The air was chilly as fingers gently ghosted over the front of me, then farther up. “Should heal in time. Put salve on both areas for a week, or more. Pain pills morning and night. I think something stronger today and tomorrow should be given. Which I will dig out now.” Collin kept talking as he did just that. “Oakley? When was the last time you went to the bathroom?”
I couldn’t remember.
“Sabastian? Please give me a moment?” There was a pause, a long one at that before Collin sat on the side of the bed. “Now, you will answer me, little one. When was the last time you peed?”
“Yesterday,” I whispered, my voice rough and quiet around my thumb. Collin had to forcibly remove my hand from my face so I could repeat the word.
“I figured so. When was the last time you went number two?”
Number two?
“Pooped, honey?”
I lifted a shoulder, sneaking my thumb back into my mouth. I didn’t want to think about that. It’d been a while, but I also didn’t want the meds this man would give me for that. Sir would, though. Sir would want me to suffer with not going until I made a mess out of myself.
“Last time I saw you, Donny pushed me to give you something, which I didn’t,” I remembered. “I’mgoing to have to do that if you don’t go in a few days. I’ll leave those meds with Sabastian for him to decide.”
No,I thought. I shook my head, promising myself I’d go. I’d pretend. Or….or…
“Breathe, little one.”
I couldn’t.
“Shit.” Collin was gone in a blink as my lungs cried out to work. My thumb flopped from my mouth, one hand clutching my chest.
Maybe this was how I was going to die. With my heart beating its way out of my chest, my vision going black and lack of oxygen to my brain, I’d finally get to die.
Chapter 7
Sabastian
“He’ll be fine,” Collin said, stepping out of the room and leaving the door open. Glancing through the doorway, Oakley lay on his side, fast asleep. “He had a panic attack. With his condition, I gave him some meds, along with a high dose of pain reliever. Sleep right now is the best option.”
He looked so small in my bed, just as he had before. He took up less than half of the space, even curled up into a tight ball. The IV bag was hung on the mobile pole that connected to his arm.
“The IV will not only rehydrate him but also help push out the rest of the drugs Donny gave him if they aren’t out of his system yet as it is.”
I turned my glare towards him, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed. I still had a mind to shoot him in the head.
How dare he leave someone like Oakley with a monster of a man? The scars showed years of abuse.
“Start explaining before I kill ya.”
“You won’t kill me. We both know that.” Collin held his head up, knowing he was right. But I could fuck him up. “I swear, I didn’t know. Donny called me a few times over the past so odd years. That boy in there has nearly died more than once, mostly from some sort of sickness. Food poisoning twice, and who knows what else. Those times, he never had any marks that I could see. He seemed well overall. Quiet and skittish. Butanswered everything I had asked. Donny said the boy was his nephew and had autism, so going to a doctor’s office or hospital wasn’t a feasible task.
“I’d treat the systems, give him meds, IVs, and all would be good again. Each time, Donny would be there watching everything I did, but I suspected it was because he was worried the boy would freak out. Not that I couldn’t handle a freakout.”
Collin was a saint. He could deal with a lot of crap thrown at him. It wasn’t because he had two lovers, who he adored, but he’d seen things that most people couldn’t handle. He had a way to deal with skittish kinds of souls.
“You kind of went over how you came across him, and I’m glad it was you,” he went on. “But those marks, all of them, weren’t there the last time I saw him, and that was…like two years ago or so. The burns….that boy has gone through hell.”
“You’re telling me,” I huffed, some of my anger simmering. “How old was he then?”
“Fourteen? Donny didn’t give me an exact age. He’s maybe sixteen now, maybe seventeen, if my calculations are correct.”
“Donny said he’s eighteen.”
“I’ll do my magic and track down whatever info I can. I’m assuming you’ll want me to?”
