*rereads this chapter before uploading it* *slowly backs away and hides in a bomb shelter* "This should keep me safe from my fellow fangirls...😶"

Jesse's POV

Me and Lukas rushed into the Elevator and once we were inside, I noticed that the walls were all mirrors. Seeing my own reflection made me realize how much of a mess I looked. Pink and puffy eyes, tear stains all running down my face, I looked...awful. Lukas pressed the button for the 3rd floor, and despite my best effort not to, I made that "hicking" noise that you do when you cry. Lukas obviously heard and twined his fingers through mine, pulling me close. Lukas has been the only thing keeping me together this whole time, comforting me, reassuring me that everything will be okay. For a while, I didn't know wether to believe him, not because I didn't trust him, I do! But because Cain is dangerous, heartless, and cold. I remember the look he gave me all those years ago...his eyes...his wicked smile...he almost killed me. So who knows what he's done to them, to my babies. Not to mention that several different police officers have told us that the likelihood of them being alive after the first 24 hours greatly decreases. And yet, here we are, riding an elevator to go see them.

The minutes that pass between knowing that they're at the hospital, and rushing to see them were possibly the worst part. The anticipation, the patience that you have to endure is so overwhelming. That's why I hate this elevator ride. Because it feels like an eternity, or a- a time loop, being forever stuck ascending to the 3rd floor.

And with a *ping* the doors opened.

....well, that's either ironic comedy or just ironic...-_- We ran out of the elevator and down the empty hallways, scanning the signs above. There was a cross road, each one had a sign above them, one of them saying "North side: rooms 200-250" and the other three saying "South side: rooms 250-300, West side: rooms 300-350, and East side: rooms 350-400." Neither of us had to say anything, as we both ran down into the west hallway. "311 & 307" I kept muttering to myself under my breath. 304, 305, 306,...307! Analiese!! There was a nurse waiting outside the room that recognized us. "Mr and Mrs Porter, come with me." The nurse said, opening the door for us. "What's happened to her?" Lukas asked for me. I wanted to ask myself but if I did then I was gonna break down into a river of tears.

"Well, it's got good. But we were all surprised at how little it really was considering her...circumstances. It's only a broken wrist, and a few cuts and bruises. They're just going to patch her up and give her a cast, it should only take about an hour."

T-That's all? That's...all? It's just a broken wrist! Any other mother would be upset about that, but I'm overjoyed! I- I thought she was gonna be in like, I don't know, a- a coma or something!

"Can we see her?" I asked softly.

"...You can, but would suggest that we discuss James' condition first..." She told us with a worried expression painted on her face. She continued, "You see, when I went in to help Analiese, she kept crying. Of course, that's obviously natural for a 6 year old with a broken wrist, but I soon realized that that's not why she was crying. She repeatedly asked where James was, if he was okay, if she could see him. I didn't understand why until I went to see him myself...I'm afraid that his condition is much worse than Analiese's."

What......happened....?

She sighed. "The doctors say that his hands were bloody, and there were bruises in the shape of handprints on his arms." She reluctantly told us. Me and Lukas were both stunned. I can just imagine...his hands covered in blood...and Cain grabbing him tightly by the arms as James screams and cries. But I don't understand...how is that much worse than Analiese? Analiese has bruises, and I'd say a broken wrist and bloody hands are equally awful. What's so much worse?

"...His neck...it was bloody and had several long continuous bruises in the shapes of rings all the way around his neck. As if...as if he was being choked or hung with a rope. He was unconscious when he arrived, presumably due to lack of oxygen. He's struggling to breathe currently...I'm sorry...but if he gives up..."

No...No...no no no...no...no, no, no, no, no, no, no!! I won't expect that! I REFUSE to accept that! I'm not losing my son! Not like this! Not beaten and broken, and that his last memory in this earth was of a man torturing him! If only I had taken FIVE MINUTES to walk them down the street then none of this would've happened! I could've stopped this! I could've...I- I could've...I should've kissed him more, I should've hugged him more, I should've played with him more...I should've....

I should've told him I love him more...