Page 127 of Jackass

I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

“Come on, brother. Another one,” Blade encouraged.

I did it again. And then, I did it again.

My heart was no longer thumping in my ears. My breaths were coming slowly and steadily.

“I’m ok,” I said.

Not sure if Blade believed me. Not sure if I did, either.

“I’m ok,” I repeated. “I’m ok.”

Maybe if I said it enough, we would all believe it. Blade leaned back, his arm releasing my throat, but holding me against the wall. My shoulders slumped.

“I’m ok,” I said one last time, and he stepped back.

I slid down the wall until my ass hit the floor. My knees came up and my arms rested on them. My head hung between my arms, and I just sat there, numb.

Sammy sat beside me. She didn’t touch me except to lay herhead against my shoulder.

“I swear I didn’t know, Jack.”

I lifted my head to look at her. The tears in her eyes fell silently. I tilted my head to lay it against hers.

“I know, baby. I know.”

I looked over at Patch. “What does this mean? Can you tell if we share a mother or father?”

“Jack, a fifty percent match means you are full siblings. You have the same mother and father,” Patch explained.

I closed my eyes and banged the back of my head against the wall.

“Fuck.”

“I know this is a lot right now, Jack, but we have more we have to talk about,” King said.

“Go ahead, it can’t get any worse, right?”

King looked at Nav. I closed my eyes again.

“Just fucking tell me.”

Sammy wrapped her arm around mine, scooting as close as she could. I placed my hand over hers.

“Nav did a deep dive on Derek after Patch told us. Derek was raised by Luther and Delilah Reynolds. He was six years old when you were born and left at the firehouse.”

“So they kept him and threw me away.”

I always knew I wasn’t wanted. I told myself that maybe my mother was just young and scared and didn’t know what to do.

“Jack, we don’t think she threw you away. We think she gave you up to save you,” King said.

My eyes snapped to his. “What?”

“Nav found police reports. A lot of them. Your father beat her, Jack. Her and Derek. We believe she got you out of the house and left you at that firehouse with no information, so that Luther couldn’t hurt you.”

“Derek told me his father beat him and his mother. I always wondered why he would do that to me after what he went through, and what he saw your mother go through.”