Manchester Ménage 01 - Saving Samuel

by Nicole Colville

  Kirsty looked down then nodded.

  Daniel tried to prod her further. “He has scars which aren’t right. They’ve not been seen by a doctor.”

  She had her head bowed to the desk, looking through Samuel’s file again. “He does, and yes, that’s what the emergency doctor noted down too. Some of them are from a few years ago, maybe when he was still a minor, around fifteen. Poor thing. Oh…” She shook her head. “He has scars on his ankles and wrists, thin ones, the doctor noted they could have been made by tie wraps or wire. They would have hurt like a bitch.” She looked up at him, all professional and determined now. “You said people were looking for him? Trying to find him? We can’t let that happen.”

  He held his face in his hands and groaned. This little one needed help and everything inside Daniel told him Samuel wouldn’t accept it from them. “I know. Look, I can stay tonight, sit with him, I don’t mind. If you could call round some of those shelters, maybe see if we can get a counselor to speak to him, get him somewhere safe, we could help him.”

  “I want to.” She closed the file and tucked it under her arm. “I have to start my rounds. I’ll be with Samuel soon. When I’m finished, I’ll try to get hold of someone on our staff who can talk to him, then call a few other places up and get him somewhere to stay until we can sort this out. All this has been reported to the police officer who came here earlier. If you know him, he may be able to pull a few strings and get him into a safe house where they can keep their eye on him.”

  Daniel sat down in the waiting area and pulled his phone out. Just over an hour ago he swore he would never call Milo again, and here he was, pressing the call button and hoping he would speak to him.

  “Danny, did he talk?” Milo always kept professional at work. He was always serious, but at work he was worse.

  “Just a few short sentences before he fell back asleep. I spoke to the nurse… Milo, have you read his file?”

  “Ahhh shit! Danny, don’t do this. How the hell did you see those?”

  “I didn’t. I saw a scar on his neck, and he told me at the fire someone was trying to find him. He was scared to death.” Daniel wasn’t about to get the nurse in trouble. “I saw his wrists and he said people got angry at him. Come on, Milo, this one’s in trouble. Do something.”

  “Do something?” Milo sighed heavily, and Daniel knew he was dragging those sexy black waves of hair from his face while he did it. “I am doing something. I’m investigating the fire. So far it’s pointing in the direction of arson. This kid may have something to do with it.”

  “He didn’t start that fire.”

  “I didn’t say that. But he could be involved in it. It’s just a feeling I have. Danny, I need his surname. If I’m going to help him, I need more information.”

  “Okay, I’m going to get it for you. He’ll talk to me, but he won’t want you guys here. You’ll freak him out. Just back off a little bit, go through me until you’re really forced to speak to him directly. He trusts me.”

  “Well, so he should. You’re the hero, the one who saved his life. He’s bound to trust you.” Milo was tapping his fingers on the desk. “You’re staying the night, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I wanted to call round and talk to you tonight when my shift ended.”

  “There’s no need. I told you, no more personal stuff, just work.” Daniel played with his cuff while they spoke. “I have to go. Promise me you’ll call me when you find something out about him.”

  Milo sighed, and Daniel could imagine those dark eyes rolling in his skull. “Yeah, fine. I will do. You call me if he gives you anything I can use. I don’t suppose he’s got any personal items with him?”

  “No.” Daniel opened his eyes wide, then smiled. “Oh, wait. I grabbed two rucksacks for him when I ran from the building. They’re at the station house. I’ll get them tomorrow and bring them here for you. You can look through them and see if there’s anything in them.”

  “Good. Hopefully he has at least his surname somewhere in there for us.” Milo paused for a moment. “Daniel, I don’t want things to end like this between us.”

  Daniel stopped breathing. Not once in six years had Milo ever discussed anything personal while he was working.

  “Can’t we meet up? Just give me an hour to talk to you.”

  Daniel closed his eyes. It wouldn’t be one hour, it wouldn’t be one talk. It would begin again. “I can’t, it’s too hard.”

