Chapter 11
Leon
My gut surges to my throat when I hear the unmistakable crunch of breaking clapboard and Sheetrock, the splintering of timber, and the crash of a ceiling dropping.
The forklift disappears in a cloud of dust, and I’m running for it before I’ve stopped to think of the risks.
The pulse of my heartbeat is heavy in my veins as I reach Auggie and haul him from the forklift. He’s trembling but conscious, and relief surges through me.
“What the hell happened?” I demand. Auggie’s not the only one whose adrenaline is running high, and all I can concentrate on is that this could have been so, so much worse.
I feel sick.
If anything had happened to him …
It didn’t. He’s okay.
But as I help move him, he cringes and grabs his ribs.
“What is it?” In my panic, my voice is coming out harsh, and Auggie jerks away from me. I haul him back and lift his shirt to check the place he’s holding. There’s no blood, but it’s red, and already purplish bruises are starting to spring up.
“Fuck.” I release him and run a hand down my face.
He needs to be checked over, but … the site is a mess.
It’s slowly sinking in that the room we’ve just built, the room that was ready for plastering and only a few weeks away from finishing, is now totally wrecked. We’re going to have to start over.
No … No, no.
I don’t have time for this.
A headache builds behind my right eye, and I’m torn between getting Auggie to Dr. Grivick and securing the site to make sure no one else is injured. The responsibility of this entire mess is heavy on my shoulders.
“Fuck,” I mutter again. All I want is to sink to the ground and sleep for twenty years, but that’s not going to fix a thing.
So I fight against the mental exhaustion. “Auggie, get in the truck.”
“L-Leon, I—”
“Get in the truck!” I’m not happy with the way I lose my cool, but I need him out of the way and safe so I can deal with this mess and get out of here.
Chris and Rory, along with Ryan when he arrives back from his break, all help to secure the roof joints and strip the ceiling boards that have come loose.
When I’m satisfied the structure will make it through the weekend, I fence everything off, send the guys home early, and then turn to my next problem.
Auggie and his goddamn injury.
Now the initial worry has burned out, I feel like shit over how I treated him. It’s going to be hard to face him and apologize for how I reacted. And for not keeping him safe.
Shit, it’s my number one job, and I failed.
Except when I get to my truck, Auggie isn’t there.
My pulse spikes again, and if I don’t get my shit together, I’m going to have a damn heart attack. Where the hell could he have gone?
I grab my phone and call him, but it goes straight to voicemail. Did he leave with one of the others? Surely he would have told me.
Right?
My gut tells me that when it comes to Auggie, I should have handled this a hell of a lot differently.
Me:
Please call when you get this. I need to know you’re okay.
I pace back and forth for ten minutes, but no response comes. When I finally climb back inside my truck, I’m not sure what to do. My head hits the steering wheel, and I let my eyes fall closed. Maybe if I’d had a decent sleep last night, I’d be able to think clearly now.
Would he have gone home? Nah, not if he’s got broken ribs. Which means he would have gone to see a doctor, and we only have one in town.
It’s as good a place as any to start looking.
I’m cursing Auggie’s name the whole way back into town. He had to know I’d be worried to find him gone. That I’d want to know he’s okay.
I’m like that with all my workers, but with Auggie … it feels like he needs protecting more than the others. And if I’ve learned anything about him, it’s that he’ll be blaming himself.
And yes, he was the one driving. So that would be accurate. But also, I’d planned to keep my eyes on him while he worked to make sure this exact kind of thing didn’t happen. I knew the risks, and he got hurt anyway.
So do I blame him? No more than I blame myself.
I’m going to need to tell him that though. I wouldn’t be surprised if Auggie was halfway home to Portland already.
My first stop is by Dr. Grivick’s office, but Cam, his nurse who works the front desk, tells me Auggie isn’t there. Which is ridiculous because he needs to be checked out. I have no idea if he took a hit to the head or what, but thank fuck he was wearing that fancy-ass hard hat.
