Page 6 of Boys Like You

“Boys,” he says, stepping back inside the room. They all turn and look his way. “If you insist on staying, and only if the young lady wants it, you will limit your time here. When she rests, only one of you at a time please. Now, for the love of God, will some of you go home and shower, you smell terrible. Maybe get the girl some clothes if any of you have sisters her size, otherwise let the social worker know and they can organise her some.” He leaves this time and we all giggle – he is right; they do smell – I just didn’t want to say anything.

“Did you all hang around here all night?” I ask.

“We did. Maximus wouldn’t let us leave until he knew you were okay,” Mercer replies with a smile. The guy really is super attractive with his shaved blond hair, his lips a perfect red, and his amber coloured eyes. Makes a girl want to latch on and go for a ride. I feel my face heat at the thought and turn my attention to Maximus who is still looking down at his phone.

“Well, thank you, Maximus, I appreciate waking up to people around.” He looks up at me for a second and gives me a thumbs up. I smile when his face is swallowed up by his curly hair.

“Okay, fuckers, who’s going home first?” Rocky questions with a loud clap of his hands, causing everyone to look at him. He strikes me as a guy who loves attention.

“Rock, paper, scissors,” Levi says, and they all gather in a circle, even Maximus. They play until Mercer is the last man standing. Before anyone gets a chance to say anything, Mercer’s phone rings. I don’t recognise the song, but it’s soft rock.

“Hey, Dad.” I look over at him as he talks to his Dad. Do I have a dad? I feel like I do. It’s a weird feeling, but I really don’t care. What sort of person doesn’t care if they have a dad or even a family?

“Yes, I’m still here. The guys are going to shower; I’ll swap with someone later.” He paces the room as he talks, everyone watching him. He peeks over at me. “I know, I don’t know her. I’ll explain later.” He must be getting asked a lot of questions about where he is and what he is doing. “Mhmm. No, Dad, the hospital has food.”

“Mr Cole, please bring some homemade sausage rolls,” Rocky calls out. Rory whacks him in the gut and he makes an oomph sound. Rory has been awfully quiet almost the entire time I have been awake. He seems familiar, like maybe he’s famous, or at the very least, a celebrity look-a-like.

“The doctor didn’t say she could even eat yet. What if her tests say she needs surgery?” Mercer argues. “Stop. Just because you watchGrey’s Anatomy, doesn’t mean you can give medical advice.” The guys all cover their mouths and chuckle. Mercer shoots them a look. “No, it does not, nope. You will never be McDreamy or Mcsteamy.” He rolls his eyes; he doesn’t seem to be winning the argument with his dad. “Fine, you can make food. See you later.” He ends the call and sighs, looking back at me. “I’m so sorry, but my dad insists on bringing you food. He has control issues, but if you’re not up for it just say so and I’ll tell him no.”

“He sounds like fun, and something tells me he won’t take no for an answer.” He smiles at me. My stomach grumbles at the thought of food.

“Wait till you meet Mr Cole, he’s the best,” Rocky chips in. The others agree. They all tell me they’ll be back and smelling much better. I nod and watch them all leave the room. Rory turns and gives me one last look. His eyes lock on mine; they hold a sadness, but before I get a chance to ask what’s wrong, he turns and leaves.

Mercer sits in the recliner and pushes back against it until it’s in a laid-out position. The door flies open and crashes against the wall. Rocky is beside me in a flash, kisses my forehead, and races back out the door. I look at Mercer, who bites his lip, holding back a laugh.

“Let’s try to get some rest. We can talk about all this soon.”

I agree, my eyes are heavy, and the pain in my ribs is starting to really hurt. I consider calling the nurse and asking for pain meds, but I decide to wait it out.

“Promise me you will be here when I wake up,” I ask, peering over at him.

“Promise,” he says, rolling on his side towards me and reaching his hand up on the bed. Our fingers lock as we both fall asleep.

I wake to the sound of hushed voices. “Should we be worried about him?” I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but why would they be worried? “He hasn’t stopped holding her hand. You know how he feels about being touched, he’s almost as bad as Maximus.”

“Stop worrying about him, maybe he needs this; she could be good for him.”

“How is getting attached to a girl we know nothing about a good thing? She could get her memory back today and be gone, and then what? We’re left with an angry Mercer who beats on any guy who looks at him the wrong way again.”

“You’ve lived with cops for way too long. He isn’t angry at this moment and that’s huge, we will deal with whatever happens as brothers. We always have.”

I move a little to make them think I’m only just waking up. The slight movement causes me to groan. Pain shoots through my ribs and feels like it’s coming out of my pelvis.

Not long after the guys left earlier, our nap had been interrupted. They dragged me off for an MRI, extracted half my blood, then sent me for x-rays, an ultrasound, and the dreaded rape kits. Mercer was brought in to me when I had a panic attack. The one thing that scares me the most is if I was raped. Not remembering who I am doesn’t seem to bother me as much as it should. Which I think is because how can I be bothered about people I don’t remember but I know what rape is.

“Afternoon, JD.” Rocky says, looking down at me with his beautiful blue eyes and thick black lashes.

“JD?” I question, shifting my position on the bed so I’m sitting up slightly. Mercer jerks awake at the sound that comes from me when I shift, and he and Rocky both help with fixing my pillows. Levi is standing defensively in the corner of the room. I don’t blame him for being cautious, I mean, I don’t even know who I am, so how can he know what to think of me? He’s just being protective of his friends, and I like that. If I had friends, I would think I would feel the same way he does.

“Yeah, we decided it sounds better than Jane Doe, and by we, I mean me. At least until it catches on anyway.” I smile at Rocky; his words fly out of his mouth so fast my brain has to piece his sentence together to make sense of him.

“I like it,” Mercer adds, standing from the recliner and stretching his hands above his head. I watch shamelessly as his shirt rides up, revealing his stomach and a thin trail of blond hair from his belly button to the top of his jeans.

I look away when his arms drop, meeting the amused eyes of Rocky, who just caught me red-handed, ogling his friend.

“We’re back,” Rory announces, walking into my room followed by Maximus, both carrying shopping bags. “Remind me to never go shopping with your Dad again, Merce.”

---