Jake turned around, gripping the railing for support, and looked into the house through the open slider door. It was just after nine in the morning, but curtains on the windows were still drawn, so the house was still darkish. However, Jake could see the light coming through the open door of the extra bedroom, illuminating part of the hallway.
The man was still sleeping, or had been as of about ten minutes ago, when Jake had last hobbled down the hallway to check. When he eventually woke up, he’d need to eat.
Clenching his jaw against the pain he knew was about to worsen, Jake pushed himself away from the railing and took one step, then another and another. Each one was more painful than the last. Each one reminded him of just how bad his situation was.
He’d lived with pain before, but it had been a long time since he’d had this level of pain for this long, uncontrolled. And because of the lack of sleep the last few nights, coupled with the constant battle against the pain, he was beyond exhausted.
In truth, he wasn’t sure how he was going to make it through the day while managing to care for another person. He wasn’t sure he even had the energy to care for himself.
He made it to the open slider door and reached out to grab onto the doorframe, needing the support. After only a brief pause, he continued inside, leaving the door open behind him. Some desperate plea rattled through him, as he looked longingly down the hallway toward his own bedroom—the door at the end just barely cracked open, how he’d left it earlier. He could go lie down again. Flat on his back, with his leg elevated on a few pillows. He could lie there, and he still wouldn’t be able to sleep, but at least he’d be horizontal and off his leg.
But the very next step he took stopped that thought right in its tracks as his leg first screamed at him and then gave out completely. His knee buckled, and he fell, dropping the phone from his left hand and tumbling to the ground without any sort of grace. He somehow managed to break his fall with his hands, though that didn’t feel great either, and a second later, he pushed himself over onto his back, groaning. Pain shot through his leg, some throbbing, stabbing sensation that was so damn overwhelming he thought maybe he’d pass out. He reached down to grip his thigh and forced himself to take slow, deep breaths, even as the pain intensified.
“Goddammit,” he muttered under his breath. And when he heard a quiet sound from down the hallway, he was immediately relieved he’d managed to not curse any louder. He didn’t need to send the man running away right now, not when Jake couldn’t even move to go after him.
Jake continued taking slow breaths and holding tightly onto his upper thigh as though that might somehow stem the pain—even though he absolutely knew it wouldn’t help—as a set of light footsteps approached quickly. And he tried to ignore the sudden rush of embarrassment that hit him when he heard the man gasp quietly.
Instead, he forced something he hoped could pass as a smile onto his face. “Sorry, I, uh, I’m not in great shape this morning. I hope... I didn’t wake you.” He said the last few words through clenched teeth, sure that whatever the look on his face was now, it definitely wasnota smile.
The man knelt down next to him, frowning, his eyebrows furrowed with worry. Jake wanted to shake his head, reassure the man that everything was okay. Thathe’dbe okay. That he’d just need to lie on the ground for a fewminutes, then he’d be able to get up and make them breakfast. But he also really didn’t want to lie, so he didn’t say anything else. He just blew out a short breath and blinked his eyes closed for a few long seconds.
He heard some shuffling, and when he opened his eyes again, the man had settled cross-legged next to him, his hands wringing together in his lap and his teeth worrying at his bottom lip.
Dammit.
Jake shook his head gently, released the grip he had on his thigh, and then set both hands at his sides and attempted to push himself up into a sitting position. Pain shot through his hip and up into his back, but he somehow managed to stifle another curse and another groan, and then he was sitting up, leaning back slightly. His arms trembled, his muscles worn out and weak from everything, and he said another few curse words to himself as he realized he’d made yet another boneheaded move.
“I need to get to the couch,” he explained through clenched teeth. The man flinched slightly, no doubt because Jake had been terribly unsuccessful at keeping his voice level and steady, but then the man shifted a bit until he was kneeling and shuffled closer. “Y-you don’t have to help, I can probably manage by myself.”
Yeah, that was a lie. A lie said with the best of intentions, at least. And the man seemed to know it. He actually... laughed? Maybe? It was a small huff of something, and he shook his head as he scooted a tiny bit closer.
Jake dropped his chin. “Yeah, sorry, you’re right. I do need help. But I don’t... um...” He looked back up at the man for just a second and saw deep blue eyes filled with worry. God, he’d put that worry there. What kind of caretaker was he? He took a long breath, exhaling slowly. “I’m sorry if you’re not comfortable with this. I didn’t mean to put you in this position,” he said.
The man’s expression tightened, but he said nothing, which wasn’t terribly surprising to Jake, and then the man shook his head again, reached out, and slipped one thin arm under Jake’s and around his back. He wasn’t strong, and Jake was much, much too weak, but somehow between the two of them, they managed. With the man’s help, Jake pushed himself up onto his feet and stumbled the rest of the way over to the couch. And then he promptly collapsed, dropping heavily down into the couch cushions.
Between his pain and his exhaustion and his heart pounding in his ears, he only vaguely registered as the man backed away quickly toward the corner at the far end of the room, where he’d spent most of his day the day before. But Jake couldn’t really process anything else. He closed his eyes and let his head fall backward to rest on the couch cushion behind him. And he tried to steady both his breathingand his trembling. The muscles in his legs and arms buzzed, weak and painful, even though he tried to relax them.
God, how long would he have to just lie here? How long until his heart stopped racing and the feeling came back to his fingers?
And how long until—
The phone rang. From somewhere across the room, maybe back by the slider door, the phone rang.
And he muffled another curse. Barely. “It’s... probably Kris. I forgot to call her this morning.” He forced himself to sit up a little, and he turned his head toward the sound. The phone sat on the ground, over by the back door, just as he’d suspected. It continued ringing, and he flinched as he pictured his sister probably nearly panicking already.
He always answered right away when she called. On ring one. Or two. Not ring four or five or—
Shit.
“I’m sorry, can you . . . ?”
Jake twisted back to look at where the man sat in the corner. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, and he was staring at the phone, his expression tight. The muscle in his jaw trembled, and he blinked and then glanced over at Jake as he reached up to push a strand of hair back behind his ear.
Guilt rushed through Jake’s chest in an uncomfortable wave at the man’s hesitation. He wanted to apologize again, especially when the man pushed himself up to his feet and moved out of his corner. But Jake stayed quiet.
By the time the man had picked up the phone and made his way back to the couch to hand it to Jake, it had stopped ringing. However, it started up again almost immediately.
“Thank you. Thank you so much. I...” Jake trailed off as the man backed away, more quickly this time. And Jake wanted to say something more, tell the man how much he appreciated the help, but now was maybe not the time, because if he didn’t answer this time, his sister would be even more upset. He gave the man a small smile and then pushed the green button on the phone to answer.
