by AKM Miles
“Here you go, Mr. Campbell, hot and delicious. You and Mr. Martin enjoy your lunch.”
Shit! The waiter had come out of the kitchen without him noticing. He stood to take the bag from him, hoping the men didn’t hear. He decided to go out through the kitchen, but he wanted to know who had been talking. He set the bag down and looked around the barrier. No one was at the table. Crap. That meant they heard the waiter say his and Max’s names. They knew he’d been listening. He wished he knew who they were, what they looked like, any details he could report to Max. Accounting department for sure. Derek knew the store in and out now. He knew he could go out a back corridor and get to the elevator that went up to the offices and the penthouse.
He came around the corner and stopped in his tracks. There were two men waiting by the elevator.
“Well, hello little faggot boy. Listen in on any conversations lately?” Clearly they knew he had or they wouldn’t be here. It was the first one’s voice, the hater.
“Yes, quite an interesting one. You’re the one who hates gays and is bilking the company, right?” Derek wasn’t going to back down in front of them. He’d put his phone in his pocket and now he reached in and pushed the button at the bottom, knowing it would video the inside of his pocket, but it should also clearly pick up their voices.
“Now that’s a shame. There’s no way I can let you go up there and tell your boyfriend what you heard. So what am I going to do with you? Dammit, this is not good.” The man looked pissed and was clearly trying to decide what he was going to do to Derek.
“I’m sure it’s a problem for you. You said you still had a year of skimming from Martin’s before you had enough to quit. Five years, right? You must be really smart to have gotten by with it for so long.” He wanted to get them talking. He wasn’t worried about himself. They thought he was small and helpless. As Julia said in Pretty Woman, “Big mistake. Big.”
His mother had put him in karate classes when he told her he was gay. He wasn’t a tiny man, but his build was slight and she said she would not hear of him not being able to protect himself in case someone took exception to his being gay. Hell, he could probably outrun them. Both men were in suits, and he had on slacks and a button down shirt. He wished he had his sneakers on, but he could run in these shoes. Yes, he could.
“You sneaky little faggot. You’re going to be sorry you were hiding back there.” The bigger man started toward him. His friend tugged his arm.
“What are you going to do here? Dude, don’t be stupid. There’s probably cameras everywhere. Remember when the kid got taken before Christmas? This might all be on tape now. I’m getting out of here.”
The one that had been called Dude turned to his friend and said, menacingly, “Oh, hell no, Chicken. You’re part of this. Help me get him.” Dude, for lack of a better name, pulled away and headed for Derek again. His buddy stood his ground.
“Hey, I’m dumb, but I’m not stupid. I got in on the scheme with you, but I’m not going to jail for you, man.” He started backing away.
The leader sneered, “Run then, little rabbit. I’ll take care of you later, but right now there’s no way this bitch is going to rat me out to his fuck-buddy.”
“God, do you know you sound like a very old, very bad movie? Rat you out? You mean tell the owner of the store that one of his employees has been stealing from him for years. Yeah, you better just bring it then,” Derek said, getting ready to throw the food at him before getting into a stance where he could kick out at him. He didn’t want to let this guy get too close to him.
A thought came to him. They did need a camera by this elevator. A lot of bad things seemed to happen here. He spared a glance for the big guy’s buddy and saw him retreating down the corridor. Good. He had a better chance against one man. And it looked like now was the time.
When the man headed for him, Derek drew his arm with the food bag back and let it fly at his face. The guy batted it away and laughed.
“That all you got, faggy?”
“Nope, I’ve got this, too.” The bag hadn’t slowed the man down but it had given Derek time to get ready and he jumped and put his foot, hard, into the assailant’s stomach. The look on his face was priceless.
“Oomph! You,” he gasped, “you little shit. That’s going to cost you.” Slightly bent over like that, he gave Derek a good opportunity to swing around with a roundhouse kick against his temple. Derek watched him hit the floor like a sack of potatoes, groaning. While he was down, Derek grabbed his phone, taking several pictures of the man. He punched in Max’s number and when Max answered he said, “Get down here as fast as you can. I’m by the elevator door on the main floor.” He hung up before Max could ask anything.
