Fear Nothing

© Sweet Kisses™

~*~

A.J. and Brian walked quickly toward the building that stood before them, the place that had kept Nick in safety for the last few hours. Safety from those that could hurt him and safety from himself. Nick had been hell bent on hurting himself for so long, for something that he didn't do or didn't quite understand, that now he was almost in a catatonic state. And they had to leave him in that state, in the care of doctors, so that they could help him when he couldn't help himself. That was the essence of friendship.

Or at least, it was to them anyway. To help a friend when they can't help themselves. And right now Nick was the most important thing to them,  and of course more than anything, helping him recover.

The storm had long since subsided from the previous night and now the sun was shining and the sky was a bright blue, much different from the night before. The night that Nick had run out on them all and met some mysterious guy. And after Kevin confronted him. And after Nick had tried to kill himself by jumping off the roof. And after they had all found the tapes that had proved Nick's dreams and fears to be true, and simultaneously giving them the last piece of the puzzle that they all had been trying to put together for so long.

They all wished that they hadn't seen the tapes, for Nick was only a young boy, but it was imperative that they had the tapes because now they could put the person that had hurt Nick so badly when he was young away forever.

The tapes had proved that when Nick was a young boy, his father began doing things to his son that weren't meant to be done by a father, or by anyone else, for that matter. And his father even had the audacity to videotape some of it and hide it in a closet, which Kevin had found by rare chance.  But now at least they had something to go on with and something to prove that Nick's father really had done what Nick had been telling them for so long and now they could do something about it, once and for all.

"Brian," A.J. said suddenly as they were walking up the steps to the entrance, "can I tell you something?"

"Sure," Brian replied in a tired voice.

A.J. stopped on the steps and pulled Brian to a stop also by grabbing his shirt. "I'm scared."

Brian stared into A.J.'s dark eyes and saw the raw fear in them. He was actually scared. Brian had never seen A.J. like that before. It was surreal. He nodded. "Yeah...well...I am too, so don't worry."

"Do you think that we can save him? Do you think he's able to be saved or are we...?" A.J. paused for a second, his voice trembling. "Are we too late?" he whispered.

Brian's heart almost broke when he saw the expression on A.J.'s face. It was heartrending "We can save him, and he's worth saving. He is, A.J., so just keep telling yourself that. Ok?"

"Sure thing."

They both turned back toward the building and continued up the steps. Once they pushed through the doors that they had already been through once already in the last twenty-four hours, a siren that was ear-splitting sounded through the whole entire place. It was shrieking. Both men covered their ears.

"What the - "? A.J. yelled.

Both men then began to run down the hall and were met by orderly's who looked panic-stricken and were running past them with what seemed like tranquilizers. They paused and watched the orderly's run past them with confused expressions. Finally they came across a doctor that they recognized, the same doctor that had talked to them previously about Nick's condition. She was still wearing a long white coat and now her complexion resembled her medical coat.

"What's going on here? Why all the commotion?" Brian said, almost screaming over the blaring noise. "What the hell has happened?"

"Nickolas has escaped!" the doctor shouted.

"What?!" both men shrieked.

"Nickolas broke out of his room and he escaped!"

~**~

However, back at Nick's childhood home, both Kevin and Howie waited, both staring at the front door. They stood tall and strong, or at least they tried to stand tall and tried to look strong. But on the inside, both were tired and both were weak on the inside. Neither of them had a single minute's sleep the whole night and they were both feeling the fatigue that was surrounding them. They both wanted nothing more than to forget this whole thing and just fall asleep and wake up to realize that this all was a dream. Of course, they all wanted that but obviously that just wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

As much as they wished and dreamed for it.

Kevin narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. "I swear to God, I'm going to kill him."

Howie sighed. "Just calm down, okay? It's not going to do any good. Not for you and certainly not for Nick. And that's why we're here. For Nick. So take a couple of deep breaths and control yourself."

"Don't tell me to - "

Suddenly, interrupting them both, the front door opened and Nick's father stepped inside. Kevin and Howie looked at each other for a second and then their eyes fell on Nick's father. Nick's father placed his eyes on Kevin and Howie in a domineering way, almost contemptuously and paused in the doorway, holding the door open. And it repulsed both of Nick's friends to no end that he could be so condescending of them after everything that he had done. Had this man any heart or conscience at all?

Nick's father slammed the door behind them. "Well, well, well," he sneered. "What do we have here? The little crusaders. And what brings you to my house?"

"Shut up," Kevin snapped, forgetting everything that Howie had told him just seconds before. "We know what you've done to Nick all these years, so don't play fucking stupid. And we know that - "

"You know, Kevin," Nick's father interrupted, pretending to think, "it was you who broke into my house. It was you who committed a break and enter. It was you who broke the law, so if you try and - "

Kevin's temper flared considerably. "Fuck you!" he yelled. "It was you who broke the law! It was you who fucking broke the law and hurt Nick so bad that he doesn't even know who he fucking is! It was you who made Nick scream and cry every night and it was you who made Nick want to kill himself more times that anyone can count!"

"Kevin, calm down," Howie warned in a soft voice.

Nick's father nodded, his eyes challenging Kevin. "Listen to him, Kevin. He's a smart boy."

"But you know what?" Kevin said, ignoring both of them. "We've got proof. And you know what else? You're not very smart, are ya? You didn't really hide the tapes all that well, did ya? Why did you even tape the fucking disgusting things you made Nick do and incriminate yourself in the first place? Are you really that demented?"

"You'd be amazed at how much that stuff can sell for," Nick's father said.

Howie gasped. "Tell me you're kidding. Please, tell me you're goddamn kidding me! Why would you do that to your own son? Why?!"

Nick's father chuckled. "Oh, please. You boys really are too much. Here you are, on a big crusade to save Nick from the big bad wolf. But, let me ask you something. How do you know that Nick didn't want to do this in the first place? What proof do you have to show that Nick never said no? How can you possibly know that Nick never want it? The truth is, you don't know. Why, Nick could just be telling you all this, pretending that he never wanted it. Kids say anything. Don't they?"

"He's not a kid," Kevin objected, "and he never, ever wanted this. Ever. Have you ever watched him waking from a dream, screaming so loudly that he loses his voice? No. Have you ever seen him cry so much that you think he couldn't cry anymore? No. Have you ever seen him on the top of a building, ready and willing to jump to his death? No! You haven't! You haven't seen any of it and everything that happens to him is because of what you've done to him, you sick, twisted - "

"Oh, save it," Nick's father broke in, amusement crossing his face. "You're not going to do anything. I know you won't. You pretend that you're the biggest and strongest out of these boys, but you're really not. You're just as scared and afraid as Nick pretends to be. So...bravo, Kevin, you're a great actor. Just like Nick."

"Well, then," Kevin said, stepping forward to Nick's father and staring down at him with blazing eyes, "watch what a great actor can do."

"Kevin, no!" Howie yelled.

Just as Kevin was about to take a swing at Nick's father, the door suddenly opened again. It was Nick, standing in the doorway. His eyes were bloodshot, his face pale, his hair a tangled mess, his clothes wrinkled. He looked like a zombie. He smiled eerily.

"Hey, Daddy," Nick said in a child-like voice. "I'm home."

~***~