Page 12 of Caged
"Do you think you still like riding bikes?" Marshall asked him.
"I don't know. Haven't ridden forever." Danny closed his eyes, then blew out a long breath.
"Okay, it's off," the doctor informed us.
Marshall cringed at the sound of metal clanking on metal.
"How bad?" Danny asked.
"Nothing serious. There's a small area under your sac that is raw and another along one area of your penis, but those will heal. You have a little scar tissue in another area that I assume is from rubbing and healing repeatedly. You should heal fine."
"It won't hurt to pee?" Danny asked as he released my hands.
"Nope, it shouldn't. If it does, you follow up with your doctor. I'll give you some cream to put on it and we're going to check for any infection before you leave. I'll have you follow up with a urologist to make sure everything is okay. Visually, I don't see any long-term damage to any part of your body, but I'd still like to do some tests to make sure any prior broken bones healed correctly and run some lab work to make sure everything is okay. As I suggested before, there are a series of other tests I think we should run just to be safe and make sure there isn't any unseen trauma. From what you've told me, you haven't seen a doctor in over ten years. I'd rather make sure we check everything."
Marshall turned to look at the doctor and caught sight of the cock ring that sat on a small tray. His chest tightened at the thought of anyone wearing something like that without wanting to. It didn't look large enough to handle most men he'd seen. It had to have been painful for Danny to live that way for so long. He forced his gaze from it and refocused on the doctor.
"I'll do whatever you think is best," Danny whispered. "But I don't have to stay here, do I? I can go home with my mom when she shows up?"
"Let me run a few basic tests and I'll get back to you on that, okay?" The doctor met his stare. "I know you probably hate all this, but we need to make sure you're okay."
Marshall agreed, but he was more worried about Danny's mental being over his physical. Then again, seeing that cock cage made him wonder what else Danny had to suffer over the years. It turned his stomach to think how long he'd been held with that man. God, he'd never wanted to kill anyone so badly before.
"Thanks." Danny seemed to relax, but he reached his hand for Marshall's again. "You'll still stay until my mom gets here?"
"Of course." He couldn't leave him now. He'd seen and heard too much. He was involved, and that meant he was going to stick around until he heard every detail he could find out about Larry, then he was going to dedicate the next week to finding that fucker and making sure he paid for what he'd done.
CHAPTER SIX
The embarrassment of having anyone see the cock ring made it hard to look anyone in the eyes. Danny hated that the doctors had to focus on such personal areas of his body. Even though Larry hadn't raped him in years, the doctors still wanted to do an examination to make sure there was no damage. It was humiliating.
Marshall had left the room and gone for a cup of coffee while the doctors did their thing, and the whole time, Danny wished he'd asked him to stay. He couldn't say why exactly he felt safer with Marshall beside him, but he did. There was something about him that eased his mind and made all of the confusion and intrusion seem as if it wasn't as bad as it really was.
The truth was Danny was confused as hell. He didn't understand half the things people talked about. He'd been locked away for so many years it was like he was a kid again, facing a world he didn't know. Sure, he'd had the TV at night to catch up on some things, but hearing about it didn't compare to experiencing it. He was so lost.
All he wanted was to see his mother again and go home. He'd figure out all this stuff in time, but he wanted the comfort of his mother's arms. He wanted to ask her to make her meatloaf so he could smother it in ketchup like he had when he'd been little. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for running off and trusting a man with a puppy.
No one would give him any news about her. He asked over and over again if they'd called her, but no one knew. They said the police would be in to talk to him, but that never seemed to happen. It was already two in the morning and he'd heard nothing about if Larry had been caught, how the boys were doing, or if his mother had been told he'd been found. It was driving him insane.
Somehow, he'd never really thought about what would happen if he ever escaped. Sure, he'd thought about his mother, focused on doing things he remembered, but it was nothing like it used to be. Things were different. He still imagined his mother as she was ten years ago, but she'd be older now, maybe look different. Had she gone on with her life, maybe remarried, even had other children? It was all stuff he'd never stopped to consider before. Now he had to because it was happening, and fast, way too fast.
An irrational part of his mind craved the safety and quiet of Larry's home. Yes, he'd been beaten and raped there, but he knew his surroundings. He knew what was expected of him. Now, he had no clue what anyone wanted.
"Hey, is it safe to come in?" Marshall peeked inside the slightly open door.
"Yeah." Danny sat up. "Any news?"
Marshall nodded. "There's an officer at the nurse's station who is going to come to talk to you in a minute. I don't know what he has to say, but I overheard him saying he was going to ask some more questions. Hopefully, he'll have some more information."
"I hope so. You're probably tired. I didn't think it would take this long. You can go home if you want." He had no excuse to ask him to stay other than he felt better with him there. He could hardly upset Marshall's life any more than he already had. It wasn't his choice to be the one Danny had run to for help. He'd just been the first person he'd seen.
"I'm okay. I'm used to working late nights. I'd like to stay if that's okay with you."
Danny smiled. "Thanks. I'm sorry you got dragged into all of this."
"I'm not. Hell, if I could have done this weeks ago to help you, I would have. I'd hear yelling from time to time over at that house, but I thought it was some pissed off husband yelling at his wife. It wasn't enough to really do anything about."
"Larry was careful. If he got mad enough to yell at me, it made him madder because he knew people might hear and question things." Danny rolled to his side, wishing he was wearing something more than the stupid hospital gown. "You know what I don't understand is why after so many years, today of all days, he left the door unlocked. He was careful, cautious. He never left anything unlocked. We only used plastic silverware, and even then, not knives. I had to laugh at that because if I'd been braver, I could have broken a plastic fork to stab him with. But he thought about everything before he did it. What made him forget today?"