He stood, so intent on watching the man on the floor that he didn’t hear anything behind him. Pain hit his head and he felt himself going down. He saw Dude’s foot coming for his head and tried to duck out of the way, but pain exploded again. Darkness was about to take over when he heard the guy say,
“Let’s get out of here. Martin’s on his way down. You just saved my ass and yours, Buddy-boy. Hurry. We’ll take care of him later.” He heard his second assailant helping the first one get up. Derek’s vision was impaired but he moved his arm up, phone still in it and managed to turn it toward them. He tried to yell.
“Hey!” It wasn’t loud, but they heard it and both turned to see if they’d been caught. They had, but just on his camera. The elevator door dinged and started to open so they had no time to come back after him. He almost smiled, but finally let go and closed his eyes. Max was here; he’d be all right now.
“Derek!”
Derek hated the fear in Max’s voice but he couldn’t seem to rally enough to tell him that he was okay. He couldn’t seem to open his eyes or form words. He groaned and then sighed. Come to think of it, he probably wasn’t. Okay.
§ § §
Derek hurt; his head, his neck, and his shoulders. He tried to open his eyes, but that appeared to be too much. He listened. There were beeping noises and whishing sounds. Then he heard something that caused him distress. Crying, sobbing, actually. It was Michael and then he heard Max’s beloved voice. Oh, good, that’s good. Both of them were okay. He tried again to open his eyes, but just couldn’t muster the energy to do it. Besides, his head hurt so badly he figured opening his eyes would only make it worse.
“I don’t want Daddy Derek to die, Daddy.” Michael was being careful to not be too loud, but fear was evident in that sweet voice. Derek wanted to tell him he was fine, but if he thought he couldn’t stand to open his eyes, speaking was even less a possibility. He waited for Max’s voice.
“Michael, you heard the doctor. He said Derek will be fine, but right now he has to be very still. He has a bad concussion and lots of bruising on his neck and shoulder. We have to be patient and wait for him to wake up.”
“I want him to talk to me. I’m scared he won’t wake up,” Michael said.
“I know, baby, I know. Why don’t you hold his hand? Be real gentle, but I bet he’d love it if he woke up and the first thing he felt was you holding onto him.” Bless Max’s heart. He was close, he’d love it if he felt Max holding onto him, but Michael was certainly the next best thing.
He heard shuffling noises, probably Michael getting off Max’s lap, and then felt those sweet little fingers slide into his palm. He tried to squeeze them to let Michael know he was aware of him, but nothing happened.
Derek began to worry that something more was wrong. How was it he was aware of everything around him but couldn’t move anything? Was he paralyzed? Had the blow to the back of his head and neck broken something? No, Max had said he had a bad concussion. But then, he wouldn’t tell Michael bad news until he had to. Derek was trying really hard not to freak out. He had feeling, because he could feel a tear running down the side of his face toward his ear.
“Daddy, he’s crying. Is he awake now? He must really hurt.” Derek could hear the tears in Michael’s voice with his words.
The next thing he felt was one of his eyelids being lifted very gently.
“Michael, stop that. What are you doing? He’s not supposed to move, honey.” Max’s voice was closer now. He was clearly coming to pull Michael away from Derek’s bedside.
“I wanted to make sure he was in there. He’s got tears, Daddy. He needs a hug real bad. I’m little. I could hug him without moving him. Can I? Maybe it would make him better. Please?” Michael’s voice was right by Derek’s ear and he wanted to tell Max to let Michael hug him. He could use it, needed it in fact, just like Michael said.
“Michael, I’m afraid to do anything to hurt him any more than he already is. Can we wait until he wakes up?” Max asked.
“Please, Daddy. He needs to know that we love him. You could hug him, too, if you was real careful. Please?” The whispers were tortured and Derek was hoping so hard that Max would relent. He felt so alone in the darkness.
“Come here, baby.” Max’s voice was gentle. “I’ll put you beside him, but you make sure you don’t bump him or jostle him at all. Just lie still beside him. I know he’ll feel you and know you love him.”
