Page 12 of Collin: Episodes 1-3
Well, he could wear his jeans without undergarments. It was a thing. Even if it wasn’t one he liked. He dragged off his briefs and continued to rub stale stickiness from his hip bones.
“This is not what I thought the storm would bring.” Mr. Reevesworth’s voice came from the doorway.
Collin’s head snapped around. His wet-socked feet slipped on the tile. Down he went. There was some sort of noise. A loud one. Close to his ear.
“Collin. Collin, can you hear me?”
A nice voice came from very far away. Collin rolled his head from side to side. Why was there a nice voice in his room?
Something slapped his face. “Collin.”
His eyes fluttered, but the light was too bright. He curled inward, toward something warm and soft and not so bright. Whatever it was smelled good. Musky and warm.
“Collin. Open your eyes.”
That was a voice that brooked no disobedience. He forced his eyes open. Everything in front of him was a dark-brown suit and a belt buckle.
“Collin, can you look at me?”
He blinked and turned his head. That hurt. He winced and looked up into Mr. Reevesworth’s eyes.
“Collin, do you know who I am?”
“Mr. Reevesworth.”
“Do you know where you are?”
Collin drew his brows together. That hurt as well. Best not to move too much. He tried to look around. “The break room? What? Where are my clothes?”
He was naked. Completely naked, except for his socks, and practically in Mr. Reevesworth’s lap.
“I believe your clothes are mainly in the sink. They smell like alcohol, but you do not smell like you’ve been drinking.”
Collin closed his eyes. He was dreaming. He had to be dreaming. “This isn’t real. This isn’t real.”
“It’s quite real, but if you like, we can pretend it is not, for the moment. Can you sit up?”
“Only if I close my eyes.”
“Let’s do that then. You hit your head hard. There’s blood. I need to check it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“There you go with that title again, boy.”
Collin said nothing. He pulled his knees up and dragged himself into a sitting position. Not real. Not real. Not that anything much felt real at all. He started slumping sideways. Distantly, he heard Mr. Reevesworth on his phone. But he couldn’t follow the conversation.
The next time he woke, there were two men near him and some sort of white board on wheels. Things blurred for a while. It was mortifying. He tried to sit up.
“Stay down, Collin. Do as you’re told.”
“No. Don’t know them.”
Mr. Reevesworth’s hand wrapped around his. It was warm. So much warmer than his. He shivered. Something was wrapped around him, but he was still cold.
“I’m here. And you know me, yes?”
“Yes.”
