WPFAAT, Chapter 20
I don't know what the deal was with this chapter. Maybe I'm subconsciously resisting writing because with every chapter I get closer to finishing this?
Jack’s eyes were gritty. He was exhausted. It was one in the morning and he was running out of gas. He’d been running out of gas steadily over the drive (somehow that happened every time he drove) and had been thus far ignoring it. The only thought he had room for in his brain was drivedrivedrivegettoBobbydrive.
But he didn’t have much of a choice now-there was no way he’d make it the rest of the way if he didn’t get gas now. He figured it’d be better to stop for ten minutes than be stranded for hours. After he gassed up and bought the biggest cup of coffee he could find, he hesitated at the pay phone. Should he call home? Would anyone be home? He kept walking. They wouldn’t be home. Or they’d be asleep. He didn’t want to wake them.
He didn’t want to admit to himself that he was too scared of what he might hear.
He got to the hospital at two thirty. He had to walk through the urgent care entrance because it was the only door unlocked. He limped up to the admitting desk, the leg that he’d broken when he was thirteen aching horribly from the long drive.
“Hello,” she said kindly. “Do you need a doctor?” She pitched her voice high and she had pity in her eyes. It took Jack a minute to realize that she thought he was deranged-he was limping, his eyes were half closed, and his hair was standing on end.
“Uh-” He had to clear his throat because it’d been so long since he’d last spoken. “Bobby Twist.”
“Excuse me?”
“What room is Bobby Twist in? Please? Ma’am?” He was practically begging.
“That’s confidential.”
“I’m his father.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “Do you have ID?”
He showed her his driver’s license. She still looked dubious.
“I thought his father was already in there with him.”
“What?” Jack had been looking around, as if Bobby might suddenly pop out of a room.
“If you’re his father, who’s that man in there?”
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Ennis woke up suddenly. He didn’t know, at first, what had woken him. And then he heard it-the most beautiful sound he could possibly hear at that moment. He heard Jack’s voice. He staggered to his feet, back stiff from sleeping in a chair, and missed the door handle the first time he tried to open it.
“Jack!”
Jack turned immediately. “Ennis!”
They met each other halfway between the desk and Bobby’s room, catching each other in a desperate embrace. Jack’s eyes were dry, but his breath was coming out in heaves.
“Where’s Bobby?” Jack managed to gasp. Ennis steered him toward the room, their arms still around each other. Walking was a little awkward. The nurse probably didn’t think anything of it-she worked at a hospital and probably saw tons of embraces just like theirs. But just then, neither Jack nor Ennis cared one bit what the nurse thought.
Ennis paused just before they went in the door, holding Jack back for a second. He knew Jack was eager to go in and see Bobby, but Ennis was afraid of what Jack would see. Bobby looked pretty bad. But Jack kept going. Luckily, the room was dark, so the damage wasn’t immediately noticeable.
Jack rushed to the chair by Bobby’s head-the chair Ennis hadn’t left in hours. But even as he did so, he pulled the chair next to it up close to the bed with him for Ennis. He grabbed Bobby’s hand and reached for Ennis’s with his other. Ennis squeezed Jack’s hand tightly, readying himself for Jack’s reaction.
“How bad is it?” Jack whispered. He could see the bruises on Bobby’s face, the broken nose, all the tubes he was hooked up to…it looked bad. He’d been on the verge of tears for the last five hours, and several finally spilled down his cheeks.
“Um…concussion, broken collar bone, re-broke his arm, fractured hip, broken ribs, and a punctured lung.”
“Oh, God.” Jack moaned softly.
“But the doctor said he’s going to be okay.”
Jack turned to Ennis quickly. “Are you sure?”
“Sure.”
Jack had to let go of Bobby’s hand and Ennis’s hand so he could use both his hands to grab Ennis’s face and kiss him as hard as he possibly could.
“Now tell me what happened.” Jack commanded. Their lips were still mostly pressed together, because, really, it took a lot to convince their lips not to be pressed together.
“It was James Kent.” Ennis spat the name, hands clenching into angry fists. “Had a flat tire and Bobby stopped to help. He stopped to help, Jack! Thought doing good was supposed to get you good. Not a fucking tire iron to your head.”
Jack gasped a little at Ennis’s phrasing, and Ennis apologetically squeezed his hand. Jack took a deep breath. “Where is he?”
“Skipped town.” Ennis said bitterly. “Cops’ll prob’ly never find him.”
“He better hope the cops find him ‘fore I do.” Jack hissed from between his clenched teeth. Ennis nodded his agreement, rubbing circles on Jack’s hand. After a few minutes of quiet, Jack’s eyes were drooping. The adrenaline surge was fading fast and leaving him more exhausted than ever. As he was drifting off, Jack asked drowsily,
“Where’s Junior?”
