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Hayden
Asthedayspassed,Ashok made more of a recovery. He came back to him little by little, and the bruises faded until, by day six, they were almost gone. The belt marks on his body where the buckle had cut him would take a while longer, but thankfully, none of them would need stitches and they likely wouldn’t scar.
He had enough of those to deal with, and the mental ones would last far longer than any physical scar would.
He’d been furious with Ash’s mother, and he’d told her a few home truths, hoping to God that what he said would sink in. His father was an abuser, and nothing would stop that. Ashok had refused to talk about it, and that had infuriated him more. Why couldn’t anyone see that nothing short of reporting the incident to the police would stop him? Not just reporting him but pressing charges too.
He couldn’t get cross with Ashok, though, looking so frail in the hospital bed. Fortunately, his strength was returning day by day. He was actually coming home today, having been given a clean bill of health by the doctor.
He thought it only fair to tell Ash’s mum and told her where he lived. She said she’d meet them there, but he wasn’t happy about it.
Ashok was in fairly good spirits at being released, but the closer they got to home, the quieter he became. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all, bringing him home to the scene of his assault.
“We can go somewhere else if you’d prefer? We could go sit at the coffee shop. There’s no rush, Ash.”
“I know, but if I don’t do it now, I likely never will.” He reached across the console of the car, placing his hand on Hayden’s leg. “But you’ll be there with me and I know nothing bad will happen.”
Hayden was touched by the sentiment, knowing Ashok felt safe with him.
“Your mum will be there.” He’d already told Ashok, but he was having trouble remembering things. The doctors said it was likely a short-term thing and to keep an eye on it.
“I remember. Not sure what to say to her, though. I heard you talking to her, sticking up for me.”
“You did? I thought you were out of it.”
“I heard more than you think. The way she defended him. I can’t forgive that, Hayden. I do think it’s only fair to hear what she has to say now. Maybe my stay in hospital has changed her mind.”
“I only hope it has, Ash. It’s not right what he did.”
“I know it wasn’t, and I’d like to say it was nothing I hadn’t endured before. This time it was different. I think this time he meant to kill me.”
“Then you really have to tell the police. He can’t be allowed to get away with it. Fuck what your mother has to say.”
The rest of the journey passed in silence. Ashok looked out of the window, his brow furrowed, and Hayden tried his best not to think of what would happen when they arrived home.
Hayden helped him from the car, supporting him as they approached the front door. Ashok faltered, and Hayden cursed the stupid fucking key as it failed to open the door.
Ashok surprised him, taking the key from his hand and unlocking it. “You just need to give it a jiggle.”
After the police had left, he’d scrubbed and scrubbed at the floor, removing the blood stains, and although they’d completely disappeared, he could still see them.
“Where did you find me?” Ashok asked quietly.
“It doesn’t matter where, just that I did.”
“I need to know, Hayden. Was it here?” He pointed to a spot, not a million miles away of where he’d actually found him.
“It was close, yes, but let’s sit in the lounge. I’ll bring you some tea.”
“The kitchen, please. I want to sit in the kitchen.”
“OK, we can do that.” It was the place they spent most of their time when they weren’t in bed, so it made sense that he’d feel more comfortable there.
He boiled the kettle and came to sit next to him, placing his tea on the table.
“How are you feeling? I know it’s not easy.” Hayden was concerned it was too soon.
“Better than I thought. At least I got through the door. I had visions of you dropping me at some hotel, but I needed to do this.”
