Deaf Euphoria (boyxboy)

Chapter four

The next day at school, I got there early, setting my water bottle out on top of the desk. That's right, you read that right. I was drinking water. My mom had grabbed her stomach when she'd seen me come home last night. I'd just went straight to my room and hid. Now, I was here, my hands shaking the bottle violently. I had an ice pack in my bag, ready for him, just because I knew he would need it. I crossed my legs beneath my desk.  

And I waited.  

When he didn't come in, I was okay with that. He was probably running late. He always ran late. Our guidance counselor entered the room, sitting down on our teachers desk. My English teacher walked into the room, blotting her eyes with a tissue. "The English teacher is my aunt." No. This couldn't be happening. 

"Hi, guys. I'm here because one of your classmates has been admitted into the hospital." No. No. No. Not him. Anyone but him. Say it was Jason. Say that somehow, he overpowered them, that he beat the odds and was perfectly fine. 

"Day O'Sullivan was beaten nearly to the brink of-" I was up and out of my seat in seconds. I wasn't crying. I'm pretty sure I just looked like I was bored. It was until I opened up the door to his car, the one that he'd given me, that I deteriorated. It smelled exactly like him, like Old Spice. 

* 

I crossed the threshold, making it to room 720B. I opened the door, my little brother's Spider-Man lunchbox slipping through my fingertips.  

It was bad. 

Worse than I'd imagined. 

I dragged the chair by the door next to his bed and sat on it. I remembered seeing him drop in the two inches of the rearview mirror. I watched him clamber back to his feet, ever the warrior. I'd never seen Jason so angry. A black fire fueled his movements, one I couldn't even begin to understand. His fist flew and then Day was reeling, two boys grabbing onto his arm and pulling them behind his back, shoving him onto his knees. I saw the flash and then I drove. I hit the accelerator and took off like the coward I am, leaving the person who'd saved me for years alone to fend for himself.  

I'd taken two bites of the cookies that usually cheered me up and vomited right there, barely making it to the kitchen sink in time. Ever since I'd been on a strict diet of water.  

Day....Day was ruined. His pearly white skin was barely visible beneath the numerous lacerations and bruises that he'd undertaken. Some of the choice words consisted of: fucker, freak, home wrecker, pedophile, disgusting, man whore, asshole, douche bag, fag lover...the list went on. There was a long cut down his chest with mutilated and gooey flesh surrounding the cut. His face was decimated. There was a cut going from his eyebrow down to his cheekbone, swiping down his pale eyelid. Bastard was written on his cheek in small letters. The enter left side of his face was black and puffy with bruises as purple as twilight. I noticed that his wrists had been circled with a knife and lines from that bracelet laceration slid down his knuckles all the way to his finger tips. 

Yet he'd never looked so beautiful. I settled down and a Man I didn't recognize entered the room, eying me. 

"Can we talk? I'm Officer Reynolds, I'm assigned to Mr. O'Sullivan's case." The man said.  

"Yes, we can, but please talk slowly. I'm deaf and in tired, and when I'm tired lip reading is slightly more difficult," I said. The officer nodded and drew out a clipboard. 

"What's your name and how do you know Mr. O'Sullivan?" He asked. 

"I'm Aaron Warner and I'm his best friend. His only friend." I answered. The man nodded and opened his mouth but I cut him off.  

"Look, I can tell you what happened. I was there. Jason Douglas is an ex friend of mine. This is all I know. Two weeks ago Day got called into the principals office and was absent from school for two weeks. When he came back, he looked like he had got into a fight. He told me Jason had his friends on the baseball team hold him down while Jason destroyed him." I stood up, holding out Day's arm, showing the 'faggot' cut. "This one was from that fight. At school yesterday Jason tripped me and i twisted my ankle. Day took me out of school and wrapped it and we hung out at his house. I left my car in the parking lot so he drove me back there to get it but when we got there, Jason and his friends were surrounding the car. He gave me his keys and told me to drive away and not to look back. He said that he didnt know what Jason would do to me if he saw me, and that he wouldn't forgive me if I turned around and helped him. I drove to the stop sign on the outside of the lot and turned around in time to see Jason beating the shit out of Day and the kids on the baseball team were holding him down. I saw Jason pull out a knife, a big one, and I got scared and I drove away. I-I-I left him there," I said, dropping Day's arm, my resolve breaking. 

"What a shit friend I am. For all I know they could have been doing this to him because I'm gay and we're friends." I sobbed, tears brimming in my eyes but they didn't spill over. The officer tapped me and I turned to face him. 

"You said the whole baseball team was there. The odds wouldn't have been in O'Sullivan's favor even if you were there. If you had stayed, there would be two kids in the hospital and no one to recount the story. You did the right thing," Officer Reynolds consoled. I nodded, hugging myself tightly.  

"So what happens now? Will Jason and his friends be arrested for this?" I asked, watching the cop's lips closely. 

"We will test the fingerprints on his t-shirt and if they match Jason Douglas's, your testimony combined with that is enough to put him away. As for the baseball team, we will have to see who we can pin to the scene of the crime," Officer Reynolds declared. "Before I go, is there anything else you can tell me? Anything you think that could be important?"  

"I don't know if it matters but Day has a horrible speech impediment. He can barely speak a couple of words without stammering. A lot of people made fun of him for it so he's kind of a loner at school. And when you try and contact his parents, prepare to pay long distance, because they shipped him off to live with his aunt. Then she didn't want to deal with his impediment so she bought him a nanny and he lives with her. Maria could probably help if you needed any information, but other than that, it's just her and me on Day's side." I told him.  

"Damn, this kid has it rough. I'll make sure to add that to his file. Thanks, Mr. Warner. You've been a big help." Officer Reynolds said before ducking out. I settled back into my chair, taking Day's bandaged hand into two of mine.  

"Get better, Day. I love you." I whispered, kissing his lacerated limb and settling into the plastic chair, knowing the love of my life was sitting right beside me was enough to let me sleep for the first time in forever.