“Kurt took her home.” Ennis’s voice was slow and sleepy.
“They’re alone at home?” Jack regretted asking it as soon as he said it. Ennis was going to freak. Instead, he just felt Ennis’s shoulder-which Jack was using as a pillow-rise and fall in a shrug. “Well, they won’t get into any trouble.” Jack reassured them both. “Junior’s smart, and Kurt’s a good kid.”
The last thing Jack heard before falling asleep was Ennis answer, “Yeah, he is.”
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Someone was snoring beside Bobby’s bed. More than one someone, actually. And he would’ve cared who, he really would’ve, if he hadn’t been a little blinded by pain. He felt like someone was taking a chisel to his skull and trying to break in. His arm was full of stabbing pain, his left hip was throbbing, and he felt like a horse was sitting on his chest. Plus, there was a tube in his nose and a needle in his forearm. He didn’t even try to stop the whimper of pain that forced its way through his scabbed lips.
“Bobby?” It was his dad. He didn’t remember his dad being there. Wait, he remembered…his dad had been there. Ennis had been there. But this was Jack’s voice. Having two fathers and a concussion was confusing the hell out of Bobby. He wrenched his eyes open and saw both fathers staring down at him wearing matching expressions of relief mingled with panic.
“Bobby!” That was Ennis this time, tear tracks on his face. Bobby had never seen Ennis cry. What had he been crying about? Oh, right. Bobby was in the hospital.
“I need…” Bobby was amazed at how fast he ran out of air. Talking was hard work. He struggled to breathe for a minute. It’d help if that stupid horse would get off of him. “…Drugs.” He finally gasped out.
He hadn’t even finished his sentence before Jack was picking up the remote, trying to figure out which button got the nurse in there. He was afraid to try pushing any of them, in case one folded the bed in half like he’d seen on TV. That would undoubtedly hurt Bobby. He decided to forget the stupid remote and ran to the door instead.
“Hey!” He called out to the nurses. “My son’s awake and he’s in pain and someone better get him some goddamn drugs!”
A nurse appeared seconds later, frowning at him. “There’s a buzzer.” She snipped.
“Well how’re we supposed to know how to use it?” Ennis demanded.
“It’s labeled.”
“Well the words’re all-”
Bobby broke into the argument with another whimper. Their arguing was making his headache worse. Jack’s head snapped around to look at him and then back to the nurse.
“Look, lady, just give him something for the pain, would ya?” He didn’t sound rude, exactly; he sounded harried and worried and lots of other -ied things. The nurse frowned at Jack and Ennis again, but her face softened when she turned to Bobby.
“Hurting pretty bad?” She asked sympathetically. Bobby nodded, figuring it was smarter than talking, but the movement sent another spasm of pain through his head and now his collarbone.
“Scale of one to ten, how bad?”
Bobby considered. “Eight.” He wheezed.
“Okay.” She grabbed one of those vials and a needle and injected something into his IV. Sweet relief flooded him. He felt his eyelids drooping and fought to stay awake.
“He’ll be in and out for the rest of the day.” She explained. “His body’s using all its energy to heal itself. I’m Lisa, and anytime you need me you just hit that green button.”
“Thanks.” Jack said, giving her a big grin-dimples and all. “And sorry ‘bout being a pain in the ass. I’d say I won’t be from now on, but it’d be a lie.”
Lisa smiled back at him and giggled. “That’s alright. You’ll be the cutest pain in my ass all day.”
Ennis felt his eyes narrowing as Jack laughed that stupid fake laugh he always handed out to people who flattered and flirted with him. Catching the look on Ennis’s face, Jack cut the laughter short. Lisa happened to glance down, just then, and noticed that they were holding hands. Her eyes went wide, and she looked from the wary expression on Jack’s face to the oh shit one on Ennis’s. But even as scared as they were of her reaction, they didn’t let go of each other.
“Oh.” She said. She walked out of the room quickly, without another word. Jack let out a long breath and turned to Ennis.
“You didn’t let go.” He marveled. Ennis shrugged, blushing a little at the look on Jack’s face.
“Didn’t much feel like it.” He mumbled. They both felt the inevitable pull and didn’t fight the kiss that followed. It wasn’t as frantic as the kiss the night before-it was slow and happy and thankful and comforting.
“What time is it?” Jack asked through a yawn. Neither of them ever wore a watch. There was a big clock on the wall behind them. It was five in the morning.
“Shit.” Ennis muttered. “You should go back to sleep.”
“Mm…” Jack was already on his way, but Ennis couldn’t join him. He sat there for a long time, listening to Bobby’s wheezing breaths and Jack’s snores. He wasn’t really thinking about anything; he was just listening. It was comforting. Well, Jack’s snores were comforting, in that they were familiar. Hearing air whistle through Bobby’s lungs made him flinch, but he liked that each whistle meant Bobby was still breathing. His mama had taught him early on to count his blessings.
