Chapter Five (Ethan's POV)

"No!" The protest ripped from my throat as soon as Lucas seemed to realize what was going on, at least, I think so. The next moment had me stunned as Lucas screamed. It caught me off guard. I had never heard him get so loud before.

But it wasn't an angry scream, not like the actions that followed as he lunged to his feet, struggling to attack Carter, only to fall back. He hit the ground and fell like a sack of potatoes, but he wasn't unconscious. At least, I don't think so. His eyes were still open, but he didn't seem to be seeing anything that was going on around him.

During his frustrated and terrified scream, I took my chance and lunged forward. Rico and Mike leapt back, mostly stunned by how things had esculated. I grabbed Carter's wrist, twisting it hard enough to hear a gross crack. His eyes bugged and they only bugged even more when I rammed my elbow into his torso, right into his solar plexus before I swung my leg back and around, knocking his feet out from under him.

I whirled around, snatching up the knife and throwing it at one of the guys by the doors.

"Get a teacher!" I snarled. They gaped at me in horror for the longest time before I whipped around and went straight to Lucas, dropping to his side, my hand resting gently and carefully on his shoulder.

He was still awake, but just staring straight ahead past tired eyes.

"Lucas? Say something, please..." I managed, trying to push him onto his back. He just flopped limply, his fingers gently twitching and trying to touch his hair, the hood having fallen back to reveal his clear, smooth skin and his dark blue eyes that looked black now. He reminded me of one of those porcelain dolls that I saw at the mall. He even looked as small as one of them now, just lying there and staring up at the starry night sky in a daze.

"Uhm... Daddy said no..." He murmured.

"What?" I asked, confused. What the heck did that mean? I shook my head quickly as I carefully lifted Lucas up in my arms. His head flopped back as he moaned, his fingers curling weakly before he slumped his head against my chest.

"We should.... Maybe... I don't know.... Daddy doesn't like strangers..."

Who was he talking to? It sounded like he was lost in his own little world, but I said nothing about it as a couple of teachers raced out into the cold night, gasping when they saw Carter writhing on the sidewalk, howling in pain as he cradled his wrist.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Coach asked in horror, his eyes widening before he looked at me. I glared at him.

"Don't you dare look at me!" I barked.

"You're yelling at me." Lucas whimpered, his eyes blurring behind a film of tears that never fell. I grimaced at how weak and fragile he sounded. I looked up as the teachers stared at me.

Shit. This looked bad.

"Carter," I managed at last, trying not to raise my voice, "Carter was trying to get back at me for yesterday, er, for homecoming. Hell, I don't know! He spiked the punch and I bet you Lucas isn't the only one who's on the verge of passing out. He slashed at him with a knife and he was going to frame me. I swear it, you can ask them." I looked at the three guys who had been against Carter's whole charade.

The hesitance in their eyes to come to my defense sent my stomach sinking into a pit of despair.

Please don't do this to me...

"Call the police," Coach said suddenly, not taking his eyes off me, "Someone take Carter inside and get a first aid kit. The rest of you, inside now." Everyone scrambled to obey him, but when I tried to go in, Carter stepped in front of me, holding a hand up firmly. I stiffened in place, holding Lucas tightly as he moaned, squirming a little in my arms.

"You're so strong..." Lucas hummed sweetly. I winced as the Coach grimaced.

"Call his parents. They need to come get him immediately. It's going to last a while, so I suggest you stay with him..."

"Coach, you believe me, right?"

"Of course, I do... I just don't know if anyone else does."

"Son of a bitch." I cursed.

"I'm sorry." Lucas managed, his voice shaking. I held him closer to show him it wasn't his fault and without thinking, my lips pressed against the top of his head and he looked up at me almost drunkenly, his eyes glittering before the light faded from them and he slumped in my arms.

Panic rose in my throat as I frantically shook him, but the Coach placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Calm down, he just passed out. How much punch did he drink?"

"Two."

"Shit... All right, yea, stay with him and when he wakes up, give him plenty of water and don't let him eat anything just yet. It'll make him vomit."

