Call me kitten (boyxboy love) ✓

45. Justice, what justice?

*** Trigger warning: PTSD description after rape ***

I turned around and walked back to the apartment while my brain was in overdrive. Did Nathan even want me there? We didn't know each other. But something in me didn't want him to be alone right now. And apparently, that something didn't exist in Ash.

When I entered the apartment, I whispered Nathan's name hesitantly and he answered from inside the bedroom. Carefully I peeked inside and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked at me in surprise.

"I just thought... that you might want someone nearby," I said. "Ash will... come back later."

He just nodded and glided his palm over his bruised eye and hissed. Damn, he shouldn't even be here, he should be in a hospital. But I guessed that he didn't want that either. Desperately I tried to come up with an argument strong enough to get him there anyway, at least so they could take a look at his eye, but I drew a blank. Then it hit me. Zoey's boyfriend Daniel had just gotten his doctor's license. Would Nathan at least accept that?

"Would you mind if I called my sister and ask her and her boyfriend over here? He's a doctor. Just so he can check on your eye?"

I crossed my fingers waiting for his answer. He looked at his wrists and closed his eyes.

"Sure," he said quietly.

I exhaled in relief and went out into the living room to call Zoey. When I had, half whispering, explained to her what had happened I heard her call Daniel at once and the sound of drawers opening and closing came through the speaker. They were out of their apartment in less than a minute and the last thing Zoey asked before hanging up was if Nathan knew that they were aware of what had happened to him. I hesitated.

"I don't think he wants me to tell you, if I'll be honest with you," I said quietly. "But I thought that you needed to know. Can you pretend it's just a beating?"

"Sure thing," I heard Daniel say in the background and we hung up.

"They'll be here in fifteen minutes or so," I called out to Nathan and went to sit on the couch to wait.

"Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you... would you sit in here and wait instead?"

Hell, what was Ash doing? He was the one who should be here, not me. I went into the bedroom and saw that Nathan had laid down on his back on the bed with one of the pillows on his stomach. After a moment of hesitation, I sat down at the foot of the bed. He could talk if he wanted to, but I wouldn't press him to do anything right now.

"I knew that you were a good guy ever since we met at the bar," Nathan said after a while.

Surprised, I looked at him and he gave me a faint smile. I chuckled, embarrassed.

"I try my best," I replied.

Nathan looked up at the ceiling again and I sat there quietly. I felt so sorry for him, but I had no idea what to do except keeping him company. To be going to the university, have an apartment of one's own, that should be a great thing. Especially for him, as he finally was out of his family's suffocating grasp. He was supposed to go to parties, fall in love, be hung-over in class and just live life to the fullest. Not lie here in bed, all beaten up. And without his brother. I cursed silently and decided to really talk some sense into Ash, when he would grace us with his presence again.

Zoey and Daniel were incredibly delicate as they visited. Daniel had brought all kinds of medical stuff with him and patched Nathan up in no-time without asking any questions as to how he could have managed to get beat up like that. I could see that Nathan calmed down in their presence as he realized that neither Zoey nor Daniel would force him to do anything he didn't want to. Before they left, Zoey had cleaned the kitchen and Daniel had given Nathan a sleeping pill so that he could rest, and I followed them out into the hallway.