I swallow thickly and briefly contemplate leaving Auggie to make his own choices—he’s an adult, after all. The problem is, I know that if I go home, I’m going to be worried constantly. Maybe if he’d said goodbye, if I knew he was okay, I wouldn’t feel so … so …
I don’t know.
During his constant chatter this week, he mentioned the apartment he’s moved into is over the hardware store, so I guess that’s my next stop. If he’s not at the doctor’s, surely he’s gone there.
Given it’s nearly closing time, I get a spot right out the front, and I’m relieved to see Auggie’s car is here.
I’m out of my truck and jogging around the back of the building before I can talk my way out of it. The entrance to Auggie’s apartment is by a rickety metal staircase, and each stair clangs concerningly as I scale them. My fist hits the door with heavy thuds, and then all I can do is wait.
“Auggie!” Well, wait and yell out like some kind of crazed maniac.
At first I’m met with nothing but silence, and I’m worried Auggie isn’t going to answer, but then a creak sounds from inside.
“I can hear you,” I say softly. After basically yelling at him earlier, I’m not surprised he’s hesitant to answer the door.
And when he does …
“Oh, Auggie …”
His cheeks are scrubbed red, and his eyes are all puffy. I push the door open and wrap an arm around him, immediately pulling him closer. As soon as he’s against my chest, his small frame tenses.
“Why did you run off? I told you to wait in the truck.”
His laugh is hollow as he pulls back. “I didn’t want you to have to fire me in person.”
“Fire you?”
His stare is defeated. “I put a forklift. Through a wall.”
“Yes, but—”
“I’ve never messed up so badly. I still can’t-can’t believe that happened.
I’ve put your whole job behind when all I wanted was to be good for you, to be the best apprentice you could have, and now I’ve ruined everything.
I’m so embarrassed.” He looks about five seconds away from tears again. I need to fix this.
Now that I know he’s okay, it’s easier to smile.
“First, being embarrassed around me shouldn’t be a new feeling.
” I tug one of his wayward curls to show I’m messing with him.
“Second, my only concern is getting those ribs checked out by a doctor. Now, if you want to be good, you’ll do what I originally asked and get in the damn truck. ”
His green eyes are ringed a bright red as he blinks up at me. “Okay.”
Well, thank fuck for no arguments. “Okay. Let’s go.”
He follows me back down the hazardous stairs, and I have no clue how the movers brought his furniture up this way, but I do know I don’t like Auggie dealing with this every day.
I table that thought and unlock the truck before holding the passenger door open for him.
“You do know my arms still work, right?” But he’s smiling as he climbs in.
I ignore the jab and close the door before rounding the front and taking my seat. It’s only a two-minute drive to Dr. Grivick’s, but the last thing I want is for Auggie to walk if he’s in pain. Not like he’d tell me if he was.
I pull up out the front. The last time I was here was when Royce had a seizure and scared the shit out of me. I can’t say this time is much better.
“Wait there. I’ll grab the door.”
I barely have my seat belt off when Auggie opens his side and jumps out. Thankfully he must be getting used to the height because he doesn’t fall, but him getting hurt, on top of already being hurt, is just what I need.
I stare at him, unimpressed, as I join him on the footpath.
Apparently, my stare is completely ineffective. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a total mother hen?”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re a total pain in the ass?”
“Frequently, yes.”
I snort because I’m not surprised. “All right, klutz, after you.”
I wave him ahead of me up the stairs, but he abruptly turns on the step ahead so we’re face-to-face. “Killer.”
“What?”
“You called me killer last time.”
It takes me a moment to realize he means in the message. “You prefer killer over klutz?”
“Well, I did just drive a forklift through a building. That’s pretty badass.”
I cringe. “We’re not at the joking stage yet, Auggie.”
“But you’re saying we’ll get there?”
“I’m saying we’ll get your ribs looked at and go from there.”
“Good enough for me.” He practically skips up the stairs ahead of me.
