Page 27 of The Road Home
Orson turned to him. "If you can't tell me exactly what happened to him, can you tell me did you treat him for everything you treated me for?" He raised a brow.
It was clear what he was trying to do. He wanted him to tell him if Harry had been raped without actually giving away any medical information. Jared bit his lip as he stared at him.
"I need to know," Orson pleaded.
"Why, what does it matter at this point?" Jared didn't want to put Orson through the pain of knowing everything.
"It just does. He's going to need someone when he wakes up. I've been there. I know what it's like."
That comment broke Jared's heart. He was right, but he was still bound by laws. "Whatever I say to you can't be made public knowledge. It stays between you and me. Even when he wakes up, you can't let him know you know." Jared glanced at Harry, wondering if he could hear what they were saying.
"I won't say anything, I promise." Orson still held onto Harry's hand.
"I treated him for the same things I treated you for, only his injuries were worse." Jared lowered his voice. "There was a lot more damage." He didn't want to say exactly how bad it had been, but he had to stitch parts of Harry's body that he never wished to stitch on another human being.
Orson closed his eyes, but nodded. "I hoped he'd just been beaten up."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Orson turned back to Harry. He reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from his bruised forehead. "Can I stay with him?"
Jared stepped closer. "He's just going to sleep. You can come back tomorrow."
"But I want to be here."
He hated the sound of pain in Orson's voice, but he wasn't about to leave him at the hospital all night. Without even thinking about it, he gripped Orson's elbow from behind him. "Why don't you come home with me tonight. You can get a good night's sleep, then I'll bring you back here in the morning."
Orson glanced back at him. "I can't. I have to let the others know it was him. I'll walk back and let them know, then come back here. I can sleep in the chair."
"I'm not going to let you go walking around the city in the middle of the night. I'll drive you to wherever you need to go to tell them and wait for you. Then we'll go to my place. You can get some sleep and we'll come back first thing in the morning. We won't know any more until they run a few more tests in the morning, and I'm pretty sure even if Harry wakes up tonight, he won't be awake long. Let's let him rest and let some of the swelling go down. I'll leave a message with the nurse to call us if there are any changes." Jared glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing it was already one in the morning.
Orson traced his finger down Harry's arm, and for a moment, Jared wondered if there was more between the two men than he knew. The thought sent a wave of jealousy through him, but now wasn't the time to think about why. He needed to focus on making sure Orson was safe for the night.
"I guess, as long as they'll call you if something goes wrong." Orson turned. "He's going to be okay?"
"I think so. It's too soon to know for sure. I'm not sure why he's unconscious. Until he wakes, his condition is guarded. I'm not going to promise you anything until we do more tests. Right now, we just have to let the swelling go down." He hated that he couldn't promise him everything would be okay.
Orson released Harry's hand, but turned and leaned over the bed, getting closer to his ear. He kept his voice soft as he said, "I'll be back. You're not alone, okay? We'll all take care of you, just like you've taken care of us."
Watching him, Jared realized how close some of the homeless community must be. He'd only known Orson a few weeks and knew he'd just come to Utah, but already he was treating Harry like a brother — or a lover. He pushed the thought from his mind. It wasn't any of his business.
Orson turned away from the bed. "We can go."
Unsure what to say to comfort Orson, he led him out to the hall. Harry had to recover, because he wasn't sure what would happen to Orson if he didn't.
