Friday November 14th
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA
This was not how Rage had planned to spend the rest of the week off from any activities in SCW. He absolutely hated hospitals, and to be quite honest, he had no real reason to make the trip all the way out to Boston to even be here. But he had.
After stepping out of the elevator on the fifth floor Boston’s top rated hospital, he thinks about this newest situation in his head. He ignores all the nervous stares from staff members as well as patients. Due to his large size, he normally elicits many stares and glances anywhere he goes, but the frustrated and intimidating look on his face today did not help his situation any.
He walks up to the nurse’s station and the nurse in charge greets him with a friendly smile. He doesn’t even give her a chance to ask who he is visiting, as he answers the question.
Rage: Can you point me in the direction of Phillip Sullivan’s room?
She looks through her clipboard of the list of patient’s rooms, finding his and she looks back up at Rage.
Nurse: Only immediate family is allowed in the room. Are you immediate family?
Rage: Uhh…yeah…I’m his brother.
Nurse: Can I have your name? I have a list of family members here who are permitted in the room.
Rage rolls his eyes and sighs. He knows he has to give her his birth name.
Rage: Jake Sullivan.
The nurse glances down at the list and nods.
Nurse: Your brother is in room 5026. That’s at the very end of the hall to your right.
Rage only gives her a thankful nod before heading down the hall. He passes all of the other rooms; some empty and some occupied, until he reaches the last room. He doesn’t go inside right away, instead standing just outside, looking in through a large window. The blind isn’t drawn down and he can see that his sister, Ashley, is currently in the room, seated at their brother’s bedside. He knocks on the window, getting Ashley’s attention. She looks up and immediately heads over to the door.
As soon as Ashley steps out of the room, a distraught look on her face, she doesn’t even hesitate to hold her arms out and she just hugs Rage. It takes him by surprise and he holds his arms out awkwardly.
Ashley: I didn’t think you were going to come.
Ashley backs away, looking up at Rage. He is scratching the back of his head awkwardly and glances into Phillip’s room again.
Rage: Uhh…Yeah. I really shouldn’t have, given how the asshole treated me a couple weeks ago.
Ashley: Jake, please. Now is not the time. I know things got a little heated after Dad’s funeral, but Phillip needs us right now.
Rage: Look, I don’t really understand how the hell he needs me because he made it very clear that day that he wanted nothing to do with me.
Rage tries his best to talk in a hushed voice, but his tone is still louder than most.
Ashley: We can talk about that later.
Rage: No, we need to talk about it now. What the fuck happened? I wasn’t expecting him to be on the damn Intensive Care floor…
Rage snaps at Ashley through clenched teeth. She lets out an exhausted sigh as she shakes her head.
Ashley: I know. I should have told you, but I wanted to explain in person. I couldn’t explain what happened over the phone.
Rage: Alright. I’m listening.
Ashley sighs, but to keep their privacy, she leads Rage inside Phillip’s room. Rage goes reluctantly and Ashley quietly closes the door behind her. Rage chooses not to look at his brother yet, but he can hear the gentle beeping from the heart monitor.
Ashley: Ok…I think you know that judging by the last time you saw Phillip, he was very angry and upset.
Rage: Gee, ya think?
Ashley: We all were, Jake. But Phillip has had his issues most of his life…
Rage: Would you get to the damn point already?
Ashley sighs and looks at her youngest brother in the bed before she looks back to Rage.
Ashley: He…he tried to kill himself.
Rage lowers his head and shakes it.
Rage: Geez, he really thinks he had a shit life doesn’t he? At least he wasn’t just tossed away like unwanted garbage.
Ashley: Jake…Please, stop. None of us had it easy. Especially not you and Phillip, but I’m trying to fix this family…or whatever is left of it.
Rage: Newsflash, lady…There hasn’t been shit left in a long time. Your piece of shit parents threw that away.
Ashley shakes her head and fights back tears. She looks past Rage at her unconscious younger brother in the hospital bed.
Ashley: They’re your parents, too Jake..
Rage steps closer to Ashley, getting directly in her face. He breathes heavily out of frustration.
Rage: First, I’m not going to warn you again to stop calling me that name. And second…they’re not my parents. They gave up that chance when I was ten years old. And judging by the condition of little Phil over there, they weren’t much of parents to him either. It seems like you were the golden child of the family.
Ashley: You think I don’t know that? Do you really think I feel good knowing how hard you and Phillip had it when you were kids? Before Dad died he confided in me…he told me things that I never knew and as I already said…I’m trying to fix things.
Rage laughs and backs away. He still refuses to turn around and look at his brother.
Rage: Did you ever stop to think that maybe you can’t fix this shit? Sooner or later, I’m going to get the answers I’m looking for, and I can promise you that once I do, I’m done with this so called family of yours. You won’t be able to fix what that father of yours did, Ashley, so quit fucking trying.
Ashley is about to respond, but her cell phone starts ringing. She walks over to her purse and takes it out of her purse, wiping away a tear from her eye.
Ashley: It’s mom. I need to take this out in the hall.
Rage: I can’t be here alone with—
Ashley: He’s not going to wake up any time soon. He’s heavily sedated.
Ashley rushes out of the room to take her mother’s phone call, leaving Rage with no other choice but to stay in the room with his little brother. He stands where he is for a moment with his back still facing his brother’s bed and he just listens to the beeping of the heart monitor and nothing else. After a few moments, he finally turns around to look at Phillip, and the look on his face sinks a little.
He didn’t really know Phillip; that much was clear. But they were connected by blood, and clearly Phillip’s life wasn’t as easy as Rage had first thought after finding out they were all still alive. He slowly approaches Phillips bedside and he just stares at him. And he gets angry. But not at Phillip.
No. He couldn’t feel angry at his younger brother.
But he was soon consumed with anger and fury for his parents.
Rage: Fuck…what did these people do to you?!
He stares at Phillip as he breathes slowly. He has the nasal cannula, helping him with oxygen and he’s hooked up to several IVs, but that is not what catches Rage’s attention the most. Both of Phillip’s arms are restrained to the bed even though he is clearly in no condition to put up any sort of fight.
Rage sits in the chair next to Phillip and leans forward on his knees. He keeps his eyes on his brother as the regret over their confrontation at their father’s funeral consumes him. Rage cracks his knuckles before he speaks to his brother, hoping he can hear him.
Rage: I’m not going to let Ashley try and fix this. I don’t care what the fuck I have to do, kid…I’M going to fix this. For both of us…
Rage’s nostrils flare as he turns his head and looks out of the room. He watches as Ashley paces back and forth as she talks to their mother and he knows deep down that there is something Ashley still wasn’t telling him.
But he was going to find out…
