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He continued. “And I know how much you care about Travis. You’re a good friend to him. You’re good to everyone, Hayes. And he’s good to you, too. I know that. But if you two truly care about each other, you’ll get help. This isn’t who either of you are meant to be. You’re both so much more than this. You too, Travis.” He looked at TK. “You’re not my favorite person in the world, that’s no secret, but you’re fucking better than this shit. Tyler, Travis, will you please take this help that’s being offered to you today?”
Ryan sat down, April wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him close to her. “Thank you,” she told him, kissing the side of his head.
“So,” Jeff began, “you’ve had a chance to hear from your family and friends, from the people who care about you and don’t wanna lose you. What are you thinking right now?”
“What’s it look like? I mean, the help. How do we…” Hayes began, glancing instinctively at TK.
“Your families have made appointments for you at a rehab facility. They’ve been hard at work getting everything set for your roads to recovery.”
“We’re gonna go together?” TK asked, staring at Hayes. “I mean, we have to go together, right? I don’t wanna be anywhere without him.”
“Unfortunately, that isn’t the best option for either of you right now, Travis,” Jeff said. “Your family has found you a place in Jacksonville. And Hayes, your boyfriend has set you up at a facility in Tampa. If you both accept, you leave today and within the next 24 hours, your recovery begins.”
“How far is Tampa from Jacksonville?” TK asked, panic-stricken. “I can’t…I can’t be too far away from you, Ty.”
“Yeah, well you don’t have a fucking choice!” Ryan snapped, causing heads to turn. “This isn’t about you and him anymore. That shit’s done. It’s about you getting help and him getting help so you both don’t end up dead.”
TK shoved his chair away from the table and stood up abruptly. “I don’t think I can do it.” He started to head toward the door, but Hayes got up and went after him, wrapping his arms around his friend. “I don’t…wanna be without you, baby,” TK sobbed into Hayes's chest. “You’re the only…person I have, Ty.”
“I don’t wanna be without you either, but this is what we gotta do. It is.”
Ryan watched as his boyfriend held onto this beautiful young man, his feelings of jealousy and pity battling furiously for his attention. They were both clearly beyond broken and it was obvious that TK offered something to Hayes that Ryan hadn’t been able to.
What that was, Ryan wasn’t exactly sure.
All he knew was that if he didn’t get Hayes into rehab, he was going to die.
“OK, enough of this pussyfooting around. Here’s the deal,” Marody stated boldly, causing both boys to turn and look at him from where they’d been standing. “You’re both being put on long-term injured reserve as a result of injuries sustained from your accident. We are working around the clock to keep this shit as quiet as possible, but boys? The internet is abuzz. There were plenty of people who saw you at the strip club that night and have confirmed that you were both smashed off your asses…”
“Strip club?” Ryan asked quietly, feeling his anger rising like a fire in his throat.
“Travis, you taking this help is one of the only things that is going to get you a lesser punishment for your DUI. You’re in deep shit, kid. The amount of drugs and alcohol that came back in that bloodwork? Deep shit. And Hayes, for fuck’s sake. You’re better than this.
“If either of you want to keep your positions within this organization, you will go for treatment. If you refuse, your contracts will be terminated immediately. I won’t stand for this kind of behavior here. We are a professional organization and we have a reputation to uphold. I’m not gonna allow you two to fuck it up. So, choose wisely, gentlemen.”
Hayes grabbed TK’s hands. “Teek?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“We don’t have a choice. This is it.”
“I know that, baby.”
“So, you’ll go? You’ll get help?”
TK nodded, collapsing onto his friend’s chest as he wept.
“Thank God,” Hayes whispered, enveloping his friend in his arms and squeezing. “We’re gonna be so much better after this. You know that, right? Fuckin’ unstoppable.”
After clinging to each other for a bit, both too afraid to confront what the next move might lead to, they let go and faced the conference table. “We’re in,” Hayes announced. “We’ll take it. We’ll take the help.”
Cheers and clapping erupted from the table, as everyone got up and rushed over to them. Hughesy grabbed TK and pulled him in close. “I’m proud of you, kid. I know this isn’t who you are. Come back and show me exactly who the fuck you really are, OK?”
Poor Osi fell to his knees in front of Hayes, hysterical, as Hayes dropped to his own and reached out to hug him. “I love you, Os. So much. Thank you for everything.”
Before it was time to go, TK and Hayes found each other one last time.
“I guess this is goodbye for now,” TK lamented, reaching for Hayes’s hands.
