The Geek and His Artist (20 page)

“Yeah. The Bastard didn’t like that I was late and kissing you.”

The phrasing sounded odd. “Are you okay, baby? What happened?”

“Doug… uh… the nurse… gave me a shot. I don’t know what it was, but the pain is better. He had a bat.”

“The nurse?” Jimmy asked, confused.

“No, The Bastard.”

“Oh. Oh!” Jimmy’s eyes widened. “Okay, are you still in the emergency room?”

“Yeah. Probably be a while. They’re busy.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Stay there.” Jimmy hurried to the stairs and climbed them two at a time.

“Don’t think I’m going anywhere soon. Bye!” Simon said, sounding oddly cheerful for being in the hospital, and hung up. Jimmy figured he had
good
painkillers.

Jimmy stuffed the phone in his pocket and ran the few steps into his mom’s office. “Mom!”

His mom spun around in her chair. “What’s wrong?” She jumped up, crossed the room, and put a hand on his arm, her eyes wide in alarm.

Jimmy had no idea what he looked like to make her that nervous. He probably looked like he felt: on the edge of panic. “It’s… it’s Simon, he’s in the hospital. I… shit, I didn’t think to ask what happened. He just said The Bastard—his name for his father—had a bat. I have to go.”

“You need to call CYF,” Amy said from the door to Jimmy’s bedroom.

Jimmy turned. “I… but….”

Amy shook her head firmly. “No. It’s gone too far, Jimmy.”

Jimmy swallowed, knowing she was right. “Fuck. He’s going to hate me,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

He felt a hand on his other arm and opened his eyes to see Amy standing there. He hadn’t even heard her move. “No, I don’t think he will. He loves you, Jimmy. Go. I’ll call. Just go to him.”

Jimmy stared at her for a moment, then looked at his mom, who nodded.

“She’s right, baby. He’s not going to hate you. We’ll take care of it. Go.”

He swallowed, took a deep breath, and nodded. “Okay.” With a kiss each to his mom and sister, he flew down the stairs.

“Be safe driving!” his mom called. “You’ll be no good to him in another room at the ER!”

“I know, Mom!” Jimmy called back as he snatched up his coat and bolted out the door.

J
IMMY
DIDN
’
T
actually remember the drive to the hospital. He didn’t get stopped and didn’t get in an accident, so he figured he did okay on autopilot. He pulled up at the entrance to the emergency room and jumped out. He waited—very impatiently—the few seconds for the valet to give him a ticket, then bolted through the sliding doors. He had to wait at the counter for a woman and her toddler to finish checking in, and then finally he stepped up.

“Hi,” he said, breathlessly.

“What can I do for you, sir?” She smiled, showing even white teeth and much too much cheerfulness for an emergency room, though Jimmy guessed if it was needed anywhere, this was the place.

“I… my… brother is in here. Simon Williams,” he said, thinking quickly. He had
no
doubt he’d have a much harder time of it getting back there as Simon’s boyfriend. He just hoped no one questioned why the brothers would kiss.

She typed something into her computer, then nodded. “Oh, he’s in room fourteen. Through the doors down the hall to your right.”

“Thank you,” he said as he started away. He got to the door but had to wait for her to hit the button to let him in. Finally he was walking down the hallway, watching room numbers. He had the presence of mind to stop and peek in to see if Simon was alone before he went in. The Bastard was away for the moment. With any luck Jimmy could keep him out. Permanently.

Simon’s eyes were closed and he looked to be sleeping. Jimmy hesitated, not sure it was right to wake Simon, but he was also sure Simon would want to know he was there. “Baby?” he murmured, brushing his fingers over Simon’s cheek.

The beautiful green eyes flew open and Simon smiled widely. “Baby!” He nearly cheered and reached out—rather clumsily—for Jimmy’s hand.

Jimmy had to chuckle. Obviously the painkiller was doing good things for him. “Hi, baby. Are you okay? What’s wrong?” He leaned in and kissed Simon’s temple.

“Broke my ankle.” He nodded soberly. “Skating accident.”

Jimmy snorted. “My ass.”

Simon’s eyes widened. “Oh, no! Don’t break your ass. I like your ass.”

Jimmy couldn’t help laughing. “What did they give you?”

“I have no idea,” Simon said, shrugging. “But I don’t hurt.”

“And that’s what matters,” Jimmy whispered, leaning in and kissing Simon’s forehead this time.

“Hello,” a male voice said.

