Please do not read the following story if you are under the age of 18 or if it is illegal for you to so, based on where you live.
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I was laying there watching some of the hospital TV, bored out of my mind when the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen came walking in with a wheelchair in tow. I asked, "What's this?"
"It's time to start your rehabilitation." He said with a smile. I gave a crooked smile back. He walked over to my bed, put his hand out and introduced himself as Edwin. He has dark brown hair, almost black and the most stunning chocolate brown eyes I'd ever seen. They had flecks of gold in them, I could tell by the way the sunlight hit them coming in through the window.
"Ready to go sport?" He asked me with a grin. I hadn't been called that since my father used to call me that. Tears began to form in my eyes. As he saw this, he knelt down by me and asked if I was ok. I told him that I hadn't been called that since I was seven. He patted his on mine and it shot a bolt of electricity through me, I wondered if it did him as well.
He helped me up and into the wheelchair he had with him. I winced in pain, and we slowed down being very gentle as he went. He looked so hot in his dark blue scrubs. We walked down the hallway to the elevator, almost in complete silence, but I did look up into his eyes occasionally. He would look down and smile an ran his hand through my hair. I began to blush as he did this and it soon turned into a big grin appearing on my face. We entered the elevator and he leaned over and pushed button number six indicating that the rehab center was on the sixth floor. As he was doing this he said in my ear, "You have a very nice smile." I blushed again and he just rubbed my arm and winked. Did he know that I was gay without my telling him?
We stepped out of the elevator on the sixth floor and went into a large room at the end of the hall. We were greeted by Dr. Yarlow. He said he would be helping me get back on my feet for the next 4-6 weeks. I sighed. I couldn't believe I had to be stuck here that much longer. Edwin saw that I was beginning to pout and he put his hand again on my shoulder giving it a light squeeze. I began to calm down and we nodded at each other. Dr. Yarlow saw our exchange but just smiled. Edwin turned to leave as Dr. Yarlow said we should get stated. I raised myself up out of my wheelchair, wincing in pain and started to fall back down. I don't know how, but Edwin sensed that something was wrong and came running back in the room and helped me sit back down. "Are you ok, Kevin?" He knew my name, I sat stunned for a moment. My face became flushed as I sheepishly said, "Yea."
Edwin asked Dr. Yarlow if he could stay and assist him. Dr. Yarlow saw the sad looks on both of our faces. "Far be it from me to come between a patient and his recovery." He winked at us and said he would contact Edwin's boss to make sure he wouldn't get into any trouble. She agreed and we began. Dr. Yarlow sat back and watched as Edwin hooked his arms under mine helping me to stand. He told me to grab onto the bars. Still holding onto me, he asked me if I could take a step. I stepped forward but fell back against Edwin. Dr. Yarlow giggled slightly. I know it might seem kind of strange to see an older man giggle, but I guess it was fun for him to watch the exchange. I stayed against him for a minute and each of blushed again. He helped me to stand up and told me to try again. Still not letting go of me, I took another timid step forward. I didn't fall this time and he squeezed my arm to let me know I was doing well. I was still in a lot of pain, so I only managed two more steps before I begged to stop. Dr. Yarlow agreed that it was enough for today. He didn't want me to injure myself any further.
Edwin helped me back into my wheelchair and we headed towards the elevator again. With his help, I thought I could do this. I thanked Dr. Yarlow on our way out. Edwin pushed the button the elevator to come to the sixth floor. He leaned in and said, "You did great today." He said with a smile. His teeth are very white. I couldn't stop staring at him, he noticed me and both of us were blushing again. A few minutes later, the elevator arrived and we entered. As the doors closed, he leaned in and said, "There's something I've been wanting to do since I first saw you." I had a confused look on my face when he leaned down and kissed me. His lips were pinkish red and I melted as his lips met mine. He stood back to gage my reaction. He immediately frowned when he thought he'd made a mistake. I could sense this and all I could manage to get out was "Wow."
He smiled and blushed putting his arm around my upper chest. That was about the only part on me that wasn't tender or sore. His embrace felt warm and comforting. I could stay like that forever. He quickly let go as the elevator stopped at the tenth floor. I got a frown on my face when I realized our fun was over. As the door was opening, he leaned in and said, "Don't worry cutie, this is only the beginning." My frown quickly went to a smile. "You have a beautiful smile." He said. Do I even need to say at this point that I was blushing again.
