“Oh my God, seriously? No way!” Margeaux let out a loud guffaw, slapped her knee, and sauntered over to Simon as she put down the phone, before collapsing into a fit of giggles. “Looks like King Arthur got himself in a bit of a scrap. Buddy wrapped his Merc right around a tree, smashed his head against the steering wheel, and is now being treated for a concussion at the hospital. What a klutz. Oh, the boys I pick”.
“What are you talking about?” Simon demanded, shocked.
“Ian was in a car accident last night. He’s okay, of course. Just being an idiot. It was minor, of course.”
Simon stared at Margeaux, shocked at her callous reaction to Ian’s injury, concerned over Ian’s condition, and overwhelmed with an urgency to see Ian. He was speechless.
He heard a voice coming from the entrance: “Simon honeybunch, how are you?” Olivia pushed through the front door, smiling brightly, and under normal conditions, her cheeriness and good-natured attitude would have put a smile on his face. But Olivia could immediately sense Simon’s distress.
“Simon, what’s the matter? You look spooked!”
“It’s Ian, he’s been in an accident, crashed his car into a tree, he has a concussion, he must have been, I don’t know, I mean, I… do you think he’s okay?” Simon stumbled and stammered over his words, his voice heavy with worry, and Olivia grabbed him by the arm.
“Simon, we have to get to the hospital. What are you still doing here?” Olivia’s voice was urgent and high-pitched, alarm widening her eyes.
“I guess I, I mean, do you think he would want me there? Won’t I just be in the way? Is it appropriate for me to go?”
“Of course! You and I both know you care about him, and I’ve got a good idea that he cares about you too, so you need to be there for him right now.”
Hearing this, Margeaux snorted loudly, and looked at Simon with raised eyebrows.
“I mean, sure, yeah, I care about him as a friend, Liv. And yeah, maybe uh, Margeaux would you like to come with us?” In a vain effort to hide his feelings for Ian, Simon extended the awkward invitation, trying to avoid the gob smacked expression on Olivia’s face.
“Dude, it’s a concussion, not brain surgery. What’s the big deal? Ian’s a big boy. Dennis just called and said he’s fine. I’ll go see him a bit later, make him chomp at the bit for a while.” Margeaux dismissed both Simon and Olivia with a small wave of her hand, and strolled back to her chair.
“Self-obsessed idiot! Honestly, what a heartless cow,” Olivia whispered. “Come on Simon, let’s go.”
***
Simon, breathless with worry, hurriedly pushed through the swing doors of the hospital that led to the reception area. In his hurried state, he accidentally ran into a hospital gurney being pushed towards the ER section. An elderly gentleman who was laying on the gurney absorbed the shock of Simon’s impact, and he opened his eyes with effort.
“Um, excuse me sir, I am sincerely sorry. I didn’t see you there.” Simon fumbled for words as he tried to conjure up an apology.
“Just get out of my way, please.” The old man made no attempt to be polite. He was clearly in pain and frustrated, and Simon shuddered as he wondered what kind of state Ian must be in, despite Margeaux’s flippant attitude.
“Sweetie, come on, let’s go see how studkins is doing.” Olivia grabbed Simon by the hand and led him to the receptionist.
“Ian Peters please. I believe he was admitted a few hours ago.” Olivia had gotten some extra information from her friends while Simon was driving the two of them over to the hospital.
“Just a moment ma’am. Yes, Ian Peters, room #443. Are the two of you family members?”
“No, but…” Simon’s voice trailed off, and he realized that his opportunity to be there for Ian was fading fast.
“I’m afraid only family is allowed at this point, as quite a large gathering has formed at Mr. Peters’s bedside already. Friends will have to wait.” The receptionist assumed a business-like, clipped tone of voice, and as she spoke, she lowered her gaze to her paperwork, clearly wishing to get on with her job. But Simon wasn’t about to give up so easily.
“Is that right?” Simon asked. “Well, I guess I neglected to mention that he is my fiancé.” Olivia had to contain herself from squealing with excitement at Simon’s uncharacteristic bravado. She squeezed his hand firmly, in a mixture of pride and astonishment.