The door opened just then and Junior poked her head in tentatively. She squeezed her body through without hardly opening the door. She didn’t notice that Ennis was awake. She stayed by the door for a minute, taking in the scene in the room-Jack and Ennis clustered protectively around Bobby’s bed, leaning into each other and toward Bobby.
Ennis made a show of waking up, not wanting to scare her or anything. They looked at each other without speaking, and Ennis saw uncertainty in her eyes. Even with their talk last night, she wasn’t sure where she fit with them. He didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. He simply stretched out his hand.
She hesitated for only a second before crossing the room quickly. He stood up and hugged her, relishing the way she hugged him back, the fact that he was her daddy, the fact that she loved him. He pulled a chair up to the bed for her.
“Kurt go home?” Ennis whispered.
“Yeah, he had to go to school.”
“Oh, shit-school. We gotta excuse you. And tell ‘em about Bobby.” But Ennis made no move to get up. Jack was still slumped against him, snoring raspily. They sat listening to the beep of Bobby’s heart monitor for several minutes.
“Um…” She broke the silence and stopped as Jack snorted and jerked awake, eyes opening wide.
“Bobby?” His voice was frantic and he looked around wildly before Ennis’s warm hand on his shoulder brought him back to himself. “Oh.” He laughed shakily, passing a hand over his eyes. His breath was still jerky from the nightmare. He saw Junior then and stood up, wrapping her up much like Ennis had done minutes earlier.
“Junior.” He sighed. “You’re alright?” She nodded against his chest and pulled back. He studied her face and the bags under her eyes. “You didn’t sleep so well.” He didn’t even make it a question. Junior avoided his eyes and shrugged. Ennis bit his lip fretfully.
“Nightmares?” He asked. Junior shrugged again.
“More like memories.” She said.
Ennis’s jaw clenched tight. He wanted to find James Kent and rip him limb from limb. He’d hurt Ennis’s entire family with one swing of the tire iron, and that was something Ennis would never, ever forgive him for.
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It was about nine in the morning when they heard it. “It” was the clack clack clack of high heels on the hospital linoleum. And then “it” was a slightly hysterical but in charge voice demanding,
“What room is Bobby Twist in?”
They didn’t hear the nurse ask why she needed to know this (the poor nurse was probably very tired of repeating herself for the family members who kept popping up unannounced for Bobby), but they certainly heard the icy reply.
“Because I’m his mother.”
Jack winced a little and pulled himself out of his chair to get Lureen. He hadn’t seen her in a long time, and he was beyond surprised at her new blonde locks. He didn’t know human hair could reach such heights. Though, admittedly, it was obviously a bit flat from the combination of driving and riding on an airplane and stress.
“Lureen?” He sounded worn down. She whirled around.
“Where is he? Let me see him!”
“Calm down.” But she already had-she sucked in a breath and composed herself, letting her eyes freeze over so he couldn’t see the worry in them. He stepped aside so she could get in the room. She couldn’t completely hold back the gasp that slipped out when she saw Bobby lying there, all hooked up to tubes and machines, beaten and bruised, covered in white plaster...
“How did this happen?” She asked stiffly.
“A man named James Kent did it.” Jack said quietly, unable to tamp down the anger in his voice or keep his lip from curling when he said the hated name.
“But how? What happened?”
Jack sighed. “Jimmy Kent is Bobby’s age. He and his daddy were stopped on the side of the road with a flat and Bobby stopped to help. Kent…um, thought he was me. And he’s got a bit of a bone to pick with me and Ennis, ‘cause of-well, ‘cause of us being…” He trailed off.
“I see.”
It was amazing how much disdain and disgust she could fit into those two words. Jack flinched and opened his mouth to say something-he didn’t know what-but he stopped because Bobby was stirring. Lureen didn’t rush to Bobby’s side and grab his hand or anything. She stood semi-awkwardly at the foot of his bed and watched him blink a few times. He didn’t see her at first. In fact, since everyone was in the empty space at the foot of his bed, he didn’t see anyone.
“Dad?” He croaked out, not entirely sure which dad he was calling for and not caring which answered him. They both rushed up to him.
“Do you need the nurse?” Jack asked, at the same time Ennis asked,
“Need more medicine?”
“I just…” Breath. “Wanted to…” Breath. “See you.” He caught sight of Junior then, hovering around behind Jack and Ennis and looking worried and scared and uncomfortable and really, really tired. “Hey.” He said to her. “Okay?” He hoped she got what he meant. He couldn’t seem to push out any more words.
“Oh, Bobby, I’m fine.” Her voice cracked a little. “You’re the one who isn’t.”
