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He tried to shout, scream at the top of his lungs, but no sound came out.
“I should tell you to leave. You don’t deserve your son, don’t deserve the man that he is.”
“And you do?” His mum’s voice rose in retaliation to Hayden’s.
“He deserves someone that loves him, that will cherish him for all time. Can you tell me in all honesty that’s you or that piece of shit you call a husband, or the dickheads you call sons? He’s put up with your shit, your homophobia, the gaslighting, the bullying and for what? To end up beaten and left for dead in my home. My fucking home.”
“I don’t have to sit here and listen to this.”
“No, you don’t. You should leave. I’ll call you when he comes to, if Ash wants you to know.”
The voices faded, and he slept again, but the next time he woke, he was more aware. He could sense more and definitely hear more. His eyes opened a little, the light burning them, and he squinted against the brightness.
“Ash? Are you awake?” Hayden’s voice was full of desperation. “The waiting is killing me. Come back to me, Ash.”
The lights dimmed, and he managed to open his eyes a little more, gazing straight into Hayden’s tired blue eyes.
“There you are. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see those beautiful eyes. Let me call the nurse.”
He disappeared for a moment but was back within seconds to hold his hand.
“God, I’ve missed you, baby.” That was new.
He wanted to know how long, but the words wouldn’t come. Was it hours or days? Days or weeks? He had no way of knowing.
“Mr. Miller. Welcome back to the land of the living. It’s been a few days.”
That answered one question at least.
“Can you squeeze my hand?” He tried, but he was so weak. Whatever his father had done, he had no strength in his arm.
“That’s good. Now, how about you try and open your eyes for me.”
He did, and this time it was a little easier, light filtering in—thankfully not as bright as before.
“There you go. Well, we’ll do a few tests, but it looks like you’re back with us.”
He heard movement in the room, and the bed dipped next to him.
“I thought I’d lost you. When I came home and found you on the floor… I thought you’d gone. I’m so very happy you’re back with us, Ash. Mum and Dad want to come and visit, Vic too, but I’ve asked them to wait a while. You probably need some time to recover. Maybe when you’re home, they can come up and see you.”
Ashok really wanted to acknowledge what he was saying, but it was still too hard to talk. Memories of being gripped by the throat resurfaced, his father trying to squeeze the life out of him. Instead he squeezed as hard as he could, though it sapped much of his energy.
“Don’t try to speak, just listen.”
He nodded feebly; he could manage that.
“I guess your father found you. I can’t think anyone else would do this to you. It’s been a couple of days. I called your mum, thought she should know, but honestly, I don’t know what to think there. Seb and Dom have been here. Oh, and I’m staying with Joe and Seb at the moment. The police have been going over the house with a fine-toothed comb, not that I think they’ll find anything, just lots of your blood.”
His voice trailed off. No doubt the memory of finding him still affected Hayden.
“I had to talk to them, tell them what I knew, which really wasn’t a lot. I’m only guessing it was your father, and your mum didn’t say much to dispel my thoughts. It’s up to you what you do or say. I’ll not go against you, but if it is your father, the authorities need to know. He can’t be allowed to get away with it. I don’t want to sound dramatic, but you know, we weren’t sure what was going to happen. You had no serious injuries, a few scrapes, bruised ribs, but no one knew why you wouldn’t wake up. There was no head injury.
“I’m waffling. It’s been so hard these past few days, Ash, waiting for you to wake up. I’m just glad you’re back with us. I really have missed you.”
It pleased Ashok to hear that, and he drifted off again to the sound of Hayden’s soothing voice. It was all he needed to hear, all he wanted to hear. This was all, this was everything, and now he knew it would all be right.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