“Oh, umm, I see. Well, then, I would suppose you qualify as family. And your lady friend?”
“Umm, maid of honor…?” Olivia weakly offered.
“Oh, for goodness sake, I’m too old for these shenanigans. Take note that Mr. Peters fortunately didn’t suffer any serious injuries, so bending the rules ever so slightly won’t do too much harm. But I’m keeping my eye on you two.” Despite her harsh tone, Simon could have sworn that she winked at the two of them. With an appreciative nod at the receptionist, Simon and Olivia made their way to the fourth floor, and it didn’t take too long for them to find Ian’s room. It was filled with so much hustle and bustle that it felt like a coffee shop, and Simon swore he could smell the flowers from the hallway. He marveled at Ian’s popularity, and suddenly self-doubt crept it. Why would Ian want to see him, if he had all of these people clamoring for his attention? What possibly could a geeky, scaredy-cat loser like him have to offer Ian? Simon stopped dead in his tracks as he allowed these dark thoughts to take hold.
“Babe? What’s holding you back? Your man’s just around the corner!” Olivia looked at Simon quizzically
“Liv, what am I even doing here? What makes me think that I count among his close friends? How presumptuous of me. I feel like a fool.” Simon stared down at the floor, leaning against the wall, and awaited the torrent of disapproval that Olivia was about to descend on him.
“Really? Are you kidding me? Tell me that you haven’t been noticing all the hints and clues Ian has been sending your way! Are you going to let that badly made-up Pollyanna disaster take your man from you? Is that what’s going on here? Simon Northbrook, I expected so much better from you!” Simon thought that Olivia was about to stomp her foot down and throw a tantrum, and he shrugged.
“I mean, I don’t know. What do I say when I get in there? Liv, you know I turn into a high school wallflower when I’m around him. I don’t think I can stomach that now, just yet.” Simon groaned, his knees buckled, and he nearly sank into the floor out of exasperation.
“Don’t you think Ian will appreciate the gesture?” Olivia let out an exasperated sigh of her own. “Simon baby, you know I’m your number one cheerleader, and I really want to see you make a go of it with Ian, but I can only do so much, honey. I’m going to go and give him my best wishes. It’s up to you whether or not you’ll be following me. Sometimes you need to do things even if they feel weird, even if it doesn’t feel like it’s your place or like it’s the smart thing to do. You have to do it because you can’t keep hiding.” Olivia leaned in, gave Simon a firm hug, and disappeared into Ian’s room.
Simon could hear Ian’s voice, happy and surprised to see Olivia. He leaned in closer to Ian’s door, his ear trained for any mention of his name.
“Olivia, what a sweet surprise to see you! How are you doing?” Ian said, his voice sounding groggy.
“Oh, Ian, I’m good, thanks. Question is, how are you doing? How’s that concussion?” Olivia was clearly buying time and hoping to retain Ian’s attention so that he could attend to Simon once he just got through the door.
“Aw, it’s no biggie. Luckily nobody was hurt, and no, I wasn’t drinking. Only crime I’m guilty of is being doofussy and distracted. Say, uh, Liz, how’s Simon doing? Does he know I’m in here?”
Simon’s heart melted at the sheepish tone that crept into Ian’s voice when asking about him. Buoyed by Ian’s interest, he prepared to enter Ian’s room, a huge grin already starting to adorn his face. Just as Simon was about to enter the hospital room, his phone started to blare the opening notes of ‘We are family!’ by The Wicker Siste
rs. Simon assigned this special ringtone for whenever Zuko called, as he wanted to be alerted immediately. Despite his concern over what had been happening with Zuko lately, Simon’s heart dropped into his shoes, as he realized that he was about to let another opportunity to get closer to Ian fall by the wayside.
Wringing his hands in frustration, and staring at the ceiling, Simon finally answered his phone.
“Zee, hey man, what’s up?”
“Simon, you... answered!” Zee was sobbing into the phone, his voice barely audible through the loud sobs.
Simon’s heart started racing.
“Zee, what the hell’s going on? Are you okay? Talk to me!”
