18. Oz
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
OZ
He’d lost the concept of time after letting himself relax. The ambulance ride might have been five minutes, but it might have been five hours. He was vaguely aware of Ridge getting into a fight with the attending over whether or not Oz could have an MRI, and he was beyond grateful that Ridge held his ground. The last thing Oz needed was to get violently thrown into a giant magnet.
Eventually, he was given an IV, an X-ray, some pain medication, and a cup of ice to chew on in case it was determined he needed some kind of surgery.
Another vague forever passed, Oz dozing in and out of sleep from whatever glorious burning drugs filled his veins, and then the curtain opened in his triage space. He was expecting Ridge or maybe Frey. Hell, even Renato would have been a welcome sight.
Instead, it was a face he hadn’t wanted to see again.
“Oh, babe. The hospital called.” Darcy walked up to his bed and took his right hand, which immediately pissed him off because he couldn’t pull away from her. He was no longer restrained though, so he sat up a little and glanced around for Ridge.
He was nowhere to be found.
Feeling along the side of the bed with his left hand, he found the call button and smashed it as he kept his eye on the curtain for any shadow that might be someone to save him.
“Are you okay? Can you hear me?” she asked loudly.
Oz groaned and then used his functional arm to shove her hand off his. “Why are you here?”
“The hospital called me,” she repeated.
“Mm, but why?” Fuck, he was too floaty and high for this conversation. She said it like it was obvious, but it wasn’t obvious at all. Why would the hospital call her? He was already there with his boyfriend. Who was…
Somewhere.
He thought about shouting Ridge’s name, but he didn’t want to make a scene.
“I’m assuming because I’m your emergency contact. I mean, being engaged and all?—”
“Do you have a concussion?” he demanded. She tried to reach for him again, but in spite of the pain, he managed to dodge her. He hit the button to make his bed sit up higher. “We’re not engaged.”
“Look, I know we sprung that on you at the party, and we didn’t get the chance to talk, but?—”
“Listen, I avoid using the word ‘delusional’ because it’s not fair to people who can’t help their condition,” he said slowly, “but I’m starting to wonder if that’s what’s going on. Normal people don’t start telling everyone they’re engaged to their ex.”
“Oz,” she said. She looked devastated, glancing behind her before pulling up a chair. Fuck, why wouldn’t she leave? “I know we had a rough breakup, but your sister told me everything, okay? She told me how you cried yourself to sleep for a month. That all you talk about is how wrong you were and how you’d do anything to take me back. This was a gesture, baby.”
‘Don’t call me that,’ he signed.
She reared back like she’d been slapped. “You know I don’t…do that.”
‘Which is why we broke up,’ he continued in sign.
“That is not fair.”
‘Neither were the years we were together and you didn’t bother to support me,’ he told her firmly with his one working hand. He took a breath. “This is why we’re not getting back together. I’m sorry my sister lied to you, but my decision hasn’t changed. There’s not a chance in hell I’d marry someone who doesn’t even speak my language.”
“You speak English!” she said, her voice going almost hysterical.
God, did she and his sister drink some kind of poison that made them think ASL was the worst language a person could know? He felt like he was losing his mind. None of this was normal. This could not be his life.
“I’ve had enough of—” she began to shout.
He cut her off by yanking his processors off and shoving them under his thigh. She got a wild look in her eye, then lunged at him. He couldn’t help his cry of pain as she grabbed him by the shirt and ripped him forward, but it only lasted a second.
Ridge appeared like an avenging angel and managed to get her off him, arms locked behind her back. She immediately burst into tears, and Oz had never been more grateful to be Deaf.
‘Give me five,’ Ridge signed quickly. ‘I’m going to figure out how she knew you were here.’
Oz waved his hand at Ridge to stop him as he started to march her away. ‘The hospital called. She’s apparently in the system as my emergency contact.’
Ridge looked irritated. ‘I’ll send in that admin lady to fix it. Do you want me to get them to call an interpreter?’
Oz shook his head. That would take forever, assuming they had one on hand. Chances were they were using the crappy AI system that never got all the words right. ‘I’ll put my CIs back on as soon as she’s gone.’
Ridge nodded. ‘Five minutes. I’ll be back.’
Oz never loved him more than he did right then. He sat back, his heart still beating too fast, and he wondered if his monitor was going crazy. No one came in to check, so he assumed it wasn’t too bad, and after counting to three hundred, Oz pulled his processors out from under his thigh and put them back on.
