Chapter Six #2
Ryan sighed and leaned back in bed, savoring the victory.
But Callie was already dressing and demanding they head to the hospital immediately.
She had barely slept either. They had stayed up late that night debating what the hearing’s outcome could mean.
If Damian’s parents had won and been granted full discretion over his medical care, they were certain he would have deteriorated under their minimal care mandate.
Thanks to the delays, the hospital continued with tests and treatments, ensuring he had the proper support and time to heal.
Now they could only hope it had worked. They still had no idea what Damian’s recovery would look like, but for the moment, Ryan wanted to pause and pretend everything would be fine.
“Come on,” Callie said, throwing a shirt at Ryan.
Ryan conceded to Callie and got out of bed. He wasn’t moving fast enough for Callie’s liking, so she kept throwing various items of clothing at him.
They arrived at the hospital thirty minutes later, and Amanda was waiting for them just outside Damian’s room.
“He’s only half awake,” Amanda explained. “There are still a lot of medications in him, and he's very disoriented. It will still take time.”
They entered the room and found the doctor and nurse tending to Damian.
They tried to talk to him, but he didn’t seem able to respond.
The doctor kept repeating the same questions.
Could he tell them his name? Did he remember where he lived?
Did he know where he was? But Damian struggled to get his words out and grew frustrated when the doctor didn’t seem to understand him.
“What's wrong with him?” Callie whispered to Amanda.
“I told you,” Amanda said. “He’s on a lot of medication and has only just woken up. Give it time.”
Ryan looked at Amanda. He wanted to believe her, but his panic attack was returning. He said he needed to go to the office, and Callie frowned at him. She confirmed she would be staying. Ryan said he would return soon, but he insisted he had an urgent matter.
Ryan rushed into his office and closed the door.
It was still early. The office was empty, and he was alone.
He sat at his desk and buried his head in his hands.
All the fears Callie had voiced days earlier felt like they were coming true.
Damian was awake but not coherent; he couldn’t communicate or be understood.
Ryan suddenly wondered whether everything he had been fighting for had been meaningless and, worse, not in Damian’s best interest. He didn’t know what to do and felt he had no one to talk to.
He didn’t want to admit weakness to anyone, but he realized he couldn’t do it on his own.
He pulled out his phone and found Edward’s contact.
He sent a message asking to meet. As soon as he sent it, he regretted it, but Edward responded almost immediately, telling Ryan to be at the coffee shop in fifteen minutes.
Edward was already waiting for Ryan when Ryan arrived. He had two coffee cups in front of him and pushed one toward Ryan as he took a seat.
“Thanks,” Ryan said as he accepted the coffee.
“Annie is missing,” Edward said, concerned.
“No,” Ryan replied. “I took her somewhere safe to get help. She was using again.”
“Oh god,” Edward sighed. “Thank you for that.”
Ryan stayed silent for a while. He wasn’t sure what to say to Edward.
How could he explain any of it? He was terrified he had made the wrong choices for Damian and that Damian could be disabled for the rest of his life.
But why did he feel so badly about failing Damian?
He could finally admit he had feelings, at least to himself.
While Damian had been in a coma, Ryan had promised himself that if Damian woke up, he would confess his true feelings.
But if Damian woke up unable to walk or talk properly, that would be on Ryan, and Damian likely wouldn’t forgive him.
“Whatever is tormenting you,” Edward said. “You can tell me. I promise I won’t judge you.”
Ryan nodded, took a deep breath, and began to explain.
He told Edward about the days in court as he fought Damian’s parents to ensure the care would continue.
But now that Damian was awake, Ryan wasn’t sure it had been the right decision.
He described Damian’s condition when he was conscious and how he couldn’t communicate.
Edward listened carefully and didn’t interrupt.
Eventually, Ryan stopped and looked at Edward.
He wasn’t even sure whether Edward understood everything or why Ryan was upset.
“But you’re here now, terrified of Damian’s condition,” Edward observed. “When you could be at the hospital, confirming whether your fears are warranted.”
“Yeah,” Ryan agreed.
“Why can’t you go back? What happened between you two?” Edward finally asked.
Ryan didn’t know how to answer. He wasn’t sure how much Edward had guessed, but Edward was likely close to the truth. It felt safe talking to Edward. Although they weren’t close, Edward had seen a side of Ryan that very few others knew.