He gave a little wriggle that was meant to be a shrug. “You watched.”
Now it was her turn to shrug. “Yeah.”
“Should’ve listened. Waited. Sorry.”
Junior’s chin was trembling in a way Bobby was used to seeing but had forgotten about the last month or so. She’d fought tears all the time when she first came to live with them, but lately she’d been happier. He felt bad that he was the reason she was crying again.
“Don’t apologize, please. Just…” She laughed shakily. “Just get better, okay?”
“Deal.”
He happened to turn his head a little bit just then, and saw his mother standing there looking at her pumps. “Hi?” He sounded confused as hell. He was.
Lureen looked up when she realized Bobby was talking to her and everyone in the room was staring at her. “Well, hey there.” She said bravely.
“What…?”
“Well, your…” She gestured toward Ennis, unsure what to call him and completely unwilling to call him Bobby’s father or daddy or anything. “He called me and told me you were real hurt. I mean, Lord, boy, every time I see you you’re breaking something new.”
Ennis’s lips tightened, even though he could tell Lureen was teasing. This was in no way Bobby’s fault and Lureen was making it sound like Bobby was stupid or accident prone. But he reluctantly pushed that thought aside when Bobby wheezed out a laugh.
“Just love hospitals.” He managed to choke out.
“Yeah, well, I don’t,” Lureen told him, suddenly serious. “Could we stay away from ‘em for a while?”
“You bet.”
Jack couldn’t help a little flare of resentment. Lureen came waltzing in here and got to act all worried and responsible? And what was with the we in that sentence? Lureen and Bobby had never been a we. Jack felt like she was taking his boy away from him. He shook his head at himself. Hadn’t he always wanted them to get along? For Bobby’s sake, if for no other reason?
Bobby couldn’t stay awake much longer. But his breathing seemed stronger. Jack couldn’t decide if that was wishful thinking or not. The four of them sat in awkward silence once he fell asleep, Jack and Ennis and Junior clustered together and Lureen alienated, on the complete other side of Bobby’s bed.
“Gotta call the school.” Ennis mumbled tiredly. He felt like he’d been awake for days.
“Oh, yeah.” Jack rubbed his eyes. “I’ll do it.”
“Uh, we both have to, bud.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t excuse Bobby and you can’t excuse Junior.”
Jack sighed, aggravated. “What bullshit. C’mon, let’s go.”
Junior watched them heave out of their chairs with slightly panicked eyes. Were they honestly going to leave her there with Lureen? She’d never met this woman before. She’d never seen this woman before. Was she going to have to talk to her? She’d be nice-this was Bobby’s mother, after all-but she hated talking to people she didn’t know.
Ennis’s lips twitched when he caught her look. “We’ll be right back.” He murmured. She made a face at him. He of all people should feel her pain. Jack flat out grinned at her and had to stop himself from sticking out his tongue.
“Might get some food though.” He’d said it jokingly, but then his stomach growled audibly. Ennis raised an eyebrow at him.
“Might be a good idea. You hungry?” He asked Junior.
“Not really.”
“Uh…” Ennis’s eyes darted quickly to Lureen and then away.
“Need anything, Lureen?” Jack saved him.
“Well…” She hesitated.
“Coffee?” Jack guessed. “Cream and sugar?”
“Love some, thanks. But, uh, black.”
“Oh.” She always used to drink it with cream and sugar. He nodded at her. “Coming right up.”
Lureen and Junior both watched the door swing shut behind the men. They sat in silence. Very awkward silence. Junior wished desperately for Jack and Ennis to hurry. But who knew what they were doing. They’d probably found a closet somewhere and were…
Okay, that train of thought needed to end.
Lureen cleared her throat. “So.” She said quietly.
Junior looked at her but didn’t say anything. What was she supposed to say to that, anyway? That was apparently all Lureen had to say. They went back to awkward silence.
“So.” Lureen said again. But she’d thought it through better this time. “You and Bobby are pretty close, huh?”
“Um…yeah. I guess.” Junior shrugged.
“Does-” Lureen stopped, looking embarrassed, before pushing on. “Does he ever talk about me?”
Junior remembered asking Bobby the same question, about Ennis. She felt a pang of sympathy for Lureen. “Sometimes.” She said, which wasn’t really a lie. “A lot more since he got home from visiting you.” She added.
Lureen nodded, silent. “What’s his favorite color?”
“Green. That’s why he chose it for his cast.”
“Right.” She opened her mouth, ready to ask more about Bobby, but Jack and Ennis came back then, chuckling at each other, each holding a cup of coffee in both hands with several sandwiches wedged under their arms. Mm, armpit sandwiches.
“Hey.” Jack said with a grin. “You girls getting along?” Neither of them answered him. It seemed like a secret conversation, and Junior was good at keeping secrets.
