AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is your arm hurting you?”
“No more than usual,” which was an evasion, because it hurt all the time, but Ben didn’t think asking for more pain killers would have any positive effect. Ben wondered why anyone at the hospital bothered asking the question in the first place. When he told the truth, the only response was to tell him how long it would be before he could have another dose. As time didn’t mean a thing anymore, that was the opposite of helpful. “Can I have something to drink?”
“Not even an ice chip,” the nurse responded far too cheerfully. “Your neurologist has decided you can have the surgery on your arm, so we’ll be transferring you over to Lutheran General for surgery. That’s good news. You’re not going to go all Humpty Dumpty on us. They’ll put you back together again just fine.”
Ben grunted as a reply. He had had a vague idea where Illinois Masonic was but he had never heard of Lutheran General. But he’d go wherever they sent him without a fight. How much worse could his situation be?
The nurse was approximately Ben’s age and cute bordering on handsome. He should be increasing Ben’s heart rate, at the very least, but he felt nothing. No attraction, no interest, no draw at all. All Ben could think about was the empty chair that sat in his room.
He’d done the right thing, though, hadn’t he? At the time it had seemed the only option open to Ben. He couldn’t have stayed. Not with all the anger directed at him and his presence. Simon had never signed up for family strife when he’d been good enough to give Ben a temporary home. And if Ben had dreamed, a tiny bit, of Simon keeping him forever, as much of an impossibility as that was, it was on Ben for letting his head and heart get away from him. Simon had said he wanted forever, but he hadn’t understood what he’d been proposing. Nothing was forever.
Certainly nothing good.
Another tear slipped down Ben’s cheek. He didn’t bother wiping it away.
The nurse noticed, however, and took another tissue to blot it. “I’ll ask the doctor if we can give your meds a little early, okay? Will that help?” He gave Ben a coaxing smile and big, puppy-dog eyes.
Completely unmoved by the nurse’s expression, Ben nodded. It was the easiest answer he could give. He could never hope to explain that as much as his arm was in agony, the wound he’d torn in his own heart overshadowed that entirely.
Friday, December 22
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital
Park Ridge, IL
The next time Ben woke it took him several minutes to figure out where he was. His room was different, for one thing. His last room had been a private one and this one had a bed next to his with a curtain around it. Loud snores echoed through the small room. Again, the chair next to his bed was empty, but that had ceased to be a surprise.
Ben’s arm was in a cast and held up with a sling that went behind his neck. He could see his fingers again and he wiggled them experimentally. It hurt, but they did move. Trying to look on the bright side, he thought that was probably a good sign.
Throughout the day, people came and went. Ben’s roommate was popular, with several visitors showing up with gifts and flowers and balloons for him. “Get Well Soon, Grandpa,” one said. “World’s Best Dad!” was on another. Ben wondered if the man knew how lucky he was to have such a loving family. Ben just wished that loving family was quieter. All he wanted to do was sleep.
Ben thought the man’s visitors were all gone when the door opened again. You could always tell visitors from the nurses or doctors by how polite they were. The medical staff barged right in, as if they owned the place, which Ben supposed, in a way, they did. Visitors were more hesitant and tentative. Everything was new and confusing and they seemed just as disoriented as the patients, if not more so. Ben wasn’t surprised when he heard his curtain being twitched aside. He didn’t even bother to look up. “The guy you’re here for is in the next bed,” he said, staring down at his cast. He wiggled his fingers again. Still painful, but maybe a little less so.
“I don’t think he is. I think the guy I’m looking for is right here.”
Ben’s eyes flew up and he saw the dearest, most welcome sight in the entire world: Simon’s gently smiling face. With absolutely no warning, Ben broke into sobs that didn’t want to stop.
Simon came forward and hugged Ben carefully, resting his cheek on the top of Ben’s head. “Sweetheart, no, no, don’t cry. Please don’t cry. Please.”
The relief of Simon’s presence was impossible to describe. The closest Ben could come was the sun rising after what had felt like an endless night. Suddenly, still lying on the uncomfortable hospital bed, Ben felt as if he was finally safe.
“You came,” Ben mumbled over and over until he was hiccupping the words. “You c-came. I didn’t think you w-would, but you came.”
Simon kissed the top of Ben’s head. “You didn’t make it easy. I’ve been worried out of my head, tracking you down for nearly two days.”
“I’m s-sorry,” Ben said automatically, even though his intention had been to disappear from Simon’s life entirely. He was no longer sure leaving had been the correct decision. All Ben could think in that moment was that he never wanted to leave Simon ever again, which might get awkward when it came to Simon’s mother, but they’d just have to figure something out. Ben could stay out of her way, and he didn’t have to go anywhere with Simon in public if that was a problem. Ben had always been something of a homebody, anyway. He’d be content to stay in his room to draw and paint just as long as he knew Simon was there, too. They could be anywhere at all, in any situation, and Simon would always feel like Ben’s home.
“I’m here now. I’m sorry it took two days, but none of the hospitals in the area had a Ben Miller admitted.”
“How did you even think to look for me at the hospital? Or did you assume I’m a disaster magnet and that’s where I’d end up?”
Simon’s lips quirked. “It wouldn’t have been a bad assumption. When I realized you were gone, I followed you. I came to where the accident happened and you were carried off in an ambulance. I knew you would be going to a hospital, just not which one. How on earth did you manage to get hit by a car?”
Simon pulled back but Ben grabbed hold of his sleeve, not wanting him to go too far away. “All I did was cross the street in the crosswalk, I swear.”
Instead of pulling further back, Simon moved an inch or two closer to the bed. “Perhaps you are a danger magnet.”
Ben’s face fell. “Or perpetually unlucky.”
