Page 3 of For All It's Worth
Chapter One
Charlie
Stumblingfreeofthebeefy security guy’s hold, I offered a slurred, “Fuck you!” as he kicked me out of the club.
Time passed as I tried to decide if I wanted another drink or to take some company home. The thought of dealing with more people had me curling my lip into a snarl and I decided I wanted another drink.
Traipsing the city streets with no real direction in mind, I caught sight of a group who looked like they were party-goers and attempted to follow them. There was one guy in their party that looked familiar and I was reminded of the hookup from the other day.
My phone buzzed in my hand. Another text from Max with a not-so-gentle reminder to, “Leave me the hell alone,” after I’d sent him a plea for company when I’d gotten into it with that guy’s boyfriend at the last club. There was a blank in my memory there for a bit, as the next thing I knew I was being shown the door.
My foot hit something and I staggered. Getting my bearings, I noticed that I’d lost sight of the group I was following and I crashed into a group of guys that had been trying to walk around me. Vaguely, I heard insults and taunts thrown but they rolled off me, unable to penetrate the fog of confusion clouding me.
I found myself down a side street that I hadn’t intended to go down and there was another gap in my memory before I found myself pushed face-first into a wall, the cold, damp brick abrading my face.
At six feet, I wasn’t a small guy. I was lean though, and the taller man pushing at me had about thirty pounds of muscle on me by the feel of him.
He held me still and I didn’t fight him while he took my phone and emptied out my pockets of all the cash I had on me, jamming my wallet into his dark jeans. I’d stopped taking a credit card with me after the last time I’d lost it so I wasn’t worried. A rideshare I could usually pay for with my phone. Not this time though. Getting home was going to suck.
There was no fight in me, I was utterly resigned to being mugged until he took the watch I was wearing, one of the last things I had from my father.
He unleashed something dark and frightening in me and I swung my fists and kicked out at him, fury at the audacity of my attacker fuelling my punches until his lookout stepped in.
Hits rained down on me, sending me to my knees. They turned to leave, taking my watch with them and I got back up to try and chase them. I grabbed one in a firm grip and he shouted at the other for help.
I saw the flash of silver and felt the burning pain in my abdomen. Blacking out for a second, I wobbled on my feet. I still held onto one of the men, until he spun, lobbing a fist at my head. I yelled out as I hit the pavement and it all went black.
The sounds of the street faded in and out with my consciousness. I couldn’t feel my fingers and toes and the parts of my body that I could feel made me wish that they were numb, too. Agony shot through me as I tried to move.
“Holy shit! There’s someone here. Dude? Are you okay?” I heard someone ask distantly.
“Is he alive?” A different voice queried, tinged with anxiety.
Pain exploded as someone nudged at my shoulder, trying to see my face. I couldn’t hold back my groan at the way everything hurt from that small touch. The light from their phone had me squeezing my eyes shut tight.
“Careful,” came the second voice, possibly female. “You could be hurting him. I see blood. We should call an ambulance.”
Other voices mingled with the ones next to my prone body. I could feel the freezing damp street through my clothes but was too tired to move, talk or even shiver. I was utterly done.
I passed out again for a while and was roused once more when I was already on a stretcher being loaded into the ambulance. Unable to answer any of their questions, I let myself slip away again.
Coming to briefly in the hospital, I had vague memories of the nurses and doctors trying to treat me, asking me questions I didn’t answer. I was pretty sure that I tried to leave, not getting far before I was crumpling to the floor and being helped back onto the bed again. I was sure I told them that I just wanted to go home, and demanded that they get Max.
The next time I slipped into consciousness, aware but unable to open my eyes, I heard the nurses say that they’d finally identified me. My I.D and discarded wallet had been found a few streets away from where I’d lain in the street half-frozen and losing blood.
I was aware enough to pick up a thread of disdain in the tone of their voices as they discussed me. Clearly being mugged and left to die wasn’t enough to endear me to them. I’d obviously pissed them off with my escape attempt.
There weren’t enough fucks left in me to give a shit. It’d been a long time since I’d had any left to care what people thought of me.
I gave myself over to sleep again.
Everything hurt as I opened my eyes to a bright and private hospital room. I felt someone holding my hand, carefully avoiding the scrapes and cuts there.
Gingerly turning my head, I glimpsed my oldest brother, Alex, against the far wall looking somber, before my eyes landed on Mom, her gently-lined face so worried, blue eyes filling with fresh tears.
“Oh darling, you’re finally awake! We were so worried!” Mom’s voice trembled with the effort it took to push back her sobs.
I tried to speak but my dry throat closed around the words and I choked on them. Then I was startled as a hand pressed a cup with a straw to my parched lips. My brain couldn’t truly comprehend who I was seeing.
