Page 123 of Sticks and Stones
Ethan knew they needed to know everything, especially if they were going back into that bar, so he didn’t stop him. He let Corbin share, in an effort to piece this together.
“When I got in there, there was a bed and a couch,” he said. “It faced the bed.”
Ethan figured he knew why.
For an audience’s comfort.
“They overpowered me. They forced me onto that bed. It smelled like beer and…”
That was all he got out.
Corbin got nauseous, and Ethan helped him out of the shower and to the toilet. As he began purging again, Ethan shut off the water and got a robe for the man. As he puked again, he purged it from his body.
The whole time, Ethan protected him because he knew Corbin would do the same for him. The world had so few guarantees, but once in a while, you locked down something important.
Friendship.
And family.
When he was done, Ethan slipped the robe onto his body, and Corbin tied it shut.
“Can I go rest?” he asked. “I don’t feel well.”
Blackhawk knew that was likely for the best.
Slowly, he led him back into his bedroom and toward his and Gene’s bed.
Tucking him in, Ethan laid on the bed beside him so that Corbin could curl into him. What he needed was to be held. Ethan remembered what he felt like after David Neives, and the only way he got through it was Gene comforting him.
Blackhawk knew one thing.
Will should be here.
While he and Gene could hold him up, Corbin was going to need Will to help him navigate the other part of this. If Corbin was ever going to get back on the horse, sometime down the road, someone who could have sex with him needed to be part of his healing.
That was definitely not him, or Gene.
For now, he’d work on how to fix that part of Corbin’s situation too.
Before long, Corbin started talking again.
“They overpowered me. Told me they knew I was a cop, and I was going to regret trying to fuck them over. They knocked me out. When I came to, I was restrained, and they…,” he said, stopping.
Ethan let him hold onto him as he rested his head on his shoulder. His hand was on his abs, and Corbin’s fist was clenched as he did battle with what replayed in his head.
“It’s okay, Corby. I’m here,” he said. “They can’t hurt you anymore.”
Couldn’t they?
Because he felt like he was still fracturing apart in the aftermath.
“I’m broken,” he whispered. “They broke me, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay again.”
Ethan was aware.
Only, he had faith in the cop beside him. Instead of pushing him, he gave him mercy and grace.
“We’ll get you through this. Take your time and just heal for now.”
