Mister Masterpiece

Chapter 10 - Hospital

Mark sat next to Jack's bed, brushing his thumb over Jack's knuckles, waiting for him to wake up.

Jack had just gotten out of surgery to remove bone fragments from the tissue in his ankle. The bone had shattered, but with enough time, the doctors said that he would still be able to walk on both feet.

But they weren't sure he would be able to dance.

Mark looked over Jack's features, admiring the beautiful sculpture of his face. He chest rose and fell with every breath he took, but other than that, he was still. After another hour of waiting and staring, Jack began to stir.

"Hey, baby." Mark smiled softly. Jack's eyes opened slowly, blinking several times at the bright light.

"Mark?" He whispered, grasping Mark's hand.

"It's me." Mark chuckled softly.

"Where are we?" Jack muttered.

"We're in the hospital. You just got out of surgery." Mark moved closer.

"Surgery?" Jack started to sit up.

"Just relax, you're okay." Mark gently pushed Jack back onto the bed. Jack lifted his head slightly and looked down.

His feet were bandaged tightly and his left knee was wrapped in a large brace. Jack's eyes wandered over his injuries and his eyes filled with tears.

"No, this can't be happening." Jack gripped Mark's hand tighter. "No, no, no..."

"Jack, you're okay. You're gonna be okay." Mark held Jack's hand with both of his.

"No, you don't understand!" Jack started to sob. "I'll never dance again!" Tears waterfalled down his face.

"Jack, the doctors didn't say that-" Mark tried to calm him down.

"Then what did they say?" Jack looked to Mark. Mark opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Mark closed his mouth and looked down at his feet. Jack layed his head back on the pillow, allowing tears to stream endlessly down his face. "This is horrible." He muttered.

"Just give it time." Mark tried to console him.

"This is literally my worst nightmare. Something that makes me so happy is now gone." Jack's shoulders shuddered as he breathed shakily. "I won't even be able to afford the bills." Jack brought his free hand to his forehead, holding his hair out of his tears.

"Jack, my family is always there to help." Mark looked back up at Jack.

"No, you guys are already-" Jack paused. He started crying even more. "This is gonna hold back my surgery, and I won't be able to start testosterone for months!" Jack sobbed louder. "This is awful! This is the worst thing that could possibly ever happen to me!" Jack gripped his hair tightly and allowed hot tears to stream down his sticky face and soak his neck. Mark couldn't do anything; he could only sit there and cry with Jack, waiting for sleep to engulf their pounding minds.

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3 weeks later...

Jack sat in bed, drawing in his notebook and listening to the white noise of the TV. The hospital managed to find footage of Jack's competition and find the girl that caused his injuries. Her family payed the full bill and apologized to Jack. Although Jack was glad that he didn't have to pay the bill, their apologies were nothing compared to the misery Jack had to endure.

Molly managed to convince their boss to put Jack on payed leave, so he was able to still earn money while he was in the hospital. He was counting down the days to May 22nd, 2018, when he would finally have enough money to complete his full transition. His injuries set him back by several months, but he was glad that he'd still transition someday.