“Connor,” Jayden shouted over the music. “How are you going to hear a customer coming in the door,” Jayden asked with a laugh as he turned the volume down.
Connor smiled. “I could hear 'em, boss.”
“Uh huh,” Jayden grinned and slipped on his work clothes.
“How are Andrew and Madison? Will they be back soon? Is everything okay in New York? Has she gone to court already?” Connor blurted out the same questions he had been asking daily.
Jayden never made him feel bad for asking repetitive questions over and over as he realized that was how Connor communicated. Jayden walked over and kneeled down next to the bike.
“They’re alright, but they can’t come back yet.”
“Really,” Connor whined.
“What, I can’t occupy your time adequately?” Jayden asked, trying to hold a serious expression.
“Ahhh, Jay, you totally rock. I just...” Connor stopped, rubbing his hands along his coveralls nervously as he looked at the ground. “Never mind.”
“What is it?” Jayden asked, confused by Connor’s behavior.
“You’ll think I’m stupid.”
“Oh, hell, you better tell me now or you’re fired.”
Connor’s head shot up to check the validity of the statement Jayden just made. When he did, he saw that Jayden was smiling. He waved his wrench at him and shook his head.
“That’s messed up, man,” he laughed uneasily.
“I’m just teasing you, Connor,” Jayden grinned as he messed up Connor’s already wild hair.
Connor nodded dramatically and handed Jayden one of the wrenches. They started to work on the bike in silence. It was oddly quiet and completely out of the ordinary. Generally speaking, Connor didn’t know how to shut up. Jayden watched him work and could see that his shoulders were moving as he took several deep breaths. Jayden wanted to say something but decided to give him a few more minutes to say what was on his mind.
“In my family, when people leave, they usually stay gone,” Connor stated with a sadness Jayden wasn’t used to hearing.
Jayden stopped working and reached across the bike, squeezing his shoulder. “They’ll be back.”
Connor nodded and lowered his eyes. He was watching the bike but was making no move towards actually working on it.
“The first time Andrew and Madison left for New York, I was a mess,” Jayden let out an uneasy laugh, as Connor looked up at him. “At the time, I thought it was for good. I never made friends easily. Growing up in Texas with gay parents was like the kiss of death for friendship making. After a while, I stopped trying. When my dad, Liam, got hurt, I closed everyone out. I didn’t want to be near anyone except for my parents. I was so paranoid something was going to happen.” Connor was listening intently, nodding his head slightly. “We moved here when I was eleven and I met Callie.” Jayden smiled. “She wouldn’t let me close myself off completely.”
“Callie is awesome.”
“She is.” Jayden wet his dry lips before continuing. “Anyway, um, until I met Andrew, I never really had a close friend. We hit it off immediately.” Jayden cleared his throat. “When he left, it was very difficult because I had finally let someone in and here he was leaving. He was gone almost six months,” he shook his head and sighed. “It was a long six months and I missed him a lot. You see, Connor, I do understand what you’re talking about and I would never think it was stupid to want your friend, our friend, back.”
Connor smiled brightly and nodded. “Thanks, Jayden.”
“No problem. Now let’s get this one done, alright.”
“You betcha!” Connor replied.
Jayden chuckled as they both began working again. Their conversation was light and all over the place, something that Jayden was accustomed to. Connor was what he liked to call a topic jumper. He would shift conversations so quickly that Andrew and Jayden often thought that it actually increased their own brain capacity just keeping up with Connor’s multiple lines of thought. Connor was a hard worker, though, and as long as Andrew or Jayden kept him on track, he was efficient. Up until this day, though, Jayden hadn’t realized how much Connor had connected with him and Andrew. He knew that Connor enjoyed being with them, but he never suspected that it had reached the level of discomfort when they weren’t around.
“Hey Connor, you hungry?” Jayden asked, seeing that it was almost one o'clock.
“Hell yeah, I’m always hungry. Should we call someone?”
