Page 68 of Saving You

Oz held back a laugh. Rex looked so furious, which would probably be intimidating someday. But his face was barely the size of a large grapefruit. He ruffled the boy’s hair. ‘You’ll get to wear a suit soon, I’m sure. There are lots of people who want to get married.’

‘You?’ Rex asked, bouncing higher on the balls of his feet. ‘You get married?’

Oz lifted his hands to protest but realized that it felt like a lie for the first time. He didn’t know for sure if it would ever happen for him. He didn’t know if this thing with Ridge would last more than a few months, let alone the rest of their lives. But he was hopeful.

‘Maybe,’ he answered.

Rex seemed satisfied with that and stopped talking, electing to grab Oz’s hand instead, and he swung them between their bodies with a childlike joy Oz had long since forgotten how to feel.

Oz wasn’t surprised that the open-caption movie was empty apart from him and Rex. It made things easier when he had to explain what was going on. He didn’t worry about distracting anyone, and no one got irritated when Rex’s enthusiasm had him bouncing out of his seat and shuffling around.

He hadn’t been in the mood to eat when they got to the snack bar, but right as the credits were starting to roll, Rex began to fuss. ‘I want pizza.’

Oz smiled at him. ‘Your dad wants you to have at least one vegetable tonight.’

‘Gross!’ Rex’s mouth formed an O, and Oz had a feeling he was being very loud. He ran up and down the aisle until Oz managed to catch him and spin him. He was normally an amazing kid, but when he got like this, he tended to run off, and it was the one thing Oz realized was harder about a Deaf child: you couldn’t call after them.

Not that he’d seen hearing kids listen any better, but there was a small spark of anxiety in his chest every time they were in a big crowd and Rex got a burst of energy.

So far, there’d been no incidents. He only hoped he could keep it that way.

‘Let’s go find something to eat at a restaurant. You can practice your sight words.’

Rex pulled a face but eventually nodded since he loved eating out. Hyper as he could get, he also liked to feel very grown-up, and he loved when Oz let him order off the adult menu and use a big glass for his drink instead of the plastic ones with the bendy straws.

Of course, Oz would have taken the bendy straw in a heartbeat, but that was mostly because he hadn’t been allowed to enjoy his childhood the way he’d wanted. He promised himself if he ever had kids, he wouldn’t encourage them to grow up so fast.

They exited out of the theater, and Oz looked up and down the street. There were a handful of restaurants—one of them a little hole-in-the-wall pizza joint that would probably have fried zucchini on their menu. It wasn’t the healthiest option, but at least under the batter would be something green.

He tugged on Rex’s hand a hundred feet from the crosswalk. ‘Stop. I need to text your dad. Stand right here for a second, and then we’ll go get pizza.’

Rex nodded solemnly. But right as Oz bowed his head to his phone, he saw Rex sign, ‘Dog!’

He thought nothing of it for a brief second. On the phone, he typed out, ‘Hey, we’re…’ before he realized Rex had taken off running and that the dog was on the other side of the street. His phone hit the ground in what was probably a loud clatter, and his feet hit the pavement as fast as he could run.

But it had been years since he was athletic, and his thighs burned as he watched in horror as Rex darted into the street without stopping or looking. Oz somehow managed anotherburst of energy as he saw a car come around the corner, going too fast to stop.

He had no idea how he managed it. Maybe his will alone teleported him. The only thing he remembered was jumping forward, his hands hitting Rex’s body to send him flying. And then something hard and blunt and painful went crashing into his side. It felt like his ribs and lungs exploded. He was in the air, and then the unforgiving pavement met his shoulder on the fall.

He felt the crash in every atom of his being, and then suddenly, there was numbness. The edges of his vision went white, and then, between one blink and the next, it all went black.

Oz came to at the touch of a rough, familiar hand. He smelled asphalt and exhaust and, beneath that, something soothing. Something like home. He blinked and saw stars. He was on his back, staring up at the sky. He attempted to turn his head, but he realized he was strapped down, so he moved his eyes as far to the left as he could manage, chasing the touch.

His heart beat hard in his chest when he recognized the face staring at him. Ridge looked terrified, though he was smiling, which made his expression even more unsettling.

“Not dead,” he asked aloud. His voice felt raspy in his throat.

Ridge laughed and rolled his eyes. ‘Not dead. You with me?’

Oz tried to nod and realized he couldn’t. He tried to lift his right arm, but it wouldn’t budge. “Paralyzed?”

‘Are you numb?’

No. He most definitely wasn’t numb anywhere. Every limb felt like it was on fire. “No.” He tried to lift his left hand, and it obeyed without resistance. ‘Right arm broken?’

Ridge shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. Dislocated shoulder. You need an X-ray before someone can set it. Don’t try to move, okay? I’m riding with you in the ambulance.’

Oz felt a sudden rush of panic. “Rex!”

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