“Please, Simon, just get over here man. I need...I need to talk to somebody, this can’t go on any longer.”
‘Zee, I’m right there. I’m out of town at a private hospital right now, so it’ll take me just under an hour to get there, but stay put in your room, lock the door, and don’t let anyone in.” Simon was alarmed by his own instinct to want to protect Zuko, suddenly fearless and no longer second-guessing himself, but he was finally acquiescing to his instincts, and those instincts were loudly and clearly telling him that Zuko was in danger.
“Uh, yes, I will. Just please, hurry.” Zuko hung up.
Simon dashed through the reception room, ignored the startled receptionist, reached his car, and sped onto the highway after sending Olivia a message that Zuko was in danger and that she should get a taxi. He was going to cast his own doubts and selfish insecurities aside, and do everything he could to help Zuko.
Chapter 8
Knowing that he had already told Liv to take an Uber - he would make it up to her later - he knew he could ignore her texts and phone calls and direct his attention towards helping his friend, who was clearly in distress. Simon pulled up at Eikeman Men’s Residence, dashes out of his car, and came crashing into the front doors, the surprised student assistant staring up at him.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m here to see Zuko Mavuso. Don’t worry, I know what his room number is.” Simon turned towards the staircase, desperate to reach Zuko’s room.
“Hey, you, wait! You know protocol, man. I have to announce your presence first and mention who you are here to see.” The student admin assistant frowned in annoyance at Simon, and Simon could feel his blood boil.
“You don’t understand. He’s in trouble! Something happened, he gave me a call, and I tried returning his call on the way over here, but his phone died. Something is not on and I have to figure out what it is!” Simon’s voice teetered on the edge of desperation, and with each passing word, his firm grip on the reception desk seemed to tighten, until his knuckles were white with exertion. Simon now realized that he had been stifling his worries about Zuko all along, that he had been trying to protect himself and not cause trouble instead of looking after his friend, and his feelings were all bubbling to the surface.
“Wouldn’t be the first time ole Ladyboy landed himself in hot water. Just take a seat, dude.” The student admin assistant smirked and pointed to the waiting area.
At first, Simon was shocked at the casual, throwaway gay slur so callously hurled at his best friend. As soon as he regained his composure, he faced the student admin assistant.
“You either let me go up there right now, or these delicate ladyboy fists right here will punch your teeth out, you homophobic little twit!” Simon’s voice was trembling with anger, and finding a justifiable way to express it was strangely exhilarating.
The student assistant did a bit of a double take, raised his eyebrows in alarm - fear? - and motioned to Simon to go up the stairs. Simon resisted the urge to make good on his threat, and instead whirled around, sped up the staircase, and reached Zuko’s room’s door. Without even bothering to knock, he burst inside, and the scene that he was met with instantly puzzled him.
Zuko’s roommate, a tool Simon vaguely remembered being introduced to, stared at Simon with the faintest hint of a smirk - but to Simon’s overwrought mind, it was clear that he was not imagining things. Simon’s eyes hurriedly scanned the room, and his confusion was compounded: Zuko’s colorful African print bedsheets had been removed, posters of his favorite actors had been removed, and his desk was empty. Simon shook his head in disbelief, and accusingly he stared down Zuko’s arrogant roommate, whose former poor attempt at masking his self-satisfied smug smile was all but abandoned now. He seemed to dare Simon to ask him what was going on.
“Where the hell is my friend?” Simon was barely able to contain his anger.
“Oh, I’m sorry, who would you be referring to? Kindly pardon my ignorance.” The little ass was clearly going to make this difficult for Simon. Simon felt his entire body tense with anger. With a deep breath, he summoned up the courage that he had commanded a few minutes ago with the equally bullish student assistant.
“Listen here, you stupid little snotface, you better tell me right this minute where my friend is, or I’ll…”
“Or you’ll what, pretty boy? Pull my hair? Cry and ruin your pretty mascara? What exactly do you plan on doing?” The sarcasm was dripping from the boy’s mouth, and Simon could tell how he enjoyed every second of tormenting him. Simon recalled how this was the boy who must have pretended that he was sleeping while Zee was being beaten up.
