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WARNING: This section deals with some heavy shit. Really. If descriptions of injury from person on person violence bothers you, don't read it. And again ... there's no sex in this one. Sorry! Next time, I swear!
Wayne's Journal - Part 21 05 January 2018, Friday 820 PM Daniel's Place
I am fucking worn out.
The last few days have been stressful, busy, and emotional - but at least Daniel is looking a little better today.
On Wednesday morning I woke to find Daniel still sick, and his fever even climbed a little to 102.2F. Martha and I have been dosing him with flu medication which has drugs to decrease his fever. Which means it would have been even higher without it. After my workout I called my boss, and told her I'd be late. I couldn't just watch as his fever kept going up.
Martha helped me load my guy up in the truck and I took him in to the clinic. I got him a mask, put it on him, and he fell asleep against me in the waiting room.
We were finally taken back, and after a quick intake we were left in an exam room. A short time later a Physician Assistant came into the room to see him. "Hi David." I nodded to the tall, lanky PA when he entered. This was my provider for my own health care, and someone I work with occasionally.
"Hey Wayne." He looked at Daniel with an appraising eye. "Who've you got here?"
"This is my fiance, Daniel. He's really sick. I think it's flu." Daniel just let me talk for him, and leaned against me, barely awake.
To David's credit he barely batted an eye. "Fiance? Congratulations."
I smiled. "Thanks." I rubbed my thumb over Daniel's eyelid to dislodge some weird crusty thing there. "His fever has climbed over the last day. It's up to 102.2F." I quickly gave David the history on his illness and what we had done so far for him, including the medications we gave him.
He nodded. "It sounds like you're doing all the right things. It's mainly symptomatic treatment. But if his fever climbs much more, we may have to look at antivirals." He looked thoughtful. "You know, let me run our flu test on him. If it comes back positive, I'll see about just starting him on Tamiflu. We've been using it mainly in high risk groups ... but his fever is still going up. It'll help knock this down, cut a day or two off the misery."
They collected the nasal sample from him, and sure enough he came back positive for the flu.
David prescribed Tamiflu, which we actually had on site at the clinic. I walked out the door with my sick man and his drugs, super thankful I worked for the clinic. I don't know if they'd have given it to us otherwise. David's right - the drug is mostly saved for folks in high risk groups like pregnant ladies, elderly, homeless, or the very young. But Daniel was having a rough time, and I just wanted him better.
I took him home. Once there I sat him on the couch, pulled a pitcher of Martha's special drink she makes for him out of the fridge, and poured it over a full glass of ice. I made him drink and take his medicine. David said I could dose him with TheraFlu too, so I gave him more of the night time stuff, and put him to bed. He was so cute. He wanted me to crawl in to snuggle with him, and actually fell asleep while I was telling him I had to go back to work.
I checked in with Martha. She'd be fine to handle him for the rest of the day. I went to work, and started my day about two hours down. Which meant I had 8 hours of work to do in 6. I put my head down and got to it.
The work day ended, and I just went straight over to Healthsport. I worked the desk for the next two hours while Davis handled a couple of Daniel's clients. After that was done I went home, and logged onto Daniel's forum.
I looked up what I could when people had questions. The funny thing, most of the questions asked had already been answered at some point in the past on Daniel's forum. So I just copied and pasted Daniel's old answers to the questions asked. A simple search would have found the information if his subscribers had looked ... but I just reposted the info. The rest I emailed to Davis, he'd respond then I'd then upload.
I ate an energy bar at Healthsport. I was hungry when I got home, so I drank 16 oz of milk while I cruised Daniel's forums. Martha didn't like that I wasn't eating much, so she made meals for me to take to work, in addition to keeping Daniel fed and watered.
Davis, Martha and I all worked hard. This continued through Thursday as well, pretty much the same sort of work, and schedule. Daniel's fever had dipped slightly - down to 101.7F. I was glad with the downward trend, and Martha kept him hydrated and fed while I worked my job and at Healthsport.
But today was a different beast, for a very specific reason - Grayson.
I got to Healthsport a little after 420. Davis had worked things so he only had Grayson to train from 430-530 while I covered the desk. Meaning I'd be free after a single session, and I'd be home by 6. For which I was very grateful. I think he could see I was getting ground down, and I appreciated that he noticed and cared.
Grayson showed. He was dressed in tracksuit pants, and a matching long sleeved shirt. "Hi Wayne." He said as he entered. Davis told Grayson what was up concerning Daniel's illness and our work to cover him. So he wasn't surprised to see me.
