“You did what you had to so you could save Leo.” Aud started to touch Felix’s leg, like he had Julie’s, but he stopped himself. He remembered Leo saying Felix didn’t want to be touched.
“I wonder if other rape victims have had the chance to beat their monsters. I don’t know if I’d have been able to do it if he hadn’t stabbed Leo. That was what pushed me over the edge.”
“I think it’s noble that you acted to save Leo. That’s a good thing.”
“The detective guy says that with Julie’s video, I won’t face charges of assault on Axe. I can’t believe there would be the possibility I could face charges. Julie too. He’s the bad guy.”
Aud’s phone rang. “Yes, he was definitely the villain in this.” He pulled out his phone and looked at it. “It’s Heather.” He swiped it to answer. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Kinda quiet here. How’s Leo?”
“In surgery. We’re all talking with the police right now while we wait for him to get out. My turn’s next.”
“Oh. Well, I hope everything turns out okay. The glass guy called a little bit ago. He found the right-sized glass, but it’s going to be tomorrow before he can get back to the house. He apologized and said there was some kind of accident, but he’d give you a discount for not being able to get it done today.”
Aud watched as a nurse in blue scrubs walked toward them. “That’s okay. You might have to handle that too. I may be up here a while.”
The nurse stopped in front of Felix. “You’re with Mr. Caldwell?”
“There’s a nurse here. I’ve got to go.” Aud swiped off the call without waiting to hear what Heather said. His heart raced.
“That’s us,” Felix replied.
“He’s out of surgery,” the nurse continued. “He’s in recovery. It looks like he’s going to have a scar, but other than that, he should be fine.”
“When can we see him?” Aud asked.
The nurse looked from Felix to him. “Are you family?”
“I’m his boyfriend.”
Felix came to his rescue. “Leo’s family is on the way, but it’ll be a little while before they get here. Aud is his boyfriend. Leo will want to see him as soon as he can. He said it was okay for Julie and me to be here before he went into surgery. I say Aud can be here.”
A tired frown etched itself on her face. “If the family or Mr. Caldwell has an issue with your being here, then you’ll have to leave.”
Aud relaxed for a moment. “That’s fine. I don’t think there’ll be a problem.”
Felix paused as the nurse turned to head back down the hall in the direction she’d come from. “Wait. Julie’s still in with the police. We need to let her know.”
“Where are we going to be?” Aud focused on the nurse.
“In the recovery room. Anyone can point her in that direction.”
“Go on.” Aud motioned for Felix to follow the nurse. “I’ll let them know and be right behind you.” He wanted to be there as quickly as possible, but if Leo was in recovery, it might be a little while before anything really happened. He had time to make sure Julie knew.
After walking across the hall, Aud knocked on the door to the consultation room before he opened it. Julie sat on a couch, with Benet and the officer in chairs near her. All three looked at him.
“Leo’s out of surgery and in recovery. Felix and I are going down to the recovery waiting room.”
“Okay. We’ll follow shortly,” Benet said.
Aud paused and looked at Julie’s face. From what he could tell, she looked calm. “Good.” He stepped back out of the room and closed the door.
He was fast enough to spot Felix and the nurse turning a corner a short distance down the hall. He hurried after them.
I really hope this is all about to be over. I’m ready for things to find a balance point and a new normal to start up. I’m not sure what the new normal is going to be, but it will be wonderful to find it, as long as Leo’s around to be part of it.
LEO BLINKED
against the brightness. A light and airy sensation filled his head. Everything felt odd. The sheets covering him weren’t his; they were too scratchy. He moved slightly and something on his right side pulled, sending a wave of pain through him. He gasped and opened his eyes wide.
“Careful.” A strong hand rested on his shoulder, but somewhere in the depths of his fuzzy brain, he recognized Aud’s voice. “The nurse said if you move around too much, you might pull out the stitches, and that wouldn’t be good.”
He closed his eyes against the brightness in the room. “Nurse?” Leo let out a long breath. “That’s right. I’m in the hospital.”
“Randal stabbed you.” Julie’s voice came from the other side of the bed.
“Right.” Leo slowly opened his eyes again. “Is everyone okay?”
