I was trying to get Dakota cleaned up and out of his piss-covered clothes was challenging enough.What he really needed was a shower, or bath for that matter, but there was no way, with his mental state, that was going to happen right now. Instead, I washed him off the best I could with a warm washcloth.
He went from dozing against me to muttering his thoughts as he all but leaned against me.
I don’t think I’d ever learn so much about him like this again.
“Good boy,” I praised, kissing the top of his head as I ran the warm cloth around his pelvis for the second time. I wanted to make sure I got the smell off of him as much as I could.
“I wanna be your good boy.” His breath tickled my neck. “No more punishment. Promise to be good.”
Tossing the cloth onto the dirty pile of laundry, I picked the boy up, just like before. Instantly, he sighed, trying to bury himself inside me.
At least he stopped talking about not having feet. That had been hard to hold back a laugh as he tried to get his mind to wrap around the fact that he wasn’t feeling any sort of pain, and apparently made certain parts of his body feel as though they weren’t there.
I think I’d have been worried about it more if it were anything other than his feet or legs.
“Tired, Sir.”
“I know.” I laid him down on the bed, leaving the covers off of him for a moment. “Collin’s going to check you over.”
He breathed, letting sleep claim him finally.
I rattled off the med that April gave him as Collin stepped up, already on duty, to check over the boy’s injuries.
“I got him. Go deal with the other one.”
I didn’t want to, but really, what choice did I have?
I gave Dakota one last look, knowing he was in good hands for the moment, and left the room.
Across the hall was the newest boy. He was still out but now in clean clothes and unbound. His chest rose and fell; eyelids fluttered as he saw things only he could see.
Thankfully, there was only minor bruising on his body and no scars. Overall, Collin had said that the kid was in good health as far as he could see. Only a little dehydrated and underweight. The mostdamage was done by the zip ties that had been around his wrists and ankles.
Wherever he had been, he was given better treatment than Dakota ever had.
With a sigh, I left the boy on the bed, hoping he didn’t freak out too much when he woke up. I hated when they did that because they usually feared me, too. Given the reasons, I never pushed for their comfort if I could help it. But panicking boys tended to cut me deeper than shouted words.
Back in my room, Collin was just finishing up. “Broken ribs, like I figured. And I’m sure he lost whatever weight he had gained while here, plus some.”
How was it possible for someone to look worse than they had in a matter of days?
“He needs to rest. Not much moving around. Pain meds. Maybe not as strong as what your boss gave him. Although they certainly did their job,”
“Easier said than done.”
“I’ll leave some for you,” he said, putting things back into his bag. “And I’ll give my niece a call in themorning. She’ll know a place the other boy can go to, or she’ll take him in herself.”
“April-“
“Yeah, sorry, man. I don’t trust her. Not when she put your boy in danger.”
“He’s not-“
“Yeah yeah. If you say so,” he interrupted me again. “Scarlett knows people. She’s good and will help. I told you that already.”
I glared at him as Dakota stirred, mumbling something I couldn’t understand.
“Fine. Just…let him at least wake up first.”
