My body hurts but my left shoulder burns in excruciating pain. The only sounds i hear in my room is some sort of continuous and steady Beep....Beep....Beep.. Wait. Why is there a beeping sound in my room? It can't be the fire alarm. I try to open my eyes but they're heavy with sleep and the room is too light and it bothers me. You know what? I'm just going to sleep some more. I lay on my back in my bed but this position isn't the one i usually sleep on but my body hurts way too much to move. And as i lay on my back i feel the blissful darkness indulge me.

I don't know for how long I've been asleep but my body is exhausted, sore, and hurting and I don't know why? Maybe I over did it with soccer practice yesterday. Wait. Why is that annoying sound still going on? I opened my eyes and somehow I found myself in a hospital room with a broken arm, patched shoulder and a sprained ankle. I can't remember what happened so I closed my eyes hoping that this was a dream.

"How are you feeling?" I opened my eyes as the door opened and a doctor walked in with blue scrubs, white lab coat and a board in his hands.

"Where am I?" I don't want to talk to this guy about my feelings, fuck that, I want to go home.

"In the hospital." His voice was cool and calm as he checked my vital signs.

"Where are my parents?" Shouldn't they be here? I mean, why am I even in the hospital?

"Can't you remember?"

" Remember what?" What is he talking about? I'm confused. He writes down my temperature on his medical tab before putting it on the bed and looked at me with a stern yet sad look.

"Your parents are dead?" Dead?

"What do you mean dead? You better be clowning me." I refuse to accept the idea of my parents being dead. Did we get in a car crash? That would explain my broken arm.

"I'll let your uncle explain." Uncle? I don't have an uncle, ohh, right, uncle Adam.

"Adam?" The doctor nodded. "Where's Lucy and Hailey?"

"I'm afraid they didn't make it."I don't want to accept that they're dead, I don't want to, I can't. The doctor grabbed his medical tab and walked out of the room to leave him to grieve is family's death. I don't want to accept that they're dead, I want to see my annoying older sisters and my parents.

I'm bored and all I could do in this hospital room is to just sit in this bed and stare at the wall and honestly it's making me insane. I'm still looking at the wall when i heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." I shout as i leaned on my back and looked at the person walking into the room.

"Hey, Jake" He awkwardly stood near the foot of my bed.

"Jacob." I reply drily because uncle Adam isn't really welcomed in my family.

"Sorry." He seemed like he preferred to be at a bar drinking than to be standing in a hospital room.

"What happened?" No matter how much i try to remember what happened all i can come up is just a look of darkness but that's it.

"Can't you remember?" He looked so sincere as i shook my head.

"Tell me." He saw a chair near my bed and sat on almost as if telling me was exhausting work, well i guess that's what happens when you're an alcoholic.You become weak and relentless.

"I don't think you're ready yet." Suddenly i got the urge to throw him out of the window.

"I want to know. I have to know, they're my family." He didn't flinch as i shouted at him instead he just looked at his hands and waited for me to finish which took a while because i only stopped until i realized i was crying.

"Let's give it a rest." He sighed and got up as if getting ready to leave the room.

"A Rest? " I ask, outraged. "Your sister was killed and you know but why won't you tell me?"

"I'll tell you when you're ready." He paused on the door. "And you're leaving tomorrow." There is something strange about him, from what i can remember he is just a pitiful guy that both of my parents did everything to get him away from us. Where is the guy i knew? And once again i'm left alone in this empty and boring room.

I know it's not past 2 in the morning but why in the hell am i being discharged at this time? Adam is helping me put my shirt in the abnormally quiet room while i'm literally half asleep.

"You can sleep in my car." Why is he here at 2 am? He smiles and waves at the nurses and doctors as we pass them towards the elevator to the first floor.

"How do you feel?" He whispered as he put his arm over my shoulder. I'm too sleepy to care so i just rest my head on him.

"I'm still hurting." I murmur as i'm struggling to stay awake.

"That's normal, kid." He rubbed my back before holding me up until we reached the first floor, ambled past the front desk and into the driveway. He helped me into the back of his car and drove away to where? I don't know i fell asleep and i woke up still in the car.

" Morning,Bird nest." Adam was still driving.

"Where are we going?" My head still hurts and so does my neck but i just let it be for the time being.

"To Illinois."

"And we are?"

"Four states and a half." I groan because that meant that i was going to be in this car for four more states. "Do you want something to eat?" I nodded because i'm actually hungry and all i ate was the hospital food. "Mcdonalds? Dennis? Or Subway?"

"Anywhere is fine, I guess." And honestly i didn't care because i was too hungry.