  “Danny…” Milo took a breath. “This isn’t over.” He ended the call and Daniel held his phone against his forehead, taking deep breaths and trying to stop the pain he felt inside from coming out.

  Chapter 4

  Samuel laid still, feeling the mattress under him and trying to think why he felt so comfy. He peeked out of one eye and looked around him. He was alone in a private hospital room. It took a few moments for everything to sink in, then he closed his eyes and groaned.

  The fire. The fireman. Daniel!

  Samuel opened his eyes and looked at the chair beside the bed. The discarded pillow and blanket reminded him his new friend slept beside him all night, keeping watch over him and always noticing when Samuel’s eyes opened, trying to find him. Samuel looked down at his hand, almost seeing it in Daniel’s again. It had been so long since he let anyone touch him, especially a man.

  He sat up slowly, trying to feel any injuries on his body, but noticed nothing new. Just the constant pain in his stomach from being hungry and the headache which never seemed to leave him. His joints ached, but they always hurt now from the cold and from sleeping on the floor. This mattress was the first one he’d laid on in over five months and he was sure it wouldn’t feel so comfy to others, but to him it felt like Heaven.

  “Good morning, Samuel.”

  Samuel jumped and spun his head around to the door. A petite, brown-haired nurse was walking in, holding a cup of tea.

  “I brought you something sweet to drink. Breakfast will be round soon, but if you’re hungry now, I have some sandwiches in the fridge, or I can pop you some toast in. What do you think?”

  Food sounded good. Even if Samuel wanted to run, he needed to eat first. “Either will be fine. Thank you.” He smiled at her as she passed him the steaming cup of milky tea. “Where am I?”

  “Manchester General Hospital. How do you feel this morning?”

  “Good. A bit achy and my chest feels tight, but I'm okay.”

  “The chest is down to the smoke you inhaled. You were lucky. The others who were pulled out are much worse and on breathing machines.” She grinned at him, brushing away a strand of his hair while he took a sip of tea. “You’re lucky you had a guardian angel looking after you. He stayed all night, you know. He said he was coming back. He has some things of yours. A couple of bags?”

  Samuel opened his eyes wider and nodded. He’d forgotten about them, he didn’t know how he could do. They were all he had of his old life. “They’re important to me. I need them back.”

  “He’ll bring them, sweetie pie. He wanted to be here when you woke up. I thought you’d be out for another few hours. You looked like you needed the rest. Lay back and I’ll get some food for you.”

  Samuel held the cup tightly in his hands, watching as she swept from the room. He needed those bags back before he left. He just hoped his friendly fireman brought them back before the police got here and started asking questions like they always did.

  Ten minutes later and his lovely nurse was sitting with him while he ate the first bit of food in three days. Gorgeous buttery toast and jam, followed by a big ham sandwich. When he’d finished, the breakfast was being brought round and she grabbed him a bowl of cereal and some more tea which he wolfed down. He hadn’t felt so full in ages.

  “Why don’t I run you a bath? A nice hot one to get the smoke out of your hair.”

  A bath sounded good. One with hot water sounded even better. He’d only had cold washes or a quick shower when he could grab one while he moved from shelter
to shelter. Recently he’d been living rough and that meant no hot water.

  “I’d like that.” He reached out and took hold of her hand. “The police… have they been here yet?”

  “They came about the fire. Don’t worry, they’re not coming back. I told them you were still out cold. Daniel wanted to talk to you though. You’re going to wait for him, right? He was so worried about you.”

  Samuel smiled remembering just how sweetly Daniel had treated him. “I want to see him. To thank him for all his help. Oh, and I need my bags too.” He grinned up at the nurse.

  She nodded as she removed the IV tube attached to the needle in his arm and checked the machine next to him. “Okay, let me grab you another gown. We don’t want everyone seeing your bum as you walk around now, do we? Despite it being a very cute one.” She smiled at him as he felt the blush creep over every inch of him then helped him sit up and watched him settle down before she left him.

