Truth and Humility

by J. A. Dennam

  Then Austin began to follow the argument and his guts lurched with dread.

  “I know your family was behind this somehow!” the man accused hotly. “Eye-for-an-eye, right? You think my kids had something to do with your son’s accident, but I’ll remind you they saved his life!”

  “What’s going on,” Austin interrupted, moving protectively between the man he now knew as the notorious Herb Bennett and his mother. “What happened?”

  Herb shook with anger, his face contorting with the rage of a protective father. “Did.&nad been you think you could get away with it just because you’re stuck in this damned hospital, kid?”

  “Get away with what?”

  Patricia chimed in impudently from behind him. “This…this man thinks you had something to do with his son’s accident.”

  Austin’s eyebrows came down in confusion. “What accident?”

  “The one that’s landed my boy in ICU!” Herb raged. “And don’t pretend you don’t know anything about it! You have enough friends who would be perfectly willing to do your dirty work for you whether you’re out of commission or not!”

  “Derek?” Austin guessed, looking back at his mother for confirmation. “Are you talking about Derek? He’s here?”

  Herb pinched his lips and flexed his fists at his sides, paced back and forth so as not to throw a punch. “And a lot worse off than you, unfortunately. He may not make it, does that satisfy you?”

  Dread washed over him and Austin, without thinking, moved toward the elevators.

  “Don’t even think about it, Cahill!”

  The old man grabbed his arm. Austin sawed his teeth from the pain. Patricia, noting the telltale pulse in her son’s neck, went into protective mode and hit Herb with her purse.

  “Let go of him, you heathen. Can’t you see he’s in no shape to fight with anyone, or even do this awful thing you’re accusing him of? My son would never sink so low as to cause someone harm, not even to that dreadful boy of yours.”

  Nurses and orderlies rushed to the scene and attempted to break up the small tussle. Taking advantage of the distraction, Austin moved toward the open elevator door and slipped inside unnoticed. His mother could hold her own against Herb Bennett. The fact that Derek was in ICU took precedence over all else.

  What had happened? Was it a climbing accident? A work related accident? Was Danny anywhere near her brother when he was injured? Was she hurt, too? Though Herb hadn’t mentioned her, it could just mean she wasn’t as badly injured as Derek.

  Austin took a deep cleansing breath and leaned against the handrail for support. He was getting dizzy, but he had to find out the answers to his questions. The bell chimed and the elevator door came open. He stepped out into the hall, moved past the waiting area. Danny was nowhere in sight, but there were plenty of Bennetts occupying the chairs, some embracing, some crying, some comforting others. The grief was atmospheric.

  Double doors down the hall opened. An older woman was escorted out on the arm of a man who sported the Bennett coloring. The woman, assuming she was the mother, was in tears, clutching a handkerchng his aief tightly in her fist.

  The rules of the ICU included that patients have only one or two visitors at a time. Austin continued down the hall and pushed open the double doors. He stopped at the nurse’s desk. “Derek Bennett?” he asked, and after a quick look to make sure there was no one else in room ten, the nurse waved him in.

  The rooms were situated in a circle in order to keep a closer eye on the patients. No doors, just curtains, amplifying the countless machines that filled the hub with various beeps and hissing sounds. It intimidated the hell out of him more than any place he’d ever been. Even the blender. But Austin tentatively reached out and pulled the curtain back.

  What he expected, he didn’t know. Coma? Mummy in a body cast? Disfiguring lumps and bruises? Maybe all of the above, but nothing prepared Austin for this.

  Dear God.

  The pitiful form in the bed held no resemblance to the effervescent force that was Derek Bennett. The face had a vacant look in sleep, like the old fashioned photos of wanted men after their execution. But upon closer look, the same light scruff covered the lower half of the face. The crooked nose was unmistakably the one Austin himself had broken nine years prior. Disheveled brown hair...the same color as Danny’s.

  Mummy in a body cast would have been a blessing. It would have at least disassociated this careful conglomeration of plastic bracing and metal rods from Derek.

