Sweet Boy and Wild One

by T. L. Hayes

  Rachel snickered. “Are you still hungover?”

  “I surpassed hungover hours ago, thank you very much. I would have been here sooner but I had to find food.”

  “I told you there was food in my room.”

  “Yeah, microwavable crap. Is that what you feed him? Poor boy.”

  “Not all of us have a kitchen at our disposal.”

  “Not all of us can be a ninja in that kitchen either.” Rory grinned.

  Rachel curled her lip at her. “Yeah, well, at least I still have the pretty thing.” Rory said nothing, just raised an eyebrow. “Okay, bad example. There must be something I have that you don’t have.”

  “Well, I don’t have a boyfriend, there’s that.”

  “Yeah,” Rachel said wistfully. She realized that both Chris and Rory were smiling at her. Rory took her hand again and Rachel held tightly to it. “No, but you have a Maggie and that’s almost as good.”

  “Definitely. And before you ask, I did call her. I don’t remember hanging up though.”

  “Mr. James?” The nurse interrupted their reunion. Everyone in the waiting room besides Chris, Rachel, and Rory looked away when she called Chris’s name.

  Chris stood up and Rachel and Rory followed. “Is he awake?”

  “Not fully but he is coming to. I figured you’d want to be there.”

  Chris put his hand at Rachel’s waist. “Can his fiancée come as well?” If Rory was surprised at the word fiancée, she kept quiet.

  The nurse smiled at Rachel. “Of course.”

  Rachel turned to Rory. “Can you…”

  “Wait where I did before?” Rachel nodded. “Yes.”

  The walk to Bobby’s room was different this time. There was not as much a sense of dread as there had been the other times they had taken that path. Rory held Rachel’s hand as they made the short walk down and Chris stopped midstride. “I need to call Dad. You go ahead—I’ll be in in a minute.” He pulled out his phone and began to pace a path in the hallway while he waited for his father to answer his phone.

  Rory squeezed Rachel’s hand, then leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “This is good. He’s going to be okay.”

  “I know.” Rachel gave her a brave smile. She took a breath again, though she wasn’t sure why because she knew this time was going to be different. Granted, he was still going to look the same and the machines were still going to be there, but this time he would know she was there. He could hear her say she loved him. As she expelled her breath, she slid open the door and went inside.

  What she saw when she walked in was the best thing she could have hoped for. Bobby’s eyes were open and he looked at her and he knew her. She could tell by the way his eyes crinkled and started to form tears. He tried to lift his unbroken arm but didn’t seem to have the energy.

  She went to him and took his hand in hers. “Hi. Welcome back.”

  He made a gargling noise around the breathing tube in his throat and became frustrated when he realized he couldn’t talk.

  “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. It’ll be out soon enough. Well, easy for me to say, right? I don’t have a large tube down my throat. All things in time. What matters is that you’re awake.”

  He gripped her hand tightly and the tears that looked imminent when he first saw her started to fall, and he turned his head away from her.

  “Stop that! Don’t be afraid to cry, you have every reason to cry. We all do because we love you.”

  He turned his head sharply in her direction and his eyes widened.

  “That’s right, you heard me. I love you and not because of this. I mean, I’ve loved you for a while. I just hadn’t given myself a chance to admit it. So there, now you know.” She brushed the tears off his cheeks and leaned down and kissed him there.

  He gripped her hand hard but she didn’t mind. When she stood back up he was nodding.

  “Yes what, Sweet Boy, yes what?” She looked him in the eye for a moment and then she understood. “You love me too?” she asked softly.

  He nodded again.

  “I know. I think I’ve known that for a while too.”

  Before she could say any more, Chris walked in accompanied by the doctor and a nurse.

  “So, I hear you’re coming around, Mr. Layton. We’re just going to check a few things for you, then see if we can get that annoying tube out of your throat. Before we do that, I just want to tell you that you’re going to probably be a little hoarse for a while, but don’t worry, it’s not permanent. You may experience a gagging sensation at first, which is perfectly normal. The important thing is not to panic. If you panic, it won’t be a pleasant experience. But I see your fiancée’s here, so allow her to keep you calm.”

