Author's note: I decided not to make your squirm too long.
River’s Story
I just stood there, not sure what to say, “was he shot?!” The party going on around me stopped when the guys heard me ask that question, and all eyes were on me.
“Yeah, but the vest stopped it. The impact threw him to the ground and he hit his head on the cement. It knocked him out cold” Officer Andy replied. “Listen, River, he’s going to be okay. He’s got a gash on the back of his head and some cracked ribs. He’s still out, but he’s going to be okay. He was lucky.”
I heard him say he was going to be okay… twice. That was good. Right? I heard him say the vest stopped the bullet. That was good. Right? My brain was processing the bits of information as best it could. “Where is he?” I asked. Officer Andy said he’d text me all the information and told me again he was going to be okay.
By the time I hung up, the rooftop was silent and all the guys were standing around me, looking at me. “Che got shot. His vest stopped the bullet, but he fell and hurt his head. He was knocked out. He’s gonna be okay.” I repeated the words that Officer Andy said to me in small sentences as best I could. I was still in shock.
“Where is he?” Ricky asked. Just then I heard my text alert, Officer Andy had sent the info. My eyes were filled with tears, and my brain was filled with horrifying, bullshit images. I handed the phone to Ricky, he read the info out loud. Mason walked away from the crowd after he heard it.
“I gotta get there” I said as I pushed my way past the guys to go down to my truck.
“I’m going with you” Ricky said, so did the others. I didn’t even stop at my apartment to lock up, I just went down to my truck with all the guys following.
When we all got to the parking lot, I started to get into the driver’s seat. “I’m driving” Hugo announced as he pulled me out and pushed me towards the passenger side.
Mason ran over to me, “Raj is there and going to check on him. He said he knew there was an officer down, but didn’t know it was Che. But the buzz around the hospital is that he’s okay.” The unofficial report made me feel a little better. After that, I just sat in the truck and stared straight ahead while Hugo took control. I didn’t really know Hugo, he always seemed closed and aloof, but Che had found him and helped him… they had a special connection.
Hugo put his hand on my shoulder as he drove. “He’s gonna be good. I know lotsa guys who got shot, they’re all good” he said. I thought it was an odd thing to say, but it made me feel better. “Che’s gonna be good too.” That was the end of our conversation, but his hand never left my shoulder. When he parked my truck in the parking garage, he turned to me and said. “Che is a strong fucker. You be too.” I just nodded.
I got out of the truck to see all the guys from Harrington House jumping out of their cars, I was so in my own head on the way over that I didn’t realize they had all followed us. The group of us went into the emergency room. I walked up to the desk, “I’m here for Che Jones, he was brought here.”
The woman smiled sweetly as she tapped her computer, “Are you a relative?”
“I’m his boyfriend” I said. I guess I should’ve said partner, or maybe lied and said husband, but what the fuck, I wasn’t thinking about that, I was thinking about getting to Che… that’s all.
“I’m sorry, he’s in ICU, only family is allowed in the ICU” she said with a firmness in her voice and the sweet smile still on her face. I never felt more dismissed in my entire life.
“I’m, his emergency contact” I said. She just shook her head. I tried to argue but she just looked at me like ‘rules are rules’ then just walked away. “I AM his family!” I yelled as she walked away… I wanted to add a few more words to that sentence, but I knew she was just doing her job (cold hearted bitch). Fuck the rules, I needed to find him, like now! I called officer Andy, he didn’t answer. Mason texted Raj, we waited for a reply. The guys started to get comfortable in the waiting room… I couldn’t. I couldn’t fucking sit there knowing Che was somewhere in the building.
I wandered away from the guys, pretending to go to the bathroom, I was on a mission to find the ICU and Che. I wandered around, following the signs until I came to the ICU, it was circular area, with a big circular desk in the middle and a bunch of glass rooms around it, some with the curtains drawn. There was a white board with names and room numbers on it… ‘Che Jones room #3’ was written on the board. I looked around the circle and figured out which one was room #3. There were people walking around, going in and out of rooms, I just acted like I belonged there (because I didbelong there dammit) made my way to Che’s room. The curtain was closed, I walked in anyway.
My heart started to beat so hard I was afraid it was going to come out of my chest. Oh. My. Fucking. God. I thought I was ready for it, but I wasn’t, I just wasn’t. Che was laying there in the bed, hooked up to a bunch of machines with access ports in his veins, and tubes up his nose. His skin was gray and his head was bald, there were stitches on the back right side of his head, a lot of stitches. He was in a hospital gown; I could see through it and it looked like there were bandages under it… probably around his ribs. Officer Andy said something about broken ribs… right? Didn’t he? I dunno, so much happened so fast, I had no clue what was going on.