When I got back to my room, Edwin helped me back into bed and told that I should rest. As he turned to leave I said, "Please don't go." My look was pleading. He said he had to finish out his shift but would come back by around 7:00.
I laid my head back and was asleep a few minutes later. Before I knew it was 7:00. Edwin had come back into my room but didn't disturb my sleeping. He saw the smile on my face and began smiling himself. I yawned and stretched. I began to open my eyes and as the room came into focus, I saw Edwin sitting to the right of my bed. He smiled at me as he said, "Hi cutie." His smile made me melt again. "Are you hungry?" He asked me. My stomach growled giving him his answer. He jumped up and said he'd be back in a sec. A moment later he returned with a tray of food. I knew hospital food was horrible, but was I going to do? To my surprise, when he lifted the lid off the tray, there was a Big Mac and fries on it. My mouth just dropped open as I sat like that for a moment not believing what I was seeing. I reached out for him as he got closer, we embraced. "No hospital food for my boy," he said with a grin.
Just as we let go and I was about to take my first bite, the room phone rang. It was my dad. He hadn't seen me since I woke up a couple weeks back and to say the least, it was awkward. I finally said, "Hi dad." "How are you doing son?" Alright, I guess. I wasn't sure I should say much else, but Edwin motioned for me to continue. I had my first rehab session today. He asked how it went. Not very well, I could only step a couple before it was too painful. Dad said it was at least a start.
Steering the conversation to why he really called, he asked if could come see me? I put my hand on the receiver and mouthed at Edwin what he wanted to do. He mouthed back that I should see him. "Yea, I guess." He sighed and said thank you. He also said that Carter was asking about me. I was floored that I almost dropped the receiver. Carter still cared about me? I thought. "He wants to come see you." My father stated. "You can bring him," I told him. "He'll be thrilled.
He said that he would be by on Friday and we could spend the day together. That was two days away. When I hung up the phone, I thought I was going to be sick. Edwin could tell and started to rub my back to calm me down. I ate a little bit and then we sat and played go fish. It was kind of lame, but I really liked having him here.
Around 9:00 a nurse came by and said that visiting hours were over, when she looked over and saw it was Edwin she said he could stay another half an hour and then he'd have to go.
At 9:30, he left to my disappointment but told me he would see me tomorrow. I slept better that night than I had in a while, to the thought of Edwin and him kissing me.
I woke up Thursday morning about 7:30 to Edwin standing by my bed. "Good morning sleepy head." He leaned down and kissed me. He was still close to my face as I leaned up and kissed him. "Ahem," was all we heard from behind us. It was one of the doctors who had worked on me when I first came in. He just smiled and said, "I need to examine my patient." Edwin moved aside and towards the door. My mouth went instantly into a frown, "please don't go." I said. The doctor saw the exchange and said as long as he didn't get in the way, he could say. My frown instantly turned into a grin. The doctor told me I still had a ways to go, but he said considering what I'd been through, I was healing nicely. My eyes began to water as I began to remember back to that night 18 months ago and the stupid decision I had made. The doctor tried to console me best he could, but he had to remain objective, so he motioned for Edwin to come over and he wrapped his muscular arms around me and slowly rocked me. The doctor, feeling uncomfortable after what he'd caused, left the room. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally calmed down. "You don't have to keep doing this." I said. He seemed hurt by my comment and said, "But... I want to, I would doing anything for you." We continued to embrace as I rested my head on his shoulder and wept into it.
"Are you on duty?" I asked finally. "No, I will be in a couple of hours and my first duty will be to take you to physical therapy." I tried to say something, but he put his finger to my mouth and said ssssshhhhh.
"Are you feeling hungry?" He heard my tummy growl just then and said he'd be back in a jiff. He came back in with a plate of hot cake, bacon and sausage with orange juice to drink. It was still a little difficult to sit up all the way for me, so Edwin took it upon himself to feed me. I felt so helpless right now and he nodded at me and kissed me on the lips.
After I was finished eating, he looked at his watch and realized he had to go, but would be back in a moment.