  As the doctor consulted the machines attached to Bobby, Bobby looked at Rachel, clearly confused.

  Rachel just said, “Shh, not now.”

  Chris came to stand next to Rachel. “Hey, buddy. It’s been a day.” Bobby nodded then glanced at the doctor.

  “Okay, it looks like all your numbers are normal and now we can take out the tube. Are you ready?”

  Bobby nodded and Chris stood to the side so the nurse could take his place, but Bobby held firm to Rachel’s hand and she stayed where she was. The removal of the tube and accompanying apparatus only took a matter of seconds, and it made Bobby gag and cough. The nurse was there with a cup of water and she had to remind him not to gulp it down. Even so, some water spilled out of his mouth because he had taken too much.

  He lay back against his pillows and tried to speak but the words wouldn’t come. You could tell how much it hurt him to talk by the strain on his face.

  The doctor said, “I’m sorry to say that it might be a couple of days before you can speak. And when you do, you may have to take care so as not to strain your throat. But don’t worry, it’ll pass. It’ll just be like having a scratchy throat that eventually goes away. Everything looks good. Now you just have to get on the road to full recovery.” He smiled, and then he and the nurse left.

  Chris moved back to the spot he’d vacated. “Dad’s on the way. He said if you fall back asleep before he gets here, that’s okay, he’ll wait for you.”

  Bobby tried to whisper but it was obvious it pained him, so he mouthed one word instead.

  “Mom?” Chris asked. Bobby nodded.

  Chris looked at Rachel for a second and then said, “She went home this morning. She’ll be back.”

  Bobby shook his head.

  “You don’t know that,” Rachel said.

  Bobby just shook his head again.

  Rachel leaned down and whispered in Bobby’s ear, “I meant what I said. I love you and I need you to recover quickly so I can take you home.” She kissed his lips very gently and was relieved when he kissed her back. Rachel heard the door slide open and turned to see a nurse standing there and knew she and Chris had to go. “We have to go now, baby, but we’re just down the hall and we’re not going anywhere. I’ll be back later.”

  Now that he was awake, it was hard to leave him there. Before there had been no emotion on his face, but now there were several, and she knew them all, and she wanted to just crawl into bed with him and curl up with him and sing him to sleep.

  And something else was starting to take hold finally now that she knew he was better: anger. Someone did this to him for the sole purpose of hurting him. She had no idea who or why, but she hated them with almost as much intensity as she loved him.

  When she got back out to the hallway, Rory was standing there with a questioning look, waiting for her cue as to what Rachel needed from her. There were no tears this time when Rachel put her arms around her friend, despite the anger welling up; she was still happy and so very grateful.

  “He’s awake and off the breathing tube. He’s going to be okay, Morgan. He’s going to be okay.”

  Rory hugged her tight and said, “I knew he would be. I always knew he would be.”

  By evening, Chris decided to go home and sleep, especiall
y after Marissa threatened him, with what he wouldn’t say. Miraculously, Rory had convinced Rachel to do the same, but only with the explicit promise of getting up with the sun to come back in the morning.

  Rachel went in to say good night to Bobby.

  He kept trying to speak.

  “Honey, please stop. You’re just going to hurt yourself. As much as I would love to hear your voice right now.” She smiled at him and he started to mouth something. “What? I’m sorry, I can’t make that one out.”

  He was growing more frustrated and balled his fist on the mattress, but Rachel took his hand and unclenched it. “Baby’s it’s okay.”

  He fumbled with her hand until it lay palm open, and intrigued, she watched as he began to write letters there with his index finger one at a time, pausing until she said each letter out loud.

  “Lori? What about her?”

  He raised his arm and gestured to his broken body.

  Understanding was starting to dawn. “She did this?” Rachel asked, incredulous.

  Bobby shook his head and spelled in her hand again.

