“Whoa, that’s a no on the walking then.” said Sam and he deftly scooped Tally up into his arms in a bridal carry. Tally nestled his head against Sam’s shoulder with a deeply satisfied sigh, as if being in Sam’s arms was all he wanted in the world.
Sam felt his own heart flutter in a ridiculous reaction. He was just being a sucker for flattery. It had to be, there was no other reason to feel like this.
Tally was just happy to be safe. Sam was his light in the darkness.
He made his way behind the bar and down the hallway behind it. He bounded up the flight of stairs to his apartment above the bar. He was proud he could race up the stairs with Tally in his arms without getting out of breath. The hours at the gym were clearly paying off.
He carried Tally into the bathroom and carefully sat him on the toilet. He turned the shower on and while it was heating up he helped Tally take his shoes, jeans and boxers off. As the clothes peeled off, more cuts were revealed. The skin around his ankles was also torn and bloody. He had clearly been bound there as well.
A thousand questions whirled through Sam’s mind, but he firmly set them aside. Tally needed help, care, warmth. He definitely did not need an interrogation.
Sam helped him into the shower, lingering a moment to make sure he could stand before stepping back a little to give the young man an illusion of privacy.
Sam’s black tee shirt was wet from the shower spray, but he didn’t care. He watched the water run over all the cuts on Tally’s slender body. The heat opened some up and they started bleeding. It was good they were getting clean, but as Sam assessed the extent of the damage, his heart grew heavy.
Tally seemed remarkably unconcerned by his injuries. He calmly grabbed a bottle of shampoo and started washing his hair. Sam watched, waiting to see if he needed any help. He was deeply happy that Tally was going to smell like him and then very bemused by his own thought.
Then he pondered how he was watching a very hot guy showering, but was too concerned to find it sexy. Sam guessed that meant he was a good person at heart.
He lingered a moment longer, to make sure Tally wasn’t going to topple over. Then he turned and left. He needed to find Tally some clean clothes.
Sam padded over to his room to the large built-in closet. He paused by the side he hadn’t touched for over a year. Danny had never come back for the rest of his stuff. Sam took a deep breath. None of his own clothes would fit Tally, and Danny was about the same size.
With far more trepidation than Sam thought was sensible, he opened Danny’s side of the closet. The row of neatly hung clothes caused a tiny flash of pain, but nowhere near as bad as he had been braced for. He shook his head and smiled ruefully at himself.
He rummaged for a moment, looking for loose comfy clothes, not wanting to cause Tally anymore pain. He found boxers, soft black sweatpants and a baggy black tee shirt.
He took his findings back to the bathroom just as Tally was finishing. Sam grabbed a towel and helped Tally out of the shower. Tally stood calmly while Sam gently patted him dry, careful not to rub any of the cuts. The silence was strangely companionable, almost soothing. When Tally was as dry as Sam could get him, Sam handed him the clothes.
Tally attempted to put them on but seemed to struggle, so Sam helped. Eventually Tally was dressed and staring up at Sam with his intense blue eyes.
Sam sighed. The more he had seen of Tally’s injuries, the more he had accepted the truth. He didn’t expect it was going to go down well though.
“We need to get you to the hospital.” Sam said.
Tally stared at him for a moment. “Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t,” promised Sam. Feeling strangely bound by his vow, as well as deeply relieved that Tally wasn’t putting up more of a fight.
Tally nodded his acceptance of their deal and Sam was warmed by Tally’s trust in him.
He scooped Tally back up in his arms and carried him into the bedroom. He carefully placed Tally on his bed before rummaging amongst Danny’s things again. He found some socks and a pair of trainers. The only coat he could find was a slightly garish bright pink Puffa jacket.
Sheepishly, he offered it to Tally, expecting scorn, but the young man barely glanced at it. Sam helped him into it and zipped it up for him. He looked adorable in the ridiculous oversized coat. It matched his hair.
He didn’t even wait to see if Tally could manage the shoes. He just dropped to his knees with no hesitation and deftly put them on Tally’s feet.
Tally all taken care of, he grabbed his own coat and ordered an Uber. Thankful when he saw there was one nearby.
“Okay, then. Let’s go.” he said.
Tally lifted his arms up to be carried and Sam picked him up. The feel of his slender body pressed against his, was already so familiar it was startling.
It was turning into a very strange night.
Chapter 2
AssoonasSamwalked into the emergency department with Tally wrapped around him, arms around his neck, legs around his waist, a nurse hurried over.