"How do you know so much about this?"

"I knew a girl.... All I can say is that Lucas is lucky that he has you around. My friend wasn't so lucky. Just give 'em a call and when the police get here, I'll explain everything. I honestly think you boys need to get home." He told me. I nodded, watching him head inside to contact the police. I went to a wall and barely balanced Lucas in my arms as I dialed the Patterson number.

I'm gonna die, I realized in horror.

They'd kill me if they found out I had let their son get drugged. What do I do? What do I do?!

My house. No one was home. I knew that instantly. Would Blake let Lucas stay the night?

"Patterson residence." It sounded like Devin's voice and I took a deep breath.

"Mr. Patterson? This is Ethan Niles. Uhm, can I talk to... Erm... Uhn..." Shit, what the hell do I call Blake? His first name? Last name? Why were there so many male Pattersons in one damn house?!

"Blake?" Devin asked flatly.

"Yes, sir."

"One moment," He said, and I figured he was gonna go get him, but instead, he went on, "I thought I told you to stay away from Lucas."

"Yes, sir."

"So, what happened? Are you that much of a juvenile delinquent or are you just deaf?"

"I just... Well... Look, to make a long story short, something happened at school. These guys were picking on Lucas and I don't know why, but I just snapped and I promised Lucas I'd keep him safe, all right?" I demanded, then froze at my own words.

Oh my God.

I promised Lucas I'd keep him safe.

But I didn't.

He was drugged and almost killed tonight and it was all my fault. Carter was trying to hurt me and Lucas got caught in the crossfire. Carter would've never known about Lucas if it wasn't for me. The thought pierced me like an arrow.

"Ethan? Ethan, are you there?" Devin asked, sounding distressed. I tried not to choke on my words, taking a deep breath.

"Send Blake to come pick Lucas up, okay? I.... I have to go."

"Wait, what's wrong? What'd you mean come pick him up? Ethan, you sound like you're about to cry. What the hell happened?"

"The Coach will be waiting here with him, but I have to go. I can't stay. Please tell Blake. Lucas needs to be with someone else right now."

"Ethan-"

I hung up on him quickly, stuffing my cell phone in my pocket as I gently laid Lucas down on the sidewalk. He felt so fragile and doll-like. I slumped to my knees beside him, leaning down and brushing the hair out of his face. Now that I got a better view of him, I noticed how thick his eyelashes were.

They contrasted sharply against his smooth, pale skin. Well, save for the pink that tinted his cheeks and his nose from the cold. I grimaced. I couldn't just leave him here. He'd freeze to death if Blake didn't hurry...

God, I wanted to just run away. The longer I stayed with Lucas, the more time danger had to find him. My heart ached as I just slumped against the brick wall of the school, my hand resting on Lucas' head as he lay beside me. I wish I had brought my jacket so I could cover him, but I hadn't and now I felt even worse.

I stroked Lucas' hair, watching him just lie there. A tiny voice in my head kept telling me he was dead and I felt choked up again. I kept gulping the lump down as I smoothed Lucas' hair back, avoiding the blood on his knees and his torn clothes.

Oh God. This is going to be awful.

And it only got worse when I saw Blake's truck pulling into the parking lot like he was in a hurry. I knew I was about to die, so I held my breath, moving my hand away from Lucas and standing up slowly as Blake slammed his car door shut.

He didn't say anything and I swore he looked like he was going to kill me until he saw Lucas and I backed off even further.

I had never seen someone look so horrified. Blake was a tough looking guy. He was almost as scary as Rick, but now, a look of pure agony crossed his face and he forgot all about me as I dropped his keys, rushing to Lucas and falling to his knees beside him.

"Lucas? Lucas?" I felt my chest grow tight with pain as Blake lifted Lucas' into his lap, cradling him to his chest and kissing him repeatedly on the head.

"He'll wake up," I said quickly, "It's temporary. I mean, that's what I was told. I mean, like, I didn't do anything!" Blake didn't seem to hear me. He was holding Lucas so tight, I swore he'd break the poor kid.