  “Bro? Do you mean brother?” He vigorously nodded. “You mean Lori’s brother beat you up?”

  He nodded again and then wrote one more thing.

  “Two? Two what, two brothers?”

  Bobby shrugged.

  “So it was Lori’s brother and at least one more person?” He nodded. “That fucking bitch. What in the bloody hell?” Quickly getting her anger under control, Rachel leaned down and kissed him on the lips, then said, “I have to go for now. I promise, I’m going to get some sleep tonight, but first I’m going to kick that crazy bitch’s ass.”

  Bobby gripped her arm tightly and shook his head.

  “Oh, don’t worry, I won’t get hurt or arrested, but she will. I haven’t decided which yet. I love you, Sweet Boy, and I’ll see you in the morning. Don’t worry.” She kissed him again, gently disengaging herself from his grip.

  When she got back out into the hallway, she grabbed the strap on the bottom of Rory’s leather jacket and pulled her along, as if the strap was a leash, and said, “Come on, Morgan, we have to go kick someone’s ass.”

  Amused, Rory allowed herself to be pulled. She asked, “And who would that be?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “Am I going to need bail money?”

  “Probably.”

  “Sweet.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Rachel brought Rory up to speed on the drive to the dorm. As they pulled into the parking lot, Rory asked, “So, what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Just to be clear, am I here to help you commit a felony or to stop you?”

  “I don’t know yet. You think I’ve had time to plan?” Rachel parked at an angle two spots from the door of the building, the best parking spot she’d ever gotten.

  Rory put a hand on Rachel’s arm before she could run out of the car. “Rachel, you know I’ve got your back no matter what, but I want you to seriously stop and think a minute before you go charging in there. Do you really think she’s going to admit to it? Would it really be worth it to hit her?”

  Rachel thought it over. Then she said, “Tell me something, Morgan, what if it was Maggie? What would you do?”

  Rory took a moment before she responded, and then she said quietly, “I would do what I had to do.”

  “Then you know how I feel. Come on.”

  As they walked down the hallway to Lori’s door, Rachel couldn’t help but feel as if she was in an old-time Western, about to have a duel. The actor in her really wished she was wearing a duster, a Stetson, and a six-shooter. Spurs would have come in handy too, she thought.

  When she reached Lori’s door, she almost surprised herself by knocking calmly. Before she knocked she had the thought that Lori might not be home, but she heard movement and suddenly Lori was standing in front of her, obviously surprised to see them.

  “Hi.” She looked from Rachel to Rory and back again. “Is something wrong? Is it Bobby? Oh my God, is he okay?” She put her hand over her mouth and looked horrified at the possibilities.

  Rory snorted but otherwise kept quiet.

  “Oh no, he’s fine. As a matter of fact, he woke up and he’s talking.” A lot of emotions played out on Lori’s face at Rachel’s half-truth. “I think you know what I’m about to say.”

  “No, I…really don’t.”

  “Yeah, you do. And I gotta tell you, I don’t know what to do right now. I just can’t believe…I just don’t know what to think. I mean, why? Can you at least tell me that?”

  “Why, what?”

  “Don’t, just don’t. I’m trying really hard not to dropkick your skinny ass down this hallway.” Rory put her hand on Rachel’s arm but didn’t say anything. Rachel immediately calmed down. “Look, you know as well as I do what Bobby said when he woke up. Why else would I even be here? I left the bedside of the man I love to come knock on your door. Why do you think I did that? Huh?”

  Lori was starting to get nervous. She looked to Rory for help but Rory just shrugged as if to say, You’re on your own. A look crossed Lori’s face and a resolve settled over her. “You don’t know?”

  “I really don’t.”

  Lori crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Rachel defiantly but said nothing.

  Rory said, “Oh my God, I get it.”

  “Well, will you tell me?” Rachel asked.

  “In her warped mind, she thinks that if she got Bobby out of the picture, then she could get you back. That’s it, isn’t it?”

  “Really? You think I would come running back to you in my time of grief?”