“We’re fine,” Julie said. “A few scrapes. Felix banged up his hands pretty good beating the scumbag.” She shoved a pair of glasses into his hand. “Here. They’re your spare pair. Until you can get new ones. I ran back to your place after you made it out of surgery and I talked with the cops.”
After slipping his glasses on, Leo could focus on the room around him. He moved his head slowly until he spotted Felix sitting behind Aud. “Felix, are you okay? I thought I’d dreamed of you attacking someone.”
“I’ll be fine. I wasn’t going to let Axe… Randal… whatever his name is hurt you the way he hurt me. I just don’t have that in me.” There was a little fire back in Felix; seeing it helped Leo feel better, even as an ache started in his right side.
“He was a real hero out there.” Pride colored Julie’s voice.
“So what’s going on?” Leo asked. “I mean with Randal and all.”
They took turns relating what had happened and how Benet was still going to need to get an official statement from Leo in a day or so, when he was feeling better. Until then, they were holding Randal on assault with a deadly weapon, rape, and stalking charges.
With a heavy sigh, Leo relaxed into his pillow. He squeezed Aud’s hand. “So maybe this means we can finally have a quiet, relaxing night together after I’ve healed up a bit.”
Aud’s smile warmed him. “I’m hoping so.”
A soft knock came from the door, and they all turned. Leo’s mother and father stood there.
“What happened to you?” his mother asked as she hurried to the bedside.
“A little trouble at Walmart,” Leo replied. “You’ve always warned me about shopping there. It’ll be nice when I don’t have to.”
Julie moved aside so his mother could reach him. As she bent over him, the smell of her White Diamonds perfume flooded him. “Yes, it will. I’m just glad you’re going to be okay. I was terrified when Julie called to say you’d been stabbed and were headed for surgery. I woke your father from his nap and got him moving immediately.”
“So traffic wasn’t too bad from Fort Collins?” Julie asked as she walked around the foot of the bed to sit on the windowsill next to Felix.
“Bad enough,” Leo’s father said. “I think they were having some kind of event near downtown Denver. Traffic was backed up for miles, and we never did see an accident. That’s one of the biggest reasons we don’t ever come down to visit. Just getting through Denver can be a real nightmare.”
Leo’s mom turned from him to his father. “Now, Howard, we’re not supposed to be complaining about things like getting down here. We’re here to make sure Leo’s all right. It’s not about you.”
He harrumphed. “You’re right, as always, dear. Leo, we’re so sorry this happened to you. Did they catch the guy?”
“They did,” Leo said, glad for the change of subject to keep his parents from arguing in the hospital room. “Actually, Felix and Julie beat on him until the cops arrived to take him away.”
His father’s bushy gray eyebrows rose. “Really? Felix, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“You’d be surprised,” Felix muttered.
“Well, I don’t care who did it or how. I’m just glad you’re still here with us.” Handing her purse to his father, his mother claimed his other hand.
For a moment it felt weird having Aud holding one hand and his mother holding the other. Then it crossed his mind that even though he’d told his mother about Aud, they hadn’t actually been introduced. “Mom, Dad, I’d like you guys to meet Aud. He’s the one I told you about on the phone recently.”
His mother looked across him and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Aud. I’m Debbie. You’re just as handsome as Leo said you were.”
Heat rose in Leo’s face. “Mom.”
“Well, you did and he is.” She tsked. “Never mind that. I’m very pleased to find you at Leo’s bedside. It makes a mother feel much better when her son’s romantic interest proves to be caring. Leo hasn’t always had the best of luck with that in the past.”
Leo fought the urge to roll his eyes and suddenly wished his parents had opted to stay home and just get reports from Julie as to his condition.
“I do hope I prove to be much better than the men in Leo’s past.” Aud flashed his wide, bright smile at them. It was the smile that had stopped Leo’s heart more than once in the past couple of weeks. “Besides, they’re in the past and I’m his present and, I hope, future.”
“That would be good.” Leo’s mother smiled back at him. “You’ll be a lot better to look at across the Thanksgiving dinner table than a few of the people who’ve been there. Uncle Bryan, for example.”
“Mom,” Leo objected again. “Can we not talk about stuff like that here? We’re in a hospital room.”
