Jay cleared his dry throat. “I told you I’d help with the monsters, didn’t I? Granted, I didn’t expect it to happen so fast, but that’s on me for handing out promises like candy.”
Chris slid closer. “Yes, that was rather careless of you.”
They grew quiet, and Chris seemed troubled.
“What is it?”
He met Jay’s eyes. “Do you think I’m poison?”
“Meaning?”
“You know what I mean.”
He did, and he couldn’t blame him for thinking that since he himself had thought the same until recently.
“It’s a loaded question, but no—you’re not poison. Trevor was, and you two are nothing alike.”
Chris didn’t respond, but the tension gradually left his features.
“I remember a doctor,” Jay said.
“Mickey sent him to meet us here. He said that we’d be fine as long as we took it easy. Ethan updated Stu that you were safe.”
“Damn, big brother’s gonna whoop my ass. Did you speak with Melissa?”
Chris’s face darkened. “Briefly. I told her I was okay and would be coming home today. We’ll need to have a long talk when I see her.” He wet his lips. “I’m going to tell her everything about the Mitchells and about Mr. David. I should have told her years ago.”
“Better late than never.”
“We’ll see.”
Jay took a breath before quietly saying, “Listen, about what Trevor made us do... should we talk about it?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“We did what we needed to.”
A soft knock on the door.
“He’s up,” Chris said.
The door creaked open, and Ethan and Anthonywalked in. For a while there, Jay had believed he would never see them again.
“Permission to be cheesy,” Anthony said.
Jay turned on his back and spread his arms. “Granted.”
Anthony leaned down and hugged him carefully, then Ethan took his place and whispered in Jay’s ear, “Thank you for saving him.”
It hadn’t quite happened like that, but Jay knew what he meant.
Anthony and Ethan sat on the bed and shared their sides of the story. Jay wished he had been there when they vandalized the Mitchells’ house—he would have torn down the fucking walls.
Later, Anthony helped him cross the unstable floor into the living room where he slumped on the couch. Ethan brought him a strong coffee and warm bagels. A part of Jay worried he was only hallucinating this cabin. Maybe his brain had created this wholesome scene to shield him from whichever hell his body was enduring in that basement.
He took a sip of coffee, knowing it was too hot. The sharp burn didn't wake him up.I guess this is real.
