Paint it Black

Chapter 13: Same Room Different Day

Shawn had slept for close to fourteen hours after his meltdown. The longest, by far, that he'd slept since losing his sight. Henry had watched over him for the first two before giving in to the urgent call for bed. He didn't remember dreaming. Shawn had still been asleep when he'd woken seven hours later. Not wanting anything to disturb his son, he'd eaten his cereal on the deck; blanket over his legs with the chill of early morning still in the air.

Too early to call the clinic, during breakfast, he'd had to wait an hour to speak to Belic's receptionist. There'd been no openings that day but the following afternoon had been free. Henry had taken it.

A day later, he sat with his son in the clinic waiting room. Smaller and much quieter than the waiting room at the main hospital, there were only two other people sitting in nearby chairs. One of the women sharing a padded bench had smiled at Henry when he and Shawn had entered. He'd nodded back before guiding Shawn to a soft chair.

Another advantage of the clinic was a short wait. Only five minutes in and a nurse came for them. The room she led them to was empty. Henry helped Shawn sit on the paper covered table, unnerved at silence. Still no words from his son other than a muted “good morning” earlier.

But then, he didn't have anything to say back. He couldn't offer false hope. He just couldn't.

There were a couple of wicker chairs in the room as well as a rolling stool, but Henry chose to sit next to Shawn on the bed, his hand resting down on one bouncing knee. Again his attention moved to the vicious gash just above Shawn's collar. Stitches crisscrossed along the five inches of reddened tissue. A large clear dressing had been placed over it in the ER, but Shawn had removed it when he'd had a reaction to the adhesive.

A gentle knock before the door pushed open. Henry didn't miss the small jump from his son at the sudden sound. Standing from the bed but keeping close to Shawn's side, Henry shook Doctor Belic's hand after the man closed the door behind himself.

“Henry, Shawn. How are you feeling today, Shawn? I heard about the incident over the weekend. Nasty stuff; I'm relieved you're alright.”

Shawn hadn't answered the question but Belic didn't seem to be waiting for one as he moved closer to the bed. “I'm just going to take a quick look at that wound. I'm going to place my hands on your collar bone.”

Shawn still flinched at the contact but otherwise seemed calm. Henry knew from the handshake how cold Belic's hands were – probably from washing up before entering the room.

Head tilted back and top lip pulling up from his teeth, the doctor lightly felt around the stitches. Shawn didn't flinch again but his eyes squinted. Even with medication he was still stiff and hurting. When Belic finished and stepped back, Shawn let his head sink again with a grunt.

“Looks like they did a good job. It's a little red but that should clear up in a few days. However, if your pain gets worse I want you to call the clinic so we can schedule an appointment.”

Henry acknowledged the instructions while Shawn sat quietly. Well, not entirely quietly; his hand had located the edge of the paper he was sitting on and he'd begun tearing a narrow strip free. In moments he had a piece roughly the size of a dollar bill. Holding it close to his belly, he was able to use his other hand to start folding.

Henry watched his son while Belic lifted Shawn's chart from the table and began flipping through it.

“You're still taking the Dilaudid?”

Shawn made a small twist as he folded the paper into thirds. When he didn't respond, Henry nodded instead. “Yes.”

The doctor made a check next to the medication. “How about the Fioricet? Oh wait, you stopped taking that because of the headaches?”