“But what about you? He needs to know you love him, too,” Michael whispered.
“He knows. Derek knows I love him, but I’m too big to get on there with him. I’m afraid of hurting him. You’re right. You’re little enough you won’t even make a dent in the covers, but he’ll know it’s you and feel your love.”
Derek felt the bed dip just a bit and then he felt the warmth of Michael’s body beside him. He knew that more tears were seeping out and rolling down his temple. His ear would be full soon, but he didn’t have any control over them. The next thing he felt was fingers brushing his temple, catching the tears, saving his ear from filling. Max. He wanted to thank him, but yeah, not happening. He was happy to have Michael beside him, though.
“I love you, Daddy Derek. Please wake up soon. Your face is all messed up and I know you hurt, but I want to see your eyes. I’m trying to be brave and not cry anymore, but I’m scared about you.”
Derek wished he could respond, but nothing but the tears came out of him and Max, bless his heart, was there catching them. He bet they were a strange image. Who knew what he looked like, but Michael was beside him, very still indeed, and Max was standing beside him wiping a steady stream of tears from his head.
He was tired of thinking. He knew his men were safe and now he could let go. He slept and knew nothing else.
§ § §
Again with the pain! He woke when someone pinched his big toe. He jerked his foot and then grunted with pain. Why would jerking his foot make his head hurt? He tried to open his eyes and managed to crack them just a little, enough to know it wasn’t the best idea.
“Mr. Campbell, can you open your eyes for me? I’m Dr. Singer. I know your head hurts, but you’ve been asleep for almost forty-eight hours and I think it’s time you rejoined us, don’t you? I know two people who would really like to see you awake today.”
“Mmm.” That was all he could manage, but really? He felt it was a big accomplishment. He tried for more. “Max?”
“Yes, Max and Michael. They’ll be here in a few minutes. I sent them to the cafeteria for a snack. Can you open your eyes?”
“Light?” He wanted to ask if the man could turn off the lights because he could tell it was way too bright in here and it would be agony on his eyes.
“Certainly. Nurse Lash, could you turn off the lights, please? The light from the window will be enough.”
Derek sighed as the room darkened. He tried to open his eyes and found that he could. That was an improvement. He’d been afraid, the last he remembered, that he didn’t have control over his body at all. He sighed in relief and then the man shone a bright light into his left eye and he immediately shut it, grunting at the pain.
“I’m sorry, but I have to check your eyes, young man.” The doctor used his fingers to force his right eye open and did it again. Derek understood, but he was happy when the light was removed and he could close them again.
“Okay, no more bright lights. Open them for me. Good, now follow my finger, please,” the doctor said, moving it from right to left. Derek tried to follow it, but wasn’t sure how good he was doing.
“Do you remember my name?”
“Dr. Singer.”
“Where do you work, Mr. Campbell?”
“Martin’s.”
“Do you remember what happened to you?”
“Hmm?” What?
“Do you know why you’re in the hospital?”
“Oh, uh, no? My head and neck hurt so maybe I fell.” How could he not know why he was in the hospital? He knew he hurt like the devil, but how had he gotten here? Did Max bring him? He tried to remember, but his head started hurting.
“That’s okay, Mr. Campbell, a concussion as bad as yours is often accompanied by amnesia. It probably won’t last. Don’t try to force it right now. You need to rest. I have you on a very mild sedative because of the concussion, but since you’re awake, I can increase it a bit to make you more comfortable. I’ll be back before I leave for the night to check on you. If you need anything the call button is beside your hand.”
Derek closed his eyes and sighed. He needed the rest, there was no doubt of that. He felt like he’d run a marathon and he’d just been talking.
“Daddy, look at the bag. Derek peed a lot!”
“Shh, Michael.” Derek could hear the humor in Max’s voice.
He didn’t want to think about the catheter, but well, it wasn’t like he could get up. He waited until they were sitting beside the bed and then he said, “Where’s my hug? And quit looking at my pee.”
