wasn’t that good. And how Sean helped to make sandwiches
and Riley shouldn’t be so hard on him.
“Stop!” He managed to
interrupt Jack in full flow.
“Riley?”
“Shh, just hold me.”
Jack slid hands under him
and held him, and all Riley could do was hang on and inhale the scent of his
husband. For now that was enough.
They separated a little so
that they could talk, but all Riley wanted was to look at Jack. For a time,
he’d thought he’d never see him again, and none of this there in the hospital
room seemed real.
A cough moved them apart,
but Riley gripped Jack’s hand. “Don’t leave,” he begged.
Jack squeezed his hand.
“Not going anywhere.”
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr.
Campbell-Hayes, my name is Dr. Stanlow. I just need to run through a few
things.” She flipped through a chart and nodded every so often. “Okay, so the
hospital in Nuevo León did a good job with your ankle. It’s fractured, but
we’ve set it and there shouldn’t be permanent damage. You should keep the cast
on and see your regular doctor about changing it out for a softer support.
Either way, with some PT, you should be as good as new in six to eight weeks.”
Riley flexed his legs and
put two and two together about why one felt so much heavier than the other. He
didn’t recall breaking anything. He just remembered the wound to his head.
Lifting a hand, he touched his forehead and encountered nothing but a raised
set of bumps.
She caught his movement. “We
were lucky you only needed some Steri-Strips on the cut. We’ve caught you up on
all your shots, and I’d like you to stay here one more night so I can run some
tests.”
“I’m not staying here,”
Riley said immediately.
“He’s staying,” Jack
interjected.
Riley turned his head
sharply to look at Jack and wished he hadn’t as nausea overwhelmed him. Jack held
his hair as he was embarrassingly sick in one of those stupid plastic bowls.
“One night, Riley, and I’ll
be staying with you,” he said. The doctor left, the nurse arrived to help him
clean up, and the entire time, Jack held his hand and said nothing. Only when
the nurse was gone did Jack release his hold. “I’ll get Hayley,” he said. Riley
wanted to call Jack back, he just wanted Jack. He wanted to tell him everything
about sitting in the dark and the pain and the sleeping and talking with Tom. And
the fact he’d killed a man. But when the door opened and a steady stream of visitors
descended, it was impossible to cover everything that had happened.
Hayley was in first,
climbing on him and hugging him close, Carol was at home with the twins and
Max, but there was his mom and dad, Eden, Sean, Jack’s family. Steadily he was
growing more and more tired, and words were getting hard to find. Finally it
was just Jack and Hayley, Jack on one side of his bed holding his hand and
Hayley cross-legged at the end chatting about another party she wanted to go
to.
“Were you scared, Daddy?” she
asked out of the blue.
Riley considered the
question carefully. He could be entirely honest. He could lie. Or he could just
redirect the entire thing.
“Everything happened so
fast, I didn’t have time to be scared,” he lied.
Jack squeezed his hand,
and Hayley smiled at the answer. She crawled up to kiss him good-bye, then left
to go home with Robbie who was outside the door.
“Bye, boss,” Robbie said
to Jack. “Good to have you back, Riley.” He left with Hayley, and it was just
Jack and him and the emptiness of the white room.
“I know you’re angry. You
told me not to go,” Riley began. He was sure any minute Jack was going to leap
in with an I told you so .
“Don’t do that,” Jack
began. He eased Riley over and managed to wriggle himself next to him on the
narrow bed. Anyone looking at the bed would not have put two grown men on it,
but somehow they managed it. “I’m not angry at you.”
Riley bit his lip. “You
have every right to be.”
Jack sighed and wriggled a
little
and Riley shouldn’t be so hard on him.
“Stop!” He managed to
interrupt Jack in full flow.
“Riley?”
“Shh, just hold me.”
Jack slid hands under him
and held him, and all Riley could do was hang on and inhale the scent of his
husband. For now that was enough.
They separated a little so
that they could talk, but all Riley wanted was to look at Jack. For a time,
he’d thought he’d never see him again, and none of this there in the hospital
room seemed real.
A cough moved them apart,
but Riley gripped Jack’s hand. “Don’t leave,” he begged.
Jack squeezed his hand.
“Not going anywhere.”
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr.
Campbell-Hayes, my name is Dr. Stanlow. I just need to run through a few
things.” She flipped through a chart and nodded every so often. “Okay, so the
hospital in Nuevo León did a good job with your ankle. It’s fractured, but
we’ve set it and there shouldn’t be permanent damage. You should keep the cast
on and see your regular doctor about changing it out for a softer support.
Either way, with some PT, you should be as good as new in six to eight weeks.”
Riley flexed his legs and
put two and two together about why one felt so much heavier than the other. He
didn’t recall breaking anything. He just remembered the wound to his head.
Lifting a hand, he touched his forehead and encountered nothing but a raised
set of bumps.
She caught his movement. “We
were lucky you only needed some Steri-Strips on the cut. We’ve caught you up on
all your shots, and I’d like you to stay here one more night so I can run some
tests.”
“I’m not staying here,”
Riley said immediately.
“He’s staying,” Jack
interjected.
Riley turned his head
sharply to look at Jack and wished he hadn’t as nausea overwhelmed him. Jack held
his hair as he was embarrassingly sick in one of those stupid plastic bowls.
“One night, Riley, and I’ll
be staying with you,” he said. The doctor left, the nurse arrived to help him
clean up, and the entire time, Jack held his hand and said nothing. Only when
the nurse was gone did Jack release his hold. “I’ll get Hayley,” he said. Riley
wanted to call Jack back, he just wanted Jack. He wanted to tell him everything
about sitting in the dark and the pain and the sleeping and talking with Tom. And
the fact he’d killed a man. But when the door opened and a steady stream of visitors
descended, it was impossible to cover everything that had happened.
Hayley was in first,
climbing on him and hugging him close, Carol was at home with the twins and
Max, but there was his mom and dad, Eden, Sean, Jack’s family. Steadily he was
growing more and more tired, and words were getting hard to find. Finally it
was just Jack and Hayley, Jack on one side of his bed holding his hand and
Hayley cross-legged at the end chatting about another party she wanted to go
to.
“Were you scared, Daddy?” she
asked out of the blue.
Riley considered the
question carefully. He could be entirely honest. He could lie. Or he could just
redirect the entire thing.
“Everything happened so
fast, I didn’t have time to be scared,” he lied.
Jack squeezed his hand,
and Hayley smiled at the answer. She crawled up to kiss him good-bye, then left
to go home with Robbie who was outside the door.
“Bye, boss,” Robbie said
to Jack. “Good to have you back, Riley.” He left with Hayley, and it was just
Jack and him and the emptiness of the white room.
“I know you’re angry. You
told me not to go,” Riley began. He was sure any minute Jack was going to leap
in with an I told you so .
“Don’t do that,” Jack
began. He eased Riley over and managed to wriggle himself next to him on the
narrow bed. Anyone looking at the bed would not have put two grown men on it,
but somehow they managed it. “I’m not angry at you.”
Riley bit his lip. “You
have every right to be.”
Jack sighed and wriggled a
little
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