This was my fourth day of physical therapy and although I had managed to work up to taking 4 or 5 steps before becoming too weak, it still wasn't the improvement I had hoped for. Dr. Yarlow explained that I needed to be patient and it would take time to get back to the way I was. I nodded at him. Before we left, I asked him if I could have some light weights to work on my arms. He didn't see any reason why not, and handed me two 10 lb. weights. I thanked him and we left. I was beat. When we got back to my room, I needed to pee. When I was done, Edwin helped me into bed and as my head hit the pillow, I was out. He kissed my forehead and left the room beaming.
It was early Friday morning when I woke up and realized almost instantly I was alone. I had barely been alone since I met Edwin. My eyes began to water as I was overcome by emotion again. I was turned away from the door as I heard it creek open. "Good morn..." He started to stammer out, but before the rest came out he dropped what he was carrying and ran over to stand in front of me. I was holding my eyes tightly shut and had dried tears on my face. Edwin shook me gently as I started to open my eyes. He had a worried look on his face, but mine brightened up as I saw him. He let out a sight of relief when he saw me smile and then punched me in the arm. A little angrily he said, "You scared me, please don't ever do that again!" "I'm sorry, Edwin." I stammered out. He just brushed my face with his hand and whispered, "It's ok." We then kissed, as the doctor entered to examine me again.
After the doctor was finished examining me, I decided to use the weights that Dr. Yarlow had given me. Edwin just sat quietly watching me do my reps. About five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. My father peeked his head in and asked, "Can we come in, son?" My mouth widened to a big smile and I said, "Of course you can."
He pushed the door open with Carter on his heels. It'd be the first time I've seen him since this happened, well awake anyway. I didn't know what to expect. I became scared and gripped Edwin's arm tightly. My father saw this and raised an eyebrow. "Son, who is this?" "Oh, I said this is..." but before I could finish, Edwin put his hand out to meet my father's and said, "I'm Edwin McNichol, sir." "Are you Josh McNichol's boy?" my father asked. Edwin nodded. Josh McNichol is my father's boss at the insurance company. He was a large man, partly balding and in his mid 50's.
Carter had been sitting quietly until my father and Edwin were done talking. Now it was his turn and boy did he lay into me. He came over to my bed and punched me in the arm. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked angrily.
"I was your best friend and you couldn't trust me?" You scared the hell out of me when I thought I'd lost you forever. By this point, he was crying so much he had to sit down. "I'm sorry, Carter. I know I fucked up."
"You sure did." I couldn't trust myself at the time, so how was I expected to trust anyone else?" "But you didn't even give me a chance!"
Edwin and my father excused themselves by this point so Carter and I could talk.
"I'm sorry, ok, I was wrong to think that you would hate me." "I could never hate you, you're like a brother to me."
As you can probably tell, we were both crying by this point. We'd been through so much.
After I was able to compose myself for a minute, I asked if I'd lost his friendship. His response was, "butthead, of course not! But if you ever do anything like this again, I'll kick your ass into next week." "Ok," I said. He threw his arm around my shoulder and gave me a noogie.
There was a tap at the door and my dad asked they could come back in? I replied sure. I was anxious to see Edwin again. When he wasn't with my dad I began to worry. My father said he had something to do. My mouth turned into a frown. My father grinned at me and said not to worry, he'd be back. I pretended to fake a smile, but my heart was breaking. I didn't have much time for this when Carter lifted my old back pack from the floor and placed it in a chair.
"What's this?" "Something to keep you busy from the teachers at school." I frowned. The last thing I wanted to think about was school work. He reached in and handed me something. It was a handmade card from some of the guys on the basketball team. As I read it, my eyes began to water again as I lost it for the umpteenth time today. Even the guys on the team wished me a quick recovery so I could be back to playing with them again.
Carter and my dad were on either side of me holding my hands as Edwin came back in the room with some flowers and a cake. It wasn't my 18th birthday quite yet, but it was a reason for celebrating with my father, my best friend and the boy I hoped to soon call my boyfriend.
I would find out later that when my father left with Edwin he had asked him about what his intentions were for me?
At first it threw Edwin for a loop, but my father just laughed and said, "I had to do the fatherly thing."
Soon Edwin had joined my father in laughter, quickly realizing they liked each other. He had also asked my father's permission to ask me out on a date. He gave Edwin his blessing and he was ecstatic.
