CHAPTER 4

Two days couldn't have passed by any slower. After constant monitoring and testing, they finally discharged me. My mom, Alex, and Donny can change my bandages at home, so I only need to go back to the hospital once a week for them to check my stitches. Having my healing speed lowered sucks. Not only does it take me longer to heal, but I have to be even more cautious about what I do, and I'm in pain for a longer time. However, I'm just glad that I'm home. After spending most of my childhood in hospitals, I hate them with a passion.

Once I was home, my mom decided to have a party to celebrate. She invited Mr. Deus and his family, as well as Amber and Jacob. When everyone arrived, we feasted on barbecued ribs, mashed potatoes, fruit and veggie platters, and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cookies. My dad surprised me by setting up karaoke on the TV in the living room. Everyone had a blast singing to songs that they knew, and before I knew what was happening, my sister pulled me up to the microphone.

She smiled before walking away. That traitor! As I was grudgingly scrolling through my playlists to find a song, Josh already had one playing for me. I gave him a glare. It was Tá Mé I by SayWeCanFly. Taking a deep breath, I started singing.

I didn't usually sing in front of others because I didn't want to give them something else to judge me on. But as my voice filled the room, I saw everyone with shocked expressions. My voice held the emotions of the song, and they all felt it. In the song, it says Tá mé i ngrá leat which is Irish for I am in love with you. When they asked me to sing another song, I chose The Art of Anesthesia which was also by SayWeCanFly. However, due to the pain in my ribs, I was unable to. Sitting down in a chair, I took more pain medicine and took some shallow breaths. As the evening continued, everyone had fun.

Sunday passed by quickly, and, before I knew it, it was Monday. I decided to go to school, and I had a note from Donny, my attending doctor, to be excused from PE. Walking through the doors of the school with my brothers, it felt like more people were staring at me than normal. Amber, Jacob, and Marcus took it upon themselves to walk with us to all our classes, even if we didn't share them. They were all overly protective right now because, even if two of them didn't know, I'm more at risk of losing control over Nightmare and Magnis now that I'm injured.

Everyone has a Fight or Flight response, but shifters lean more towards fighting. AP World History and Algebra easy. In History, we finished our essays. I had finished mine while I was hospitalized, so I just started drawing my picture for Art. The concept for this one was animals. We could choose any that we wanted, real or fantasy, so I decided to draw Magnis. Nightmare was a little jealous that I didn't pick him, but it was easier to explain a Dragon than a Ten-Tailed Wolf. In Algebra, I got caught up on my missed work, and by the end of the class, I didn't want to see any kind of formula again.

As we got to the cafeteria, we grabbed our trays and headed to our usual table outside. Sitting down, Amber asked a question that I wasn't expecting, but I should have. "Andrew, if possible, could you sing again?" It was such a simple question, and I smiled at it. Nodding my head yes, I chose a softer song by SayWeCanFly called By The River. As I sang, people who were walking by stopped and listened. By their expressions I could tell that they didn't expect me to be able to sing. My brothers and I were all musically talented. Josh and Damian played the guitars, Adam played the bass, Dominic played drums, and I could sing, play the piano as well as the violin. Music became an escape for me. It was how I coped with everything starting from after my first kidnapping.

As I finished the song, the crowd that had gathered started clapping. I jumped at the sudden loud noise, and my eyes quickly flashed emerald green. Josh looked at me concerned, and I quickly signed that I was okay. Everyone in my family knew ASL, since there were instances after a kidnapping where I wasn't able to talk.

"You were amazing! You should totally take chorus next semester!" One student from the crowd said.

"Screw that! He should join my band! We need a vocalist!" Another female student exclaimed.

"Actually, he's already in a band with us." Josh said before things got too crazy.

""Really? What's your band called?" The band girl asked.

Josh looked at me before responding. "Dragon's Blood."

As the crowd left, I looked at Josh. "When did we form a band and named it Dragon's Blood?" I raised an eyebrow while I waited for his reply.

