The sight had Jett and Matt recoiling in fear.
The smell hit them first. Metallic. Thick. Blood. So much blood.
Jamie was kneeling on the floor beside his brother. His hands, small and trembling, slick with red, pressed desperately over Jace's stomach.
The boy was pale, barely conscious, breaths coming in short, shallow bursts.
It had Jett recalling an unwanted, buried memory. He remembered that day very clearly, the day his mother died.
The smell of iron and bleach.
Red spreading across white tiles.
His mother trying to smile even as she told him not to look.
It had just been three of them alone at home that night. Him, Layla, and their mother. Layla was already fast asleep when he heard the scream, he immediately ran downstairs to find his mother in a pool of blood.
The state of the living room was in disarray. Vases broken, the couches flipped over, and the door left ajar to let the cold air of the night rush in.
He'd immediately crouched down beside his mother, pressing his hands on the wound, just like they were taught in school. But it didn't seem like it was helping, his mother's face was white as sheet.
She was barely breathing. And when his father had returned home to that scene that night, he'd seen something he had never seen before.
Horror. It was written over his father's face, they had immediately called the ambulance, but it was too late. His mother had died before they even reached the hospital.
He still blamed himself till today, cause what if he had been there sooner, maybe he wouldn't have been able to fight the people who caused it, but at least he would've tried.
Matt voice snapped him out of his head.
"Jesus Christ, Jamie, what happened?" Matt choked out.
Jamie looked up, eyes wide and glassy. He looked nothing like the mouthy boy from the café or the mall. Jamie looked nothing like boy he'd know for the past few weeks. His face was pale, streaked with tears and panic.
His chest heaved like he couldn't breathe, and his hands, his trembling hands, were smeared with red. His sleeves, too. Crimson stains bloomed across his shirt, sharp against the pale fabric.
"Matt, please, I don't know what to do!" He cried, tears screaming down his face.
The sound tore through Jett like a punch. He'd seen plenty of chaos in fight clubs, blood on the mat, split lips, cracked ribs, but this wasn't that. This was wrong. How did hell did this even happen?.
He stepped forward automatically, crouching beside Jamie. His brain screamed don't, but his hands were already pressing over Jamie, increasing the pressure on the wound, the boy was losing too much blood.
Jett didn't want this to happen to him, twice. He promised himself he'd do everything he could
Jamie flinched but didn't move away. 'He-he's bleeding so much." he whispered, voice trembling. "He just collapsed, I-I don't know what to do-"
"How did this happen?" Matt asked, his tone hard with panic.
Jamie's eyes darted toward the door. "There was this man. He said he was a delivery guy, for pizza, but Jace kept arguing, said we didn't order anything. Then, then it just-he pulled something out-" His breath hitched. "He stabbed him. He just- ran."
Matt's face drained of color.
Jett couldn't help but realized how similar this situation was to his.
"Oh god." Jamie whispered, staring down at his brother:s face. 'I think- he's-oh god."
"Hey, hey." Jett muttered, his voice rough but steady. "Breathe. You're okay. Just breathe."
Jamie's head lifted, eyes locking on his. Fear burned there, bright and raw, and something inside Jett twisted painfully.
"Please." Jamie whispered, the words trembling out of him. "Help my brother."
"Matt," Jett said quietly, without looking away. "Call an ambulance."
Matt fumbled for his phone, voice shaking as he gave the address.
Jett heard footsteps pounding towards them from outside, then a voice calling out.
"Matt? What's going on?"
It was Charles, Matt's younger brother. He stopped cold in the doorway at the sight, Jace bleeding out on the floor, Jamie trembling in Jett's arms.
"Holy shit." Charles breathed. "What the hell happened?"
"Stay back." Matt said quickly. "Ambulance is coming."
But Charles didn't. He crouched down beside Jace, eyes wide, panic creeping into his voice. "Jace, hey-hey, stay with us, man, okay?"
Jace coughed, a wet sound that made Jamie sob harder. "Don't worry," he rasped weakly, blood staining his teeth. "I'll be okay."
"Shut up, you idiot." Jamie cried, pressing harder on the wound. His voice cracked under the weight of it.
Jett swallowed hard, forcing down the lump in his throat. He pressed his hands over Jamie's, steadying the pressure against Jace's wound.
"Keep holding." he said lowly.
Jamie nodded, tears blurring his vision. His entire body shook, his breaths uneven, but he didn't move. He stayed locked on his brother's face, whispering things Jett couldn't hear.
Outside, the sirens grew louder closer, until red and blue lights flashed through the windows.
"Over here!" Matt shouted, running to open the door.
Paramedics rushed in seconds later, their movements swift and practiced. They lifted Jace carefully, stabilizing the bleeding, their voices calm and clipped.
Jamie tried to follow, but Jett caught him again, pulling him back before he could stumble into the chaos.
"Let them work." he said, softer this time.
"He's all I have." Jamie sobbed.
"I know." Jett said quietly. He didn't, but somehow, he did.
As the paramedics carried Jace out, Jamie finally broke, his legs giving out. Jett caught him again, holding him up, his shirt now streaked with blood that wasn't his.
Charles lingered by the doorway, wide-eyed and pale, watching as the ambulance doors closed.
Matt stood beside him, phone still in hand, looking like he'd forgotten how to breathe.
Soon enough, Matt broke out of the trance. "Come on guys let's go." He said as he went to start his car.
And they were on their way, tailing the ambulance that carried Jace. Matt and Charles sat at the front.
At the back, Jett sat with Jamie, holding his trembling, crying form, still whispering his brother's name like a prayer, and all he could think was that this boy had no business breaking his heart like this.