“Do you want to get out of the shop? Go eat somewhere.”
He bounced up excitedly. “Hey, let’s go to that Mexican joint down by the mall.”
Jayden thought for a moment and then asked, “Mexicali?”
“Yeah, that one. They make some badass tamales. They’re the best.”
Jayden snorted, “You only think that ‘cause you’ve never tasted my tia’s. Hers are the best.”
Connor laughed as he slipped off his coveralls. “What part of Texas were you guys from?”
“We lived in Houston, but my dad’s from Corpus Christi. We went there all the time. Every time we went down there, they fed us like kings. It was fantastic!”
“I’ve always been curious about this, and please don’t get offended
Jayden laughed. “Okay, shoot.”
“How the hell did an Irish dude meet a Mexican dude in Texas? That just blows me away. It’s crazy.”
Jayden slipped off his coveralls. “Now, that is a long story.”
“I bet it’s a good one though.”
“Yes, it is.” Jayden walked over to the front door and locked it. As he turned, he grinned. “I’ll tell you over lunch.”
“Cool.”
“Come on, I’m starving. I didn’t eat breakfast before I left the house,” Jayden said, coming back up to him.
“Since it’s one o'clock, we probably missed the lunch hour traffic in the restaurant.”
“God, I hope so.”
“Lights on or off,” Connor asked as they reached the back door.
“Um, off is cool, then people know for sure we aren’t here.”
Connor flicked the light switch and before they could comprehend anything else there was a loud explosion. Jayden grabbed Connor who seemed to be rooted to his spot. Jayden literally threw him out the doorway with a strength he didn’t know he possessed just before he went flying through the air. Jayden landed towards the rear of their back lot. He felt pain along his left side but couldn’t pinpoint why he hurt. His eyes wanted to shut but he was trying to keep them open. He could see Connor crawling towards him. He had panic in his eyes. His mouth was moving but Jayden couldn’t hear any words. The only sound he heard was a sharp ringing pounding in his head. He had a brief visual of his father crawling to his dad, when Jayden was a boy. Liam was lying on the ground, bloodied and unmoving, his eyes barely open while his father was screaming and crying. The image then changed to Callie, who was blowing a kiss at him and whispering that she loved him. Finally, the picture became his beautiful daughter, Ellie, her eyes bright and full of life. She reached her hand out to him as his eyes slowly closed.
“JAYDEN!” Connor yelled at the top of his lungs.
Connor glanced towards the garage and heard another large popping sound. Smoke was already coming out the door and he could smell the burning oil and fuel from the bikes. He could hear the sirens over the alarm in the shop, signaling the approaching fire trucks. He turned back to his friend. Jayden was lying on the ground, staring at him. He looked hurt. Connor’s mind was moving quickly and all over the place. He wasn’t sure what to do, but he knew that he needed to get to Jayden. He wanted to run, but his body felt off, like his equilibrium was not in sync. He ended up crawling towards him. Jayden closed his eyes and Connor’s heart dropped. He heard yelling coming from what must be a bull horn of some sort out front and a lot of activity inside the building. He didn’t focus on that though. He was on another mission. Jayden. When he reached him, he saw that the clothing on Jayden’s side was
charred. He allowed his hand to hover above the area, feeling the heat radiating from the wound. Pressing his fingers on Jayden’s neck, he felt a pulse and breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Sir, are you injured?” Connor heard behind him, or possibly to the side. It all seemed so far away and muddled.
“Sir,” another distant voice said as he guided him away from Jayden.
“I’m okay, but I can’t hear very well,” Connor said as he watched the paramedic begin to check Jayden. “Is he okay?”
No one answered him and he was having difficulty connecting the sounds he was hearing to actual words but he thought he heard them say something about second and third-degree burns. One began searching through various pockets until he found Jayden’s wallet. Another paramedic kneeled in front of Connor. Connor could tell he was talking to him but he couldn’t make out what he was trying to tell him.