A moment later, he heard the soft ping of the machines. No alarms were sounding. He couldn’t believe the staff hadn’t checked after hearing her shout. Or after seeing Ridge haul her off. God, he hated this place.
“Osric, right?” said a man in blue scrubs. Oz glanced at his name badge and saw that he was another attending—thankfully not the one that tried to put him in an MRI machine. “Can you understand me okay?”
Oz nodded. “Yeah. You don’t sign, do you?”
The doctor gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I know a handful of phrases but nothing that’ll help me explain what you’ve got going on.”
“That sounds bad.”
The doctor chuckled and grabbed a rolling chair, pulling it close to the bed. “Dislocated shoulder…we’ll be…here shortly. You’ll be tender…while but…heal pretty fast.” Oz was having trouble with the guy since he kept dipping his head down low.
“Can you look at me when you speak? My CIs don’t pick up everything.”
“Of course,” the doctor said quickly. He stood up again and let his hip rest against Oz’s bed. It was a lot better that way. “You’re very fortunate. Nothing was broken, and no sign of a concussion. You’ll have to baby that shoulder for a little while, but it’ll heal.”
Oz wanted to cry with relief. And with the stress of everything. “Is that all?”
“Yep. Some nice, strong ibuprofen for you, and if you want a muscle relaxer, I can add that in, then we can get you discharged. The only holdup is the officers who were on scene. They want a word with you before you go.”
Oz figured as much. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure the car had taken the corner too fast. But he was a hundred percent sure that Rex had leapt into traffic without looking. He couldn’t blame the car for being in the road. He was just grateful it was him instead of a very small child.
“We’ve already spoken to the little boy’s father. You’re his?—”
“Deaf mentor,” Oz said quietly. “It was my fault. We were heading for pizza, and I paused to text his dad. I wasn’t holding his hand. I feel like absolute shit.”
The doctor sighed softly. “I have kids. Trust me, it’s a miracle most of them survive to adulthood. And he looks old enough to know that running into the street is a bad move.”
It was true. Rex knew street rules. The Deaf school was adamant about it. They taught the kids how to be vigilant and careful since they couldn’t rely on sounds to warn them, and cars could very much be their worst enemy.
But some days, Rex struggled, and Oz should have been paying better attention.
“I know that look.” The doctor leaned against the railing. “When my son was nine, I took him to a friend’s house. My wife and I were both vehemently against trampolines. As an ER doctor, I’ve seen how absolutely tragic those things can end. But I caved one time. Just one time.”
Oz swallowed heavily. “What happened?”
“Broken neck,” the doctor said very softly. “It was by a literal miracle alone he didn’t injure his spinal cord, but the difference between walking away from the hospital and never being able to move his limbs again was thinner than a hair. I knew how bad it could be, but I made one choice—one thoughtless choice because my kid was bored and I was tired. It’s a guilt you eventually get through, but it takes a while. Remember to breathe and that the worst thing that could have happened didn’t.”
“Thank you,” Oz told him. He wasn’t sure if those words helped yet. He needed to look Frey in the eye himself, and he wasn’t sure when he’d have the courage to do it.
He wanted Ridge. He wanted to forget that his shoulder hurt, and that his ex had shown up out of nowhere, and that his sister was meddling in so many corners of his life. His throat felt hot and tight, and he cleared it.
“Right. Let’s get that arm set, and then we’ll get those discharge papers your way,” the doctor said, clapping his hands loudly.
Oz winced. He knew this was going to be bad. All he could do was hold his breath, brace himself, and hope that the pain faded quickly.
By the time Oz was in a sling and giving his statement to the two officers who had been waiting around for him, Ridge had returned. He sat in a chair beside Oz, his face serious like he’d take on a full army if one more person fucked with Oz.
The officers assured Oz that he wasn’t in any trouble for the incident with Rex, and the driver wasn’t cited since all indications were that they were going the speed limit. Oz wasn’t upset about it. He’d done what he had to do, but he couldn’t blame a person on the road for a slippery-footed child.
It all seemed well and good except for the fact that he hadn’t seen Frey or Rex at all. Or Renato, for that matter. He was starting to wonder if they were blaming him now that the shock was wearing off and reality was setting in.
“What’s that look?” Ridge asked, tapping Oz’s thigh.
Oz looked over, tried to raise his right arm, then switched to his left when the sling and pain reminded him he was going to be one-handed for a while. ‘Nothing.’
