Night Fury: Second Act by Belle Aurora

monitor him till I get there. I’ll call an ambulance.”
    I’m suddenly scared. “Bob…”
    “If need be, I’ll petition for custody of Tomas.”
    I close my eyes in relief. “Thank you.”
    A pause. “You’re welcome, sweetie.” A sigh. “Make sure the dickhead doesn’t kill himself in the meantime. He owes me. And I’m going to collect.”
    I’m almost scared to ask. But I don’t.
    Instead, I do as I’m told, and wait for the ambulance.

Chapter Eighteen

    The ambulance arrives just as Xavier begins to wake. The medics walk into the house as I kneel by his head and stroke his hair. As he looks up at me, he smiles distantly. “I like this dream.”
    I scowl and knock a knuckle onto his forehead. “This isn’t a dream, bonehead . You were passed out cold. I couldn’t wake you so I called an ambulance.”
    He blinks a moment before his eyes widen in fear. His body stiffens. “Where’s Tom as?”
    I want to be cruel and tell him Tom as is dead. I want for him to have the life scared out of him so maybe he thinks hard the next time he picks up a needle, or joint, or even a bottle. Instead, I look down at him and mutter, “I couldn’t find him when I got here. He wasn’t in the house.”
    He tries to sit up but I hold him down by the shoulders. One of the medics holds out a hand . “Easy there. You’re okay now.”
    But he booms in panic, “Where the fuck is my brother?”
    I stroke his forehead in a soothing gesture. “He’s okay. He was at the library. I called. Clark picked him up and they’re at the church.” My fingers pause. “ By the way, Father Robert wants a word with you.”
    The smaller male medic asks, “Sir, can you tell me if you’ ve taken any non-prescription substances today?”
    Xavier looks at the medic. His breathing heavies and his eyes dart back and forth. He looks up at me, distressed. “I couldn’t sleep. I just wanted to get some sleep. I was so tired.”
    Running my thumbs down his temples, I ask, “Okay. What did you take to help you sleep?”
    “I smoked some pot. That’s all. I swear.” From the pleading look in his eyes, I can tell he’s being honest.
    The medics aren’t so convinced. They eye each other when one asks cautiously, “Sir, if you’ve taken anything else, we need to know about it. Anything we give you could have an adverse effect if you’ve taken something more. You need to be honest with us. No one here is judging you.”
    Speak for yourself.
    He doesn’t bother looking at them. He seems to only have eyes for me at this moment. “Nothing more, Cat. I swear.”
    “I believe you.” He breathes a sigh of relief, but I don’t let him get away that easily. “But it’s not me you have to convince.”
    A medic states, “Sir, we’d like to take you in, make sure all your vitals are normal—”
    Xavier’s eyes flash. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m awake now. I’m fine. You can leave now.”
    The other medic starts, “Sir, you have the right to refuse treatment, but for the sake of your own safety, I’d advise you to come with us-”
    “No ,” is said so harshly, I still.
    The medics look to me for support. I suppose I should at least try. “Xavier, you worried me. For a second there, I was scared you were dead. Please let them look you over.”
    He suddenly looks torn. After a moment’s contemplation, he utters to the medics, “You can look me over right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
    Stubborn mule of a man.
    I watch the medics measure his blood pressure, shine lights into his eyes and ask him questions. As they’re packing up to leave, Xavier reaches out to touch my hand. Unconsciously, I move closer to his now seated position on the sofa. We look into each other a long while before he mutters, “You were scared.”
    I don’t respond. I was more angry than scared. But, yes, I was scared. For a split second.
    He continues, “If you were scared this time, how many other times has Tomas been scared? No wonder he was