Chapter 31 Colton
Colton
Colton woke up feeling like he was burning alive, like his body had been dipped in molten oil, and he had no way to control it.
What the fuck?
He tried to suck in a breath, and goddamn, what was the license plate of the truck that hit him?
Colton tried to sit up, but nothing was right, nothing worked, and--
“Zach?” He needed to make sure he stayed upstairs, that Greg knew that there was a gun. There was still a goddamn gun.
“Hey. Hey, son, you’re all right. Breathe, hmm?” An unfamiliar face smiled down at him. “I’m Franny. I’m your nurse. You’re all right. You’re just down from surgery. Can you remember the recovery room at all? Sometimes folks don’t. That’s totally normal, and…”
She kept talking and talking, and Colton couldn’t quite hold on to what she was saying. He wanted to know what had happened to Zach.
“Is… is ….” He must’ve had a bale of cotton in his mouth, it was so hard to talk. Breathing hurt too.
Focusing as hard as he could, some things came to him. His side burned; he’d been shot. Zach had shot someone. He opened his eyes and did his best to speak clearly. “Where’s Zach?”
It came out sounding like, “weird sack.”
Franny pulled a cup from the side table and put the straw between his lips. “Drink this. Small sips. Don’t hurt yourself worse.”
He did as told and took a tiny mouthful of the cool, sweet liquid. It took him three sips to realize it was apple juice. Sweet Jesus, he was three years old, using a sippy cup to drink his juicy.
But it helped.
“Better?” she asked. When he nodded, she winked. “Figured it would. Now, half the county is waiting to see you. Two at a time and only for short periods. If you get tired, you buzz me.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” She wiped his forehead with a cool cloth. “Not every day I get to help a real hero.”
She didn’t wait for an answer and Uncle Ted, Nanette, and Momma piled in before her butt cleared the door.
Ted stayed long enough to nod, squeeze his good shoulder, and tell him he was damn proud. He blinked a few times before he scooted out.
Franny’s two-person rule got trashed again ten seconds later when Grandpa and Grandma arrived. He watched the door, hoping Zach would come next, but he probably couldn’t bluster his way in like the grands.
Questions flew at him from all sides. He could barely try to answer one, when two more pelted him. Finally, he raised his left fingers and they all stopped talking.
“What’s wrong?” Momma asked. She’d gone back to her protective role that had gone missing since he was fourteen.
“Where’s Zach?”
Momma’s face hitched like she’d sucked a lemon. A sour one at that.
“He’s outside, dear.” Nanette said. “He’s been dying to see you, but he’s being polite.”
Granddad stood. “Let’s all go get some coffee and give them some space.” He winked and put his hand on Momma’s elbow. “That means you too, Sue Ellen.”
“What? I’m his mother. I get to decide—”
He shut her down by raising his hand. No one kept talking when Jerry raised his hand. “And I’m your father.”
“Momma?” She glanced at him. “Please let me see, Zach? I’m not going nowhere. I promise.”
She snorted, and it released all her tension. “You always did give me heart attacks, Colton.”
Gran and Nanette smiled and squeezed his hand before they followed Momma and Grandpa. A second later, Zach poked his head around the door. He looked like death had come and flipped him over. Twice.
“Hey, you.” Shit, Colton was tired. “You holdin on?”
Zach rolled his eyes. “I think I’m supposed to be asking you that, cowboy.”
He’d say it was just a flesh wound, but honestly, he wasn’t sure that was close to the truth. “How long I been out?”
“Not long. Too long? It’s like three, man. You have a tube in your chest because of me!”
Okay, that didn’t sound fun at all. “Is it sexy?”
“What?”
He went for a shit-eating grin. “The tube? Is it hot?”
Lord have mercy his happy ass was wearing down.
Zach stared at him like he was insane, like he was utterly nuts. That was a sight better than crying, he reckoned, and way easier to deal with.
“I—You—Are you fucking serious?”
“No, baby. I don’t want anyone but you.” He grinned up at the sweet nurse that he’d already forgotten the name of. “Hey, lady. This is my guy, Zach.”
“Hey Zach. I’m Franny, and—”
“Franny, that was it. Franny, this is Zach.”
“Yes, and Zach, this is Colton on the good drugs. He’s a happy boy right now.”
Zach chuckled, and Franny started messing with wires and tubes and things, and Colton figured he could just sleep a minute, let all that shit go on without his happy ass.
So that was what he did.