests. He over dosed on a number of prescription medication, some of which got into his blood stream, which then got to his brain. As of now, he is in a Coma. We do not know when or if he will wake up. He did flat line during the operation, but, as you can see, his heart is beating. We are so very sorry." He paused, letting it all sink in a little before he began to speak again. "I am also obligated to address this topic because of substantial evidence we found."

"What topic?" Nel managed out as she cried into her husband's shirt as he stood beside her, hand on her shoulder.

"Is Mitchell in any kind of..." He looked down at his feet, dragging out his words and pausing awkwardly as he spoke. "You know...sexual," I almost giggled at how awkward he was with that word, dragging it out as he began to scratch the back of his neck. "And/or abusive relationship?"

"No. He can barely stand human contact. He just started to let a few close friends and family into his life in any close contact way. It's been like this ever since we got him back." Mike spoke this time, Nel unable to. I was simply frozen in my seat as I listened to the conversation. "Why?"

"Well... As were patching him up, we noticed that his hips and side were substantially bruised, not to mention the one on the side of his head and the slight concussion he has. His backside, as well, was bloody and bruised, and covered in what appeared to by semen."

The poor man was red in the face as he relayed this information to us.

"So what you're saying is...?" Nel piqued up, finally gaining her voice back around her cries.

"Our original thought was a very, very rough sexual relationship, but now...well, it's looking like rape."

I looked over at Mitch as his narrow chest rose and fell evenly, swollen, bruised face slack, free of the burdens of the world, of pain and fear. Could that be where he was? Was that why he hadn't returned for so many hours?

"My god, Mitchie." I gasped out, a fire setting in my heart.

All of his actions suddenly made sense! The stiff way he walked, his fear of me when I approached him, everything about that encounter.

He was probably going through a horrible bout of mental hell and I not only fought with him, but I also left him alone. Left him to go through it again, all on his own, just as before. Guilt surged up over the flame of protectiveness, filling every part of me.

This was partially my fault. "I'm so sorry, Angel." I whispered. Angel? Where did that one come from.

Around my thought, I heard Nel. "Our son was raped!? How? Those men who did it are behind bars!" She squawked.

Before the man could answer her, I spoke up. "Only some of the men who hurt your son before are in jail. But Alex, his reach in the dark side of the community is extensive. Even in Jail, he is still the leader of a group more vast than I even know. No doubt, he ordered one of his men, most of who are so eager to do even the most illegal things if he commands, they do everything he tells them. Alli-Alex," I caught myself. I hadn't had an actual conversation with him in months, and yet, to me, he was always Allie. "Alex hated that this boy got the best of him as will do anything to continuously bring him down. I'm so sorry, but our chances of figuring out who did this are very slim."

"It may be, but I am going to do my damn hardest to find that man." Nel growled.

~°~
Guess who's back with a brand new track? Everyone in the club is doing that. Yo lady, yo baby, let me see ya wreck that thing, now drop it down low, low, take it to the dance flo', yo.

I'm back from camp, extra crispy. So, if y'all have any questions about it, I will be talking about it in my random book tomorrow.

Next chapter is the last chapter in Found. Thoughts on this book so far?

And if you want the alternate ending, check out my One-shots book.

Oh, and stay sexy
-Scomiche❤💛💚💙💜