Page 177 of The Locker Room

right?”

“Yeah, but for now, could you just get me some water?”

“Have you eaten?”

Xander groaned. “Not hungry.”

“Too bad. I know you just want the painkillers to get you high, but

I"m going to feed you anyway. I"ll be back.”

That wasn"t fair! He wanted the painkillers becausehis fucking foot

hurt!Besides. He"d learned the night before that whatever Malloy was

giving him might make him high, but it didn"t make him sleep, and if it

didn"t make him sleep, it wasn"t much good, now was it?

It didn"t matter. Penny fed him a sandwich and a big glass of milk

and a pill big enough to choke a horse, and they stayed up and watchedV

for Vendetta.Xander wondered about the world in that movie—would he

152 Amy Lane

be screwed twice because not only was he six foot nine but queer to

boot? Either way, he wouldn"t be playing basketball, that was for

damned sure.

Still, that one line resonated.For three years, I had roses.

He and Chris had roses for nearly twelve years. They"d have roses

again. The world wasn"t as dark as that movie. Yet.

The Locker Room 153

In the Box

THE world was darkness, and cold. He could scream all he wanted,

scream until his throat was hoarse and his ears hurt with his own

shrieks, but warmth, kindness, and rescue were still far away. It didn"t

matter. He reached out with his hands into the absolute black, and felt…

nothing. And then his fingers grew numb, and then his arms, and then his

hands, and when his hands were weighted at his sides, useless and

aching into the bones, things started to touch his face. He screamed, but

they brushed his lips and he clamped them shut to keep them out. Tiny,