  Lori snarled. “I should have known you’d call her.” She nodded to Rory. “Does Bobby know that she’s the one you really love?”

  Rory sneered and tilted her head to Rachel. “You want me to do something with this garbage?”

  “Nope, I’m done. I just wanted to hear her say it. I just wanted to hear her say she got Bobby beat up.”

  “Yeah, well, he lived, so no harm, no foul, right?”

  “You do know you’ve committed a felony, right?” Rory asked, incredulous.

  “You’re joking. I never touched him.”

  “But you hired your brother to do it, that’s a felony,” Rachel said.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn’t pay him—I just told him I didn’t like him. What he did, he did on his own. What, you going to call the cops or something? Good luck with that. I didn’t do anything.”

  “No, it’s not for me to do, that’s Bobby’s choice.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “Like I said, I just wanted to hear what you would say. I’m done.” She narrowed her eyes at Lori, then started to walk away, but stopped and turned back around. “Oh, and for the record, even if there was no Bobby, I would never want to get back with you. You’re a crazy, messed up little bitch and I never really liked you. You were just easy and convenient.” Rachel smirked at her.

  Lori’s eyes blazed. “You fucking bitch, I’ll kill you!” She charged Rachel and tried to put her hands around her neck, but Rachel was quick and was able to get her arms up in a defensive move she had learned in her kung fu lessons. The move enabled her to quickly stop Lori’s hands and bat them away, and then Rachel grabbed one wrist, bent it back, and twisted Lori’s arm behind her back and pushed her against the wall.

  Lori cried out.

  “Oh, stop whining,” Rachel said. “It’s not like I hit you. That would have really hurt.”

  “You’re hurting me now.”

  “Really? Really?” With each repetition, Rachel applied more pressure to Lori’s wrist. “You nearly killed him! Do you even understand that? You nearly fucking killed him and you’re whining because I’m bending your wrist. How fucking dare you?”

  Rory leaned in to Rachel and said with evident glee, “Um, as much as I’m enjoying this, you can’t keep her against the wall like this forever. And you’ve drawn a crowd
.”

  Rachel looked at Rory and then at the onlookers and calmly said, “You’re right, my arms will get tired.”

  Rory cocked her head in the direction of Rachel’s room. “Come on, let’s go to your room and I’ll buy pizza.”

  “Pizza sounds good.” Rachel gave one final twist to Lori’s wrist then let her go.

  “You fucking assaulted me, you bitch!”

  “Actually, you attacked her,” Rory noted, “and I don’t think I’m the only one who saw that.”

  Molly shouted her agreement from the crowd. Several others in the group joined her.

  “Go to hell.” Lori went back into her room and slammed her door.

  The crowd cheered and some immediately started asking questions, but Rory held up one hand, while she put her other arm around Rachel’s waist and steered her toward Rachel’s room.

  “All right, that’s enough. She’s had a really long day. Come on.”

  Rachel said nothing as Rory led her to her room and closed and locked the door behind them.

  Rory smiled at her. “You provoked Lori on purpose, didn’t you?”

  “You think I’m stupid? I’m not going to start a fight. But I will damn sure finish one.”

  Rory laughed. “How’d it feel?”

  “Good. Not half as good as punching her would have, but still good.”

  “Good. Way to go, you really are a ninja.” Rory lifted her hand for a high five and Rachel slapped it.

  “I owe it all to my sifu.” Rachel bowed to Rory as she would to her trainer.

  Amused, Rory bowed back. “You’re not paying that woman nearly enough.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  * * *

  On Sunday Bobby was able to talk more clearly, and at Chris’s insistence, filed a police report and formal charges against Lori, her brother, and the unknown friend, who were all arrested later in the day. Rachel almost regretted not being in the dorm when it happened, but she listened to Rory’s advice that it was best to stay away until later.

  Later that day, Rory finally headed home. She protested, but Rachel ordered her to leave. Rachel knew she’d feel guilty if she kept Rory away from home for too long.