**** Content Warning for References of Abuse and Violence****

Mom continued to examine Mary on the stage. I moved to stand on stage beside Jack. His normally bright cerulean eyes were empty, but he still managed to school his expressions.

I didn't know how he was holding himself together. If my brother were the one lying on the table, I wouldn't be able to be strong.

"Can you help her?" Lilly asked.

"I don't know, sweetie," Mom said, pulling out her phone and dialing.

She was probably calling an ambulance. This didn't look like something she could patch up here. She needed a team and sterilized equipment.

Anton was pacing the stage. Jack stood frozen as if in shock. Even if we weren't on the best terms right now, I wanted to make sure that he was fine, but I didn't want to do it in front of everyone. I grabbed his arm and pulled him backstage from the sight of his sisters.

"Jack, are you okay?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Just a graze. No big deal."

For the first time, I noticed his sleeve was bloody. "Your father attacked you?"

When I pushed aside the sleeve of his jersey, he winced. More blood was crusted beneath the fabric, surrounding a shallow gash across his bicep. Mom was preoccupied with Mary, and Lilly and Maddy seemed fine on a quick inspection.

Mom had taught me basic first aid right before she sent me to sleepaway camp when I was eleven. Jack's wound didn't look serious, but he couldn't leave it alone.

The first aid kit was mounted on the wall behind the backstage curtain. I pulled it down and ripped it open.

He was silent as I unwrapped two sterile alcohol wipes from their wrappers and cleaned the blood off his arm. Now that I could see the scrape clearer, he tried to pull away.

Gripping his arm firmly, I patted the wound with another alcohol wipe. That drew a hiss from his lips, but he didn't pull away again.

There was gauze and medical tape in the first aid kit. I found the scissors and folded the gauze back on itself to make it thicker. I cut the pad small enough to cover the scrape comfortably and added a small amount of medicine before fitting the gauze against the wound.

It took more medical tape than I was expecting to secure the gauze. Jack's arm was large from throwing a football around, and he definitely wasn't a stranger to the weight room. Not that I should have thought about that as I cleaned and secured a wound.

When I was done, Jack moved his arm to ensure he still had a range of motion. I'd helped my mother before with basic first aid, but something about this felt intimate.

"Thanks," Jack's voice was quiet.

I knew it wasn't the best choice in the world, but I couldn't help but someone had to ask. "What happened?"

"He had a gun," Jack's voice cracked. "I-I didn't know. H-He's never had a gun before. I didn't know... this is all my fault."

"This is not your fault," I shook my head. "Are you going to report him?"

"They might not believe me," Jack said in a hollow voice. "But we can't go back with him there. Not with a gun."

They had to believe him. There was no way anyone could ignore this. Mr. Garrison had fired a gun at his children. It was despicable.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," Jack said.

I wrapped an arm around him, and his calm and composed face broke. His eyes glistened with tears, and he fell limp against me.

I knew that I couldn't leave him like this. He'd carried his broken and bleeding sister. He'd had to be strong for Lilly and Maddy. I could let him be weak for a moment here with me.

"T-Thank you," he said.

I didn't know what to say. Here he was at his most vulnerable. A week ago, if you told me I'd get to watch Jack Garrison cry, I would have laughed later with my friends over his misery and maybe taken half a dozen photos for posterity.

Now though, I was at a loss. No one deserved this. Not even Jack Garrison. His tears weren't funny. They were human, and he was in pain. Even I couldn't kick him when he was this down.

He straightened and wiped his tears when Mom came backstage a few moments later. She had a work expression, so I knew she was about to deliver bad news.

"I called an ambulance," she said. "This is severe. The police will want to know what happened. Not to mention I'm required by law to report this."

Jack took a deep breath. "Can't you fix Mary here?"

Mom shook her head. "Not without a hospital. I have to tell them what happened to her, and you should too, Jack. She needs help. You all do. I should have seen something wasn't right when you asked me to set Lilly's arm. I had my suspicions that it wasn't from a bike accident, but this cannot and should not be covered up."

Mom went back to check on Mary's condition. Jack ran a hand through his hair. Agony rippled across his face, turning the golden boy into a fallen angel.