"Dennys it is." For some reason i noticed that he is glancing everywhere but i guess he just doesn't want to deal with the cops or something but why? "By the way. How old are you?"

"Twelve."

"Just great." What do you mean just great? I mean, you could leave me in foster care. "Change of plans, we're going somewhere else." Now i see why my parents didn't want us close to him, he changed his mind a lot.

We've driven for almost an hour and we still haven't stopped anywhere, it's almost like we're running away from something.

"Did you notice something strange in your mother?"

"What do you mean strange?" Aside from the frequent chicken heart stew?

"Like... midnight strolls? Sudden rage outbursts?Sudden isolation at times? Stuff like that." He shrugged his shoulders as he visibly started to relax.

"She was the same as usual." Why would he ask about her?

"Do you know what she was?" Dude. What's going on with him?

"She was a normal mother who was a therapist." He shifted gears in the car and slowed down to get out of the highway.

"So you didn't know about it?" He asked as he stopped at an intersection.

" Know about what?" He just raised his eyebrows as if saying "Wow". What is he talking about? I don't know but i want my parents and the simple thought of them being dead is just too much that it brings me to the verge of tears.

"Let's get something to eat." I think he saw my tears but we're both guys so i guess he won't say anything about them and i'm happy about that because whenever i cried my dad would be a jerk about it but my mom would sit next to me until i stopped. We drove for a while past houses and buildings until we parked in the parking lot of an Ihop."Let's wait them out." He patted my knee and sat back on his seat to wait until i stopped crying and honestly i'm thankful for that.

" What happened to my family?"

"I don't think you're ready for it." He put his head back and closed his eyes.

"I want to know what happened to my family. I need to know." I have to know because it's killing me.

"I'll tell you once we get to my house." He doesn't bother to look at me and look at my bewildered expression.

"No." I didn't mean to scream but i did. "I want to know now."

"No you don't, you're deep enough as it is." I want to grab is punny neck and shake him until he tells me.

" You don't understand." I almost growled. " Tell me what really happened to my family?"

"Armed robbery." That's it? How did my sisters and both of my parents end up dead? Or how did i end up like this? There are so many questions but i know that if i ask he won't tell me anything.

"Why won't you talk about it?"

"That's none of your business kid." He opens his eyes and for just one second i saw a glimpse of full black eyes but i guess it's just the angle i'm in right now. I sit inside the car while watching Adam go around the car to open the door for him.

"Thanks but you know you don't have to open the door for me?" I ask as i put my feet into the ground.

"Yeah but you got a sprained ankle and you haven't walked since we got out of the hospital." And sadly he is right because as soon as i stood on both feet my sprained ankle shot up with pain and both of my legs wouldn't hold me upright. "Easy there." He waited as i sit on the seat to wait for my legs to start working. "I would give you a painkiller but you're running on an empty stomach." He starts laughing as he watches me struggle with my sprained ankle.

"Do you really have to laugh at this?"

"Yeah, and it's more hilarious when you've been there." He moved aside to let me walk freely towards the restaurant.

"How come?" I asked curiously.

"Fell down from the second floor of a building."

"Was the window open or something?" He held the door open for me.

"Sort of."

"Hi. Welcome to Ihop." A smiling tall guy greeted us near the entrance. "Table for two?" Uncle Adam nodded and we were both led to a table with a full view into the street.

"Order whatever you want." He looked into his phone as our waitress left us alone to decide our menu.

"Are you going to eat?" He nodded as he handed me the menu while he was still looking at his phone until our waitress came.

"What's in your mind?" I shrugged my shoulders as i looked away from the window..

"Look." He leaned forward from across the table. "I'm going to babysit you until you leave my house. Which means that i'm responsible for whatever happens to you." Our waitress came back with our pancakes and drinks.

"Yeah. I know and nothing is bothering me." I don't know why but i don't want to bother him too much, i don't want him to call me a sissy or throw me away like garbage because honestly he's all i got left.

"Look." He stabbed his fork into his pancakes. "Not a single person who's just lost his whole family won't have anything bothering him, that's bull." I pour some maple syrup pancakes while sensing his eyes carefully deciphering me.

"Yeah, it's true. I miss my family and i want to know all of the truth as to why they were killed."

"And?" He urged me to go on.

"I don't want to bother you too much." As soon as those words had left my mouth i looked down at my sogging pancakes but i could feel his piercing glare on me.

"Just worry about yourself for now." He took a sip of coffee which gave me the sense that this conversation was over. For the rest of the time we spent eating we were also talking about foolish things like Batman wouldn't stand a chance against Ironman.