Page 6 of See My Words

“I was thinking the same thing,” Rylan admitted. “Would you mind dropping me at my place? I’m actually not far from here.”

“’Course not.”

As he got out of Minh’s little compact a few minutes later, Rylan said, “I’ll call the hospital in a couple hours and check on him, probably head back over there later this morning.”

“’Kay. And keep me posted, baby.”

Rylan kissed his cheek, and with a tired wave, trudged up to his apartment. He stripped out of his clothes and climbed into the hottest shower he could stand, the water turning a rusty brown as the blood caked on his knees and arms rinsed away. A lump rose up in Rylan’s throat.

Jesus Christ.

Scott must have been so scared to wake up in the emergency room—in pain, confused, jacked up on painkillers and surrounded by strangers. Did he know who had done this to him? Was it a friend, a former lover? Someone he’d once trusted?

The memory of the empty waiting room made Rylan shake with renewed anger. Scott’s life was chock-full of people who endlessly clamored for a piece of him, yet they couldn’t be bothered to stick around at the first sign of unpleasantness.

Party people just here for the party.

But now the party was over.

* * *

“Okay, Scott, this is what’s going to happen.”

The surgeon pulled Scott’s hospital table close and propped an iPad on it, displaying a set of digital X-rays.

“Your lower jaw is fractured here.” His finger moved over the spot, pointing out the clear fracture line in the glowing white bone of the X-ray.

Scott swallowed against his nausea as he stared at the images, images of his fucking broken face.

“The break is consistent with a blow from a blunt object. The good news is that it’s a simple fracture, which means a clean break with no bone fragmentation. We also consider it ‘favorable,’ in that the pressure from your facial muscles isn’t pulling the fracture farther apart.”

Rylan squeezed his fingers, yanking Scott’s attention to him. He looked tired and drawn, his hair was messy and his glasses smudged, but to Scott he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Because he was here. And he cared.

“So no bone fragmentation means no surgery?” Rylan was asking, and the surgeon tapped his stylus on the table.

“Well, there’s no reason we can’t go with the more conservative approach here, which is realigning your jaw before wiring it in place while it heals. We’d place what’re called arch bars along the gum line and then use a combination of wires and dental elastics to keep everything fixed while the bones set.”

“How long would he have to wear them?”

“A few weeks at least,” the surgeon said, and Scott couldn’t help the pained grunt that escaped at the thought. Rylan rubbed his wrist soothingly with his thumb.

“What are the other options?” he asked, glancing at Scott as he spoke.

“There’s rigid internal fixation, which means an incision in the gums and/or jawline, with the placement of plates and screws—”

“No!” Scott forced out, wanting to moan from the agony the movement invoked. He took a deep breath through his nose, trying to keep still.

“I was going to say, the type of fracture you have doesn’t even warrant that kind of repair.” The surgeon closed his iPad and sat back. “I understand you’re a model.”

“Mmm,” Scott hummed in the affirmative.

“Living with the wiring won’t be pleasant, but it’s the less invasive approach.”

The surgeon launched into a detailed listing of what to expect with the fixation procedure and the aftermath. Scott listened with half an ear, his drugged mind swirling with an overload of memories and sensations.

First Rylan in his arms. Next a warm, orange-scented night. Then…nothing. Not until he woke up at the hospital in an explosion of pain, his cheek throbbing, jackhammers pounding inside his head, and panic setting in as he realized his teeth didn’t meet up right. That things were off, were skewed. That it was his face.

“Once everything is well and truly aligned again,” the surgeon was saying, “your pain relief will be remarkable.” He stood up. “All right. You’re supposed to be released this afternoon, and I’ll see you at my offices tomorrow morning. It’ll be an outpatient procedure.”