Cam is behind the desk when we walk in, and he looks like he’s getting ready to close up for the day.
“Sorry we’re here so late, man. I’m hoping one of you can look at Auggie? He’s my apprentice, and we had a bit of an accident today.”
“Oh.” Camden glances Auggie’s way. “What kind of accident?”
Given Auggie’s face is still red and puffy, I’m not surprised he asked.
“I drove through a wall.” He sounds far less pleased with himself now.
Cam blinks. “Ah, yeah. No idea how you managed that, but come on back and we’ll check you over.” Knowing Cam, I can tell he’s trying not to laugh or say something inappropriate, but he keeps himself in check at work.
The tension seeps out of my shoulders as I follow them down to the examination room. The doctor’s office is small, but it has everything we’d need in a town like Sunbury. It’s a good thing too, with the next major hospital being an hour away.
Auggie explains what happened, and Grivick does some similar tests to what he did on Royce, like blood pressure and checking out his eyes. Then he gets Auggie to take his shirt off, and I immediately look away.
Cam’s waiting close by in case he’s needed, so I move closer to talk to him rather than concentrate on Auggie’s injuries.
Cam is a good guy. He didn’t go to Sunbury High, but just like most people around here my age, I’ve known him since we were younger.
There was always a bit of a rivalry between him and my friend Rafe that I never could understand.
And now they’re neighbors. I don’t know how they haven’t killed each other yet.
“Hey, man, seen Rafe around?” I ask.
Rafe and his girlfriend, Laura, were permanent fixtures in our group until something happened a few months ago and he flipped his shit.
I’m still not sure what triggered it. Tanner had just come out and said he was dating Royce, and something about that was too much for Rafe.
I can’t believe it was a homophobic thing, since he’s always been supportive of me.
When I wanted to go to a gay bar for the first time, he’s the one who came with me.
“Yeah, he’s around.” Cam eyes me. “You all still in a fight?”
“You know about that?”
Cam grins. “It’s Sunbury. Everyone knows everything.”
I hate how true that is. “If you see him, can you let him know I miss him?”
“Ah, sure.” Cam starts to nod. “Yeah, I can do that.”
“Thanks.”
“Nothing is broken,” Grivick announces.
I could fist pump. I don’t, but I could. “Awesome. So what does he need?”
“Painkillers and some rest this weekend. No concussion, but his side was hit hard by something, so the bruising might get a bit worse before it gets better. If it’s still sore Monday”—Grivick pins me with a look—“you’ll go easy on him, won’t you?”
I don’t point out that I would have anyway. Instead, I hold up my hands. “Of course. Doctor’s orders.”
“Good.”
Auggie signs some paperwork, pays his bill, and a few minutes later, we’re out of there. It’s a nice afternoon, so we walk to the drug store for painkillers, and then I steer him toward Harvey’s.
“It’s been a long day. Let’s grab an early dinner, then I’ll walk you home.”
He shoots me a funny look. “You don’t need to baby me.”
“Making sure my employee is okay is the least I can do.”
A conflicted look crosses his face, and it reminds me of my realization from earlier today. Now is definitely not the time to bring up professional boundaries, especially since I feel compelled to spend the weekend looking after him.
I need to work though.
And maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a few days’ separation. This close proximity we’ve been working in probably isn’t helping matters.
Even knowing that, Auggie’s proven today I can’t let him out of my sight.
A smile pulls at my lips that I quickly stamp down.
It’s not until later, after a fun dinner where I tease the shit out of him, that I drop Auggie at his door. He looks up at me with the sweetest expression that sets a squirming off through my gut.
His pink lips are wet.
His body is tilted toward me.
It would be too easy to lean down and kiss him.
The swelling in his face has gone, leaving his cheeks pretty and flushed.
My hand twitches, wanting to feel if his cheeks are as warm as they look.
I take a fast step back. “Ah, see you Monday.”
Yeah, a few days’ distance is definitely going to be a good thing.
For both of us apparently.