Lay Me Down (MxM)

9. Six Weeks

Hi readers! 

I had to delay uploading the second chapter I'd whipped up, as a result of some plot changes and further editing I had to do, so I apologize for the delay! I'd planned to release both chapters at once. Either way, It will be uploaded tonight (the spicy episode which will include some BJ action!) Heh. 

Enjoy, and thank you for all your continued support. (^.^)/ -Quill

Lucas

I watched the doctor work away on the computer, humming to himself softly as he typed up my after-visit summary. Jae was sat next to me, his arm draped around the back of the chair, and I loved the way the warmth of his arm felt against my back. Maybe the contact wasn't intentional, but it felt good, nonetheless. Jae's posture seemed relaxed yet protective. He had his left foot propped up against his thigh, and I could feel his fingertips tapping rhythmically against the top of the plastic chair as we waited.

I loved it, and I found myself craving his presence, craving his physical closeness more than I could have anticipated. Not just sexually, but just... I don't know, sharing space in general with him. Realistically speaking Jae is still a stranger to me, but for some reason I just feel safe with him. It's uncanny, and maybe I'm just a dumb teenager looking through rose-colored glasses, I don't know...

"Feeling a little better?" I felt Jae nudge me and I looked over to find him shooting me a reassuring smile.

I felt my cheeks flush, and I nodded. "A little..." Jae's gentle gaze lingered on me for a few more seconds. I don't think he believed me, but then again, I probably wouldn't believe me either, if I were him. I let out a soft exhale and looked around the exam room in silence to distract myself—the lights were too bright for my liking, and the scent of medical adhesives, soap, and all-around sickness bothered me. I couldn't wait to leave. The well-timed hum of the printer working gave me some relief, and I turned to find Doctor Abts collecting my paperwork, stapling it together neatly.

"So, Lucas." He finally began, slipping his glasses off to polish them on the front of his shirt. "I've typed up your after-visit summary here and sent off your prescriptions to the pharmacy we discussed. I need you to come back here in six weeks to have an X-ray and make sure everything has healed up nicely. No need to make an appointment, you can just come back in and any of the walk-in providers will take care of it. In the meantime, I'm going to need you to go easy on your hand. That means no pressure, weight, or strain on it, and most of all, try not to get into more fights with your... with your car door."

I nodded and sighed, looking over the splint they'd fitted me with. I lowkey hate it already, but more than that, I was really worried how dad might react if he figured out I went to the doctor. Apparently, dad's beating had indeed fractured my hand. Docter Abts told me in some medical terms which exact part of my hand was fractured, but it kind of went in one ear and out the other. I was too nervous he might ask me the same pointed questions Jae had, questions about dad.

"Do you understand, Lucas?" Doctor Abts clarified. "If you don't take care of it properly, it's not going to heal, and that could increase your recovery time..."

I nodded and forced an appreciative smile. "Yeah uh, no, I understand..."

"Good. What questions do you have for me?" he asked. I looked at Jae and then at the greying doctor Abts as I thought. Jae only smiled and nudged me. "Go on, Lu. Now's the time to ask him."

I fidgeted some and sighed. "Well, I play Soccer, and I'm worried I'll have to miss it. Can I still play? Six weeks is a long time to be out..." I bit my lip and watched his expression, hoping he'd say yes.

Dr. Abts sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "The short answer is yes, Lucas. Realistically speaking I can't stop you from playing, but if you fall on that hand, one accidental hit, you might end up worse off than you are now. At the very least it would set you back drastically in the healing process."

I bit my lip and sighed, hating the prospect of not being able to practice for that long. Practice keeps me away from home, it keeps me busy, it's fun, and coach... well, coach will be extremely disappointed.

"Lucas, you need to listen to him." Jae spoke up, putting a heavy hand on my right shoulder. His arm was now sort of wrapped around me, and it took everything in me not to blush.

"Yeah...I guess." I mumbled, eyeing both men glumly. I hated that Jae was right, I hated that the doctor was right. What if I fucked it up even more? What if I needed surgery, who would pay for that? Sure as shit not dad, and certainly not Jae—I wouldn't let him, he's done so much for me already.

"Lucas, promise me you'll take a break." Jae pressed, concern etched around his eyes.

"Scouts honor." I relented, giving him a reassuring nod. "I'll take it easy."