“I can’t hear you!” He pointed to Jayden. “Is Jayden okay?” he asked again.
The paramedic once again didn’t answer him. Connor reached in his pocket and extracted his phone, rapidly scrolling through the numbers. He quickly typed a group message and hit send. Connor watched the backdoor of the garage and could tell by the lack of smoke that the firefighters were winning the battle inside. He then turned to watch the paramedics working on Jayden. The paramedic tapped his shoulder and when Connor turned to him, he saw a written note.
We are taking you and your friend to the hospital. It’s common for there to be a loss of hearing after an explosion. It is generally temporary but they will want to make sure there is nothing else going on. Your friend has burns on a few areas of his body. The hospital will determine how severe those burns are. We have contacted his family. Do you have someone you would like us to call?
Unwittingly, tears began to roll down his cheeks as he shook his head. Connor frowned as the man touched his shoulder, tapping it lightly. Connor glanced to the side, noticing something out of the corner of his eye. There were two police officers approaching. His inherent panic and apprehension emerged before he realized he had done nothing wrong. He kept reminding himself of what Andrew always told him, if you did nothing you have nothing to fear. Andrew talked to him a lot about his life and being in prison. He always had a way of explaining things to him so that he understood. He watched as the officer spoke with the paramedic, jotting notes down. He then stepped up to Connor and kneeled in front of him. He scribbled on his pad of paper and turned it so Connor could read it.
What happened?
Connor shrugged. “I don’t know. We were leaving for lunch and I flipped the light switch off. When I did, there was an explosion. I didn’t see anything.” He looked at Jayden who was being wheeled into the ambulance. “Did someone call his girlfriend? His parents?” he asked, having already forgotten that the paramedic had told him they did.
The police officer turned around and asked something to the paramedic who nodded. The officer turned back to Connor, giving him a warm smile and mouthed the word, yes. The officer turned abruptly, so Connor followed the direction of the officer’s eyes to see what was going on. What he saw was Jayden’s dad, Liam, yelling and trying to push through the barrier. The officer near the barrier moved it and Liam sprinted across the back lot. He made a cursory look at Connor and then leapt towards the ambulance.
“That’s my son. What happened to him?” Liam asked as he stepped into the ambulance.
“He appears to have second and third degree burns along his left torso. We aren’t sure the extent of the damage.” The paramedic stated as the doors closed.
Liam tried to rein in his panic as he kneeled down. “Jayden, it’s going to be okay. Hang in there, Son.” He leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Callie is on her way to the hospital. She will be there waiting for you so you better wake up before we get there. You don’t want her to worry.”
“Does he have any known allergies?”
Liam shook his head. “He’s always been healthy, perfect pregnancy.” Liam gently stroked Jayden’s hair. “He had one minor motorcycle accident when he was younger but no major issue, just scarring on his left calf.”
The paramedic nodded and stepped next to Jayden, checking the lines. Liam covered his mouth, and chanted to himself. Be calm, he’ll be okay. Callie had called him ten minutes ago in a panic. She had the baby and they lived clear across town. She didn’t think she could make it to the garage before the ambulance left and didn’t want Jayden alone. Liam being closer had told her to meet them at the hospital while he raced over to the shop. He had left several messages for Elias but was told he was in court awaiting the verdict. Suddenly, his phone rang.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know, El. I think they’re taking us to Memorial,” he said hesitantly but the paramedic nodded.
“Is he hurt badly?”
“He’s...” Liam swallowed, trying to control his voice. “He’s hurt, El. Callie is on her way to the hospital.”
“I’m leaving the courthouse right now.”
Liam held Jayden’s hand in both of his, praying that everything would be alright. His mind wandered to Senator Bowers. He didn’t want to believe he had anything to do with it, but a part of him realized he likely did. This was too big of a coincidence to ignore. Liam’s eyes were transfixed on Jayden’s side. You could clearly see that the material of his shirt was burned. The arms not so much. Liam wondered why, but was grateful they weren’t. The jeans were blackened but it didn’t appear that the thick fabric had been penetrated. He felt tears streak his cheeks as he looked at his son.
