A Broken Crew

Chapter 9

They get into the house and August is standing at the window, watching with anxiety, holding the phone in his hand. Atlas is on the couch, a washcloth over his head, swathed in blankets. He turned when Dakota came. "Dakota I-" August stopped short and gasped. "Oh my goodness, Grey!" Tears of concern spring into his eyes. "What happened? Hurry sit him down, I'll get Mom's first aide stuff..." Dakota carefully sits Grey down on their couch after August spreads a plastic sheet across it. August pulls out a first aid kit and a warm washcloth. "Just hold still Grey." he said. "I promise I'll take good care of you. I'm so- hic- sorry!" August was crying now. He had a very hiccupy cry, and his hands were shaky. "I'm going to try not to hurt you." he said through tears. "Dakota, give him some aspirin. I'm sorry we- hic- don't have anything stronger." He wipes his eyes, but he's still crying. Dakota rubs his shoulders. "August." he said. "Calm down. There's no need to cry like this." August wiped his eyes. "I know." he sobbed. "I know. But... it's just like... like when you..." Dakota shook his head. "That doesn't matter right now. We need to help him get better." August nodded. "Okay." He turned to Grey. "Are you ready for me to start?"

Grey nods slightly, closing his eyes against the lights of the room. Without his tinted glasses, it hurts. But it doesn't hurt as much as his body does. "Can't.. Hurt me.. More than him.." He whispers, giving August the go-ahead. He tries to force down the familiar sting of unshed tears behind his eyes, and is only partially successful. He feels suddenly, sharply, an overwhelming sense of embarrassment, guilt, and anxiety. He is more aware and ashamed that others are seeing him like this.

"Hey. Look at me." Dakota's voice is firm. "There's no reason to feel ashamed. It's not your fault what's happening to you." Dakota sighed loudly. "Yes, I can see that look on your face, it used to be on mine all the time. I know what goes through someone's head in this kind of situation." August wiped away blood, putting bandaids where he could. "Let's get your shirt off." August said. "So we can bandage your chest. Kota, will you go get a shirt of mine from upstairs? And a pair of tweezers so we can get the glass out." Dakota nodded and headed upstairs. August turned back to Grey. "Do you want to try to save this shirt?" he asked. "If not, we can just cut it off. That'd be less painful."

"Cut." Grey doesn't care about the shirt, it's one of his several identical ones. "Kota is an angel." He whispers to August while Dakota is out of the room. The pain is starting to get to him, making him a bit loopy. He keeps his eyes closed, refusing to open them.

August starts cutting away at the shirt. "Dakota really is someone special," he replied. "I think he understands you more than I do." He bandaged Grey's chest and arms. "Do your eyes hurt?" he asked. "We can get something to cover them, if you want?"

"Bright. Glasses helped." Grey agrees."Please." He sighs softly, so grateful for August's care. "Thank you."

"Your welcome." August moves to grab his sunglasses and puts them gently on his face. "That should help. You'll have to take them off so I can pull out the glass though." Dakota came back downstairs, holding a shirt and the tweezers. "We can't risk putting another shirt on him while his wings are in that condition. They look broken." Dakota set the shirt down and handed him the tweezers. "I'll bandage his legs, then pull out the glass, and then I'll look at his wings." August finished with his legs, then gently pulled off the sunglasses. Dakota stepped into the light, gently resting his fluffy black tail over Grey's eyes. "Don't expect this again." he said. "I never let people touch my tail."

Grey smiles at the comment, but just for a moment due to the pain. He does his absolute best to stay still and not flinch as August pulls the broken shards of his glasses and his father's bottle from his face. The difference is clear- the bottle glass was clear, whilst Grey's glasses were tinted a soft sky blue. He whimpers softly at one point, the only noise he's made besides talking this entire time.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." That was August's mantra. Finally, the last of the glass was gone. "I need to make sure there's none in your eyes." he said. "Can you open them for me?"

Grey hesitantly opens his eyes, trying hard not to squint at all so August could see. For the first time, he's having actual trouble seeing, and anything past August is very, very blurry. "Blurry." He whispers.

"That might mean there's something in there, if you didn't have any vision problems before." August said worriedly. "I'm sorry this might hurt your eyes..." He turned on a little flashlight, looking in there. "Definitely glass." he said. "I need my smaller pair of tweezers." He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He disinfected it, then as gently as he could pushed Grey's eye open. Little by little, very carefully, he pulled out 8 different glass slivers. "The other eye and then it's over." he said soothingly. From his right eye he pulled 16 different shards. "All done for now." he said. "I couldn't see anymore, even on Mom's heat sensor." He gently placed the sunglasses back on Grey's face. "Are those painkillers helping at all? I'm going to take a look at your wings now, if you're ready."

"OK." Grey's voice is a bit steadier now than it was when he first came in. He blinks, then frowns. "It doesn't hurt so bad... But still blurry." The blurring is probably from all the times he kicked my head. "But it'll be OK."

"Maybe you have a concussion." August's voice was full of worry. "I hope it's not too serious. Let's take a look at your wings." He wiped away blood. "This doesn't look good at all." he said softly. "They're all bent out of shape. Most definitely breaks..." August looked up at Dakota. "We need to call the hospital," he said. "I can't handle broken wings and a concussion from home. Maybe we can get Mom." Dakota sighed. "Do we really have to get authorities involved?" he asked. "They make drama and don't really help with the real problem. Can't we just wait till Mom- I mean, your mom, gets home?" August puckered his lips in worry. "We could, but I'm telling you this isn't something that shouldn't be treated at home. It requires hospital care." He turned to Grey. "I guess it's up to you, Grey. If we go to the hospital, the police will get involved. What do you want to do?"

Grey pauses to think. There's nothing he would love more than putting his father behind bars. Well, nothing besides possibly being able to fly someday. "How crooked are they this time?" Grey sighs.

"This time?" August said. "We need to call the cops." Dakota shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, August." he said. "I'm telling you, there's not enough evidence and the system for people like us is messed up. They'll turn him loose right back to him and then everything gets a million times worse." He turned away. "You know that." August looked down sadly. "I-I... I know." His voice was small. "But... but what can we do?" "Tell your Mom." Dakota said firmly. "We told her last time, and she did a good job with me. And I had broken bones too." August sighed. "I know, I know... it just doesn't look good." August coughed. Dakota was instantly alert. "You're coughing." August laughed weakly. "It's fine, my throat is just dry." Dakota looked at him suspiciously, but let it go. "Anyway," he said. "Splint his wings and let him rest till Mom gets home." August sighed. "Okay." He turned back to Grey. "Well, I guess Dakota made that decision," he said. "I'm going to splint your wings and give you a shot so you won't accidentally make it worse. Then you'll rest until my Mom get's home. She's a certified nurse. Okay?"

"Okay." Grey nods.