Page 98

“That’s up to you. I’d love for you to meet Jeremy. But I know meeting family is a big thing.”

“Adam? You here?” came a voice in the hallway.

Ben’s eyes widened, and he grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom.

A knock came at the door. “Adam?”

Adam glanced to the bathroom door and then said, “Yeah, come on in.”

Jeremy entered, looking exhausted. “I was told not to come, but I had to.”

“What?” Adam asked with concern. He could see now that Jeremy’s eyes were red. “What’s happened?”

Jeremy started to speak, but his gaze fell on the bed. “Uh … I’m sorry. Looks like I’ve interrupted.”

Adam looked over and felt his face flame at the sight of the ties still attached to the bedposts. “It’s fine. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Jeremy blushed a little as well, but then a sob broke from him. “Mom and Dad had an accident. A very bad one. They could’ve both died. I said I was going to call you, and Dad told me not to. I got so angry at him. I couldn’t even speak I was so floored. I just left the room, not trusting myself to be civil. I know things are shit between you, but I thought maybe this could be the wake-up call he needed.”

Adam opened his arms, and Jeremy came over and hugged him, crying even harder for a few moments. “I’m so sorry you’re in this position.”

Jeremy drew away and wiped at his eyes. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“Mom say anything?”

Jeremy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A few more tears fell as he opened them. “She’s in a coma. I just stood in the doorway of her room, unable to move. She’s in ICU so I only had a little window. The nurse was very nice. Said it would get easier. That at least the coma might help the healing.”

“What do you need me to do to help?”

Jeremy shrugged then wiped at his eyes again. He crossed to the nightstand and grabbed a tissue. “I don’t know. I’m staying at their place to take care of the dogs.”

“They’ll need help with bills and everything. Just let me know.”

“Why should you pay their bills if they won’t even see you?” Jeremy asked, frowning.

Adam sighed. “Because they’re my parents.”

“Dad told the head nurse you aren’t allowed to visit them. She was very apologetic to me but said she had to follow his wishes. I almost broke down right there.”

“Do you want to stay here? We can board the dogs or bring them here. What kind are they?”

“Little yappy ones. Chihuahua and Boston Terrier. Ellie and Bowser. They’d destroy this place. Keep us both up. At least in their own house they sleep at night.”

“You can’t do all of this alone.”

Jeremy reached for his hand. “I’m not alone. I’ll call if I think of something.” His gaze went to the bathroom door. In a low voice, he asked, “Someone in there?”

Adam nodded. “Boyfriend,” he said softly. “Well, it’s early days.”

“I’ll get going. I don’t mean to keep you,” Jeremy said.

The bathroom door opened, and Ben came out. “Please stay. I should’ve gone downstairs to give you some privacy, but I wasn’t, uh, exactly dressed.”

Jeremy gave him a half-hearted smile. “You had no way of knowing what I was here for. I shouldn’t have barged up here with an unfamiliar car out there. My brain is running a bit slow.”

Ben came over and extended his hand. “I’m Ben.”

“Jeremy.” They shook, and then the three of them stood there a moment, not looking at each other.