Page 14 of Collin: Episodes 1-3
“No pets?”
Collin went to shake his head and stopped. It felt like soup in his skull, sloshing around. “No pets. Unless you count house centipedes.”
“In this case, I do not. They can fend for themselves.” Ellisandre checked something off on their phone.
Mr. Reevesworth and Mr. Moreau’s residence was only a few blocks away in a high-rise of blue glass. Mr. Moreau helped Collin stand and offered him a shoulder.
Damian met them at the door of the building, wearing jogging shorts and an athletic shirt. Collin stared. Damian in a suit was mouthwatering. Damian in next to nothing was dangerous.
“You’re tilting a bit there, Collin my man.” Damian tucked himself under Collin’s other shoulder. “Come on. Into the elevator with you, and we’ll have you on a flat surface in no time.
The elevator was torture, but they took the journey in stages, going up just a few floors at a time. Even so, Collin was blind with pain and dizziness when Mr. Moreau and Damian guided him out and into some sort of open space. His feet shuffled over various floors, and the sound dimmed and changed as if he had entered different sized spaces, and then hands were helping him lay down, and the light seemed to dim.
When he could finally blink his eyes open again, Damian was sitting next to him, leaning forward, hands laced together between his knees.
“Hey.”
Collin tried a smile. “Hey.”
“Mr. Reevesworth said you had a bit of a tumble.”
Collin swallowed. “I’m really not sure why I’m here. Actually, I’m pretty sure none of this is real. Like, really, you can’t be here. I can’t be here. None of this makes sense.”
Damian smiled in that not really a smile, not a smirk, way, like someone was being patient and understanding. His eyes were soft.
“You’re here because you need to be, Collin.”
“I need to be at the bar tonight working.”
Damian frowned. “Collin, I don’t know if you remember, but the doctor said bedrest for at least three days. You’re not even going to class this week.”
“I-I can’t.” Collin started to shake his head and then grabbed it in both hands. Soup. He had soup sloshing in his skull. Had to remember that. “I have a geology exam, and an essay, and…”
Damian’s hands were suddenly on him, one hand at his back, the other over Collin’s mouth. He pressed Collin back into the covers. Their eyes met.
Damian shook his head. “Stop, Collin. The first rule you need to learn is when to stop.”
He took his hand away from Collin’s mouth slowly.
Collin swallowed. Damian’s hands were almost as warm as Mr. Moreau’s. “I can’t stop.”
Damian leaned down over Collin and pressed his fingers against Collin’s lips again. “You can always stop, Collin. Perhaps this will be your first lesson in The Residency. You can stop. You can always stop. You may not like the consequences. You may have to learn flexibility, but you can always stop.”
Tears, unwanted, burned in Collin’s eyes. He pushed Damian’s hand away from his mouth but didn’t let go of it. “Damian, if I stop, I’ll break. And there’s no one to pick up the pieces. I don’t have it in me to stand back up and start over again.”
Damian’s eyes softened even further. He stroked Collin’s jaw and cupped his chin in his hand. “Collin, you already broke. And someone is already picking up the pieces. Why do you think you’re here?”
The tear on the edge of Collin’s eye splashed down and hit Damian’s hand.
Damian leaned forward and brushed his lips against Collin’s forehead. Then he stood up and pressed his palms together in front of his abs. “As punishment for disturbing the weekend of not one but several very important people, Collin, I am making several rules for you. Firstly, you will stay in the bed. You will not leave it on your own. If you do, I have access to a wide variety of handcuffs and leashes and can and will keep you in that bed until the doctor says you may leave. There is a bell. If you need to relieve yourself, ring it. Someone will come.”
Collin dragged his eyes to the bell and back to Damian. This version of Damian was a little frightening. He couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
“Second, you will address everyone in The Residency as madam or sir for the next three days. A piece of becoming a mature individual is recognizing and accepting when one does not have the best vantage point from which to make decisions. As you have injured your brain, you are not at the best vantage point to make decisions even if you are medically sane. As you made decisions that injured yourself, you are also obviously not in the best vantage point to make decisions. They will be made for you.”
Blood burned into Collin’s cheeks. He dropped his eyes.
“Eyes up, Collin.”
