The Badboy and The Jailbird

Chapter 23 "Code Blue"

Christian Navarro as Baxter Michaels

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"Are you fucking kidding me?" I yell at the top of my lungs. "You were in JAIL!" My face must be as red as the blood I'm about to spill from Caleb's body.

"But I was getting out in a month! A FUCKING MONTH!" His voice drops to a normal level and he sighs, wiping the sweat off his face. Then he whispers, "You couldn't wait one month."

Taylor and Baxter are staring with wide, frightened yet amused eyes. Then Taylor gestures to us.

"I assume y'all were lovers?" He giggles, obviously making fun of Caleb's slight southern accent.

Caleb steps forward, and, surprisingly, towers over the already 6' Taylor. And, again to my surprise, Taylor cowers before him and goes back to sitting next to Baxter's bed.

"Do you want to say that again?" Even if they couldn't, I could tell Caleb was trying now to suppress his accent. For as long as I'd known him, he's hated it. 'Says it reminds him of the 'racist bastards who enslaved humans.' That's one of the reasons I used to like him so much. Even though his ancestors were shitheads, he was sensitive and loving to everyone he cared about.

A tiny squeak escapes Taylor, "Um... no." He giggles again and then looks to Baxter who is frozen in a state of shock and amusement.

All of a sudden the pale, frail boy on his deathbed bursts into weak laughter. This eventually turns into distressed coughing but no one moves to him except Caleb.

He grabs a throw pillow from a chair in the corner and helps Baxter put it behind his back. "It's ok buddy. I got ya'." Buddy? Is Baxter why Caleb was here?

Taylor beat me to asking about the unfamiliar actions though.

"Do you guys know each other?" He stands from his seat, perplexed, and glances between them with curious eyes.

The out-of-breath Baxter nods, and Caleb answers with a 'yeah.'

Well, I'll be fucked.

Three guys. All of which I have kissed or banged at some point in my life. All in one room. Only 2 know about the other.

Then I realize something. Caleb walked in on me and Taylor while Baxter was sleeping. He doesn't know that I cheated on Baxter with Taylor. Then I start to pray to the good Lord that Caleb doesn't mention something about it.

As if on cue, Caleb looks to me and Taylor. "So how long have y'all been datin'?" I must have had a look of a deer caught in the headlights, and same with Taylor.

Baxter is shocked but then, to everyone's surprise, chuckles, "They aren't together!" -More innocent laughing- "Brody and I are!" He looks to me with a genuine smile, but something in his eyes that suggest otherwise.

Caleb rolls his eyes and mutters an ok, then he walks to the door and rests his hand on the knob.

"I'm off to the cafeteria. Brody, would you like to join me?" I cringe, dreading the minutes to come, but nod curtly, following him out the door.

-

The walk to the elevator was tense and stressful. In my head, different scenarios were flying around, all of which ended in Baxter figuring everything out.

Finally, a couple yard from the elevator, Caleb breaks the silence.

"So which one are you in love with, and which one are you stringing along?" I sigh heavily. This question causes me to think deeply though.

Hesitantly, I respond. "Taylor. I love Taylor." Oh my fuck. I just said that out loud.

"So-" He presses the down button. "You are stringing alone one of my best friends." It wasn't a question or a verification. This was a statement.

Just then I get a text from Jamie.

From: Jamie

- Hey. Coming to the hospital. What room is Baxter in?

I respond as Caleb looks over my shoulder.

To: Jamie

- I will be in the Cafeteria so just meet us there.

After getting a confirmation text from Jamie, we step out of the Elevator.

I turn the dying conversation to a new direction. "So how do you know Baxter?"

Looking at Caleb, his arms tense and his breathing gets shallower, but nonetheless, he answeres.

"We met at a wrestling camp when I was 8." We turn the corner to reveal a large cafeteria with countless empty seats and a pungent odor. "He and I bunked together and became good friends. It turns out our parents knew each other, and that we went to the same school."

We take trays from the pile and grab select dishes from the warming areas. I notice Caleb wants to continue talking so I don't pressure him or say anything.

As I sit down across from him, he continues. "When I was 15 my mom and dad got divorced, and soon after, my father, who I was staying with, died on the job. He was a policeman." I put my hand on his.

"My mother had split instantly after the divorce and I had no contact with her, so Baxter's parents legally adopted me." I wondered why he hadn't told me any of this in jail.

"They said, as long as I worked and gave them half my wages, that I could live with them. After a while, I started getting frustrated with the half wages thing so Baxter started working and didn't tell them. Together we both gave a quarter of our wages to equal what would have been half. It was awesome... until I got thrown in jail." Sensing he was done with the story, I sighed heavily and started eating.

It is 5 minutes till we speak again.

"Thank you," I murmur.

He looks up confused. "For what?"

"For telling me about your life, and your backstory. I know how hard it is to lose people." I realize I had told him about my father but not my brother. I decide that it is a story for later and continue eating.

Jamie bursts through the double doors but freezes when she sees Caleb. When he notices her, he rises from his seat and smiles.

"J-Dog!" He opens his arms and she smiles and runs to hug him. A very different greeting from ours.

After around 20 minutes of talking, we hear a loud alarm on the intercom followed by a woman's distorted voice.

Alert! This is code blue! I repeat code blue to room 204! Code blue to 204!

I turn to my friends. "That's Baxters room!" We all burst out of our chairs, and through the double doors. Instead of waiting for the elevator, we sprint up the stairs a level and arrive, chests heaving in front of Baxter's door.

Taylor is outside it with a panicked face and self-defeating eyes. He is murmuring things and pacing back and forth.

I grab his muscular shoulders and turn his toward me. His eyes meet mine and I am shocked by his vulnerability. He breaks the gaze.

"What happened?" My voice is calm and smooth, much to my surprise but Taylor responds with a hoarse and quiet voice.

Taylor looks slowly up and his eyes meet mine, guiltiness laces them.

"I told him."