  When she returned, Samuel followed her through the corridors into the bathroom, sitting beside the bath as it filled up. It was huge, the biggest one he’d ever seen. It had some sort of machine above it holding what looked like a big plastic sheet.

  “We use it lower disabled people into the bath.” His nurse smiled at him.

  “It will be like being in a swimming pool, but really hot.” Samuel played with the water, wanting to jump in right then.

  “I’ve brought you all the toiletries you’ll need.” She placed a few small bottles by the bath and a razor and toothbrush by the sink. “There are fresh pajamas on the chair there. Pull this cord if you need anything and someone will come running. I’ll leave you to enjoy your bath in private.”

  “Thank you.” Samuel jumped up and bit his lip as he grinned at her.

  “Have fun.” She waved as she closed the door.

  Samuel stripped off the two hospital gowns he had on and carefully lifted his leg over the side of the tall bath, slipping just his big toe in and sighing loudly. He needed this, not just to get rid of the grime on his skin, but just to feel heat all around him, helping his joints relax like they hadn’t done in months.

  The bath water was up to his nose and he could stretch out his long legs without touching the other end of the bath. He just floated in the steaming water before he eventually began to wash himself. His hair took a long time to clean now because it was so long. Samuel hadn’t had it cut since he was fourteen, and even then it always hung on his shoulders. Now it ran down his back, almost brushing the cheeks of his arse when it was wet and straight. He used the small bottle of shampoo to clean it twice, then used the sweet smelling conditioner and laid back, relaxing and letting it sink into his hair.

  He should have it all cut off—it wasn’t nice having so much hair to look after when he couldn’t wash it or comb it how he wanted to every day. Maybe a change would be good. He’d looked like this for years, maybe if he actually shaved his head and dressed differently they would overlook him for a bit. It was just hair, it would grow back later.

  Samuel lifted up a section of it and sighed. It did make him look more girly than when it was shorter, and looking like a girl helped him sometimes because more people were willing to help him, but then others wanted to take advantage of him too.

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in the bath, but the smell of food made him think he’d been in there all morning. He got out after rinsing his body down and dried himself with the rough, white towels before dressing in the pale blue, cotton pajamas. He felt better. Less sore and so clean. He hadn’t been this clean in a long time. He brushed his teeth then ran the razor over the small patches of bristles on his otherwise smooth face. He never really needed to shave, he didn’t have many hair follicles on his face, just random patches which took no time at all to get rid of and wouldn’t show up again for a couple of days.

  His hair needed brushing and he popped his head out of the door and caught a nurse’s eye. She smiled and sent the first lady over to him who was now dressed in her jeans and sweater.

  “If you’re going home, don’t let me keep you.”

  “You’re not. I was just chatting to my friend. You look so good.” She lifted a strand of hair and smiled. “You need a brush?”

  “Yes please.”

  “Sit down and I’ll bring mine over.”

  “Thank you.” Samuel smiled softly and sat down in the plastic chair by the door and waited for her to return.

  “Here you go.” She tutted when he reached for the brush. “I used to work as a hair stylist’s assistant in college. Let me work these knots out for you.”

  Samuel sat still, letting her tease the ends of his hair. She was far gentler than anyone who had ever touched his hair before. The last person to really care for him like this was Claudia. It brought tears to his eyes when he thought back to the kindly older woman who took him in the last time he was in hospital. This nurse was the same, and no matter how much he trusted her, and how much he wanted to let her help, he knew it wouldn’t happen. He wouldn’t put another person in danger again.

  “You have lovely hair.”

  “Thank you.”

  Finally she was running her fingers through his hair. “All knot free and very silky. Let’s dry it.”

  She took him back into his room and came back with an old hair dryer. When she was happy it was all dry, she helped him stand and placed him in front of the mirror on the wall. He stood still for a long time, not knowing who the person was in front of him. It had been so long since he actually looked at himself. He was shocked by what he saw. He’d become thinner—he’d always been slim, but this was a little too thin for him—and his hair… He dragged his fingers through the shiny, thick, blond mane hanging around his shoulders and opened his mouth in shock.