I looked at Che and started to quietly cry. I kissed him on the good part of his head, then I moved the chair from the corner of the room to the side of his bed and held his hand. I can’t tell you what was going through my head. I was trying to think about our new home and our future there, but I couldn’t… Che was lying in the bed and I didn’t know shit about what was going on. Our dreams weren’t real to me anymore, at least not at that moment. I just sat there holding his hand trying to be strong, and failing miserably. The dr.’s and nurses came in and out, a couple acknowledged me but no one asked me to leave. One Dr. asked me who I was, I answered, “His brother.” He gave me an odd look (who could blame him, we weren’t exactly twins), but then he went on to fill me in on his condition.
“He’s got a couple of broken ribs, they’ll heal fine. It’s his head injury I’m worried about. We ran an MRI and Cat scan, both seem clean, but time will tell. We’ll let him rest for now but we’re keeping an eye on him, he’s not going anywhere for a couple of days.” I thanked him for his help and he left the room.
I was just sitting there holding Che’s hand, and thinking. ‘How the fuck was I going to handle all this the rest of construction and the move without him? Should I handle it? I mean, should I postpone everything or keep it moving? Che would want me to keep things rolling. Right? Or would he want me to stop so he could be there when they delivered the cabin? Is it even possible to postpone it?’ FUCK!!!!!!!!! I didn’t know what to do! The later it got, the darker and quieter the ICU got, and the crazier my thoughts got.
I was probably there for over and hour when Raj walked in, “There you are” He whispered loudly. “The guys have been looking all over for you.” He took out his phone, I assumed he texted Mason to let him know he found me.
“What’s gonna happen to him, Raj?”
He came over and hugged me, “He’s going to be okay; Riv. Everything looks as good as can be expected. They just want to observe him for a couple of days.” Then he looked me in the eyes and said, “it could have been a fuck of a lot worse… but it wasn’t. Okay? We’ll get him through this.” Raj had kind eyes, and his words were sincere. He made me feel better. “Mason told me the front desk wasn’t going to let you in. I’ll clear it with the ICU nurse so you can stay. Okay?” I just stared back. “Okay?” Raj asked again.
I took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Yeah, okay, thanks, Raj.”
He left the room, then popped his head back in. "Hey, officer Andy is out here and wants to talk to you.” I reluctantly let go of Che’s hand and walked out of the room.
“How are you holdin’ up, River?” Officer Andy asked, I just gave him a weak smile and an ‘ok.’ He led me away from the ICU to a little cafeteria, and got me a cup of coffee. We took a seat at a table in the corner, it was late and the place was quiet. At first, we just looked at each other.
“What happened?” I asked.
“You should be prouda’ your guy” he said. “We got called to a robbery in progress, at a gas station near the highway, the clerk tripped the silent alarm and we were just around the corner” He spoke slowly, and quietly. “We got there fast, there were three guys and they were armed and loud. There were a few customers in the place, and one of the guys was yelling at ‘em all and holdin’ them in a corner out of the way so the others could do their thing. Che went right for him, he got his gun away from him, and pushed him away from the customers, it was a little stupid to go right at an armed man, but… you know… it’s Che” He said grinning a little, and shaking his head. I had to smile too, sometimes Che just acted on his gut, like he forgot to think. “He basically put himself between the customers and the three guys. The other two perps grabbed what they could from the register and the three ran to their car. Che ran after them, and then one of them shot at him.” He paused. “It hit his vest, and Che’ went flying backwards. He’d just stepped down into the parking lot, and his head hit the curb when he fell. It knocked him out cold, and blood was everywhere. He let out a heavy sigh when he finished his story. “That boy saved lives tonight.”
“Did you get the fuckers who did it?” I asked quietly. Officer Andy chuckled a little bit hearing me swear.
“They caught all three of em a coupla’ hours ago. They’re bein’ processed… I’m guessin’ the boys at the jail aint exactly bein’ hospitable. Che’s one of our own, he’s a damn good cop.”
I almost cried at that. Che had been treated like shit by everyone, including the cops when we were growing up in that assbackwards town. Now, he’s loved and respected… he earned that. I did my best to hold back the tears and be strong.
“So, Che’s been talkin’ nonstop about your new place. You boys have come a long way in a short time” Officer Andy said with a smile. Then we talked about our new place, his family, etc. anything to take my mind off Che. He was a likeable guy, I could see why Che looked up to him. We had a second cup of coffee before he then said goodbye, he gave me a bear hug… it helped.
I walked through the lobby on my way to the ICU, all the guys from Harrington House were there, they’d taken the place over. I had completely forgot about them being there, I was so focused on Che. I went over to them, they were sprawled out all over the place, some were sleeping, some were awake. Seth had joined them; he was the first to see me and his eyes popped open.
“How is he?” He asked as he came to meet me. “How are you? We’ve all been texting and calling.” I took my phone out of my pocket and looked at it, it was dead.
“Sorry, my phone’s dead, and… and… I just wasn’t thinking about anything but Che.”
“How is he” Seth asked again. I sat down in the middle of the row of teal vinyl chairs and told them everything I knew… well, everything I could remember, things were kinda’ blurry. The guys were all hanging on every word… I’m pretty sure they were as proud of Che as I was.
