Pixley awoke in a hospital bed in the ICU. Her mom was sitting next to her. "Mom? What happened?"
Her mom looked at her. "I don't know. Joel said you were bleeding and then you passed out. Then Heather called me."
Pixley smiled. "They are too good to me. My side hurts."
"Heather offered to have you stay with her. I think it might be a good idea to get you away from your father for a while."
"But Mom. What about you?" Pixley tried to sit up on the bed.
"I'll be fine. You just go stay with Heather. But why didn't you tell me the gash was that bad?"
Pixley sighed. "I didn't want to worry you."
"Well you did. And your friends. Benjiman carried you three blocks when they saw Heather."
"Benji." Pixley smiled. "Where are they?"
"In the waiting room." Her mom smiled.
Joel paced the waiting room; Benji held Heathers hand. "I can't just wait here."
"You have to. The doctors and nurses are mean here." Heather said.
They waited in the waiting room for about half an hour before they were told anything. When they were told some part of imformation it was from Pixley's mom.
"So, how did it happen?" Joel asked.
"She didn't fall out of bed and land on something. She lies to us way too much." Benji sighed.
Heather shook her head. "It's because of Roy, isn't it, Mom?" Heather felt funny calling her Mrs McKenzie or Barbera so she called her Mom.
"Yeah." She nodded.
"So? Are the scars on Pix's arms from Roy? Or is that self inflicted?" Joel asked.
"What scars?" Benji looked at his brother confused.
Heather sighed. "Mom. You need to get you and Pixley out of that house."
"Will someone please answer me?" Joel was close to jumping up and down.
"Shut up!" Benji told his impatient brother. "Is she OK?"
"She lost a lot of blood over the night."
"Oh God." Joel sat on the floor and put his head in his hands.
"When can she go home?" Heather was worried, Benji could tell by the tone of her voice.
"A day or so."
~
When Joel and Benji got home Joel just sat on his bed looking at the dried blood on his shaking hands.
"Joel, dude, stop worrying. She'll be OK." Joel turned his back to his twin and faced the wall. "You're fallin' for her. Aren't ya?"
"Why do you care?"
"Because I care, because I love you. Because it's a must. Because, BECAUSE YOU NEED CLEAN SOCKS!"
Joel tried not to smile and looked at his brother. "Shut up." He threw his pillow at Benji.
"Oooh. Now you're gonna get it." He lunged for his brother. Joel moved and Benji flopped on the bed. "Twit." Benji looked down at his white shirt. It wasn't all white anymore. His shirt had Pixley's dried blood all over.
"So, what do you think happened to Pix?"
"I don't know. Heather said that Roy was her dad and he's always drunk and he's very..." He paused trying to remember what Heather had said. "Abusive, I guess."
~
Heather sat in the hospital next to Pixley. "How'd it happen, Pix?"
"Dad was swinging a butcher knife around and I got too close."
"Are you OK?"
"I'm fine. I just miss Joel and Benji. But I'll be back in school by Monday. I hope."
"You will. You just have to stay outta gym and track. What other stranuouse classes do you have?"
"That's all. Then of course I play ball with you. But we can screw that for a while."
Heather smiled. "Yeah I'll just play with the twins while you sit watch and write in that silly duct taped book of yours."
"It's not silly. It's freakish, like me." Pixley smiled and looked at the phone by the bed.
"You wanna call him, don'tcha?"
Pixley came back to reality and looked at Heather. "What?"
"Never mind." Heather laughed.
~
Joel layed on his bed looking at the ceiling. He eventually fell asleep. Benji grinned at his sleeping twin. Grabbing a black marker he drew glasses on Joel.
"Joel! Benji! Dinner!" Sarah called into their room as she passed by.
Joel awoke and saw his brother, marker in hand. He glared at Benji and pushed him off the bed. "I hate when you do this." He went to the bathroom and tried to wash off the marker. It didn't all come off.
"I only do it cause I love ya, bro." Benji laughed, passing by the bathroom.
Joel sat next to Benji at the table. "Hey four eyes." He laughed.
Josh smacked Benji upside the head. "Be nice."
"Mom, Josh just hit me."
Joel laughed.
"Don't hit your brother." Their mom was dishing up dinner.
"Joel, why do you have marker glasses?" Sarah asked.