  “What happened to you?” Austin breathed, his voice hitching from the anvil in his chest. Derek’s torso was wrapped in a plastic casing from pelvis to neck, indicating a broken back. A metal halo device had been screwed into his skull, indicating a broken neck. More metal protruded from his right forearm while the left arm was encased in a plaster cast up to the pit. No telling what all that was beneath the blankets. Tubes and cords piled out from beneath the bedding that led to machines, bags, meters. One of them arced out of his nose, looped toward the back where a canister collected stomach fluids. Another supplied oxygen.

  Never in Austin’s life did he miss his childhood friend more than at that moment. Each foreign object holding Derek’s broken body together represented crushing regret for the years they’d missed. The years they’d fought. So many wasted years they could have...should have...been brothers.

  Careful not to make a scene in such a capricious environment, Herb glared at the man standing at his son’s bedside. The Cahill kid was on his feet, larger than life, virile even in sickness. Hate flooded him for the injustice of it all. He approached silently, opened his mouth to spew forth the first heated thought that came to mind.

  But then he watched those wide shoulders move in a silent, wracking sob. The dark head slowly sank between them. Large knuckles grew white as they clutched the rolling IV stand for support. Herb stood still for a moment, watched the anguish that shook the man before him. “A littlep; casi late for regret, don’t you think?”

  Instead of getting angry and firing back, the Cahill kid didn’t move, didn’t respond. For one scant second, Herb felt a jolt of compassion for him. But then he remembered a sixteen-year-old Derek coming home with a bloody face and a broken heart. The terror that broke through the tough façade when he’d been carted to the police station for questioning regarding Rena’s death. The sacrifices he’d made for Danny, the shots he took from the Cahills – blow after blow after blow – each one of them bravely absorbed in order to protect his sister from the feud.

  Do you love him?

  The look of abject misery on his daughter’s face when she couldn’t deny it. The thought of what this man had done with Danny...to Danny...to his little girl...

  And the compassion burnt to cinders of smoldering rage. “Go ahead,” he rumbled with hatred. “Get your fill. Take it all in, Cahill, because now is the only chance you’ll ever get. And afterward – if I even smell you on this floor – I’ll finish the job that blender couldn’t and open you from stem to stern.”

  From stem to stern. The final words from his father’s mouth penetrated the hazy layers of consciousness. Things were off. He felt drugged, not himself, too much weight holding him down for some reason, but there was no pain. Nothing. Except in his throat. He grudgingly executed a painful swallow, winced at the tube he now felt in his nasal passage.

  The muscles in his neck weren’t cooperating. What the fuck?

  Then he remembered.

  Austin, sensing the elder Bennett was now gone, edged his way around the bed and lowered himself to the chair to Derek’s left. He’d been granted permission to do it. To get his fill. And if he left, he wouldn’t be allowed back. He inhaled a shaky breath, bent and rubbed the back of his neck as he collected himself.

  The clock indicated it was nearing six p.m. Two days had passed since Derek and Danny had pulled him from the brink of death.

  Something made him look up. A pair of eyes watched him from beneath heavy lids.

  Austin straig
htened, only mildly aware of his own pains. They seemed so unimportant now. “Hey,” he said huskily, his voice unsure. Derek’s eyes closed again. Had he been awake before? Was this the first time? Should he say something to the nurses? He attempted to stand, raise some kind of alarm.

  “Don’t.”

  The drunken command held no oomph whatsoever, but gained Austin’s complete and total cooperation.

  “Derek?”

  “Yeah.”

  There was some sort of relief knowing he was awake. Hearing him form words. It was an indication of hope. But what could Austin say? I’m glad you aren’t dead? I’m glad I wasn’t the one who put you in here like I’ve wished so many times? Instead, his nerves getting in the way, he settled for, “You look like hell.”

  The understatement, direct and unguarded, was the first thing Derek had heard from anyone since first waking up post surgery that wasn’t a load of crap. “Thanks,” he croaked sincerely.