“Excuse me, sir.”
Liam moved out of the way as the door swung open. The doctors were moving swiftly towards the ambulance. Right behind them was Callie, holding Ellie in her arms. Her generally bright and happy demeanor transformed into heartbreak and tears. Her normally put together self was in disarray. Even Ellie was in distress. Liam stepped out of the ambulance, determined to be strong for Callie. Jayden would need that.
“Jay,” Callie cried as they wheeled him by her.
Liam took Ellie from her. “Callie, he needs every ounce of positive energy you can give him. He’s hurt, but I think he’ll be okay. Go to him. I have her.”
Callie nodded, wiping her eyes. She then turned and marched over to where they had Jayden. He brought Ellie up and kissed the tip of her nose. As he was walking to the seats, he saw another ambulance arrive. Connor was brought in moments later. His arm lay over his eyes and Liam could tell that he had been crying. Ellie screamed, forcing Liam to focus on her and only her.
“It’s okay, garinion, Daideó will take care of you, shhhh,” Liam whispered to her. He looked towards the door as he held her close to him. “El, where are you?”
Meanwhile, in New York
Andrew and Madison strolled out of the theater hand in hand. Aside from running into Kurtis a few hours ago, they had a fantastic day. The old black and white film they had just seen was interesting but they were ready to go back to the hotel and lounge, preferably naked, in an after sex stupor. Madison pulled out her phone with her free hand and turned it on, as did Andrew with his. When a phone began going off, Andrew didn’t notice. There was no reason to think anyone would be calling him. After all, no one ever called him but Madison and sometimes his aunt or uncle.
“Helios, that’s your phone.”
“Oh,” he laughed as he pulled it out of his pocket. “Usually it’s your phone that’s going crazy.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” Madison grinned as she nudged him.
He snickered before stopping to read the text. It was from Connor. He thought that was odd. Connor never sent him anything. Once he read the message, though, all color drained from his face. He felt his heart beating quickly and suddenly felt nauseous. He was trying not to think of the worst, but the worst was forcing itself to the forefront. He released Madison’s hand and touched his knees as he tried to rein in the gravity of his fears.
“Andrew,” Madison held his shoulder
, panicked. “What’s wrong?”
Andrew couldn’t say anything. His head was spinning as images of worst case scenarios filled his brain. He took several deep breaths before he stood straight. He looked into Madison’s panic filled eyes and handed her the phone. Madison forced her gaze away from Andrew’s distraught face and read the message. She audibly gasped, covering her mouth.
Explosion at the shop. I’m okay but Jayden’s hurt. Bad I think. I don’t know what happened and these assholes won’t answer me.
She looked up and saw the fear in Andrew’s eyes. Jayden was his best friend and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for him. Placing her palm over his heart, she felt its rapid beating. She snatched her phone and quickly called Callie’s number but it went straight to voicemail. She directed Andrew towards a bench in the lobby. He had this lost look on his face that scared her. She needed to find out what was going on. She quickly dialed Liam’s number.
“Hello, Madison.”
“We were in a show and our phones were on silent. What happened?”
“Put him on speaker,” Andrew stated hoarsely.
“Liam, I have you on speaker. What’s going on?” Madison asked while gripping Andrew’s hand.
“From what Connor said, they were leaving for lunch. Connor flipped the light switch off and there was some type of explosion. Jayden pushed Connor out of the way and he took the brunt of the hit on his left torso. He, um...” Liam paused unable to continue.
There was a long silence and Andrew and Madison looked at one another. They could hear a lot of noise on the other end of the line. Announcements for some doctor to call the ER could be heard distinctly so they knew that they were at the hospital. Soon, another voice came on the phone.
Helios Renewed (The Helios Chronicles #3) Page 19
