After his assault, it hadn’t been that way at all. He actually hadn’t even wanted to go to the hospital. But Sam—not really knowing yet what had actually happened to Ollie—had pleaded with him, eventually convinced him to get checked out at least. The moment they’d stepped into the emergency room, an intense dread had suffocated him. There’d been too many people, and the atmosphere had been too loud and hectic. He’d flinched at every noise, recoiled anytime someone approached. It had been only slightly better when they’d finally gotten back into one of the exam rooms. But then when a nurse had moved too close, just wanting to check his vitals, Ollie had nearly panicked. He’d wanted to leave—begged Sam to take him home, and Sam had tried, but the doctors had refused. They’d forced Sam to leave the room, and when Ollie was alone with them, practically hyperventilating, they’d questioned him about his injuries—the bruises on his back and arms and neck, the gash on his cheek, the bump on his forehead. They seemed to have suspected Sam in some way, and that just made Ollie moreanxious to the point that he’d had to be given some sort of sedative to keep him calm.
He hadn’t even told them about his other injuries. And he hadn’t been able to tell them who had caused his injuries either, although he’d been sure to tell them it wasn’t Sam.
When they’d finally released him and let him see Sam again, he’d been numb, unable to speak, and barely able to walk. Sam had taken him home and taken care of him, showing him so much kindness and love... At that point, they’d only known each other just over a month and had been dating for just three weeks, but the way Sam had treated him, infinitely patient and careful and gentle, had made Ollie feel so incredibly loved.
It wasn’t until a few days later that he’d told Sam what had actually happened—how he’d been beaten, held down, and raped.
And now, nearly two years after he’d been attacked and gone through that terrible experience at the hospital, the dread was still there...
Ollie shook his head and sat up, pushing away his disruptive thoughts. Right now, he needed to be here for Sam, like Sam had been there for him. He needed to be strong and solid and reliable. And he needed to continue to keep himself grounded firmly in the present, which meant not letting his own anxiety swallow him up. Especially when Sam was facing more than just his uncle being sick.
As if on cue, an older couple—whom Ollie immediately identified as Sam’s parents—entered the waiting room. The resemblance was uncanny, particularly to Sam’s father. Mr. Reynolds was tall, like Sam, and had Sam’s dark hair, although his blue-green eyes lacked any of the kindness Ollie was so familiar with seeing in Sam’s expression. Mrs. Reynolds had lighter hair, but Sam’s striking blue eyes, and she carried herselfwith poise and confidence as she strode across the room toward the reception desk.
Ollie tried not to eavesdrop, but the sound carried easily across the room, and he couldn’t help overhearing as the two argued about not being allowed back into the pre-op room. There seemed to be some discussion and a quick phone call, made by the nice man at the reception desk, and after another moment, nurse Janice appeared, along with a woman Ollie could only assume was Sam’s sister, Jasmine. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, and Ollie gave her a weak smile and then dropped his gaze to his hands in his lap.
“Come on, Mom, let’s sit. It’s going to be a long day,” Jaz said, and Ollie heard as the two made their way to seats just across from him. He risked another glance up, but Jaz was focused on Mrs. Reynolds and didn’t see him. “Can I get you water, or...?”
“No, thank you, dear. I just don’t understand why they won’t let all of us back there. It’s—”
“Mom, it’s a tiny space, just curtained off. There’s barely room for one person, let alone four... or five,” Jaz said, and she looked up at Ollie with a kind smile.
“And I can’t believe Samuel—”
“Mom,” Jaz cut in, her voice firm, and she tore her gaze away from Ollie’s. Ollie looked down again as Jaz lowered her voice. “We’ll all get to see Barry after surgery. Please be civil.”
Civil. That was the expectation.
It wasn’t Jaz’s fault. Ollie could tell she was just trying to keep her mom from making a scene, and honestly, he was quite grateful.
He took a deep breath and then pulled his phone out of his pocket, trying to distract himself from Mrs. Reynolds’s dismissive “humph” and Jaz’s further admonishments that sheneeded to behave. He had several notifications from his mom, and he quickly read through them as he kept an eye on the clock.
Mom (6:45 a.m.):Assuming your flight got in.
Mom (6:47 a.m.):Please send me an update and let me know how Sam is doing. And Barry too, of course.
Mom (6:52 a.m.):I love you, sweetie. Take good care of Sam, he’s going to need you. And take care of yourself.
He smiled to himself, wondering briefly how it was possible that his mom had been up so early—it would have been around 4:00 a.m. her time when she’d sent those messages. He typed out a quick response.
Ollie (7:51 a.m.):We’re here at the hospital. Sam is back in pre-op with Barry, but I bet they’ll be taking him back in for surgery soon. Flight was smooth. I love you too, and I will definitely take care of Sam. I’ll text an update later. <3
He checked his email and was glad to find only a single message from his boss reminding him not to worry about anything and to just call at some point if he had a few minutes. He had another couple of messages from his other colleagues, all with well-wishes and condolences and gently asking if he needed any help.
The support felt wonderful.
He couldn’t imaginenothaving all of that. Because it was something he’d always had. A wave of guilt washed over him, and he looked up and toward the two women sitting across from him. Mrs. Reynolds had a cell phone in her hand and a sour expression on her face as she swiped away at the screen. Jaz, however, met Ollie’s gaze with another small smile. She patted her mom on the knee and stood, then walked the few feet toward him.
Ollie didn’t let his gaze drift to Mrs. Reynolds, although he heard a distinct, sharp sigh and a low grumble of some indistinguishable words. Instead, he stood, smiled as best he could, and extended a hand out.
“Hi, you must be Jaz. I’m Ollie,” he said, thankful that his voice seemed to sound even and strong.
Jaz nodded and shook his hand. Her handshake was firm, and her blue eyes twinkled just a little, though she was obviously also quite tired. “Yeah, I’m Jaz. It’s great to finally meet you. Sam... well, I’m sure you know we don’t talk a whole lot, but he’s always said great things about you, and...” She hesitated a moment as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m really glad he finally found someone.”
As far as he could tell, she was being genuine and sincere, and he let out the breath he’d been holding. “I think I’m the lucky one to have met him. He’s...” Ollie ducked his head as he felt his cheeks heat up a bit, and he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.
He heard a quiet laugh from Jaz. “He’s pretty special.”
“Yeah. He is.” He managed to look back up and saw Jaz still smiling at him.