  All was silent for a while. Derek’s eyes were still closed. “Do you want me to leave?” Austin asked, feeling he should.

  “No.”

  No? Why in the world not? If the tables were turned, Austin knew he wouldn’t be so gracious. Taking it one step further he said, “Can I do something?”

  Since he couldn’t nod, Derek was forced to push out words. “You can...suck...my dick.”

  Yeah. That’s what he thought. Austin pretended to ponder his options. “You want a regular blowjob or should I get a mint first?”

  Derek’s mouth quirked ever so slightly and his eyes opened a crack. “I...kinda like...the backstroke.”

  This was sounding suspiciously like an excerpt from one of their teenaged powwows. “Some full eye-contact?” Austin remembered, playing along. “I don’t know, man. That might be crossing a line.”

  “Then...forget it. Couldn’t feel it...anyway.”

  Austin swallowed on a wave of emotion and all was serious once again. “Do you know what happened?” When Derek didn’t answer, Austin wondered if he’d fallen asleep again. But a lone tear started building at the corner of the man’s closed eyes. “Were you climbing?”

  Slowly, Derek’s breathing began to pick up in rhythm. His eyes opened wider, with effort, and he fixed Austin with a solid look. “Get Danny.”

  Her name was like salve to an open wound. How could he pass up this excuse to see her again? “I will,” he promised. “I’ll find her for you. But first...” Austin wasn’t sure if he’d be let back into ICU after he left. “I have to apologize for what – ”

  “Shut...up,” Derek hissed, anger forming his mouth into a thin line. “Danny’s here. Get her...and come back.”

  “I’m here,” said a high voice by the curtain.

  There were no windows in ICU. No natural light to warm the room. Austin felt it now, knew what it must be like for Derek, the outdoor lover, to be cooped up and helpless in such a depressing place. But seeing Danny standing there, wearing shorts and an athletic top, her sun-kissed hair drawssent>

  Danny breezed over to the bed, set down her purse and water bottle and focused on Derek. She was the epitome of strength and encouragement. Her tears had been reserved for any other time than when she was in the presence of her brother. “You need ice?” she asked, nitpicking with the blankets, all business. “Are you hot?”

  “Tell...Austin – ”

  “The nurse said I might be able to roll a DVD player in here, but we’ll have to wait until – ”

  “Danny.”

  The last time Austin spoke to her in that tone was in the showers, right after she’d gone nuts-o and accused him of planning her demise. Danny took an instant breath, clicked her teeth shut and finally faced him.

  “He’s trying to tell you what he wants.”

  Since when did you care? The scathing remark was dangerously close to spilling out, but Danny suppressed it, turned back to her brother. She took another quick breath to keep her composure, to find the zone that was her only weapon against breaking down in front of Derek.

  Derek knew his sister better than himself. She was barely hanging on. “Tell him...what happened.”

  Austin braced himself. He knew this had to be important, sensed it involved him somehow. God, how he longed to walk over to her and smooth that troubled brow with his lips.

  “Sure...” Danny cleared her throat. “Whatever you want. In the meantime, I brought you some magazines – ”

  “Now.”

  “Okay.” Her answer was rushed. Nervous. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her brother. “He was working at the grain plant,” she explained matter-of-factly, avoiding Austin’s gaze. “Somehow he fell.”

  “I...didn’t fall.” There was fire in those tired eyes.

  Danny swallowed hard, gave a quick nod and stared down at the metal contraption holding Derek’s radius bone together from the outside. Her fingers lightly brushed his knuckles as tears began to well. “I know. It’s hard for me to believe, too.”

  “I...didn’t...fall.”

  “What do you think happened?” Austin asked, sensing Derek’s frustration.

  “Scaffol...scaffolding broke. Someone...tried...to kill...”

  Derek stopped, trailed off. Eyes closed, he could be asleep again.

  Austin couldn’t let it hang there. “You think someone tried to kill you?” Whe?nt>n he looked across the bed, Danny seemed to be waiting just as anxiously as he.