"Hey Grayson." I smiled at the lanky man. "Ready to do some training with Davis?"
He nodded and looked down. "Yeah. Really need to put some weight on my frame."
I couldn't put my finger on why at the time, but he looked uncomfortable and stiff. I didn't have long to puzzle it out, as Davis approached us. "Hey Grayson." The big man grinned and shook Grayson's hand. "Good to see ya."
For the first time since walking in Grayson looked like he was actually happy. "Hey Davis." His eyes seemed to come alive as he talked to the short powerful man. For his part Davis looked pretty smiley and happy too.
I smiled as they walked away into the gym. Then I was quickly busy with various tasks, just running the desk, answering the phone, and scanning folks into the gym. Regulars were beginning to recognize me already, and I knew a few by name too.
About 20 minutes went by, and Davis approached the desk. I looked up and his face was like a granite wall - a bit gray, blank, and unreadable. "Wayne, I need you to come with me."
"Uh ... what about the desk?" I looked at him closer. "Are you okay?"
He shook his head. "No." He put a sign on the desk `back in 10 minutes'. "Come on."
I walked with him and he led me to one of the private rooms. Inside, Grayson sat in a chair, and rubbed his hands on his pants. He had the look of a trapped animal. He stood up as soon as we entered. "This was a bad idea. I'm gonna go." He started to go for the door.
Davis stepped in front of him and put a hand out on his chest. "Grayson. Please don't go." Davis looked at Grayson with an expression of both barely controlled anger and a deep sadness. "Show him."
Grayson licked his lips, his fear palpable. Then I watched a chilling change, as his eyes went dead. Like ... he wasn't really there anymore. And then he lifted his shirt.
There were livid bruises all over him, all in various stages of healing. I inhaled air through my teeth. "Fuck ..." I rubbed my mouth, my mind whirling. Davis shook his head, and walked around the room. I could tell he was about to lose his shit.
I looked at Grayson's eyes. He still had that far-away stare. My training as a worker in a medical clinic for underserved, and indigent people kicked in. "Grayson, I want you to tell me - are you in danger at home?" I reached and gently took the end of his shirt out of his hands and lowered it, covering the marks.
He swallowed, and blinked. His mouth worked as he tried to hit upon what he wanted to say. "I already told Davis ... it was an accident. He didn't mean to hurt me, and we were just horsing around."
It was robotic, like he was reciting a script. "I'm gonna go." He stepped past me and opened the door.
"I can get you help." I said and he stopped for a moment. I watched his face from the side as a dozen emotions washed over him. "There are resources at the clinic ... for this exact sort of thing." I put a hand on his shoulder.
He flinched when I touched him and my heart broke a little for this guy. He stood there, hand on the half open door. Something roiled in his mind, then he made a decision and inhaled. "I ... I don't need help." He nodded. "I'm gonna go."
He walked out the door.
Davis stared at me, wide eyed. "We can't just let him go."
I looked helplessly at him. "There's not much we can do if he doesn't want help Davis."
He set his jaw and took off out of the room. I followed, and watched as he caught up to Grayson outside the front doors.
"Do one thing for me." Davis' said at his back. His voice had a pleading note ... something totally at odds with his persona.
Grayson stopped, and looked over his shoulder. His eyes were tired and wary.
Davis stepped toward him, and held out a card. "Take it." He held it there. Grayson stared at the rectangular piece of cardstock. The thin man slowly reached out and took it. He glanced at Davis' eyes.
"If you need anything, call me." Davis gripped his arm. "You hear me? Anything." The short man stepped really close to Grayson. "And if you don't show for your next session, I will come find you."
Grayson looked at him. He nodded once, the motion crisp and short. Then he turned and walked through the parking lot to his car.
We watched him drive away. Davis leaned against the outside of the building. His face was worried and defeated. "I can't believe I'm letting him walk back into ... into hell."
I stood next to him and put an arm around his wide shoulders. "Let's hope he does the right thing for himself." I squeezed him a little. "Hey. At least he knows he has help if he needs it. That's a lot more than some folks in his position have." In truth, I felt as crappy as Davis did about it.
Davis sighed and looked down at the ground. "I just hope he asks for help before it's too late for him." He shrugged me off and walked slowly back into the gym. I could tell he was bitterly unhappy, and I felt pretty close to the same.
In the medical field, we keep folks' health information that is shared with us private. It's part of doing the work, and it's both a legal requirement and one of decency. I wasn't working in a capacity which would have legally required me to keep everything quiet ... but I felt the need to do so. I wanted this to stay between Grayson, Davis, and myself.