“Daddy! He said something. Did you hear him? He said ‘where’s my hug?’. Do you think he means me?” Michael was no longer using his quiet voice. His surprise and happiness had him back to the Michael that Derek knew.
“I bet he does. Okay, you still have to be careful, okay? He might be awake, but he’s still in pain. No moving around,” Max said and Derek could hear him lift Michael up and put the boy beside him. He sighed. He tried to bring his arm up to hug Michael, but his shoulder screamed out in pain.
“Michael, be careful, honey.”
“No,” Derek said, his voice still raspy, “it was me. I tried to hug him back but my shoulder hurts.” He opened his eyes and Max’s face was right there. Max leaned down and touched his lips gently, making Derek sigh in complete happiness.
“Daddy, don’t move him too much. You don’t want to hurt him, do you?” Michael said, all serious.
“You’re right, I don’t. I’ll be careful.” Max turned away and Derek nearly whimpered, but he saw that Max was bringing the chair closer. He sat and took Derek’s hand and held it in his, squeezing gently. That touch, that light squeeze, said so many things. It said, I want to hold you, I love you, you scared me, we were worried, we’re here for you.
“I know.” He answered all the unsaid statements and Max didn’t even question it.
Michael asked, “Are you going to stay awake now, Derek?”
“Not for long. I’m really tired, but the doctor was in here and he seems to think I’ll be okay. I don’t remember how I got here, though. I’m just glad you all are here. I missed you. I heard you once before. You were beside me, weren’t you, Michael? Thank you for that. It helped me feel better, but I just couldn’t wake all the way up. I’m sorry I scared you all.”
“It’s okay. We’ll talk later,” Max said, pointing to Michael, “and get everything figured out. Right now, I think we should let you get some rest. We love you, Derek. I’ll be back later. I’m going to have Michael stay with Cindy. I’m glad she’s back at school and able to watch him.” He looked at Michael and said, “I’ll pick you up after I leave Derek tonight, okay? I think you should go to school tomorrow. Now that we know Derek is okay, you can get back to your routine. When I pick you up, I’ll bring you back here to see him. Maybe you could make him a card at schoo
l.”
Michael knew not to argue with his dad so he nodded. He turned his head and looked up at Derek. “Are you sure you’re okay now? You’re not going to go back to sleep for two more days? We were so scared about you,” he said, putting his hand up and touching Derek’s cheek. Derek closed his eyes and sighed at the loving touch.
“I think I’m good. You be a good boy and give the kittens a hug for me, okay? I’ll be home as soon as they let me. I love you, Michael.”
“I love you, too, Daddy Derek. I like saying that, Daddy Derek.”
Derek liked it, too.
When he woke next Max was right there. The joy at seeing him there made Derek smile and say, “Hey, Daddy Max.”
“Oh, thank God, you’re awake. I’ve never been so scared. Well, except when we couldn’t find Michael, but God, Derek, what happened to you? I found you by the elevator, obviously beaten, and no one else around. I thought you weren’t going to wake up. Please don’t ever put me through that again.”
Max had moved up by the head of the bed and taken Derek’s face between his hands, very gently.
“There’s almost nowhere I can hold you that won’t hurt you. Your face is so bruised and cut up. I want to get my hands on whoever did this. The police will be here to ask questions soon. Can you tell me?” Max was looking into Derek’s eyes and waiting for an answer.
Derek’s head hurt and he hated what he was going to say. “I don’t know. I don’t remember. I thought I fell or something. Somebody did this to me? Why?”
“We don’t know. You called me and told me to come down, that you were by the elevator on the main floor. When the door opened I freaked out. I screamed your name, but you were unconscious. No one else was there. You don’t remember what happened at all?”
“No, I’m sorry. I went to get lunch for us. That’s all I remember. You wanted a BLT with a small pasta salad on the side. I ordered a ham and cheese on rye with potato salad. That’s all I remember. Why would someone beat me up?” The more Derek talked about it the more his head hurt. With his left arm, the side that didn’t hurt like hell, he raised his hand and touched his face. There were a few bandages, but it wasn’t his face that hurt the most, it was his head, inside.