Page 85 of Private Exhibit
A new message popped up on the text thread.
Andy's eyebrows went up. “He wants to come by and see you.”
“No,” Devon gasped, his eyes going wide. “No, not like this.”
“Baby–”
“I don't want anyone else seeing me like this. It's bad enough that–”
“Hey,” Andy murmured, crouching down in front of him. “If you don't want to see him, you don't have to.” He paused, thinking of how Junior had pushed all his friends away right before the end, not wanting to experience the humiliation of having them see him in a hospital bed, wearing a diaper, struggling to breathe. “But he is your friend, right? I think he even said he considers you a brother.”
Devon grimaced.
“Dev,” Andy went on. “He cares about you. I know it sounds uncomfortable, but think about if your roles were reversed. Wouldn't you want to see him? To know how he's doing?”
The boy's eyes widened again. “Oh.” He frowned. “I didn't even think about that.”
Andy gestured with Devon's phone. “I'm going to call him and tell him he can come over, even if it's just for a few minutes. If you don't like it once he's here, I'll send him home, I promise. Deal?”
Devon hesitated before he whispered, “Deal.”
“That's my good boy.” Andy gave Devon a kiss, then stood up and focused on Devon's phone. The text app had a button that would initiate a phone call, so Andy pressed that and headed off to the kitchen.Damn it. He was going to have to get some groceries delivered so the boys could eat while he was at work. Andy filed that away as a mental note right as the call connected.
“Hey!” Hayden answered. “How's it going?”
“Hayden?”
A beat of silence sounded over the line. “Who the fuck is this?”
“It's Andy Gerard. I'm using Devon's phone.”
“Oh! The sexy doctor,” Hayden said with a laugh, then sucked in an audible breath. “Wait. Oh my gods. Devon? Is he–”
Andy glanced over his shoulder, then moved farther out of earshot. “He's alright. For now.”
“What the fuck do you mean,'for now?'” Hayden demanded. “What's wrong? How bad is it?”
“It's bad,” Andy admitted, feeling his heart rate kick up.
“I'm coming over. Tell him I'll be right there.”
“Wait,” Andy blurted out before Hayden could end the call. “He's not at his apartment. We just moved him and Oliver into my place.”
“What's your address? And before you try to deny me, keep in mind that I can just hack your shit and find out anyway.”
Andy almost laughed, then gave Hayden his address.
“I'll be there in ten minutes.”
The line went dead.
Andy pulled the phone away from his ear, stared at the screen, and shook his head. He went to tell Devon that Hayden was coming by, then asked Oliver to put together a grocery list. They were right in the midst of that when a demanding knock sounded on his door.
When Andy answered it, he barely caught a glimpse of Hayden before the boy pushed his way inside, leaving Thomas Pennington standing there in the hallway, rolling his eyes.
“I apologize for the intrusion,” Thomas said. “There is no stopping him when he has his mind set on something.”
Andy waved it off. “Please, come in.”
