freaks of nature - stenbrough

-20-

TW: malnourishment, medically induced coma, abuse mentioned, self harm mentioned.
unedited

——

Stanley couldn't sleep. After he had persuaded Betty to tell him everything about what happened with Bill, he was uneasy. Just the thought of him being so injured caused an intense feeling of extreme guilt wash over him. He'd left Bill there. He had let him stay behind for his own benefit. Stanley didn't know if Bill would ever forgive him, knowing that this was something serious and not some petty argument.

He knew Bill was in the hospital somewhere, but the nurses said he wasn't allowed to visit him unless he had permission from Bill's immediate family. Stanley didn't know if Sharon would even want to look at him. He had told her the sacrifice her son had made to let everyone leave safely. She knew this was Stanley's fault.

Another thing stopping him from sleeping was an unusual empty feeling in his chest he'd only felt once before, during the last few seconds before he slipped into a coma. Even though the nurses and doctors said he was perfectly healthy and that he could be discharged tomorrow, the feeling was still prominent. The feeling was strange, there was no other way to describe it. He felt as if there was a part of him missing.

Stanley wanted to talk to him. He wanted to hear Bill's voice. He wanted to hear his stutter. He wanted to watch his lips curve into a smile when Stanley agreed with what he said. He just wanted to be with him. He hadn't realised it until now, but he missed Bill so fucking much. Although the time they spend together before the MHA was short lived, they were some of Stanley's favourite memories.

Stanley wondered if Bill ever thought about him and missed him the way he did. As much as he tried to push these memories aside, Bill's lips against his was always on his mind. He felt guilty, because he was with Betty, but the way Bill would tenderly hold Stanley's head was something he couldn't forget. When Betty did it, it wasn't the same and he didn't know why. He loved Betty, of course he did, but he couldn't shake whatever he had for Bill no matter how hard he tried.

He ended up staying awake all night lost in his thoughts.

——

"Georgie," Sharon spoke softly, "before we go in, I needed to tell you that Bill is okay and that he's going to be okay. He might not look like if, but he will be. I promise."
"Okay mommy."
"It's okay to cry," she said kissing his forehead.

Georgie took her hand and they walked into the hospital room together. The first thing she noticed was the heart monitor beeping in the corner she tensed for a second which didn't go unnoticed by Georgie.

"Mommy? Are you okay?"
"Yes honey," she lied, "come on."

They walked closer. Sharon's heart stopped when she saw his condition. Bill's cheeks were hollow and eyes were sunken. His lips had teeth marks with stained blood surrounding the cuts. His chest was rising slowly and shakily. He had an IV in his hand and oxygen tube in his mouth and nose.

"We've put him in a medically induced coma as his condition was so fragile it would be the safest option," the doctor explained, "he's extremely malnourished, has server lacerations to the spine and cuts and bruises spread over his entire body. He is expected to make a full recovery. We don't know when we' are going to try to coax him back out of the coma, but we'll make sure to let you know."
"Thank you."
"I'll leave you three alone," he smiled before exiting.

Georgie let his hand slip from his mothers. He walked over to the side of the hospital bed. He silently placed his hand into Bill's. Sharon put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it softly.

"You can talk to him," she assured him.
"Hey Billy," Georgie sadly smiled, "I missed you. It's been lonely without you. I looked at your sketchbook while you were gone, I'm sorry, I know you told me not to. Your drawings are very good and I don't know why you keep them secret. I liked the one of Stanley the most. He's very nice. Sometimes he comes over and plays with my cars with me. He sometimes had red marks on his neck and mommy won't tell me what they are until I'm older, maybe you can tell me."

Sharon let out a small chuckle and rubbed his shoulder.

"I can't wait for you to come home."

When Georgie stopped talking he was only met with the monotone beeping of Bill's heart monitor. He sniffed and pulled his hand away from Bill's and hugged Sharon. She knelt down and Georgie pulled away. He attempted to wipe away tears falling down his cheeks only to miss most of them. Sharon helped him and softly kissed his forehead.

"Why isn't he saying anything?" Georgie cried.
"He's just...asleep right now."
"When will he wake up?"
"I don't know, but he will."

Georgie closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Sharon's neck, pulling her close. She lifted him and he wrapped his legs around her waist. Sharon moved him to sit on her hip. She took one hand away from him and held Bill's hand. She softly rubbed her thumb along the back of his hand. She held back her own tears as she looked at her son.

This was the first time she'd seen him in months. When she had seen him leave home with Stanley the day they were taken, he was smiling wider than she'd ever seen him smile before. He was skinny, always had been, but never like this. It almost felt like the boy she was looking at was a complete stranger.

Sharon pushed the blanket down off him and pulled up the side of his hospital gown. She saw the claw marks and bruises and almost dropped Georgie. Sharon knew he'd done it to himself which caused tears to fill her eyes. She softly traced them with her finger. She was met with rough and damaged skin. She took a deep breath, put his gown back down and pulled the blanket back over him. Sharon ran her hand through his knotted hair. When she pulled her hand back to repeat this, her hand was covered in grey hair. She squinted and ran her hand through his hair again. Surely enough, she pulled out more grey hair. Sharon frowned and placed her hand on his cheek.

"What'd they do to you, Bill?" She whispered.