Without further ado, Simon stormed over to the grinning little gnat, picked him up by his preppy collar, and gave him a firm shake.
“If you don’t tell me right this second what happened to Zuko Mavuso, this ladyboy right here will mess you up so bad, you’ll wish you helped Zuko every time he needed you. Now fess up, you loser, or you’ll be flying through that window.” Simon’s nostrils were flaring with anger, his jaw set in a determined line, and his eyes were bulging with stress.
“Okay, okay bro, I get it. Listen, I really don’t know. Zuko was being hassled by the other guys for a few weeks now, and I decided to stay out of it. It doesn’t have anything to do with me, right? And I got here about 30 minutes ago to cram for a test tomorrow, and when I got here, it seemed like he had gone home for the week or something.” The boy was now flustered and clearly caught off guard by Simon’s anger.
“What reason would he have for taking all of his bedsheets with him?”
Simon walked over to Zuko’s closet, flipped it open, and there wasn’t a trace of any of his clothing.
“And if he’s going home for only a couple of days, why would he take all of his clothes?” Simon opened up the top cupboard.
“And instead of taking a gym bag or something, he took his luggage with him? Dude, come on, what’s going on here?” Now that Simon was finally able to get the boy to be honest with him, he had to appeal to his humanity.
“Bro, I seriously don’t know, man. Look, he was flamboyant, you know? Kind of challenging? Maybe he felt out of place?”
“Or maybe he couldn’t stand being beaten up by jerks like you, being constantly harassed, need I go on? You’ve been swell, mate, thank you for your valuable contributions.” Simon, dejected, but still smarting with anger, turned on his heel, and slammed the door behind him. Either the roommate was genuinely confused and not in the know, or they were covering something up. And Simon was scared of what that cover-up might entail.
Simon went back to his car, opened up the door, and climbed into the driver’s seat. He paused for a moment, considering his next action. He hurriedly whipped out his phone, searched his inbox, and chanced upon the number of Zuko’s mother. Zuko would periodically text him from his mother’s phone when he ran out of airtime. Grateful for finally landing a lead, he dialed Zuko’s mother from his phone.
“Helen Mavuso speaking. Who is this?” Simon nearly burst out in tears of relief.
“Mrs. Mavuso! I’m so glad you answered your phone! This is me, Simon Northbrook! Mrs. Mavuso, have you heard from your son recently?” Simon could barely get his words out fast enough.
“Simon my child, how are you?” Simon noted that Mrs. Mavuso paused
just a little bit longer than necessary, and he was puzzled at her strange reaction.
“I’m fine, Mrs. Mavuso. But I’m worried about your son. Do you know where he is?”
“Simon, Zuko is very well. He has decided to transfer from Ridgemont University to a training college. He’ll be closer to home and be less… troubled.” Mrs. Mavuso was not being forthcoming with details, and Simon again felt the pangs of suspicion.
“That sounds very strange to me. He didn’t let me know that he wants to leave Ridgemont Uni. Could I speak to him, please?”
“No, I am afraid you cannot. He is busy unpacking now, and we will have some family time for now. I am sure he will get back to you tomorrow. Now if you will excuse me, Simon, I have to go and look after my son.”
To Simon’s dismay, he heard the sound of the phone being hung up. If before he suspected that something was up, now he was sure.
Chapter 9
“Look babe, I’m worried about Zee, too. And I agree, it seems weird that he would take off like that without so much as a word to anyone. But stranger things have happened, you know? This is starting to take over your life.” The concern in Olivia’s voice was palpable.
“Liv, Zee’s our best friend. We haven’t heard from him in days. His mother cut me off. The residence head won’t breathe a word to me. They’ve banned me from going into his res. All of this is adding up and it just seems really suspicious. We’re supposed to be looking out for each other, right?” A slight tone of panic had crept into Simon’s voice. He couldn’t help feel that he bore some responsibility for his young friend’s strange predicament, as he hadn’t acted earlier. He was too afraid of tarnishing his own reputation at the paper, and of too many people finding out that he was gay. But now he was determined to follow through and get to the bottom of this.
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