At the same time, despite all the pain of watching Blake agonize over Lucas, I felt a sliver of jealousy.

Lucas was so lucky.

His father was practically in tears, holding him like he was the most precious thing in the whole world and just the thought of him being in pain was killing him. He looked like he was going to die just sitting there, holding Lucas against him.

Lucas was so loved and cherished...

"Mr. Patterson..." My voice trailed off and I hardly recognized the hesitance in my tone, but I stopped when Blake finally managed to stand up, holding Lucas against his chest. Lucas looked like a limpy doll compard to Blake's hulking form, the form that had turned to face me, but it wasn't anger on his face.

It was pain.

"Rick's always chiding me about the way I raise Lucas. I was so happy when I found out that Lucas had found someone to talk to... You just had to go and prove me wrong, didn't you?"

"Mr-"

"Stop. Just stop. I should've known this was a bad idea. Rick was right again and that's pretty much the only thing pissing me off right now. As for you, I'm just... I can't even... I don't want you going near Lucas."

"I didn't do anything! Mr. Patterson, please, let me explain-"

"I've had enough excuses tonight. I don't want to see you, ever. Goodbye." Blake was turning away from me before I could finish anything. The last thing I saw was his back as he carried Lucas away, carefully placing him in the passenger seat before starting the engine and screeching out of the parking lot.

I felt so sick standing there on the sidwalk, alone.

Lucas was gone.

And it took me this long to realize... I didn't want him to be gone. I wanted to hold him in my arms again and tell him it was going to be okay.

But I couldn't do that.

I'd gotten Lucas into this mess. It was my fault. Of course I didn't hurt Lucas on purpose... Why did I bother explaining myself to Blake? I deserved this. I shouldn't be allowed to touch someone like Lucas...

The sound of a police siren had my adrenaline jumping into action. Before I realized what I was doing, I was running for the chainlink fence that went around the school property, cutting us off from the football field and just beyond that was where I lived.

I wasted no time as I sprinted to the fence, leaping up and grabbing onto it. I tore myself up, ignoring the way the loose links cut into my skin, ripping my clothes as I fell over the top. I slammed into the ground on the other side, wincing in pain as my bones groaned.

I rolled onto my feet, scrambling through the wet, cold grass as the blue and red lights flashed into the parking lot. I was already halfway across the field by the time they were parked and heading into the school. Seeing as it was pitch black out, they wouldn't see me from this distance.

I slipped and slid on the grass as I reached the small patch of swampy woods on the other side. I didn't care that I'd come out looking like a swamp monster.

I was a monster anyway.

My legs sank deep into the gunky water that splashed up around me, mud hitting my face as I waded through to the mushier side. I scrambled throught the cold mud and water, grabbing onto trees to heave myself out of the pit and onto the other side. By this time, I was breathing hard and my whole body ached. I was getting tired.

Tired of running. Tired of trying to stay in control.

I spotted my house sitting in the quiet, small middle class neighborhood that my parents, for some strange reason, thought was comparable to a trailer park. If you call two story white-sided houses with sleek black doors and shutters and a three-car garage a trailer park.

I quickly glanced around the street, checking for cars before I sprinted across the street, stomping up the porch stairs and throwing the door open.

It was locked.

Of course it was.

I took a deep breath and ran around to the other side, but the back door was locked too. I held my breath for a moment, then went back around to the front and sat on the porch steps, my elbows on my knees as I buried my face in my hands, waiting for one of my parents to get home.

No, I didn't have a key, so shut up. I'm nothing, but a criminal to those people that I call mom and dad. Of course they wouldn't give me a key to my own house. I'd probably steal their flat screen or iPod 4G, even though I didn't have a use for that crap.

Maybe I should go to Nick's, I thought after a while, but then I rethought that.

Nick was probably at Oliver's and Nick's house was at least five blocks, not including the huge wasteland of swampage that sat between me and salvation.

Just when I thought I'd freeze to death from being wet and outside in the fall, I saw headlights shine down the road and I glanced up to see my father's car pulling up.

Oh God. Why couldn't it have been my mom? At least she ignores me like some kind of stray cat.