Jimmy looked up to see a man in scrubs, holding a clipboard. He looked about as tall as Jimmy was and had a friendly, open face. Jimmy stood. “Hello. I’m Jimmy, Simon’s… brother.”

The man’s lips twitched in amusement. “Brother. Okay.” He nodded. “I have a… brother too. I’m Doug, Simon’s nurse.”

“Is he going to be okay? What did you give him?”

Doug laughed. “Morphine.”

“Guess it’s working.”

“Simon,” Doug said, stepping up to the bed. “Can I discuss your care with your brother here?”

Simon looked confused for a moment, glancing from Jimmy to Doug. “Broth—oh! Yes, of course.”

Doug snickered. “Right. So, the X-rays came back. The ankle is broken, though thankfully it’s a stable fracture. He got lucky for his… skating accident.” Doug’s gaze darted to Simon, whose lips pressed together. “We’ll keep ice on it, probably put a brace on it for now until the swelling goes down, and refer him to his regular doctor or an orthopedist for a cast.”

“You don’t do it here?” Jimmy asked, frowning.

Doug shook his head. “There’s too much swelling. If we did it now, it wouldn’t fit right when the swelling went down and we’d have to replace it.”

“Ah.” Jimmy nodded. He glanced at Simon, then squeezed Simon’s hand. “How long will that take?”

Doug considered him for a long moment. “I expect he’ll be here quite a while, yet.”

Jimmy raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Simon, who was staring at the ceiling. “Baby, I’m going to step out and get a drink,” he said, squeezing Simon’s hand again, the term of endearment slipping out automatically. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Simon agreed.

Jimmy looked up at Doug and tilted his head toward the door. When they’d stepped outside, Jimmy bit his lip, then took a chance. “I’m not his brother.”

“I figured that out when you called him baby,” Doug said with a smile. “Boyfriend?”

Jimmy blushed but nodded. “Is his father here?”

“He was. I haven’t seen him since they took Simon for X-rays, but I haven’t been able to watch the whole time.”

“My mother and sister are calling CYF. This isn’t the first time he’s been hurt.”

“That doesn’t surprise me at all. In fact, I would have been surprised if he hadn’t been. I was going to call, myself. We’re mandated reporters. If we see something like this, we
have
to call.”

Jimmy nodded. “Good. But my sister’s an intern for DPW. She’s also a mandated reporter. So, she’s calling. Probably already has.” Jimmy swallowed. “Can you keep him here until they get here? Is that possible?”

Doug nodded. “I don’t have to report yet that we got the X-ray results. I can stall as long as they need.”

“What… what about his father?”

“Unfortunately I can’t force him out of the hospital until CYF gets here. And even then, unless Simon is willing to admit to the abuse, I can’t do much.”

Jimmy frowned but nodded again. “He’s stubborn about it. He’s af—”

“Afraid, yeah, I get it. I’ll stall. You stay in the room. The father doesn’t strike me as the type to cause a scene in public. So if you’re there, he might stay away. Can I get you anything?”

Jimmy started to shake his head, then paused, remembering what he told Simon. “A drink of something? I have money.” He reached into his pocket, but Doug held up a hand.

“We have Sprite and ginger ale in the kitchen.”

“Sprite would be great. Thank you.”

“No problem. Stay with your boyfriend. I’ll be right back with the drink.”

Jimmy smiled and hurried back into the room. He took his coat off and laid it over one of the chairs, then pulled the other up to the side of the bed. Simon’s eyes were closed again and he seemed to be resting. Jimmy brushed a little bit of Simon’s hair back and took one hand. He sat like that for a while, simply watching Simon rest. He so desperately wanted to protect Simon, keep him from having this happen ever again. The force of that need, the emotion, nearly overwhelmed him, and he struggled to breathe through it. He closed his eyes for a moment to fight for control, then opened them again and lifted Simon’s hand to kiss it.

Simon opened his eyes. “You’re back.”

“Said I would be.” Jimmy smiled and leaned in, kissing Simon’s cheek. Simon turned and their lips met, but Jimmy kept it light and chaste. “I shouldn’t be doing that with you right now.”

“Why? I broke my ankle, not my lip.”

Jimmy chuckled. “Yes, but you’re also under the influence of some pretty strong painkillers.”

Simon smiled. “I can still say no, if I want.”

“That’s true,” Jimmy allowed, grinning. “But I’m still not doing anything in an emergency room.”

Simon pouted and Jimmy laughed. He liked Simon with the fears and inhibitions gone. He kissed Simon again. “You’re adorable.” Simon blushed, which only made Jimmy’s grin wider. He sobered. “Tell me what happened.”