"Just now." He replied. "Look, Andrew. Adam, the twins, you, and I all know how to play different instruments. And your voice is amazing! Besides, it just saved you from being ripped apart by those that took a sudden interest in you." When he said it like that, it made sense. Sigh. Guess we're a band now.

When it came time for PE, I didn't bother changing my clothes. After I gave the teacher my doctor's note, I sat on the bleachers with my small group. Taking out my sketchbook, I started drawing a different picture. It was the head of a black dragon with smoke coming out of it's nostrils and blood red eyes. The teacher said that it was a free period, so my group and I didn't move from our spot. Looking over my shoulder, Adam saw the picture.

"What's that for? If that's the assignment for Art, I don't think the teacher will accept it." Adam said as I colored in the eyes.

"Since we're now a band, don't we need a logo?" I replied, looking at him. That got the attention of the others. When I showed them the picture, they all fell in love with it. We now had a logo, and one step closer to making the band official.

When we got home after school that day, we were still talking about the band. Because of my injuries, my training sessions are currently postponed. So far we knew what positions we would play in, had a logo, and a genre of music to sing, which was Rock and Alternative. I wanted to write some of my own songs as well as do covers of songs from other bands. Sitting at the table with everyone, including Amber, Jacob, and Marcus, I started writing.

Why is life so hard

Why does it weigh us down

I don't understand why

We have to go through this

Anger, sadness, anxiety

There are so many emotions

It overwhelms us

Pain, disease, death

Why does it happen?

Why is life so hard

Why does it happen

Life sucks then we die

This is the motto I live by

Too much pain

Too much stress

Why do we have to

Feel so much

I'm tired

I'm overwhelmed

All I want is to be free

No more pain

No more disease

No more death

This is what I wish

But I know it will never be

Because no matter

How hard I try

Life will always be to hard

And it will always weigh us down

But no matter

How hard it gets

I will spread my wings

And take to the sky

I will embrace

All that life gives

Feel and experience everything

But still be free

To be me

At the top of the page, I wrote LIFE. Showing it to the others, they all silently read it. With a smile, Josh turned to me. "You just made it official! I don't know about the others, but I can definitely write a guitar piece to go with this." Looking at Adam and Dominic, because I knew that Damian would go with what Josh would suggest, I saw them both nod. The band was official.

When mom got home, she saw all of us still at the table talking. Coming up to us, she asked what we were doing and we told her. She was so happy that she invited Amber, Jacob, and Marcus to stay for dinner, and then told dad the news when he got home as well. The house was lively again that night, and mom reminded me to just take it easy for right now. From what Donny told me, it would take at least two months for me to fully recover, and everyone was making sure I didn't push myself too hard.

After dinner we all went to the living room to watch a movie. As Ghost Rider was playing, mom brought in the First-Aid kit to change my bandages. She asked if I wanted to go to a different room, but I declined. I've spent enough time with everyone that I didn't think they would judge the scars I have on my back and torso. When my mom helped ease me out of my shirt and started unraveling the bandages, Amber and Jacob gasped.

I chose to ignore it for right now and focused on my mom. She was cleaning the stitches with disinfectant swabs and it burned. Gritting my teeth, I leaned my head on the back of the couch. When she was done, I sat up so that she could wrap the clean bandages around me. Taking a breath, I telepathically talked to my parents. Mom, dad, I would like to show Amber and Jacob my secret. Before getting mad, I have a reason. I added quickly when I saw the look in my dad's eyes. I don't know what, but they aren't human. Nightmare and Magnis both say that they are also a shifter. They are the ones that want to show them. I don't know why they want to do it, but they've been bugging me about it for a while now. And I know that I can't fully shift due to my injuries, but I can still do partial shifts. After explaining why I wanted to do this, my parents nodded. They believed that Nightmare and Magnis wouldn't do anything to put me into danger.