"I promise the doctors will do their best," I said. "My mom is going to help Mary. The hospital will have real equipment and a trained team to fix everything."

"I know," Jack said. "But it doesn't change the fact that I failed my family tonight."

"Jack, I said. "You made the best decisions you possibly could. I'm sorry that going to a hospital means every lie you've ever told will come out, but Mary will be fine."

Jack hung his head. "The girls have gone through so much. First Mom, and now they're going to lose Dad."

We'd all missed the signs. Lilly's sudden broken arm and Jack choosing to shower at the theater. Jack's black eye should have been the biggest red flag, and I'd let Juan make jokes instead. It was no wonder Jack snapped when Juan described his life as perfect.

"I believe in you, Jack," I said. "You are the strongest person I know."

I relied on Parker for everything. Jack was the person that people turned to in his family. I couldn't imagine the burden he carried.

We walked back out on the stage together as the sound of sirens slowly increased. As a show of support, I slipped my hand into his, and he braced my fingers like a lifeline.

Lilly ran to her brother. "Jack, this is a bad idea."

Jack flinched as her words cut him like knives. I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, but Jack remained silent.

"Mary is hurt," I said. "The proper authorities need to be involved."

Maddy looked up at her big brother, her wide brown eyes glistening. "Jack, you can't let them tell. They'll take us all away. You said..."

"Maddy," Jack patted the top of her head. "We have to go to the hospital. Dr. Porter can't fix Mary here."

"But Jack, you said..." Lilly cradled her broken arm with her good one. "Child protective services are going to show up. We might get separated."

"Don't let them take us away," Maddy attached herself to Jack's leg.

"I'm sorry," he snapped and paused to regain control of his tone, probably so he wouldn't scare them. "It... it isn't safe for us to go home, not now, not ever."

There was silence after his declaration except for the roaring sirens of emergency services responding to Mom's call and Maddy's quiet sobbing. Jack tried to use his charming smile, which showed confidence and made the girls at school swoon. In these circumstances, though, it looked strained and fake.

"We don't have much choice, do we," Lilly sighed. "This never should have happened."

She pulled Maddy off Jack and held Maddy with her good arm. Anton walked over and hugged Lilly and Maddy.

"Mary is going to be fine," he said. "I promise."

A paramedic team burst through the doors and entered the theater with one of those stretchers on wheels. Mom gave them directions, and they moved quickly to get Mary situated.

"I'm riding with her," Anton said to Jack. "Can you get the girls to the hospital?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "Go."

Anton followed the emergency service crew and my mother out to the ambulance. Jack turned to his sisters and pulled his keys out of his pocket with his free hand.

"Absolutely not," I shook my head and snatched his keys away. "You're in no shape to drive, Garrison."

He was in worse condition than Mom earlier. He looked like he was about to fall over from exhaustion or shock. Letting him get behind the wheel right now was a worse idea than letting my mom drive alone when she was stressed.

"We need to get to the hospital," Jack said, snatching his keys back.

I tried to smile. "And I don't think you can do it safely. It's amazing you even made it here."

Jack looked like he was about to argue with me when Maddy started to cry again.

"It'll be all right," I said. "Your brother is tired and shouldn't be driving. I'm not sure he can get you to the hospital safely, so I'm going to drive."

Jack looked stunned. "Really?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Come here," I took Maddy from Lilly. "We'll all go together."

I carried Maddy out of the theater with Jack and Lilly on my heels. Jack passed me his keys, and I unlocked his jeep.

"Let me clean up," Jack said, setting a towel over the mess in the backseat.

I pushed the front seat down, Lilly climbed in the back, and I handed Maddy back to her. Then I pulled the seat back up and sat down to start the car. Jack got in on the passenger's side, and I turned on the radio.

Jack's preset station was playing some 80s pop song that I didn't have the bandwidth to process, but Lilly hummed along. I pulled out of the theater parking lot and headed to the hospital on the other side of town.

Beyond the music, we sat in silence. We got to the hospital fifteen minutes later. By then, Mary was already in the operating room. All we could do was sit and wait.