He turned to look at me, his eyes shrouded with pain. “The mark?” he asked.
“Terminated.”
He nodded. “Good.”
I saw that he already had water, so I grabbed one of the visitor chairs and took it over to the bed and sat down in it. “How you feeling?” I asked.
“Like a fucking invalid,” Reese responded. “Since that’s what I fucking am.”
I ignored the snide remark. I’d already gotten an update from Ronan this morning that the paralysis hadn’t resolved itself yet, so I didn’t bring it up. “Ronan says they’ve scheduled surgery for the day after tomorrow to do the skin grafts.”
“Yeah,” Reese said with a sigh.
While several of the worst of the wounds on Reese’s chest would be covered with skin grafts using skin harvested from his back and legs, the ones on his arms wouldn’t need the same level of treatment. But the burns were bad enough that Reese would be spending at least some time in the burn unit so the wounds could be monitored and debrided as needed. His chest would eventually look somewhat normal, but the scars on his arms would be horrific. I hated that he’d be left with a constant reminder of the pain he’d beforced to endure over the coming weeks, but I also knew it could have been much, much worse.
“Did Ronan talk to you about moving you to Seattle for treatment?”
Reese nodded. “He wants to hire an air ambulance to fly me out there a few days after the surgery if I’m stable enough.”
“What do you think?”
“I think I don’t give a shit,” he muttered. “If I can’t fucking walk, what’s the point?”
“You’re going to walk,” I said.
“You don’t know that.”
“No, but I believe it and that’s enough for now. And even if you don’t, it doesn’t mean your life is over.”
Reese let out an ugly laugh. “Yeah, because chasing down the bad guys in a wheelchair works really well.” The sarcasm left his voice completely as he bit out, “I can’t even keep from shitting myself, Gage. You get yourself attached to a bag of your own shit and tell me if life is still worth living.”
Since I doubted Ronan or Reese’s doctors had started discussing things like colostomies with him before knowing if the paralysis was even permanent, I had to guess that Reese had made use of his tablet and the hospital’s Wi-Fi while I’d been gone. I let the issue go and said, “I want to talk to you about what happens when you get discharged.”
When Reese didn’t respond or even react to my statement, I continued. His eyes were back on the window as I spoke. “I’d like you to come stay with me for a while. I live near Woodinville. Are you familiar with that area?”
Reese shook his head. It wasn’t much, but at least he was listening.
“It’s just north of the city, so it would still be easy to get you to your physical therapy sessions and any other appointments at the hospital. But it’s quiet and there’s plenty of room for you to just take it easy. You already know that I typically only work jobs in the area so I don’t need to leave my kid overnight too often. I’ve alreadytalked to Ronan about not having me take on any jobs that take me out of town and he’s agreed.”
Still no response.
“Look, Reese, whatever happens, you’re going to need some help for a little while. I’d like to think you and I have become pretty good partners, maybe even friends, these past few months, and I know you’d do the same for me.”
I waited for him to say something, anything, but he remained stoically quiet. I was about to get up so I could leave and give him some time to think it over when he said, “Yeah, whatever.”
It was much more than I’d hoped for, so I carefully settled my hand on his shoulder and waited until he looked at me. “It’s going to be okay, Reese. I promise.”
“Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to make promises you couldn’t keep?” he asked sullenly.
“Yeah, they did,” I responded as I stood up. “That’s why I never do.”
He cracked a small smile before shaking his head. He immediately winced and closed his eyes. “When was the last time you were given something for the pain?” I asked.
“Don’t like that shit.”
“Too bad,” I said. “Don’t try to be a fucking hero, Reese. You already are one. Take the goddamn pain meds.”
Reese managed a nod.
