“Yeah, but I’ll be alright,” I say, picking at a thread on the sheet draped over my lap. I can’t think too hard about what might have been or how I could very well be dead right now.
My secrets could have been the end of me. If I hadn’t told Jasper where I was living, would he have run in and broken all the rules to get me out? Would Salem and Nora think I had just abandoned them if he hadn’t been here to save the day? Who knows? The idea alone is almost more than I can take.
There’s a knock on the door, and then it opens, and my doctor walks in.
“Hey, Salem. The doctor is here, so I’ve gotta go, but I’ll text you in a bit, okay?”
“Sounds good. Love you.”
“Love you too, kid.”
I hang up the call, shifting in my bed a little. “Hello.”
Dr. Miles smiles at me, flashing near-perfect teeth. “Hello to you, Mr. Montgomery. Are you ready to get out of this joint?”
“So fucking ready.”
“Perfect.” She turns her attention to Jasper. “You’re taking him home with you, correct?”
Jasper nods. “Sure am.”
“Alright. Let’s go through wound care, issues to keep an eye out for, and your limitations over the next few weeks, and then I’ll get you out of here.”
Thecarridefuckingsucks.
Every bump rattles my ribs. They were not fucking kidding about those pain meds managing my pain. They sent me home with a script for something stronger than Tylenol, but I really don’t want to take any of it.
“Almost there, baby boy,” Jasper says softly, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.
“I know,” I grit out through clenched teeth as we hit another pothole.
What in the fuck is wrong with this town that all their roads suck ass, and why have I never noticed how bad they are? I guess there’s something about having a fucked-up, broken body that makes a person realize how fucking fucked everything is around you.
I groan without meaning to, and Jasper slows down even more. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to go slow.”
“Jesus, just get us home.”
I press my hand to my ribs, breathing in deeply. Those pain pills are looking better and better by the second.
“You should take something stronger than Tylenol,” Jasper says, almost like he’s read my mind.
I shake my head, gritting my teeth so hard that they creak.
“Baby boy.” Jasper reaches across the truck, catching my hand in his. The back of it is bruised from the IV, and it’s a little tender to the touch, but it’s nothing like my ribs. Honestly, my entire body is some level of sore and fucked up. “There’s a difference between taking medicine that you need and what your parents do.”
I know that. I also know how many addicts are born from injuries that require medication.
“And what if I take them and become dependant?”
Jasper sighs, rubbing his fingers over mine. “I don’t want to dismiss your fears because they’re valid. But the doctor only gave you a week’s supply. It’s very unlikely that you’ll develop dependence in that time. Your body needs rest to heal, and you’re not going to get that while you’re in this much pain.”
He’s not entirely wrong. “Will you make sure I don’t?”
“Will I make sure you don’t what?” Jasper asks, glancing at me.
“If I take them.” I shift in my seat to look at him. “Will you make sure I don’t become dependent? Will you give me the pills when I’m supposed to take them and hide the pill bottle? If I start liking the way they feel too much, will you keep them away from me?”
“If that happens, I’ll flush them straight down the toilet without hesitation. And I’ll definitely give them to you. If that makes you feel better.”