  Eyelashes fluttered. The answer came slowly. “Danny.”

  “I’m here,” Danny said softly, always in attendance when her brother needed her.

  Derek was fighting exhaustion. Just the act of carrying on a conversation was more than he could handle, but he had to get it out. “Kill...Danny.”

  The curtain rushed back. A stern looking, heavyset nurse came in wearing latex gloves. While she punched numbers into a handheld scanner, she demanded room. “Time for your vitals, Mr. Bennett. I’m sorry, but your visitors are going to have to leave for a while.” It was a statement aimed toward the visitors, not the patient.

  Derek looked to be asleep again. Danny stood there, ignoring orders while she pondered those last words. Then there was a warm hand on her arm ushering her out of the room.

  “Come on,” Austin spoke close to her ear when she didn’t budge. Her fresh smell flooded his senses, gained him a much-needed reprieve from the bleak odors of the hospital. It was all he could do to pull away, not cave to the urge to bury his face in her hair for the rest of his life.

  When they passed through the curtain, he halted her attempt to leave. “Wait.” Her shoulders stiffened but she kept walking. “We need to talk about what he said.”

  “He’s on drugs. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.”

  Was she in denial? One of the damned wheels on the IV pole kept sticking and he kicked it back into a roll, caught up with her before she could reach the doors. “Danny, you know what he meant. Just...hold up, dammit!” She stopped with her hand flattened on the swinging door. He sensed he should talk fast. “Derek thinks someone tampered with his work site.”

  Her silence was an affirmation of sorts. Her head began to bow and he knew she was falling apart.

  “It was my work site.”

  Stated like a confession. Austin stepped closer, put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her away from the doors. Just in time. They opened, narrowly missing a full-on blow to the face. White lab coats streaked by. Austin pinned her against the wall between his arms so she couldn’t run. “Talk to me, Danny. Tell me what happened.”

  Danny choked on a sob, put her face in her hands. “The grain plant demolition was my job. I was supposed to finish it yesterday, but I was in such a damned hurry to tour the campus I asked Derek to finish it for me.”

  “Tour what campus?”

  Misery etched her face when she took her hands away. “Columbia.”

  “And he thinks whoever tampered with your> job site meant to hurt you.”

  The need for a tissue had her franticall
y digging through her purse. She was suddenly angry. “You’re the first person to draw that conclusion. Everyone else thinks I was careless. That I left an unstable environment and failed to communicate it.”

  “Your father thinks I was behind it.”

  “That’s just the feud talking. I told him you weren’t responsible.”

  Her confession stunned him. What the hell had he done to earn such faith from her? The fact that this woman had risen above the feud to such a sterling level humbled him greatly.

  “Thank you,” Austin murmured, resisting the urge to touch her as she tended to her nose with a crumpled tissue.

  Danny continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Shaw’s the only one who defends me, but everyone thinks he’s just being loyal.”

  Jealousy, that green-eyed bitch, laughed in his face and told him the kid was more than just loyal. “So, this Shaw kid can attest to the fact the job site was safe when you left it?”

  “Yes! And he was with Derek yesterday. He saw it all happen. He was the only other person injured...broke his arm.” A fresh wave of tears rendered her speechless again for a moment. “But Derek...my God, he fell five stories, Austin. His C2 vertebra is broken in three places, he can’t feel anything from the neck down...”

  And she was a goner. She would have sunk to the floor if not for his support. He held her tight, ignoring the dull throb in his side. The pain meds were wearing off, but he’d be damned if he’d see the inside of his own room for a while. This was where he needed to be.

  “Do they think he’ll recover?” It was a question he had to ask, despite her fragile state.

  The ques

  tion he asked put reality in its place. She pushed out of his arms and put some distance between them. “You should probably get back to your room.”

  Not a chance. She may not work for him anymore, but he could still exercise his authoritative nature. “Derek wanted me to stay for a reason,” he countered sternly. “I think he’s worried about you. Especially since no one believes you’re in danger.”