Jack’s eyes were gritty. He was exhausted. It was one in the morning and he was running out of gas. He’d been running out of gas steadily over the drive (somehow that happened every time he drove) and had been thus far ignoring it. The only thought he had room for in his brain was drivedrivedrivegettoBobbydrive.
But he didn’t have much of a choice now-there was no way he’d make it the rest of the way if he didn’t get gas now. He figured it’d be better to stop for ten minutes than be stranded for hours. After he gassed up and bought the biggest cup of coffee he could find, he hesitated at the pay phone. Should he call home? Would anyone be home? He kept walking. They wouldn’t be home. Or they’d be asleep. He didn’t want to wake them.
He didn’t want to admit to himself that he was too scared of what he might hear.
He got to the hospital at two thirty. He had to walk through the urgent care entrance because it was the only door unlocked. He limped up to the admitting desk, the leg that he’d broken when he was thirteen aching horribly from the long drive.
“Hello,” she said kindly. “Do you need a doctor?” She pitched her voice high and she had pity in her eyes. It took Jack a minute to realize that she thought he was deranged-he was limping, his eyes were half closed, and his hair was standing on end.
“Uh-” He had to clear his throat because it’d been so long since he’d last spoken. “Bobby Twist.”
“Excuse me?”
“What room is Bobby Twist in? Please? Ma’am?” He was practically begging.
“That’s confidential.”
“I’m his father.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “Do you have ID?”
He showed her his driver’s license. She still looked dubious.
“I thought his father was already in there with him.”
“What?” Jack had been looking around, as if Bobby might suddenly pop out of a room.
“If you’re his father, who’s that man in there?”
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Ennis woke up suddenly. He didn’t know, at first, what had woken him. And then he heard it-the most beautiful sound he could possibly hear at that moment. He heard Jack’s voice. He staggered to his feet, back stiff from sleeping in a chair, and missed the door handle the first time he tried to open it.
“Jack!”
Jack turned immediately. “Ennis!”
They met each other halfway between the desk and Bobby’s room, catching each other in a desperate embrace. Jack’s eyes were dry, but his breath was coming out in heaves.
“Where’s Bobby?” Jack managed to gasp. Ennis steered him toward the room, their arms still around each other. Walking was a little awkward. The nurse probably didn’t think anything of it-she worked at a hospital and probably saw tons of embraces just like theirs. But just then, neither Jack nor Ennis cared one bit what the nurse thought.
Ennis paused just before they went in the door, holding Jack back for a second. He knew Jack was eager to go in and see Bobby, but Ennis was afraid of what Jack would see. Bobby looked pretty bad. But Jack kept going. Luckily, the room was dark, so the damage wasn’t immediately noticeable.
Jack rushed to the chair by Bobby’s head-the chair Ennis hadn’t left in hours. But even as he did so, he pulled the chair next to it up close to the bed with him for Ennis. He grabbed Bobby’s hand and reached for Ennis’s with his other. Ennis squeezed Jack’s hand tightly, readying himself for Jack’s reaction.
“How bad is it?” Jack whispered. He could see the bruises on Bobby’s face, the broken nose, all the tubes he was hooked up to…it looked bad. He’d been on the verge of tears for the last five hours, and several finally spilled down his cheeks.
“Um…concussion, broken collar bone, re-broke his arm, fractured hip, broken ribs, and a punctured lung.”
“Oh, God.” Jack moaned softly.
“But the doctor said he’s going to be okay.”
Jack turned to Ennis quickly. “Are you sure?”
“Sure.”
Jack had to let go of Bobby’s hand and Ennis’s hand so he could use both his hands to grab Ennis’s face and kiss him as hard as he possibly could.
“Now tell me what happened.” Jack commanded. Their lips were still mostly pressed together, because, really, it took a lot to convince their lips not to be pressed together.
“It was James Kent.” Ennis spat the name, hands clenching into angry fists. “Had a flat tire and Bobby stopped to help. He stopped to help, Jack! Thought doing good was supposed to get you good. Not a fucking tire iron to your head.”
Jack gasped a little at Ennis’s phrasing, and Ennis apologetically squeezed his hand. Jack took a deep breath. “Where is he?”
“Skipped town.” Ennis said bitterly. “Cops’ll prob’ly never find him.”
“He better hope the cops find him ‘fore I do.” Jack hissed from between his clenched teeth. Ennis nodded his agreement, rubbing circles on Jack’s hand. After a few minutes of quiet, Jack’s eyes were drooping. The adrenaline surge was fading fast and leaving him more exhausted than ever. As he was drifting off, Jack asked drowsily,
“Where’s Junior?”
“Kurt took her home.” Ennis’s voice was slow and sleepy.
