“Between falling and panicking…” I say, but trail off.
“What can we do, Ari?” Elijah asks.
“I think falling brought on some nerve pain,” I admit. “It started up when I was leaving, but it was minor. When I found the bone, I dropped down to sit and made it worse… plus the screaming.”
“Hand me that shirt,” Jovian says to Elijah before looking at me. “I’m going to help you change, and you are going to lie down. Okay?”
“Jovi, I…”
“I’m not asking,” he says, taking the shirt from Elijah.
“You said heat and ice,” Connor says. “Will that help?”
“Yeah,” I admit.
“We will go do that and keep an eye out for Ray and the cops,” Kip says.
“Thank you, guys,” I say quietly.
“Not a problem,” Kip replies with a smile.
When they leave, and it is just Jovian and Elijah, I get nervous. “I can change,” I say.
“Okay. We will be right out here,” Jovian says. When they leave the room and pull the door shut, I start crying again. It feels likea dagger is stabbing me in the head, and the nerve pain is getting worse by the second. The back of my head down to my mid-back feels like a thousand blazing hot needles shooting through me. It causes tingling to spread down my arms and to my fingertips. I try to pull my shirt off, but I whimper in pain and drop my arms. After a few failed attempts, I am crying harder as the pain intensifies.
The door opens, and it just makes me cry more, knowing that I need help. Jovian and Elijah say nothing as they help me stand so they can undress me. When Elijah unhooks my bra, I flinch when his fingers touch my back. “How much pain are you in, Ari?” he asks, moving more slowly to help me get my bra off.
“A lot,” I whimper. “I’m sorry. It’s not usually this bad. I promise I can do my…”
“Fuck the job, Ari,” Jovian says. “You need help, so we are helping. We had no right to connect your health to your ability to do your job. We were wanting to push you out because we don’t exactly have a good history with PAs, but we never should have put that on you.”
“I tried so hard to get back to who I used to be, but she’s gone,” I admit tearfully. “They should have just killed me.”
“Whoa. No,” Jovian says, lifting my chin. “We may not know you all that well, but I know strength when I see it. You are driven and kind. You have come too far to let this be what takes you down.”
“Sit and let us help,” Elijah says. I nod and carefully sit back down. They are gentle as they help me get the shirt on. When I lie on Jovian’s bed, he has me lie on my belly. Kip brings the heating pad and ice before leaving again. I have my head in my arms and a blanket covering me from the hips down before they start with ice. Elijah and Jovian sit on either side of me before they work together to gently massage my neck and shoulders. I groan in pain but relax into the bed.
“How do you know how to do that?” I mutter.
“My mom had pretty severe nerve pain,” Elijah says. “Dad would do this for her.”
“Had?” I ask.
“Doctors got her hooked on pain meds, and she overdosed when I was a teen,” he says. “Dad killed himself a year later out of guilt for not getting her help.”
“That’s terrible,” I say softly.
“Look… The last PA we had… She got with all of us individually, and then turned us all against each other. We got into a huge fight during a game against the Titans last year and lost the championship,” Elijay says.
“That was the week after I was attacked,” I say. “I always suspected that Sutter covered for them because of that game. He got a raise for winning that game.”
“So when you came from the Titans… we wrongfully placed blame on you without reason,” Jovian says. “We will make up for being shitty.”
“You already have,” I say. “Thank you for taking care of me… I suck at asking for help. I always have.”
“Well, you keep us straight with your fancy PA shit, and we will take care of you. Deal?” Elijah asks.
“Yeah.” I sigh.