Ridge sighed and stood up, plopping on the edge of the bed. ‘Tell me.’
Oz glanced down at his feet. He still had his clothes on. His pants were streaked with black from the road, and he knew that when he stripped down, he was going to find all the road rash the nurses had cleaned up while he was still out of it.
“I think I need to call out sick,” Oz said. “They’re going to fire me.”
“If they fire you for getting hit by a car,” came a voice behind the curtain. It shifted aside, and Frey appeared, “tell me. I will rain hellfire down on them.”
Oz swallowed heavily. ‘I didn’t think I was going to see you before I left.’
Frey looked torn, glancing behind him. ‘Rex is inconsolable. I asked him to come see you. He was scared you were really hurt.’
‘He can come in,’ Oz signed quickly.
Frey seemed sad as he shook his head. ‘He’s not ready.’
Of course not. Oz was the fuckup here.
‘He’s afraid you’re going to hate him for the rest of his life,’ Frey went on.
Oz’s whole body moved with the shock of that statement. ‘What?’
‘He knows he did something very wrong. This happened last year, only I was able to catch the back of his shirt,’ Frey explained, moving further into the room. ‘He saw a cat running into some bushes when we were downtown. He took off without warning. Scared me to death. Almost literally. I thought I was having a heart attack for a minute.’
Oz stared. He had no idea what to say.
‘Renato and I are getting him evaluated,’ Frey went on. ‘He’s such a good kid, but sometimes he doesn’t think even when he should, and I’m worried. The next time, there might not be someone to catch him or push him out of the way. And he can’t hear someone yelling for him to stop. I can’t take being worried like this all the time, and it’s not like I can put him on a leash.’
That was true. Oz had seen kids on little backpack leads, but they were tiny toddlers. Rex was far too old. And he hadn’t been a teacher long, but he did notice some signs that Rex maybe had a bit more going on than enthusiasm.
‘Please don’t hate us,’ Frey signed.
Oz snapped out of his thoughts and pushed off the bed, ignoring the pain in his shoulder to throw his arm around Frey. “I don’t hate you,” he said aloud. “I feel like a total failure for looking down and not holding his hand.”
“Let’s not do this to ourselves,” Frey said, sniffing a little. “Everyone’s mostly fine. Renato and I are going to work with Rex, and you are going to go home, let your hot firefighter spoil you, and recover.” He pulled all the way back, still holding Oz by the tops of his shoulders. “Promise me you’ll call me if your job tries any bullshit.”
‘Promise,’ Oz signed.
Frey nodded, then yanked him into a hug again. “I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you.”
There was a moment Oz wasn’t sure he heard those words right. He had extreme hearing fatigue, his head was a mess, and he was still a little loopy on the drugs. But the way Frey was holding him told him that yes. Frey meant that.
And in spite of trying to keep himself at a distance to avoid yet another family-like group of people from being able to hurt him, they’d somehow crept in. And he was loved.
“We’re all okay,” Frey told him roughly. He stepped back and glanced at Ridge, who was smiling softly.
Frey looked between them. “Boyfriends now?”
Oz rolled his eyes, but he didn’t stop Ridge when he stood up from the bed and put one arm around Oz’s waist, lifting the other. ‘Yes.’
‘Good,’ Frey signed. ‘Text me later. I want details.’
Before Oz could tell him it was none of his damn business, he spun and left, and the room went quiet again. Ridge held him a little tighter, then nuzzled his neck. “Boyfriend,” he rumbled.
Oz laughed. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Too late. It’s already made a comfy home there, boyfriend .”
Oz bit his lip as he turned, but he felt a little…unsure. And nervous. “Is that okay? I mean, we haven’t really talked a lot about what we are and what we want.”
“I want you. And we’re whatever you like us to be. The only thing that matters is that I’m yours.”
“Come home with me tonight.”
“Like I’d literally go anywhere else,” Ridge said. “Adele has Ina until morning.”
“Bring her over tomorrow,” Oz said. He was feeling tired now and sore all over. “Let’s have a-a family day.” He stammered over the word a little, not sure where Ridge’s boundaries sat.
But he didn’t look anything other than a little stunned and a lot happy. “You sure?”
He nodded. He’d never been more sure in his life, and despite the fact that he was terrified of the pain this could cause if Ridge decided this wasn’t what he wanted, he was ready and willing to take the risk.