"Good." Doctor Abts chimed in. "Well, all that said Lucas, I've sent in a week's worth of oxycodone for you, and some cephalexin to make sure you don't end up with an infection. I want you to keep an eye on your hand and come back in if you begin to feel or see any signs of infection; you can refer to your paperwork, I put everything in there. As to your splint, apart from a few breaks here and there throughout the day, it needs to always stay on. If it's really bothering you, you may remove it for a few minutes while you are relaxing, but the second you need to move or get up, that splint must go back on. Ice it whenever you can, twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off, take your medications as I've prescribed them to help with the pain. For showers, you can get a cast cover to protect your splint from getting wet—usually you can get them at the pharmacy, so make sure to pick one up. Your note for school is in there as well. Sound good?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Great. Well, that's all from me. You're free to go..." Dr. Abts rises slowly, grimacing a bit as he gets to his feet. Jae and I both stood, and he handed me my paperwork. I took it from him with a nod, and he opened the door for us, holding it as Jae and I both stepped into the hallway. I was about to leave when Dr. Abts called for me.

"Lucas?"

"Yes?"

"If for some reason your car door...attacks you again, don't hesitate to reach out for help. You know, there are people who can help." He looked me over with concern and sympathy, and I felt so incredibly exposed.

"Uh, yeah... thanks." I mumbled softly, wanting nothing more than to just get out of there.

He watched me silently for a few more excruciating seconds, and I saw his gaze pass behind me towards Jae for a bit. "...take care, Lucas."

"I will."

Dr. Abts turned on his heel to leave, and I followed Jae down the hall towards the lobby. He held the door open for me, all the while watching Abts disappear further down the hall. "Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"Take the keys and get settled in the car; I forgot something in the room." He tossed me the keys and I caught them clumsily with my left hand, not quite sure I believed him for some reason. "We can just go get it." I shrugged.

"Nah, I won't be long, Lu. I know you're anxious to get out of here. I'll meet you at the car."

"Uh...okay." I said skeptically because I couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. For some reason I did as he asked though.

Jae disappeared back through the door, and I watched it swing shut with a soft "whoosh." I twirled the keys on my finger as I walked through the lobby.

Jae

I needed to talk to Doctor Abts, had to know for certain he suspected what I already knew. If Lucas ever wanted to press charges, we'd need everything from this visit to support that. I trailed down the hall, anxious to find him, and much to my luck, I did. He was sanitizing his hands and about to step into another room.

"Dr. Abts. Can I speak with you for a moment?"

He looked over his shoulder and frowned, eyeing me for a beat as he thought. "Make it quick."

"Lucas... his medical records. You, well. You suspected abuse... yes?" I asked bluntly.

He looked up and down the hallway, then shot me a dirty look. "And if I did, what's it to you? Don't think I'll be altering anything in his chart to hide what you did."

I caught my breath and swallowed hard, everything now adding up. Abts had been rather short with me throughout Lucas's visit, shot me looks I couldn't quite decipher here and there. It hadn't occurred to me that the doctor might assume it was me who beat Lucas, but now it all added up. The thought of anyone thinking I could hurt Lucas was awful.

"Whoa, whoa, no. That's not what I'm asking." I paused, sighing as I tried to choose my words carefully. "Doctor Abts, I'm a cop, and Lucas is a friend of mine. It's sort of a long story, but Lucas—I'd just seen him yesterday and he was perfectly healthy; nothing broken. He told me this morning he'd "slammed" his hand in the car door on accident and couldn't drive. So, I offered to drive him to school today. Safe to say, it didn't take long for me to realize somebody had taken their rage out on him, not that little VW Golf of his."

Abts raised his brow and looked me over once again, as if he was deciding whether to believe me or not. He didn't cut me off though, so I took that as my sign to continue.

"I've reason to believe it's somebody in his home, and while he won't admit who, I'm certain I know exactly who that somebody is. Lucas has stonewalled me completely on this; he's afraid, and he doesn't seem ready to face said person yet. My hope is that he will at some point though, and when he does, we're going to need these medical records as evidence to press charges...if you catch my drift."

Abts shifted on his feet and exhaled heavily, his expression changing completely. "Look, I'm a mandatory reporter, just like you, but Lucas is a legal adult. There's nothing I can unless he asks for help."

"I'm in the same position, Doc. Lucas won't tell me anything, and until he does, I can't help him either. I guess what I wanted to confirm is that his records would... reflect your honest opinion of what may have been the true cause of his injury, as opposed to it being a car door...does that make sense?"