“They’re alone at home?” Jack regretted asking it as soon as he said it. Ennis was going to freak. Instead, he just felt Ennis’s shoulder-which Jack was using as a pillow-rise and fall in a shrug. “Well, they won’t get into any trouble.” Jack reassured them both. “Junior’s smart, and Kurt’s a good kid.”
The last thing Jack heard before falling asleep was Ennis answer, “Yeah, he is.”
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Someone was snoring beside Bobby’s bed. More than one someone, actually. And he would’ve cared who, he really would’ve, if he hadn’t been a little blinded by pain. He felt like someone was taking a chisel to his skull and trying to break in. His arm was full of stabbing pain, his left hip was throbbing, and he felt like a horse was sitting on his chest. Plus, there was a tube in his nose and a needle in his forearm. He didn’t even try to stop the whimper of pain that forced its way through his scabbed lips.
“Bobby?” It was his dad. He didn’t remember his dad being there. Wait, he remembered…his dad had been there. Ennis had been there. But this was Jack’s voice. Having two fathers and a concussion was confusing the hell out of Bobby. He wrenched his eyes open and saw both fathers staring down at him wearing matching expressions of relief mingled with panic.
“Bobby!” That was Ennis this time, tear tracks on his face. Bobby had never seen Ennis cry. What had he been crying about? Oh, right. Bobby was in the hospital.
“I need…” Bobby was amazed at how fast he ran out of air. Talking was hard work. He struggled to breathe for a minute. It’d help if that stupid horse would get off of him. “…Drugs.” He finally gasped out.
He hadn’t even finished his sentence before Jack was picking up the remote, trying to figure out which button got the nurse in there. He was afraid to try pushing any of them, in case one folded the bed in half like he’d seen on TV. That would undoubtedly hurt Bobby. He decided to forget the stupid remote and ran to the door instead.
“Hey!” He called out to the nurses. “My son’s awake and he’s in pain and someone better get him some goddamn drugs!”
A nurse appeared seconds later, frowning at him. “There’s a buzzer.” She snipped.
“Well how’re we supposed to know how to use it?” Ennis demanded.
“It’s labeled.”
“Well the words’re all-”
Bobby broke into the argument with another whimper. Their arguing was making his headache worse. Jack’s head snapped around to look at him and then back to the nurse.
“Look, lady, just give him something for the pain, would ya?” He didn’t sound rude, exactly; he sounded harried and worried and lots of other -ied things. The nurse frowned at Jack and Ennis again, but her face softened when she turned to Bobby.
“Hurting pretty bad?” She asked sympathetically. Bobby nodded, figuring it was smarter than talking, but the movement sent another spasm of pain through his head and now his collarbone.
“Scale of one to ten, how bad?”
Bobby considered. “Eight.” He wheezed.
“Okay.” She grabbed one of those vials and a needle and injected something into his IV. Sweet relief flooded him. He felt his eyelids drooping and fought to stay awake.
“He’ll be in and out for the rest of the day.” She explained. “His body’s using all its energy to heal itself. I’m Lisa, and anytime you need me you just hit that green button.”
“Thanks.” Jack said, giving her a big grin-dimples and all. “And sorry ‘bout being a pain in the ass. I’d say I won’t be from now on, but it’d be a lie.”
Lisa smiled back at him and giggled. “That’s alright. You’ll be the cutest pain in my ass all day.”
Ennis felt his eyes narrowing as Jack laughed that stupid fake laugh he always handed out to people who flattered and flirted with him. Catching the look on Ennis’s face, Jack cut the laughter short. Lisa happened to glance down, just then, and noticed that they were holding hands. Her eyes went wide, and she looked from the wary expression on Jack’s face to the oh shit one on Ennis’s. But even as scared as they were of her reaction, they didn’t let go of each other.
“Oh.” She said. She walked out of the room quickly, without another word. Jack let out a long breath and turned to Ennis.
“You didn’t let go.” He marveled. Ennis shrugged, blushing a little at the look on Jack’s face.
“Didn’t much feel like it.” He mumbled. They both felt the inevitable pull and didn’t fight the kiss that followed. It wasn’t as frantic as the kiss the night before-it was slow and happy and thankful and comforting.
“What time is it?” Jack asked through a yawn. Neither of them ever wore a watch. There was a big clock on the wall behind them. It was five in the morning.
“Shit.” Ennis muttered. “You should go back to sleep.”
“Mm…” Jack was already on his way, but Ennis couldn’t join him. He sat there for a long time, listening to Bobby’s wheezing breaths and Jack’s snores. He wasn’t really thinking about anything; he was just listening. It was comforting. Well, Jack’s snores were comforting, in that they were familiar. Hearing air whistle through Bobby’s lungs made him flinch, but he liked that each whistle meant Bobby was still breathing. His mama had taught him early on to count his blessings.