I came home.
Martha could tell I wasn't in a great mood, but she didn't ask - for which I was thankful. She updated me on Daniel's progress, which was largely the same. Another minor dip in his temperature, but overall he was holding steady.
Saul came over too. It's Friday night, and I could tell he wanted some Martha-time. After she finished making dinner the two of them disappeared into her cottage, plates of food and all. I ate by myself at the island, and I tried to relax. It was hard to do knowing what Grayson was going through.
The house is quiet now. I'm now in bed and I just realized that Daniel is sweating like crazy. Oh ... I think his fever broke!
Ahhhh yessss! I just took his temp. He's at 99.3F. Thank god. I think he's going to be okay soon. Wow, what a relief!
Okay, I'm gonna sleep better now. Just knowing Daniel is on the path to better helps my mood so much.
Speaking of which, it's bedtime.
Till next time.
Wayne's Journal - Part 21 (cont) 06 January 2018, Saturday 0215 AM Arcata, Davis and Anna's place
What a crazy clusterfuck of a night.
I got a call on my cell from Davis a little after midnight.
"Wayne. We've got a problem." Davis' voice was strained and upset. I could hear Anna in the background. I heard her say something about getting dressed.
"Hey. Davis?" I shook the fog from my brain. "What's going on?" I sat up, and Daniel moved against me but stayed asleep.
"Got a call a few minutes ago. Not from Grayson. From Randy, that prick boyfriend of his. He found my card and called me. Said to stay away from Grayson. I could hear Grayson in the background trying to smooth things over. It wasn't working. Wayne, I'm fucking worried."
I stood. "Okay. I'm closer. I'll go over. His address is on file in Daniel's info."
"Dude, this guy doesn't seem stable. He went off on me. Be careful. We're on our way too. Give me the address." I did and he hung up.
I threw on some loose fitting pants, and a t shirt. A jacket and my boots completed my outfit, and off I went.
I drove as fast as I dared north into Eureka proper. I followed my phone's directions, and soon I pulled up in front of a little house on a pretty quiet street. All the lights in the house were on, and I got out of the truck.
I took a breath and I walked up to the door. I could hear someone screaming - angry, obscene things. I knocked loudly. There was instantly silence from in the house.
"Who is it?"
"The name is Wayne. And if you don't answer the door I'll call the cops."
More silence. It dragged on a little while, then I heard a bolt unlock. A man with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes peeked out. He frowned at me. "What the fuck you want?"
"I want to talk to Grayson." I stood there and kept my weight even on both feet. My senses all tingled and I felt a twinge of anticipation. "I get to speak to him, then I'll leave."
"You'll fucking leave now." He opened the door. We weighed about the same, and he had about an inch in height on me.
I smiled. "No. Not till I can talk to Grayson."
His eyes widened in anger. I could tell he wasn't used to being told no. I also noticed his knuckles were busted and bleeding.
"I'll call the police on you for trespassing."
"I'd like that." I stared at him. "But I bet you wouldn't." I let my expression turn grim. "I bet there's a really hurt man in your house, and I bet they'd be more than happy to come out and arrest the fuck responsible."
He swung at me.
Shotokan took over. I blocked with a blow of my own, impacting his moving forearm with a knuckle strike. Nothing broke, but I knew it hurt, and it'd hurt for days. He grunted in pain, but I didn't give him time to try again.
I stepped forward and put a foot behind his. The blow began with a twist of my foot, transferred power into my hip, moved from my hip up to my trunk, then finally to my arm. My body had performed this set of movements thousands of times, and it was textbook perfect. I struck him hard in the solar plexus with the heel of my hand as I stepped. He flew a few feet into the house onto his back. He gasped for air as he tried to rise - the wind knocked from him.
I stepped almost within reach and had to make myself hold back. I wanted to kick him until he couldn't get up. I wanted to break him. He looked up at me, his eyes now filled with fear as he struggled to breathe.
I heard a car pull up in the street, and before it had even stopped a door opened. I was focused on the dirtbag at my feet as he rose unsteadily.
"Where. Is. Grayson." I flexed my hands and he took a step away from me.
His eyes flicked to the hallway, and Davis barreled into the room, Anna right behind him. He glanced at Randy and then at me. I nodded down the hall and they both went without a word.
"Who the fuck are you people?" Randy gasped out, finally able to take a breath.
"We're his friends."
He barked a harsh laugh. "Grayson doesn't have friends."
"Yeah, you make sure of that, eh?" I was barely holding it together. I wanted to wail on this guy so bad.
