Page 42 of The Not So Super Hero
Zane wouldn’t look at him.He had himself wrapped up like a child hiding from his parents.Biting his lip, Bailey approached Zane, hesitating time and time again as if he expected Zane to suddenly lash out on him.
“You…you don’t need to go to the hospital, do you?”Bailey asked, concerned by Zane’s silence.
Finally, he reached the bed to sit down next to Zane.He reached towards the blankets.Finally, Zane made a move.He brushed Bailey off, his hold of the blankets tightening to state he wasn’t coming out.Bailey couldn’t help but be reminded of someone who did that once before, a long time ago.
“Don’t be like that,” Bailey said, rolling his eyes.He tugged on the blankets that Zane refused to release.“You’re acting like a kid.”
“What do you want?”Zane asked softly.
Bailey pressed his hand to Zane’s back.He felt the warmth beneath it, then a shiver that caused his fingers to grip the blanket between them.“What do you mean?”
“Why are you here?”
“I was worried,” he said, a little offended Zane didn’t know that.He realized he had left without a word, right?Because Bailey had a lot to ask, a lot to say, and Zane just, poof, vanished!“We could have been killed yesterday, and you didn’t even stay behind to—”
To what?Check on Bailey?Check on himself?To just be there, by Bailey’s side.He wasn’t sure, so he didn’t say, simply hoped that Zane got the hint.Because he didn’t respond, Bailey took that as he understood, but didn’t want to admit he did.
Before Bailey could go into a lecture, Zane said something that caused Bailey’s chest to cave in on itself.“You sure as hell looked like you didn’t want me to stick around.”
That…it wasn’t true, even if Bailey understood why Zane felt that way.
“Don’t even try to tell me you aren’t frightened just by being in the same room as me,” Zane said.
“I’m not,” Bailey argued, which pissed Zane off enough to move.
He shot off the bed.The blanket dropped to curl around his feet.There wasn’t time to process a thing, to think over what to say before Zane faced Bailey.His eyes were red, bloodshot.Not a single ounce of white was left.There were remnants of blood beneath his nose and around his ears.His hair was matted, like he had been tearing at it.His lips set into a scowl that shook when he pointed accusingly at Bailey and said, “You didn’t like what you saw.Don’t argue against that.I know exactly what you were afraid of, and it wasn’t just Sasha.”
Bailey couldn’t argue that he wasn’t frightened, Zane frightened him, but not in the way Zane seemed to think.The way Zane looked at him, as if he honestly believed Bailey thought so little of him, that he feared Zane, it sent rage through his veins.
“If you know exactly what I was afraid of, then you should know why I was afraid to begin with,” Bailey argued.“You seemed to know exactly what you were doing.She apparently knew you, that you were an objective, that Rebirth is after you.Yeah, I’m frightened by that, frightened for you, so why don’t you explain to me how or why that’s so wrong because I’m drawing a blank?”
Zane took a step back when Bailey abruptly stood and with a stern voice said, “I didn’t come here to argue.I came here to make sure you were ok, and yeah, I have a lot of questions I want to ask, but there are more important things right now, like getting you cleaned up.So, you can either let me take you to the hospital or sit the fuck down and let me take care of you.It’s your choice.”
Zane had an expression of disbelief and slight annoyance as he glared at Bailey, who was happily glaring right back.They remained like that for a few minutes, in a duel to see who would cave first.Then Zane released a grunt and stomped towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.Water ran from the shower.Bailey took the time to head for the cupboards.
His hands shook while he searched for anything Zane might have to eat.It took a few minutes for Bailey to compose himself.He was somewhere between pissed off and distressed but wasn’t sure what to call it or which he felt more.Honestly, it was pretty evened out.
He was pissed at Zane for honestly believing that Bailey feared him.He was gloomy because part of him understood why.There was also some annoyance in there that Zane was likely going to be a handful because of it.Can’t the guy be an open book and tell Bailey everything?He tired of all the mysteries; it was only hot in the movies.Except he couldn’t even lie to himself about not finding Zane and his annoying ways attractive because the bastard had to come out of the bathroom at that exact moment.
Bailey turned to request Zane to make a doctor’s appointment, but his words came out as a surprised squeak instead.Zane stood still in the bathroom doorway for a moment with a pair of boxers on.Bailey’s eyes sure as hell weren’t on Zane’s face.They were quickly taking in everything else, like how the boxers clung to his damp thighs.He was more toned than Bailey expected.Not that he ever thought about Zane’s naked thighs.Bailey needed a shower too…a freezing one.
A damp towel falling on his head stole the view.Bailey yelped.He stumbled from left to right, then rammed into the counter as he struggled to get the towel off his head.When he finally did, he saw Zane had on a pair of sweats and was making himself comfortable in his bed.Bailey kind of hated himself for being a bit saddened by the sweats.Why was his mind in the gutter again?It needed to clean itself up because now was not the time!
Shaking his head, Bailey focused back on the tomato soup and grilled cheese he was making.It was the only thing he could find in Zane’s apartment other than beer and pizza.As much as he didn’t mind the idea of pizza, he felt Zane would do better with some soup.
“Are you hungry?”Bailey asked.
Zane shrugged.He turned on the TV, seeming to not care what was on because he didn’t bother with the volume or the channel.
The man had cleaned himself up, hair pulled back into a ponytail, no longer matted or in chaos.The blood was gone like it wasn’t there in the first place, but sadly, his eyes were still red.From time to time, Bailey caught Zane closing his eyes, blinking or squinting like they were bothering him, but he never complained or said a word about it.
With everything made, Bailey carefully worked his way over to Zane, who eyed the boy as if he expected something terrible to happen.A miracle blessed Bailey that day because he made it safely to Zane’s side with their food.Even Zane seemed shocked as he took his food and sat it in his lap.
“If you spill soup on my bed…” Zane warned until he saw Bailey had taken a seat on the floor, sitting his food on the coffee table instead.
“I’m going to eat here to be safe,” Bailey snickered.Over his shoulder, Zane wore a grin.Bailey beamed brighter than the sun.But then Zane looked away and quickly wiped the expression from his face.Bailey had seen it though, and he was determined to get that smile back.How he was going to do that was another story, but it was the thought that counted.
The two ate in an oddly comfortable, yet somehow still uncomfortable, silence.It was a hell of a lot better than he expected, though.Bailey had expected more of a fight, but perhaps Zane really was as exhausted as Bailey feared him to be.