The door opened just then and Junior poked her head in tentatively. She squeezed her body through without hardly opening the door. She didn’t notice that Ennis was awake. She stayed by the door for a minute, taking in the scene in the room-Jack and Ennis clustered protectively around Bobby’s bed, leaning into each other and toward Bobby.
Ennis made a show of waking up, not wanting to scare her or anything. They looked at each other without speaking, and Ennis saw uncertainty in her eyes. Even with their talk last night, she wasn’t sure where she fit with them. He didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. He simply stretched out his hand.
She hesitated for only a second before crossing the room quickly. He stood up and hugged her, relishing the way she hugged him back, the fact that he was her daddy, the fact that she loved him. He pulled a chair up to the bed for her.
“Kurt go home?” Ennis whispered.
“Yeah, he had to go to school.”
“Oh, shit-school. We gotta excuse you. And tell ‘em about Bobby.” But Ennis made no move to get up. Jack was still slumped against him, snoring raspily. They sat listening to the beep of Bobby’s heart monitor for several minutes.
“Um…” She broke the silence and stopped as Jack snorted and jerked awake, eyes opening wide.
“Bobby?” His voice was frantic and he looked around wildly before Ennis’s warm hand on his shoulder brought him back to himself. “Oh.” He laughed shakily, passing a hand over his eyes. His breath was still jerky from the nightmare. He saw Junior then and stood up, wrapping her up much like Ennis had done minutes earlier.
“Junior.” He sighed. “You’re alright?” She nodded against his chest and pulled back. He studied her face and the bags under her eyes. “You didn’t sleep so well.” He didn’t even make it a question. Junior avoided his eyes and shrugged. Ennis bit his lip fretfully.
“Nightmares?” He asked. Junior shrugged again.
“More like memories.” She said.
Ennis’s jaw clenched tight. He wanted to find James Kent and rip him limb from limb. He’d hurt Ennis’s entire family with one swing of the tire iron, and that was something Ennis would never, ever forgive him for.
-------------------------
It was about nine in the morning when they heard it. “It” was the clack clack clack of high heels on the hospital linoleum. And then “it” was a slightly hysterical but in charge voice demanding,
“What room is Bobby Twist in?”
They didn’t hear the nurse ask why she needed to know this (the poor nurse was probably very tired of repeating herself for the family members who kept popping up unannounced for Bobby), but they certainly heard the icy reply.
“Because I’m his mother.”
Jack winced a little and pulled himself out of his chair to get Lureen. He hadn’t seen her in a long time, and he was beyond surprised at her new blonde locks. He didn’t know human hair could reach such heights. Though, admittedly, it was obviously a bit flat from the combination of driving and riding on an airplane and stress.
“Lureen?” He sounded worn down. She whirled around.
“Where is he? Let me see him!”
“Calm down.” But she already had-she sucked in a breath and composed herself, letting her eyes freeze over so he couldn’t see the worry in them. He stepped aside so she could get in the room. She couldn’t completely hold back the gasp that slipped out when she saw Bobby lying there, all hooked up to tubes and machines, beaten and bruised, covered in white plaster...
“How did this happen?” She asked stiffly.
“A man named James Kent did it.” Jack said quietly, unable to tamp down the anger in his voice or keep his lip from curling when he said the hated name.
“But how? What happened?”
Jack sighed. “Jimmy Kent is Bobby’s age. He and his daddy were stopped on the side of the road with a flat and Bobby stopped to help. Kent…um, thought he was me. And he’s got a bit of a bone to pick with me and Ennis, ‘cause of-well, ‘cause of us being…” He trailed off.
“I see.”
It was amazing how much disdain and disgust she could fit into those two words. Jack flinched and opened his mouth to say something-he didn’t know what-but he stopped because Bobby was stirring. Lureen didn’t rush to Bobby’s side and grab his hand or anything. She stood semi-awkwardly at the foot of his bed and watched him blink a few times. He didn’t see her at first. In fact, since everyone was in the empty space at the foot of his bed, he didn’t see anyone.
“Dad?” He croaked out, not entirely sure which dad he was calling for and not caring which answered him. They both rushed up to him.
“Do you need the nurse?” Jack asked, at the same time Ennis asked,
“Need more medicine?”
“I just…” Breath. “Wanted to…” Breath. “See you.” He caught sight of Junior then, hovering around behind Jack and Ennis and looking worried and scared and uncomfortable and really, really tired. “Hey.” He said to her. “Okay?” He hoped she got what he meant. He couldn’t seem to push out any more words.
“Oh, Bobby, I’m fine.” Her voice cracked a little. “You’re the one who isn’t.”
