“Would you like help getting him up into a bed?”
I glanced at the doctor, feeling like I was going into shock myself. It felt strange to ask a doctor to help me carry Cal up several flights of stairs, but I found myself nodding.
“Alright. I’ll take his left side,” he said, and together, we slung Cal’s arms over our shoulders and began the long, arduous trip up to my room.
Once we were inside, Dr. Callahan helped me lie him down on my bed, and I winced at how filthy he was.
“I need to clean him up,” I whispered. “Is it ok to wake him up for that? Should I let him rest and do it later?”
“He absolutely needs to rest, but we don’t want to risk further infection. It would be better to clean him as much as you can now and let him sleep for as long as possible afterward,” the doctor informed me, and I nodded.
“Worse comes to worse; you can try and sponge him off in bed, but honestly, the cleaner you can get him, the better.”
“Okay. Thank you, doctor. For everything,” I whispered, and he gave me a gentle smile.
“No worries. I owed Cass a favor anyway, and I’m glad she called me in for something like this. I can tell he’s really loved, and I’m happy I was able to help save his life. Just…”
Dr. Callahan turned to face me, his blue eyes turning serious. “He wasreallylucky his wounds weren’t more serious, and honestly, if he hadn’t gotten that burn looked at, he would have been risking a blood infection as early as tomorrow. If he carries on like this, he’s not going to make it past thirty.”
I swallowed at the doctor’s words and cleared my throat roughly.
“I understand.”
Dr. Callahan patted me on the shoulder and gave me a curt head bob. “Anyway. You have my card. Call me if you need me. Have a good night, Mr. Fairview.”
“You too, Doctor.”
“Tom, please.” He smiled, and I grinned back.
“Ryan, then.”
“Goodnight, Ryan.”
Then, he was gone, and I was left alone with my broken, dark angel.
“Cal, baby, wake up,”I whispered, doing my best to try to gently rouse Cal. He groaned, and his eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks.
“Ginger snap?”
“Yeah. It’s me. We need to get you cleaned up, then you can rest. Can you try to stand for me?”
“It hurts.” He complained, and I shut my eyes, resting my head against his forehead, wishing with all my heart I could take his pain away.
“I know, angel. But I need you to try for me.”
He nodded and groaned again, doing his best to push himself up. I positioned myself back under his arm so I could help him stand, and together, we made our way into the ensuite.
I flicked on the light and was about to guide him toward the large, black, claw-footed tub when he suddenly jerked away from me.
“Cal, what?—?”
“No…” he moaned, stumbling back out of the bathroom, his eyes wide with panic. “I can’t go back in the tub. Please. No.” Atear slid down his face, and I rushed to catch him as he nearly collapsed in his rush to get away from the bathtub.
“Okay!” I blurted, wrapping my arms around him as best I could without touching his injuries. “No tub. We won’t use the bathtub. Let’s get in the shower. Is that better?”
He turned panicked eyes onto me, and I reached up to brush a tear away, frowning.
For a moment, he didn’t answer, but I just held his gaze and kept him as steady on his feet as I could, which was no easy task considering how much larger he was than me.
