Page 83 of Alpha & Omega

“Oh, god. Great news, but Kingston is going to wake up to another sort of hell.”

“We know…”

Shortly after, Tony, Kingston’s foster brother, came by to wait with us since he’d been staying in the same hospital. He looked completely battered, and no doubt felt even worse with Kingston so injured. He sat down without eating.

After introducing himself, he burst into tears, blaming himself for this mess. No one could have predicted this. It wasn’t his fault. “I should’ve told Kingston earlier and not let it get so bad with my boyfriend. He wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“It’s not your fault. We cannot predict how life will play out.”

“Still… I’ll always feel guilty.”

I had nothing to add to that, not knowing the man.

Over the course of the day, I shuttled people back and forth, which gave me something to do and feel useful. In between, I would sit in Kingston’s room, holding his hand and talking to him.

Once I drove the last group who planned to work tonight and drove Hudson home, I headed back to the hospital to wait. I just couldn’t bring myself to sit at home in case something happened.

It was late morning when Dr. Torens approached us. My gut recoiled, worried she’d give us bad news. So far, Kingston had been stable.

“We’re going to be removing his breathing tube and waking him up from his coma in a little bit.”

Stix, Stone, and Nacho all sighed in relief and held each other while Tony looked like a fifth wheel, holding himself. “Thank god,” he muttered.

“What Kingston needs is to have a familiar face in the room with him.”

They all looked at Tony, who should’ve been the obvious choice, since he’d known Kingston the longest.

“No, I… can’t. I’ll just make him feel worse with all my fucking crying and guilt. It needs to be someone positive.”

Then they looked at me. “No way. I’d love nothing better than to be the first face he sees, but it should be family.”

The group finally voted on Nacho since he’d known Kingston the longest, next to Tony. And Nacho had a kind, sweet aura about him. It was a good choice.

“We’ll let you know how it goes. If all goes well, we’ll be able to move him out of the ICU,” the doctor said, guiding Nacho back to Kingston’s room.

I curled up on the chair as best as I could as I watched Kingston sleep in his new room, looking a little better with the tubes removed from his nose and mouth. Regardless, he appeared so broken. I tried to imagine what life would be like being in a relationship with him from here on out. It would be different, no doubt, but it didn’t scare me. Kingston was worth it, and I loved him. He was the one who needed us now. He needed people to take care of him for a change.

But I also didn’t know what he would be like. No doubt he’d be confused, angry, frustrated, and scared. According to Nacho, Kingston clearly hadn’t taken the news well, and withdrew from people, refusing to talk to anyone. That didn’t bode well, but I also didn’t blame him. I didn’t expect him to shrug it off, but I feared he would shove everyone away while he suffered alone. It was a feeling I often went through when Ava left.

He suddenly stirred awake, so I stood and sat on the edge of his bed.

“Hey, can I get you anything? Water? Need some pain meds?”

“It hurts… but the pain meds and nerve blockers help.”

Suddenly, he burst into tears, quietly heaving as he covered his face.

“Oh, god, baby…”

I gently lifted him to me as I bent forward to meet him halfway and held him as his body wracked with sobs, pulling the tears from me. I felt horrible for him, only able to imagine his pain and fear.

“I’ve got you, Skaterboy. I’ve got you.”

I would always hold him up if I could, no matter what life threw at him.

I’dbeenatthehospital for a week, steeped in worry about money and the looming depression. No, not looming. It saturated straight into my soul. Everything as I knew it had changed for the worse. I’d literally have to learn to walk again. They said it would be over a year by the time I finished with my rehabilitation—a year of financial burdens. A year of taking too much time off from work. A year of fear, doubts, and pain.

I still wore the cast, which would come offnext week.

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