He gave a little wriggle that was meant to be a shrug. “You watched.”
Now it was her turn to shrug. “Yeah.”
“Should’ve listened. Waited. Sorry.”
Junior’s chin was trembling in a way Bobby was used to seeing but had forgotten about the last month or so. She’d fought tears all the time when she first came to live with them, but lately she’d been happier. He felt bad that he was the reason she was crying again.
“Don’t apologize, please. Just…” She laughed shakily. “Just get better, okay?”
“Deal.”
He happened to turn his head a little bit just then, and saw his mother standing there looking at her pumps. “Hi?” He sounded confused as hell. He was.
Lureen looked up when she realized Bobby was talking to her and everyone in the room was staring at her. “Well, hey there.” She said bravely.
“What…?”
“Well, your…” She gestured toward Ennis, unsure what to call him and completely unwilling to call him Bobby’s father or daddy or anything. “He called me and told me you were real hurt. I mean, Lord, boy, every time I see you you’re breaking something new.”
Ennis’s lips tightened, even though he could tell Lureen was teasing. This was in no way Bobby’s fault and Lureen was making it sound like Bobby was stupid or accident prone. But he reluctantly pushed that thought aside when Bobby wheezed out a laugh.
“Just love hospitals.” He managed to choke out.
“Yeah, well, I don’t,” Lureen told him, suddenly serious. “Could we stay away from ‘em for a while?”
“You bet.”
Jack couldn’t help a little flare of resentment. Lureen came waltzing in here and got to act all worried and responsible? And what was with the we in that sentence? Lureen and Bobby had never been a we. Jack felt like she was taking his boy away from him. He shook his head at himself. Hadn’t he always wanted them to get along? For Bobby’s sake, if for no other reason?
Bobby couldn’t stay awake much longer. But his breathing seemed stronger. Jack couldn’t decide if that was wishful thinking or not. The four of them sat in awkward silence once he fell asleep, Jack and Ennis and Junior clustered together and Lureen alienated, on the complete other side of Bobby’s bed.
“Gotta call the school.” Ennis mumbled tiredly. He felt like he’d been awake for days.
“Oh, yeah.” Jack rubbed his eyes. “I’ll do it.”
“Uh, we both have to, bud.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t excuse Bobby and you can’t excuse Junior.”
Jack sighed, aggravated. “What bullshit. C’mon, let’s go.”
Junior watched them heave out of their chairs with slightly panicked eyes. Were they honestly going to leave her there with Lureen? She’d never met this woman before. She’d never seen this woman before. Was she going to have to talk to her? She’d be nice-this was Bobby’s mother, after all-but she hated talking to people she didn’t know.
Ennis’s lips twitched when he caught her look. “We’ll be right back.” He murmured. She made a face at him. He of all people should feel her pain. Jack flat out grinned at her and had to stop himself from sticking out his tongue.
“Might get some food though.” He’d said it jokingly, but then his stomach growled audibly. Ennis raised an eyebrow at him.
“Might be a good idea. You hungry?” He asked Junior.
“Not really.”
“Uh…” Ennis’s eyes darted quickly to Lureen and then away.
“Need anything, Lureen?” Jack saved him.
“Well…” She hesitated.
“Coffee?” Jack guessed. “Cream and sugar?”
“Love some, thanks. But, uh, black.”
“Oh.” She always used to drink it with cream and sugar. He nodded at her. “Coming right up.”
Lureen and Junior both watched the door swing shut behind the men. They sat in silence. Very awkward silence. Junior wished desperately for Jack and Ennis to hurry. But who knew what they were doing. They’d probably found a closet somewhere and were…
Okay, that train of thought needed to end.
Lureen cleared her throat. “So.” She said quietly.
Junior looked at her but didn’t say anything. What was she supposed to say to that, anyway? That was apparently all Lureen had to say. They went back to awkward silence.
“So.” Lureen said again. But she’d thought it through better this time. “You and Bobby are pretty close, huh?”
“Um…yeah. I guess.” Junior shrugged.
“Does-” Lureen stopped, looking embarrassed, before pushing on. “Does he ever talk about me?”
Junior remembered asking Bobby the same question, about Ennis. She felt a pang of sympathy for Lureen. “Sometimes.” She said, which wasn’t really a lie. “A lot more since he got home from visiting you.” She added.
Lureen nodded, silent. “What’s his favorite color?”
“Green. That’s why he chose it for his cast.”
“Right.” She opened her mouth, ready to ask more about Bobby, but Jack and Ennis came back then, chuckling at each other, each holding a cup of coffee in both hands with several sandwiches wedged under their arms. Mm, armpit sandwiches.
“Hey.” Jack said with a grin. “You girls getting along?” Neither of them answered him. It seemed like a secret conversation, and Junior was good at keeping secrets.