I stood up slowly as my dad parked his 2012 Chevy Equinox in the driveway and got out. As soon as he saw me, I knew things were gonna get even uglier.

My dad was about as big as Rick, maybe just a tad bigger. He had to be at least two hundred pounds of muscular and just a bit of flab, his face stubbled from lack of shaving. His hair was a dishwater blonde, unlike mine. His eyes were a muddy brown color, but in the night, they looked black. It matched his suit and car well.

"What're you doing here? I thought you were in jail." He stated, looking irritated as he flipped through his keys, brushing past me. He didn't seem to care that I was coated in mud as I stood behind him.

"I got out yesterday morning."

"You didn't tell us that."

"I called you three times."

"I was at the office. Why do you smell like dog shit and look like you got in a fight with a cat?"

"Uhm... Long night."

"You didn't do something illegal, did you? Otherwise, get off my doorstep and go find somewhere else to live. I can't afford having those police show up on my property, boy."

Boy. He never called me Ethan or son or anything. It was just boy.

"No." I answered solemnly. He paused to glance over his shoulder at me, then stuck the key in the lock, pushing the door open.

"Don't come inside until you spray yourself down with the hose. I don't want you tracking that shit into the house. This is why I told your mother to move your stuff into the garage." He muttered dryly, then slammed the door shut in my face, locking it.

I should've expected that.

I just walked around the house to the backyard, fumbling around in the dark for the hose. I finally found it and turned the water on. I cringed at the cold spray of water, but slowly relaxed as I let the chills sink in.

I was too depressed to care about the cold or the pain of the cuts and scrapes on my legs and wrists from climbing the fence.

I felt awful, cold, and worst of all... Alone.

I missed Lucas. Having spent at least two days without leaving his side suddenly felt strange, empty, hollow. He wasn't there to look at me with those dark blue eyes of his or to make the occasional throat clearing when I was ticking him off. He wasn't there to read to me.

I'll never know what happens to Ralph and Piggy in that book he read me. I'll never know if maybe I liked Lucas more than I thought I did. Or was the fact that I missed him painfully so proof enough that I more than liked him? I couldn't tell.

I just knew that this time, I was alone.

Truly alone.

No Lucas to watch me anymore. No Nick to sit there and chide me. No more football team to joke around with. No more... Anything. I'd have to go on with nothing to really reach for. I didn't have any plans and it was hard to make any good ones with all the crap on my record. Theft, battery, assault, a bomb threat I made when I was five- Can you believe they actually thought I was serious?

What was I supposed to do now? I had nothing to look forward to...

I shut the water off when I was good and soaked, shaking because of how cold it was as my teeth chattered. I went to the back door and rapped my knuckles against it, but it took me a moment to realize he'd gone to bed.

Fantastic.

I slammed my fist into the window, waited a few minutes until I heard the crunching of gravel under tires and I bolted to the other side of the house to see my mom had arrived home. She got out, tossing a laptop case over her shoulder. She was wearing a blood red business suit, her hair as black as mine and her eyes like hazel nuts. She didn't look at me, though, and didn't notice me until I shifted.

"Jesus Christ," She barked at me, almost throwing her laptop case to the ground.

"Don't scare me like that! What're you doing out here? Why are you all wet and gross? You look like a cat in the gutter." She snorted, heading for the door. I just caught up to her and nothing more was said as I finally got inside the house. I went upstairs and took a proper shower, but skipped dinner.

I was too sick to be hungry. I walked out of the bathroom in a pair of boxers and threw myself on my bed. Dust flew up from it and I waved a hand in my face, sitting up and shaking off the blankets. My room still looked the way it did when I was in middle school.

Black painted walls with tons of torn posters of bands and movies, the white carpet hidden under piles of laundry and other garbage. My bed was just a simple twin bed with gray sheets and a thick, old comforter that Nick had given me for my birthday when I turned thirteen.

I sighed and fell back on the bed again, curling up and putting a pillow over my head.

Oh, who was I kidding?

I'd never be able to sleep again...