  “I had no idea it was so long.” He turned around, looking how far it reached down his back. It ended at his waist and it was truly a shock seeing it like this.

  “It’s beautiful.” The nurse ran her fingers through it and smiled. “I wish I had hair like it.”

  Samuel turned back to the mirror, leaning in and looking at his pale complexion and big eyes. They weren’t usually this big. It must be the weight he’d lost. The blue stood out more against his skin and his lips were flushed and bright pink. Samuel stood still and just looked at the person in the mirror. Was this really him? The last time he saw himself was when he’d got over his withdrawal symptoms at Claudia’s, and he swore then he wouldn’t look in another mirror again, but he was different now. He may be thin, and he may have been living rough for five months, but he was drug free and not in the clutches of those men now. He looked so much better, it shocked him.

  “What’s wrong? Forgot how beautiful you were?” His nurse laughed and he shook his head.

  “I’m not beautiful, I’m strange.”

  “Oh, sweetie pie. You’re so wrong. Everyone who’s seen you would say the same. Honestly, I’ve had people from the other wards come round to just watch you sleep. You’re our very own Sleeping Beauty.” She laughed at him as he slammed his mouth shut. “Come on. Lunch will be ready now. Let’s get you back in bed and some more food inside you.”

  Samuel sat on the edge of his bed, swinging his legs and looking at his toes, his hair teasing his face and floating around him like curtains. It smelled nice and felt so soft and healthy.

  “Samuel?”

  Samuel jumped, quickly swiping his hair from his face and looking into the friendly green eyes of his firemen standing at the door. Samuel quickly looked over him, taller than him and bigger built. Usually bigger men frightened him, but Daniel had a soft look in his eyes and how he stood so casually didn’t make Samuel worry.

  “It’s me. Just cleaner.” Samuel dropped his head a little, peeking out through his lashes and letting his hair cover most of his profile again so he could watch Daniel secretively as he moved into the room.

  Daniel cleared his throat and sat in front of him. “Much cleaner.” He gently moved the hair from Samuel’s
face and dipped his head down so they could see each other. “Hi. Everything okay? You remember me, right?”

  “I do.” Samuel tensed as Daniel’s thumb ran down his cheek. It had been almost a year since a man had touched him like that, and the last time didn’t hold any good memories for him. Samuel felt himself stiffen up and Daniel responded immediately by removing his hand and stepping back a foot.

  “It’s nice to see you awake. I hear you’ve eaten well.” Daniel smiled at him then sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to invade your space. I was just happy to see you awake and looking so healthy. I mean, it’s a big shock.” He laughed and it made Samuel smile shyly at him. “You look so… ” Daniel’s cheeks turned red and Samuel glanced at his toes again.

  Daniel thought he was a girl when he helped. It threw people off when they found out he wasn’t one. But then he’d stayed all night with him afterwards.

  “Strange, odd, weird, abnormal,” Samuel whispered out the words which he’d heard too many times to recall.

  “I was going to say…” Samuel glanced at him and saw how he was playing with the cuff of his shirt and blushing even more. “Well, you’re beautiful, fascinating, unique. All good stuff.” Daniel smiled, his calm green eyes making Samuel smile more.

  “Thank you.” He didn’t often believe the compliments he got about how he looked, but there was something so honest and trusting about Daniel that Samuel couldn’t help but trust everything he said.

  “I brought your bags.” He nodded to the door and Samuel sat up straighter when he caught sight of his beat up old rucksacks. “I forgot to give them to the paramedic as you were leaving, but I knew I’d be back to see you so I kept them in the fire truck. I was in such a rush last night, I left them at the station.” His green eyes met Samuel’s and they stared at each other for a few quiet moments. “I just, erm…” Daniel cleared his throat again and stood up. “I knew they were important.”

  “Thank you. They are. I don’t have much, but what I do have, I wouldn’t want to lose.”