“Why don’t you guys go home, I’m gonna sleep here tonight” I said.
“I’ll ride back with these guys, and leave your truck here” Hugo said as he threw my keys to me, I forgot he even drove me there. God, the whole night was just a damn blur. The guys all left, but Seth followed me up to Che’s room, hoping they’d let him in.
The ICU was quiet, the nurse at the round desk said it would be fine for Seth to go in. Seth paused before we moved forward.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing” he said with a sickly smile, “Just a little flashback, I spent some time up here a couple years ago.” Apparently, he had been in a nasty accident way before Che and I were part of The Village. I could tell he was uncomfortable, but that didn’t stop him from being there for me… for us.
We walked into the little glass room; nothing had changed. The machines were still beeping and whirring, and Che was still gray and hooked up to a bunch of tubes. Seth put his arm around me as we both just stared at the battered Che. Seth stayed for a while; the nurse even brought another chair in for him. Seth hooked my phone up to his charger, oh my god there were like a million missed calls and texts from all the guys wondering where I was. It was nice to know so ma y people cared… not all that long ago, nobody gave a fuck about us.
It was early morning when he decided to leave, “Are you gonna be okay here by yourself? I can stay. Zach can handle getting the kids off to school without me.”
“I’ll be okay, I’m gonna try to fall asleep, I wanna be here when he wakes up.” Seth gave me a hug and made me promise to call him if I needed anything, and to keep him posted on Che. After he left, I just sat there holding Che’s hand and staring at him until I fell asleep. A nurse woke me up about 6AM telling me I had to leave so they could take care of Che. I took the time to text Mason, Ricky, and Max to tell them I wouldn’t be in. Max texted back. “No duh” with a laugh emoji, trying to lighten the mood. “You stay with Che as long as you need to, we got you covered.” Then he texted, “We’re all here for you, Any updates?”
“Nope, still the same” I texted back. Then I added, “Thank you.”
“Love you both” he texted back. I responded with a heart. It was good to know our village had our backs.
I sat there holding Che’s hand when I got a text to let me know that our cabin was on the truck and on its way to our lot. Holy shit, they were delivering our Cabin today! I was so fixated on Che that I totally forgot. I squeezed Che’s hand… holy fuck, he squeezed back. I looked up at his face. His eyes were open!
I hit the call button and the nurses flooded in.
Che’s Story
I felt someone squeeze my hand, I squeezed back and opened my eyes, everything was a blur, I heard some beepin’, but I couldn’t see nothin’. I couldn’t focus… where the fuck was I?
“Hey, Che, can you hear me? Babe, can you hear me?” River’s voice asked quietly. I loved his fuckin’ voice, I loved everything about him. My brain was all fogged the fuck up, but I remembered I loved River.
“Yeah, but I can’t see ya’ that good.” I could feel, and kinda hear a buncha’ commotion around me. But I still couldn’t see much, stuff was blurry. “What the fuck, Riv?” I asked.
“You’re in the hospital. You got hurt on the job last night” he said. Hurt? Huh? My vision was getting a little clearer, I could see some nurses in the room moving around adjusting the machines n’ shit, I felt one of them holding my arm and messing with something… I looked down and saw tubes in my arm, then realized I had some in my nose too. My brain was puttin’ shit together… I was in a hospital bed hooked up to a bunch of machines. ‘Wait, a fuckin’ minute? Did Riv say I got hurt on the job?’
“Did I get shot?” I asked. My voice was really quiet and gravely, I could barely hear myself.
“Yeah” Riv said quietly, still squeezing my hand. “Your vest stopped the bullet, it just cracked a couple of ribs, but the impact took you down and you smacked your head on a curb… it knocked you out.” I listened to River with my eyes closed, I kinda remembered chasing some guys who robbed a gas station or somethin’, at least that’s what I thought, I didn’t really know. “We can talk about it later, just rest” River said, then he kissed my head.
“No” I said with a cough, “tell me now.” I wanted to know what happened and what was happening around me. River held my hand and spoke quietly; he told me all about the night before at the gas station… he said officer Andy told him I saved some lives.
“You’re a fucking hero, baby” Riv said, then kissed my hand. Shit, Riv always made me feel like a fuckin’ hero.
“What day is it?”
“Monday”
“Shit, it’s Cabin day” I said in a quiet, groggy voice. “Our house is comin’, baby.” They were deliverin’ our cabin to the property, we had both worked hard for this day, and were so fuckin’ excited.
“Yeah, they confirmed that the truck is on its way from Raleigh” River said. “It’ll be there this afternoon.”
“I wanna be there when it comes” I said. I gave River a desperate look. Fuck! we worked so damn hard for dis, n’ I wanted to be dere, man. “Please get me there, babe, it’s important.” River kinda snickered, scoffed, and cried at the same time. He wanted to help, but he knew there was no way in fuckin’ hell I was leavin’ dat bed.
To be continued…
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