“It was between the three of us,” Ryan said slowly, hoping he wouldn’t need to get too graphic with the details.
“Oh,” Edward said, leaning back in his seat and staring hard at Ryan. “Was it not something you wanted?”
“It was,” Ryan corrected quickly. “It was mostly my idea.”
“But you regret it now?” Edward asked.
“I don’t understand what I’m feeling,” Ryan confessed. “I mean, I’m not gay, and I don’t want to be cheating on Callie.”
“But you said it was the three of you,” Edward tried to clarify, and Ryan nodded. “So that’s not cheating. And if you’re attracted to both of them, it doesn’t mean anything more than that you have feelings for two extremely attractive people.”
“It’s going against what I was raised to believe,” Ryan objected.
“What makes you and the others with you happy, is not wrong,” Edward said. “If you look back in history, it was the start of the Catholic Church that pushed people into monogamy. Before that, people really knew how to have fun.”
“Like your parties,” Ryan replied.
“Yes,” Edward confirmed. “And even better. You married young and had a very specific vision of what the rest of your life would look like. Things didn’t work out as you planned, but now you have an opportunity to explore what you desire.”
“Assuming Damian recovers,” Ryan objected.
“Yes, there’s still that,” Edward agreed. “But unless you pick up the phone to make a call or go back to the hospital, you’ll never know.”
Ryan knew Edward was right. He couldn’t avoid the hospital any longer and had to return.
However, he was unsure how to reconcile his feelings for Damian.
Callie, Edward, and Damian assured him it wasn’t wrong.
But he still struggled with it, even as his desire for Damian persisted.
Ryan’s phone vibrated, revealing a message from Callie.
He read it and swore under his breath, prompting Edward to look at him with curiosity.
“Callie messaged,” he explained. “Damian’s parents are back at the hospital, and she needs me to go back there.”
“Go, and hurry,” Edward directed.
When Ryan returned to the hospital, there was chaos. Before he even entered the room, he could hear yelling. But he froze at the door upon realizing what was happening.
“You’re a selfish little jerk,” Mrs. Mayer was saying. “You abandoned us! Just took off and didn’t tell us where you were. The only reason we found you is because you’re suing the parents of your dead girlfriend.”
“He’s selfish?” Callie yelled back. “You’re the ones asking to stop his medical care so he would die!”
“We didn’t want him to live as a vegetable,” Mrs. Mayer objected, just as loudly,
“You guys can leave,” Damian interjected. “I’m not a vegetable, so your job here is done. I think we can agree we never have to see each other again.”
Ryan couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Damian was still in bed, looking very weak, but he was awake and clearly aware of his surroundings.
“You’re right. We can agree to that,” Mr. Mayer replied, taking his wife’s arm and leading her to the door. He shot Ryan a disapproving look as he left.
Callie wrapped her arms around Damian. Ryan asked what had happened, and Amanda explained that Damian’s parents had arrived, fully expecting to find their son still unconscious.
Their plan was to direct the doctors to cease all life-saving measures.
They realized that, since Ryan hadn’t won the appeal, they still had full discretion, and they threatened to sue the hospital if their wishes weren’t followed.
When the doctor assured them that no further life-saving measures were needed, the Mayers first thought it meant Damian had passed away.
But when they entered the room, they found Damian awake and alive in bed.
They had been ready to act out their fake mourning, but when they saw Damian, they lost their composure and grew angry.
“Are you OK?” Callie asked Damian as she hugged him.
“My head's killing me, and I’m dizzy as hell,” Damian replied. “What happened? I can’t remember anything.”
“Your tests look very good,” Amanda said. “You may not recover your memory of that night, but given your injuries, you are doing very well.”
“That’s good,” Damian replied. “But what happened?”
Callie explained how he had been found on the sidewalk.
They still suspected it was a hit-and-run, but without Damian's confirmation, they couldn’t be sure what had really happened.
Ryan told him that Annie had shown him Blake’s text messages, but he knew Blake wasn’t behind the assault and that they suspected the Night Service was protecting Lawrence Grant.
Ryan finished the story with details of his visit to Annie and how he had taken her to a safe place to recover.
“So, you know?” Damian asked Ryan. “You know how Annie got hurt?”
“Yes,” Ryan confirmed.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he replied.