Page 40 of Fortress
For dessert, she brought out a tub of chocolate chip ice cream, to Jake’s enthusiastic approval. Tobias savored every small spoonful of icy sweetness.
As they scooped the last bites out of their bowls, Tobias forced out a quiet, “Thank you—it was v-very good.”
She leaned back, eyes crinkling with her smile. “Glad to have you join me for it. I can’t cook every night, but you’re welcome to join me whenever I’m up for more than microwaving leftovers.”
“That’d be great,” Jake said. “We’re got microwaving down cold, right, Toby?”
Tobias glanced up and tried to give him a smile. It felt thin and worn as a shirt that hadn’t been removed before a whipping, but he managed it.
“You look a little more alive,” Alex observed. “How’re you feeling? I only had busted ribs once and it sucked. Hurt to eat, hurt to breathe, hurt to talk.”
“They’re okay.” Tobias kept his voice quiet, kept his eyes down. Alex had never treated him like a freak, but she saw everything, and Tobias didn’t think that he could bear to beseenright now.
“And that collarbone? I know six weeks is standard for the ribs, but other kinds of fractures vary a lot. What did the doctor say?”
Tobias glanced at Jake, who shrugged one shoulder defensively. “About eight weeks.”
Alex watched Jake, as though waiting for more, but as the silence stretched, she leaned forward, crossing her arms on the table. “I’ve heard that healing collarbones can be tricky, kind of like ribs but with more chance of disaster. It’s smart to have a doctor check them out regularly.”
No. Tobias froze, even his breath stopping for a moment. He could see where this conversation could lead, and he did not like it. Slowly, he raised his eyes first to Alex, who was just as calm and intent as ever. Then he looked to Jake.
“I don’t need a doctor.” Tobias tried to sound firm, but his voice sounded small and faintly panicked, even to his own ears.
Jake scratched the back of his neck, not meeting his eyes. “Actually, Toby... the doc at the hospital said pretty much the same thing. Thought it would be good to have checkups, just to make sure it doesn’t heal crooked or something.”
“It doesn’t need to be at a hospital,” Alex said softly.
Tobias stared at the both of them, heart pounding in his ears.Did they plan this together?Did Jake and Alex think that it would be the only way to make him go quietly—that the only way to get the message through his thick monster skull was to corner him, to hit him from both sides? Tobias swallowed, his heart beating painfully against his aching side. In camp, when freaks had tried this, they had usually been unpleasantly surprised, or else Tobias had been left broken. There was no third option from a sneak attack.
“I’ve been asking around,” Alex added. “I found some doctors who wouldn’t mind making a house call.”
Tobias jolted back in his chair, pushing it a few inches away from the table. “Y-you’ve been—t-telling them about me?”
“Toby, hey.” Jake reached for his hand, but Tobias jerked back. It was all he could do not to throw himself off the chair to get away.
“Jake.” Speaking was almost impossible when he had to fight just to breathe. If he looked Jake in the face—he couldn’t do that and get the words out and hold onto a modicum of calm. He focused instead on the table between them. “Jake, you t-t-told me—you s-said—if I’m not c-com-comfortable, if I’m not o-okay—I’mnot, Jake, Ican’t. Please don’t—”
“Hey, hey, Toby.” Jake had leaned close, though he didn’t try to touch him this time. He spoke quietly, as though it were just the two of them. “No one’s going to make you do anything you’re not ready for, I promise. But this isn’t going to be that cold-blooded fuckhouse hospital. Doctor visits are different, and you can walk out whenever you want. If someone gives you so much as the stink eye, I’m taking them down, ’cause I’m not leaving you for a second, understand?”
“Jake...” Tobias could only shake his head, squeezing the bridge of his nose. How could Jake think that a trained real could look at Tobias and notknow, clearly and irrevocably, that a freak sat before him? Even without the ASC finding out, and the panic, how could Jake ever think that would be okay?
“Tobias,” Alex broke in, “what do you think is going to happen with a doctor?”
But Tobias couldn’t speak to her. She had beentalkingto people about him, and that had to make it easier for the ASC to find him. Maybe Alex didn’t know or didn’t care about the consequences of that. He turned to Jake again. “They’re going to kn-know.”
“Toby, they only knew at the hospital because that one nurse made a guess. If she hadn’t seen the scarring, they would have treated you like anybody else, I swear.”
Tobias shook his head. “They’ll know, because shet-toldthem.” He couldn’t look at her.
“I didn’t tell them where you came from, Tobias,” Alex said, surprised. “No way, I’d never do that. I just said that I knew a kid who needed a checkup after a recent accident and that they didn’t want the hassle of dealing with a pack of strangers at a doctor’s office. That’s all. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it first.”
Tobias dropped his forehead into his hand, still fighting for control. “They’re going to know.”
“They won’t,” she said with calm certainty. “I can swear that no one I bring to you will put any kind of restraints on you or touch you without your permission. I know this shit sucks and you went through hell at that hospital. But it’s not something that’ll get better if you avoid it. Aside from messing up your shoulder long-term—if you keep hunting, you’re going to end up in a hospital again. Not to mention if you come down with something nasty your med kit can’t take care of. If you learn to handle small visits now, it’ll be easier when you got no other choice.”
Jake was nodding. Tobias had to look away, bringing his hand up before his eyes, willing himself not to cry here in front of them. He had to trust Jake—he had to trust both of them and believe that this wasn’t going to end in restraints, a gag, a black van taking him away for more testing. “When?” The word was rough in his throat.
“As soon as you’re ready,” Alex said quietly. “Within a week, I’d say.”
