Help Me (sequel to Save Me)

Chapter 25

The precious boy in Andy's lap sleeps well now that his lover is with him, though really isn't happy when Andy has to go. He is woken when the man moves him off his lap, and whines, grabbing onto his hand and trying to pull him back down.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I have to go," Andy says, "I promise I'll be back tomorrow."

Remington doesn't release his hand, and instead tightens his grip, not at all keen on Andy leaving. "Need you-stay," he mumbles.

The blue eyed man leans down and kisses his knuckles, carefully pulling his hand from Remington's and taking his hoodie off. He gives it to Remington, who hugs it to his chest. "I'll see you tomorrow, baby boy, I love you."

The boy whines. "Love you." His voice is small, soft. He watches Andy go and sighs once the door has closed, lying on his back and looking up at the ceiling with his boyfriend's hoodie clutched in his hands. A doctor comes in to take his temperature and gives him a glass of water, which he takes gratefully and sips.

Dr Johnson comes to talk to him in the evening, and asks Remington how he's feeling, not physically, but emotionally. The boy has his eyes closed as he answers. "Lonely," he whispers, "I want Andy back."

The therapist has sympathy for Remington. It's clear that he doesn't do well an his own, and that being here doesn't make him feel any better than being at home. He's only here so that there's no chance of him trying to kill himself again. "Andy visited today, yeah?" He isn't looking at Remington, knowing it'll make him feel worse if he feels watched. Remington nods, and Dr Johnson talks again. "Did you feel better with him here?"

Remington yawns. "I feel safer with him." He reaches for the glass and whines when he sees it's empty, managing a tired smile as Dr Johnson picks it up and walks towards the little bathroom to fill it up. The thought crosses Remington's mind about mentioning Alex, and how he seems a bit odd, but he convinces himself that it's just him being paranoid, which isn't exactly uncommon.

Dr Johnson gives him the water. "Take it easy, Remington, try and sleep." He waits for the boy to hand him the glass back, fills it up again, and leaves it by the bed.

With a nod, Remington pulls the covers up over his head. He feels so fucking disgusting and ugly and wants to disappear. He vaguely hears the door open and close as his therapist leaves, and exhales heavily, rolling onto his stomach and digging his face into Andy's hoodie.

He stays like that for a while, just breathing in the familiarity of the hoodie and wishing that he could hug Andy rather than just his hoodie. When he hears the door open again, he assumes it's just a doctor coming to check on him, so doesn't bother moving, mainly because his head is pounding and moving makes it so much worse than it already is.

"Hello, Remington," the annoyingly familiar voice of Alex says, and the boy would roll his eyes if it didn't hurt so much. He figures that if he acts like he's sleeping then the man will go. "You've got some cool ass clothes, you know that?" Alex says, blatantly admitting that he looked through Remington's things. It's a good thing he hasn't written anything in the notebook he was given yet. If Alex read that, God knows what the man would do.

The boy sighs and gives up on his plan to pretend he's sleeping. "Do you have no fucking boundaries?" His voice is unimpressed, tired, on the verge of being angry. Why won't Alex just leave him alone?

A laugh cuts through the quiet of the room and it makes Remington wince. It's one of those laughs that just radiate bad energy. "No," is Alex's answer, and it actually amazes Remington how fucking honest he is. Too honest.

"Well you need some. Fuck off." He knows it's rude, but at this point, what does it matter? He's feeling terrible, he misses his brothers and his boyfriend, he's hungry but food makes him sick, and there's a weird practically-stranger in the room making him uncomfortable. He feels he has the right to tell him to fuck off.

Again, Alex laughs. Hold on, it sound like Holly's laugh. "No," he says again, "I'm keeping you company. Isn't that what you want?" Yes, but not from you!

Remington pulls the covers right over himself, putting a very obvious barrier between the two of them. "Please just fucking go. I feel like fucking shit and you aren't helping." It goes quiet for a moment, and Remington thinks he's gone, but then there's a hand on his leg, more like his thigh, really, and he leaps out of bed, head spinning, arms around himself with the hoodie tightly in his hands. "Get out," he demands, voice trembling, "get out now!"

The distressed shout, of course, brings in a doctor. "What's going on? Why are you out of bed?" He glances between the two boys in the room, sensing some sort of tension between them.

Remington is shivering. He can still feel the hand on him. "He touched me," he stutters, "I told him-I told him to go and he-he didn't-and he-he grabbed my thigh and-oh God-I can feel her everywhere."

"Alex, out now! Remington, lie down. Do you need me to get someone for you? Dr Johnson, or someone from home?"

The boy refuses to move until Alex has gone and the door has closed behind him. He gets back in bed. "But no-no visitors after seven," he recalls.

"Normally, yes, but I've been told by Dr Johnson that you do better with loved ones around you."

Thank God. "Andy. I need Andy."

With a nod, the doctor picks up the bucket and holds it for him when he reaches for it. "Okay. I'll make sure he's contacted."

Remington is in tears as he throws up, overwhelmed by what has just happened, and feeling so betrayed by Alex that he can't even process it. He literally told Alex he was raped. What else was he meant to do? When he's done, he takes the water from the doctor and sips it, and then lies back down weakly.

The next half an hour is a blur of horrible thoughts and flashbacks, and when the door finally opens and Andy comes in, Remington is so relieved he nearly faints. He grabs onto the man as soon as he lies down beside him. Andy wraps him in a protective hug. "I'm here, sweetheart, I'm right here," he soothes, combing his fingers though the boy's hair. Remington doesn't say anything. He doesn't need to. Andy was told over the phone what happened, why he was being asked to come in.

He just rubs his boyfriend's back, strokes his hair, and kisses his head until he drifts to sleep, and is told by the doctor that it's okay for him to stay the night, since Remington is clearly much happier with Andy here.