“So I noticed,” she replied. “But what else are we supposed to discuss? I didn’t figure you’d want to talk the whole time about the guy who attacked you. You have a really boring job…. You know, most of the time I completely forget what you do for a living, beyond answering phones.”
Leo looked at Aud, hoping for a rescue. “Mom, what were you doing today before Julie called you? It’s the weekend. Did you get your hair done? It looks very pretty.”
She ran her hand through her hair, the same reflexive gesture she’d always had when someone complimented her. “Yesterday. Since we’re both retired now, it’s easier to go to the beauty shop during the week. There’re fewer crowds.”
Julie giggled. “I can’t wait to be able to do that. I hate the crowds on the weekend. It’s just awful.”
Leo was thankful for Julie distracting his mother. For the better part of an hour, they chatted while the men in the room sat around in an odd quiet, like they were afraid to say anything for fear of what they would set off with the women. Then a nurse came in.
“Okay, we’ve got too many people in here.” She gave them all a stern frown. “Mr. Caldwell needs some rest. Why don’t you all go down to the cafeteria? Give him a couple of hours; then you can come back.” She glanced at her watch. “That will give you an hour or so before visiting hours end.”
A wave of fatigue flowed through Leo and he yawned.
His mother bent over him and gave him another kiss on his forehead. “Dear, we’ll go find a hotel room.”
“Mom, I’m going to be fine. You don’t have to stay.”
She waved away his comment. “Nonsense. We’ve got nothing better to do. We’ll be here until you’re back on your feet.” She gave his hand a parting squeeze. “Come on, Howard. We’ll go get settled and come back before visiting hours are done.”
His father waved from the door. “We’ll see you all later. Nice meeting you, Aud.”
“You too, Mr. Caldwell.” Aud waved back as he stood from the bedside. He glanced down at Leo. “I guess I should leave too. But I’ll be back in a bit.”
Leo looked at the nurse. “Do they all have to leave? Can Aud stay?”
Her frown deepened. “You need your rest, Mr. Caldwell. If we let one of them stay, your mother might come back.”
Her words gave Leo a sudden revelation. “You’ve been listening to her go on, haven’t you?”
The nurse looked at the floor. “Let’s just say that other than this room, the ward is rather slow this afternoon. Let’s clear everyone out and if folks drift back one by one, I don’t see a reason to have a problem with it, as long as everything stays fairly quiet. I enjoy easy days… if you get my drift.”
“I do.” Another yawn shook through him. He looked up into Aud’s eyes. “I guess I’ll see you later, then?”
“Definitely.” Aud graced him with a dazzling smile before briefly kissing him. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
“We will too.” Julie paused at the door. She looked out, then back in. “Felix, hurry up. It looks like she’s holding the elevator for us.”
“I’m glad you’re going to be okay,” Felix muttered, then scurried after Julie, but Leo was happy to see the slump was gone from his posture.
The nurse stood there as Aud left with his friends. “Is there anything you need right now?”
“I don’t think so.” Leo let out another yawn. “I believe I could use a bit of a nap.”
“Good. In a little while they’ll have an order sheet for your dinner ready for you. I’ll be back when that shows up, or you can use the call button on the TV remote.” She turned and walked out.
Leo’s eyelids got heavy. He slipped into a restless sleep. Light flashed off a huge knife that a grinning and ranting Randal kept thrusting into his side. Each time, he jerked back awake. It kept happening until he welcomed the nurse returning and waking him up to find out what he wanted to eat for dinner. By then he was ready to stay awake for a while in hopes that Randal would stop stabbing him.
WHEN THE
phone rang, jarring him from sleep, Aud jerked and nearly rolled out of bed before he managed to get it into his hand. He didn’t look at the number; he just swiped across the bottom of the screen to answer the call. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Heather laughed. “I think everything is fine.”
Rubbing his eyes, he settled onto his side, the sheet riding low on his hips. “Sorry, I thought maybe you were Leo.”
“Sorry to disappoint you. Is he still getting out of the hospital today?”
“Yeah. This afternoon after the doctor comes by.”
“So, you have time to come by the gallery and interview a prospective artist this morning, then?”
Aud had promised Julie and Felix he’d stop by Leo’s apartment and help them set up a welcome-home party before he went to the hospital to get him. “What time?”
“Ten. You’ve got about forty-five minutes to get showered and down here.”