“It’s fine, Jim.” I turned back to the wall and struck it again whispering, “I just wish I could have greeted you differently. I’m probably overreacting anyway.”
“None of your feelings are ever an overreaction, Charlie. It’s how you handle them that should be judged,” Jim said with all the tenderness of the world.
I swung again. When I put my axe down at my side, feeling the weight, I felt Jim’s presents closer to me, like he was about to stupidly hug me with othersaround. So, I turned around and took a step away, "What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? I know I’m young and even though yesterday did happen down here, which I couldn’t stop thinking about all night last night to the point I couldn’t even concentrate enough to read my book, I know better for us being this close to each other is idiocy.”
“Charlie, you’re rambling,” Jim cuts in, with mirth in his eyes, the asshole.
“Well,” fully aghast now, but Jim touched the side of my neck, and got down to my level, “I’m not that short that you have to bend down, you jerk.”
Smirking at me with humor, “I don’t know, you are about the average size of an ankle-biter.”
A laugh broke out of me, not expecting that to come out of the handsome rugged man I have come to admire, but not wanting to back down, “Get bent,Jimmy.”
“Hey. No one gets to call me that,” Jim said, standing up straight. But something behind me killed the humorous light in his eyes.
“Seems like someone’s good time from the last couple days has carried over to today.”
Fuck.
I turned around but before I could fully twist, Jim stepped in front of me.
I was seriously going to need to talk about him and Dad and their overprotective streaks. This was getting beyond annoying.
“What are you doing over here, Richard? Are you even assigned to this room,” Jim sounded pissed that he even had to associate with him.
“Well, if you must know,” looking around Jim to see me, “they are moving everyone from rooms three and four because the skies have decided to open up. Youwouldn’t want me to drown or have a piece of the mountain fall on my head, would you?”
“Well, move along to your new assignment, you are not needed or wanted here,” Jim turned and reached down for his axe, giving me a look that I had a hard time understanding.
“But I want to hear all about your Sunday that you spent together,” Richard’s tone was laced with thick sarcasm. “I heard it seemed like a lovely family outing, but I didn’t realize it had progressed to the current state you two are in” adding the last part with disdain and accusation.
“And what is that supposed to mean,” Jim spun around fast.
I froze.
Shit.
It all made sense. We were over in the passage of room four yesterday. “What was your room assignment before moving over here?”
“Oh, I think you know, as you almost caught me,” Richard was vibrating with disgust. “Karen told me the two of you at lunch seemed a bit close but imagine my surprise when I heard whispering yesterday when I came to load a car to take to the Adit. To think, Tom let two fags work down here like the ones down on Liberty Avenue that no one likes to acknowledge or talk about.”
That sent me over the edge and made me find my voice. “And how would you know about any of that Richard,” Jim reached out to stop me, but nothing was going to. “Unless you know because you have to frequent those places just to get your small dick sucked because your wife won’t touch your hateful ass.”
The next thing I know, Richard yelled with an echo, “You are going to die faggot,” before I found myself onmy back with Jim on top of me with his arms and legs wrapped around me in a cocoon, the air being squeezed out of my lungs. Jim’s face contorted a couple of times with grunts before the weight lessened. I heard Richard yelling but it was getting softer. Jim was helped up by someone, but he didn’t get far before he was back down to me, helping me up himself.
On my feet, my back was sore from hitting the rough surface and a little lightheaded. Jim put his hands on my face to make me look at him, but I was confused as to why I couldn’t see the details of him well. “Are you alright?” I just stared at him, having a hard time processing. “Charlie, can you hear me? Are you alright?”
I finally nodded. That’s when someone put my helmet back on my head, with the light shining in Jim’s face. He looked terrified. I nodded again, this time making my voice work, “I’m okay, I think.”
Jim exhaled deeply and pulled me into a tight hug, which shouldn’t be happening. That’s when we hear, “What is happening!?” Jim let me go and we saw Dad, David and Will standing there.
Dad looked beyond pissed.
“There was an incident,” Jim stated, stepping a little in front of me, his tone in an official capacity, but coming out weak, like he was losing energy all of a sudden. “But Charlie is okay, for the most part, I think.”
He looked back at me for confirmation again, but I had noticed a dark mark on the back of Jim’s jumper on his left side that caught my attention, and it was getting bigger. “Oh fuck, Jim, you’re bleeding.”
Jim twisted to try to see but couldn’t and the mark was getting bigger by the second. I shined my light on his face and he was losing color. That’s when everyone moved, fast. Will and David grabbed Jim andset him down on the ground. David pulled his knife and carefully sliced Jim’s jumper where there was already a hole in the thick canvas like fabric in the blood spotted area. He carefully made it bigger and ripped it open. “Oh shit,” he whispered. “He looked up at everyone, “We have got to get him top side, NOW.”