We sat enjoying the cake while laughing and talking, until...Edwin kept getting closer to me and Carter seemed to be getting weirded out. I quickly backed away from him, because I didn't want to risk losing my best friend after having just gotten him back. Carter saw what I did and then spoke, "Look Kevin, it's ok that you're gay man, it's just really new to me." Edwin started to get angry and stared Carter down. I grabbed his arm and he began to stiffen underneath my grasp. He patted my hand to let me know he was ok. Carter knew he was going to have to get over this if things were to ever begin to go back to the way they were. He quickly got up and ran from the room. My eyes began to water again. I had lost my best friend all over again, I knew it. I knew I couldn't go on without him. Seeing me like this, my father got up and ran after Carter.
My father found him sitting in the waiting room and sat next to him. "It's so gross, Mr. Elliot."
"What's so gross?" he asked Carter. "Is my son any different than he was before all this?" So he's gay, if I can come to terms with it and accept him as he is, why can't you? Carter thought about what my father had said and began to cry. My father had thought of Carter as a third son for many years and he reached out and held him.
Back in my hospital room Edwin sat holding me as I wept into his heaving chest. "I'm so disgusting," I shouted, "not even my best friend can stand to be around me." Edwin tried to console me by saying, "You're not disgusting, you're beautiful." He kissed my forehead but I kept crying against him. Just then, his boss came into the room wondering why he wasn't attending to patients. She always thought of him as a second son and when she saw what was going on, she just nodded at him and left the room.
Edwin finally decided that I'd had enough for one day and said that maybe it would good if I slept some. I told him I didn't think I could. He said he would go get the doctor and have them give me a sedative. It had been a while since they had to give me one. The first few days following my waking up were so chaotic, that I spent most of it blacked out asleep. I tried to resist, but Edwin insisted. I finally relented and he left the room. When the door opened I assumed it was him with the doctor, but instead it was my father with Carter. I froze for a moment staring at him but quickly looked away. "Dad, please I don't want to see him," I said with hurt in my voice. "Kevin...I'm so sorry for how I acted earlier, I guess all I can say is if you'll give me a chance I won't let you down again."
Before I could say anything, Edwin returned with the doctor. He had the sedative. This time it was an oral one, not an iv administered one. I took it and laid down. About 15 minutes later I was out.
While I was sleeping, I was dreaming about how Carter and I used to be before all this. We were at one or the others house almost everyday, sleepovers and our first jack off session at the age of 12. Then my dream went black and he was gone. Edwin looked over at me and saw a tear form in my eyes. Before he could touch my face, my eyes shot open and I yelled, "Carter, please don't go." All three of them looked at me stunned, when Carter got up and went to my side, "Kevin, I'm here buddy and I'm never going anywhere." Edwin's eyes began to tear up and at that moment Carter realized how important accepting me was. He looked at Edwin and said, "I'm sorry man." Both of them laid me back down and rubbed my head until I fell back asleep. My father was relieved and so were Carter and Edwin.
My dreams this time around weren't as erratic. There were some with Carter and I, some with my father and I and some of Edwin and I. They were all talking quietly. Carter was making an effort to get to know Edwin and he realized that he and Edwin shared a love of basketball. It finally occurred to Carter that this wasn't as gross and he'd thought. John and Vanessa had done a good job of convincing him of that, but with Vanessa as no longer an issue, he was allowed to breathe. After they broke up, her family had to move away because her father got a new job. All Carter could think was, "Good riddance."
My dreams then drifted to John and I and Edwin and Carter could see my face contort. Quickly they reached out and lightly rubbed my head and that seemed to calm me. They smiled at each other. I didn't hate John, I just didn't understand how he could hate me. I was his twin brother after all.
A few minutes later I began to stir and I opened my eyes. "Hi sleepy head," Edwin said. Sleepily I said, "Hi babe," to him. Carter began to giggle. When I could focus more and with a worried look on my face I asked Edwin where Carter was? "I'm right here buddy." I heard from the other side of me. I quickly turned as my eyes welled up in tears again. "I thought you'd left." "Nope, buddy, I'm never going anywhere." Carter stated. He reached down and embraced me. Tears now in both our eyes. "Are we going to be ok?" I asked him. "We're going to be just fine, I promise."