Abts nodded repeatedly, seeming to finally understand my question. "My chart notes accurately reflected my concerns and the signs of abuse I observed. Now, I must go. Technically you and I shouldn't even be having this conversation, mister Hoffman."

I let out a relieved exhale. "Of course. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me."

He nods, looking me over once more. "... glad we cleared this up, as I'd misjudged you."

"No harm done; I appreciate your willingness to hear me out."

Abts just nodded, and then gestured to the door we'd been hovering by. "Gotta head in. Take care of that kid, yeah?"

"Already on it."

With that, we parted ways, and I made my way briskly back down the hallway towards the lobby. Once I stepped outside of Urgent care, I made a beeline for my car, but was no doubt surprised by the scene unfolding before me. Lucas was lying back in the passenger seat, eyes shut, taking long, lazy drags off one of my cigarettes.

I huffed and shook my head, not bothering to hide my amusement.

"Thief." I smirked, flicking the top of his curly head playfully. Lucas sucked in sharply, no doubt inhaling too much smoke too fast, and proceeded to cough heavily. "You know that's illegal, right? You're only eighteen, Lu. Want me to put you in handcuffs?"

Lucas sat upright in his seat and wiped his mouth, flashing me a smutty grin. "Yes, please!"

I slipped into my seat and just shook my head, buckling in. "You're too much, Lucas Price."

"I dunno, I think I'm just the right amount of extra." He laughed, blowing smoke at me pointedly. "But seriously though, you should get your lungs checked Jae. You didn't even crack a window earlier!"

I stared at him and exhaled a dry laugh, snatching the cigarette away. "Yeah, yeah."

Lucas balked and slumped down into his seat. "You know it's gonna be your ass going to the doctors next for lung cancer, Jae. Seriously though, how many of these things you smoke a day?"

I smirked and said nothing, driving us out of the parking lot. "Spend enough time around me and you'll see."

"One word," Lucas chuckled. "Cancer."

"Fuck off, I'm trying to quit anyway." I responded, shoving him gently as we hit a stop light. Lu blushed, smacking my arm back playfully. Our banter felt silly, surface-level mostly, but I wasn't sure what to say to him after his appointment. All I could think about was how much pain he must be in, and how bad his x-ray truly looked. I was worried about him, and felt like he was again, using humor to deflect.

"Lu?"

"Yes, Daddy?" He snickered, stifling a wince as he cradled his busted hand.

"If something happens at home again... I want you to call me, okay?" Lucas's smile faded quickly, and his entire demeanor shifted dramatically. He dropped his gaze to the floor, kicking his backpack a bit in silence. "Lu." I pressed, eyeing him as we turned into the pharmacy parking lot.

"Nothing's gonna happen." he muttered, hugging himself. It killed me to see the way his confidence just evaporated at the mere mention of what his father had done to him, or what he might do in the future. I sighed heavily, putting the car in park, watching him intently.

"I hope that to be true, Lu... I do." I said, reaching out to brush some of his hair off his forehead. "But if something happens again, just know I'm here for you."

"Yeah... 'kay." Lucas mumbled.

We sat there in silence for several minutes, and it couldn't have been more awkward. I wished Lu would just let me help him, that he'd be honest about what happened, but I was fooling myself if I thought that would happen overnight.

Sighing, I changed the subject. "Well, your meds should be ready; I'm gonna go grab them so you can get your first dose in before you get to school. Alright?"

Lucas nodded. "Okay..."

I smiled at him and got out of the car, but before I shut the door, he called out to me. "Um, Jae?"

"Yeah, Lu." I paused, leaning on the roof of the car as he tried to think.

"Thank you..."

"Don't mention it." I winked, shutting the door gently. I turned and walked across the parking lot, the wind whipping at my clothes bitterly. All I could think about was how vulnerable Lucas looked just then, and how quickly his demeanor shifted. I wished I could take the pain away for him; wished I could rescue him from his circumstances, but only time would tell if Lucas would let me.

I was never great at being patient, especially not in situations like this, and I knew deep down I wouldn't be able to stay detached from what was happening to Lucas at home, no matter how hard he tried to keep it away from me. Sure, we'd agreed to fuck, no strings attached, but staying true to that would be difficult.

The dark clouds forming in the sky felt like cruel foreshadowing, a warning of what was to come for the beautiful young man in my car. I knew I had to find a way to step in before that abusive fuck hurt him again, but I just had to hope Lucas would let me.

Worrying about Lucas, well, that had already become a new specialty of mine.