Ghost (Second Edition)

Chapter Twenty-Seven--Unshackled from Shadows

Luis

A few days later.

"Caty Lin, after three days in court. Has been sentenced to fifty years in prison." The news reporter on the small TV said. "For the attempted murder of a minor, child abuse, and child neglect."

Luis had his eyes fixed on the TV attached to the roof as nurses fussed around him, taking him off life support—he no longer needed it—and changing his hospital robes... And other things too embarrassing to admit.

Nathan was sitting next to him, also watching the TV, blond hair as neat as ever.

An image of Luis's mother came up on the screen. Luis looked at her cruel, sharp face, and felt glad he would never see her again.

"She's gone..." Luis said.

Nathan looked at him. "Are you ok?" He asked gently, blue eyes slightly worried.

Luis looked at him and smiled. "I'm fine. Both physically and mentally... Mostly..."

Nathan smiled at him; his gaze held nothing but love. "The whole world is yours now Luis, My love. Where do you want to go?"

"Can we finish school first?" Luis asked. "I'd still like to graduate."

Nathan laughed.

"The doctor will be with you soon to perform your check-up and fill out your discharge papers."

Luis smiled at her. "Thanks."

He felt good, he realized. That horrible dark wave of depression that had loomed over him for most of his life no longer threatened to crash ashore. He no longer longed for the lighter, knife, or death.

He felt good.

Mostly.

The trauma was still very much there. Luis knew that.

"Hello there, Luis." The doctor said as he came into the room, his white coat flapping about his legs. His clipboard and pen in hand, stethoscope around his neck.

He was a skinny man with a mess of salt-and-pepper hair and mud-brown eyes.

"Hello, Dr. Kyle," Luis said, picking at his sheet.

"How are we feeling today?" He asked looking Luis up and down, checking what he could by sight.

"Well. I'm breathing better now." Luis said with a small smile. "It's good to have the mask off."

Kyle smiled back, then looked down at his clipboard. "Your blood work says that all paracetamol is finally out of your system. You're in the clear for that."

"Why did it take so long?" Luis asked. It had been days since his... Attempt.

"Well, let's just say your body kept having a bit of panic attack, overproducing those antibodies and such, you went through it. All the vomit and fever. It was a long battle," Kyle murmured.

"Oh... Well, I won." Luis said sheepishly, grimacing slightly at the painful memory. He didn't understand how it worked. He was just glad he had survived.

Kyle looked serious. "Your body's still seriously malnourished; you will taking nutrition supplement drinks every couple of hours in conjunction with small regular meals. This will be done at home for a few weeks." His tone was just as serious as his face.

Luis's smile faltered. "Oh. Ok."

"That survey you did the other day?" Kyle continued still serious. "You still have a long way to go to recover mentally. But things are improving." He looked up from the clipboard at Luis. "I can refer you to a good therapist. Your sessions will be covered for you."

Luis thought for a moment. "I... No, thank you. I have an idea for my therapy."

"And what is that?" Kyle asked as Nathan took Luis's hand, it was warm against his skin.

"I want to become a therapist myself, to help people like me," Luis murmured, squeezing Nathan's hand.

"I see," Kyle said after a minute, "I wish you luck with that, however, I will still be referring you to a therapist, so that way you can make progress with that dream. Now, I'm going to run some tests to check your recovery."

"But—"

"Luis, it will be ok. I will go with you," Nathan said gently, giving Luis's hand a tender squeeze.

"Are we ready?" Dr Kyle asked. Luis nodded.

Luis said nothing as Dr Kyle checked his heartbeat, breathing, and reflexes. The metal devices he was using were freezing cold against Luis's skin, causing him to wince.

"Well," Dr Kyle said ten minutes later, "you're pretty much recovered, just the nutrition supplements to go now," he flashed Luis a smile, breaking his serious expression. Luis smiled back.

"Thanks, Dr Kyle."

The Doctor nodded and left the room.

"You're almost better," Nathan murmured, giving Luis a gentle kiss. His lips were soft and tasted like honey.

"Hm... Do you think... I'll be better by Graduation?" Luis asked between kisses.

"Hopefully but you'll have a whole lot of catching up to do still."

Luis smiled. "Willing to help me with that?"

Nathan smiled back. "Always."

***

Luis was comfortably snuggled in bed, hand in hand with Nathan and feeling warm and safe. He was dozing off as Nathan hummed a tune he had heard in music class.

"I'm going home tomorrow," Luis mumbled, he looked up at Nathan.

Nathan stopped humming and looked down at him. "I can't wait to show you all around the mansion, it's your mansion now too!"

Luis smiled and looked over towards the window. "Thank you..."

Nathan shifted in his seat to get comfortable for a few minutes.

"What for?"

"Everything," Luis whispered. He looked back at Nathan, lit by the dimmed hospital lights. "You saved me, Nathan."

Nathan smiled faintly, giving Luis's hand a squeeze. "You don't need to thank me," he murmured, "I'd do it again."

"I know. I'm just... Grateful." Luis looked up at the ceiling, listening to the beeps of machines and all the sounds of the hospital. "You've given up so much for me..."

"I haven't given up anything, love. You've made me whole. Without you, I don't know where I'd be." Nathan gave him a peck on the cheek.

"With Andy?" Luis joked, grinning at him.

Nathan pulled a face, shaking his head. "No! definitely not! Why say such a thing?"

"I think he had a crush on you," Luis said. "It seemed like it anyway."

"Hm," Nathan shook his head. "He had his chance in grade seven, he just didn't use it."

"I'm glad in a guilty sort of way," Luis murmured, "if he'd taken that chance... I wouldn't have you."

Nathan smiled. "An Andy times me wouldn't have lasted long anyway, and I wouldn't have been happy with him." Nathan sighed. "He was an ok kid, he just turned bad."

Luis yawned and squirmed against the pillow.

"Tired?" Nathan guessed.

"Very..." Luis mumbled.

"Get some sleep, then," Nathan murmured, kissing Luis's forehead. "I will be here when you wake up."

Luis smiled and squeezed Nathan's hand, catching one last glimpse of his boyfriend before slipping off into sleep.