I could hear Anna talking, and footsteps from the hallway. I turned so I could still see Randy from the corner of my eye and looked at them.
Davis carried Grayson in his arms, and Anna had her hand on Davis' shoulder. The small man's face was against Davis' chest and his arms around his neck. There was blood on Davis' shirt, and when I looked at his face I realized there was only one reason Davis wasn't currently beating Randy to death - and that was the fact he carried Grayson.
He stopped in the living room and stood, cradling Grayson. He stared at Randy. "You ever touch him again, I'll kill you." His voice wavered with an anger so deep it struck like a blow.
Randy frowned, but wisdom seemed to finally visit him and he said nothing. He only glared as we left.
We tried, but Grayson didn't want to go to the hospital, or talk to the police. Our place was closest, so we all drove here.
We got here, and we helped Grayson into the house. He was really beat up. Anna and Davis took him into our second bathroom.
"Grayson, we need to see how bad you're hurt." Anna said really gently. "Is that okay?" He frowned, but nodded. He let them strip him down to his underwear. His lip was busted, he had a black eye, and a cut on his right cheekbone. There were bruises on his neck, from what looked like Randy's hands - as if he were throttling Grayson. He had a whole suite of new bruises on his body too.
He had that same far-away look on his face. As if he was not even present. Davis noticed. As Anna started cleaning his wounds, and wiping away the blood, Davis said, "Hey. Grayson." Those flat eyes looked at Davis. "Hey. You're okay. You'll be okay." Davis put a hand on the back of his neck. "You don't have to go back there."
Grayson stared at him. "I have nowhere else to go." His voice was emotionless. Just stating what he took as fact. "I have to go back eventually."
"No." Davis continued. "No, you don't. We'll help you find your own place."
"I ... I don't have a car. It's his." His eyes looked less like glass. Now his emotion was beginning to show in them. I could see the worry, the pain, and the dejected sadness. "My check ... it gets put in his account."
"All of that's fixable." Anna said and pushed an errant bit of hair off his forehead. "He controlled everything in your life ... we know." She put her hand under his chin and pulled his face up so he looked her in the eye. "But no more."
Grayson looked back and forth between Anna and Davis. They both stared back, willing him to believe it was going to be okay. His face changed from the stoic mask he wore to get through the awful times to something hopeful. "It's over?" Tears began to stream down his face. "It's ... it's over?"
He leaned into them, and they both put their arms around him. He cried silently while they held him. I watched Davis and Anna look at one another over his bruised back, and I can't even describe their expressions. I don't know exactly what happened, but SOMETHING did. Something passed between them - a pact? A promise? A purpose?
I found some ibuprofen for Grayson in the medicine cabinet and gave it to him. His two protectors continued to clean his wounds, and I went to prepare a bedroom for him.
I came back, and Anna met me in the hall. "Thank you." She looked at me, her expression open and honest. "This isn't easy. And I know you have a lot to deal with right now. So, thank you."
"You're welcome." I hugged her. As we hugged I heard footsteps. We seperated to see Davis with an arm around Grayson's shoulders and they walked toward us. Grayson was a bit taller, but he looked so small next to Davis' massive frame. The bruises all over his body made him look so fragile.
"Here. Come on." Anna led him into the room and turned down the bed. He let himself be put to bed and both Anna and Davis sat on the edge next to him as he snuggled down into the blankets.
"We'll come by in the morning to check on you. Okay?" Davis rubbed his head, his hand gentle on his hair.
Grayson nodded, then he frowned and looked up at them. "Why are you helping me?"
Davis smiled. "Because you need help." He shook his head. "I like you Grayson. WE like you. And we couldn't live with ourselves if we didn't try to help you."
Anna nodded. "We do like you Grayson. But ... we don't expect anything out of you. Okay?" She smiled. "Well, we want you to be our friend, if that's all right."
He swallowed and nodded at them both. As Anna started to get up, he reached and grabbed her hand. "Would ... you stay with me? Would both of you?"
Anna looked at me, silently asking permission. I nodded.
She smiled down at him. "Yes. We'll stay with you."
He didn't want the door closed, so I left it open halfway. Last I saw, Grayson lay between them on the bed, his arm around Davis' thick chest, and Anna behind him - all of them spooning.
He looked like he was already asleep. Davis smiled at me, the expression tired but happy. Anna gently kissed the back of Grayson's neck, and I heard her sigh.
I went to our bedroom, and was far too amped up to sleep. So I journaled.
I think the adrenaline has worn off now, as I'm starting to yawn. The morning should be interesting.
Till next time.