Simon shook his head. “You don’t want to hear it.”

“I do,” Jimmy countered. “I want to help you.”

“This won’t help. He’s just… he was angry. Really angry. He saw us kissing in your car, and when I got into the apartment….” Simon shuddered. “Anyway, it’s over. Though I guess I’ll be missing school on Monday.”

“I’m guessing you’ll be missing school for at least a week or two.” He chuckled at the face Simon made at that. “You are the only person I know who wants to go to school that much.”

Simon shrugged a shoulder. “Better than home.”

Jimmy’s smile faded and he swallowed. He couldn’t ask for a better segue. “So, uh, about that. Simon… will you reconsider coming home with me? Staying with me?”

Simon frowned and sighed. “I don’t… I….”

Jimmy cleared his throat. “Listen, I need to tell you something.”

“Oh?” Simon raised his eyebrows.

Jimmy nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, uh… I told Mom where I was going, you know….” Simon nodded and Jimmy continued. “And Amy was there. And she—” He paused at a knock at the doorframe.

An older lady with a very serious expression stepped into the room. Despite the look, her blue eyes showed kindness. She wore dark, loose-fitting dress pants, a gold silk blouse, and simple, flat, slip-on shoes. Her braided blond hair was threaded with silver, and she held a soft-sided leather briefcase, partially open and stuffed full with files and pads and pens. “Hello, is this Simon Williams’s room?”

“Hi, yes, I’m Jimmy, Simon’s… friend.”

She raised her eyebrows, obviously at the hesitancy over the relationship. “Hello. I’m Mrs. Andrews from Children, Youth and Families.” She turned to Simon, whose expression showed alarm, bordering on panic. “Are you Simon?”

Simon nodded, eyes darting to Jimmy, and his hand tightened hard around Jimmy’s. “Yes,” he whispered.

She smiled, setting her briefcase on the counter next to the sink. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Simon. It’s okay,” she said, approaching the other side of the bed. She glanced up at Jimmy. “Can I talk to him alone?”

Jimmy opened his mouth to answer, but Simon did instead. “Let him stay, please?”

She looked a little amused but nodded. “All right. So, Simon, I heard you broke something?”

Simon swallowed, glancing up at Jimmy again. Jimmy nodded encouragement, and he looked back at Mrs. Andrews. “My ankle. They said my ankle was broken. I fell off my skateboard and hit a car.”

She raised her eyebrows and glanced up at Jimmy. He gave the tiniest shake of his head. She turned back to Simon. “You fell off your skateboard and hit a car,” she repeated. “Are you sure that’s what happened, Simon?”

Simon swallowed again and nodded. “Yes. That’s all, just an accident, Mrs. Andrews.”

Mrs. Andrews gave another smile. “Those things do happen, Simon.” She tilted her head. “What kind of board do you have?”

Simon blinked, confused at the question. “Board?”

“You said skateboard?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s just a cheap one I bought at Target. Nothing fancy.”

She shrugged. “If it works, right?”

He nodded, paused, then said, “I did replace the trucks, though. Saved up and bought new. I just really liked the deck.”

She smiled widely. “Gotta have good trucks, or it’s hard to do tricks. Can you do tricks?”

“Yeah. Not a lot, I… don’t get a lot of time to practice like I’d like, but I can do some.”

“I bet you fall a lot trying those.”

“All the time,” Simon agreed.

“But you don’t usually fall into a car, right?”

Simon frowned. “No,” he said softly, fear resurfacing in his eyes.

“So, what made you fall into a car this time?”

Jimmy knew Simon saw the trap but didn’t seem to see a way around it. “I was going off a curb,” he said, and even Jimmy knew it sounded weak.

“Off a curb,” Mrs. Andrews said, nodding. “Well, that’s certainly one way to cause a fall. Did you hit rocks?”

Simon’s eyebrows scrunched in puzzlement. “No, why?”

“Then where did the bruises on your legs and stomach come from, Simon?”

Simon’s eyes widened, and he sent another panicked look at Jimmy. “Uh, I… rolled.”

Both Jimmy and Mrs. Andrews knew that wasn’t the reason, but Jimmy was trying
so
hard to keep from making it too obvious. He wished, briefly, he could talk to her alone, and was surprised when Doug stepped into the room at that moment.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to put an IV in. They want to do some blood tests and get him some fluids. Could you step out for just a moment?” He bustled over to the rolling table, and Mrs. Andrews stepped back.