Page 23 of Deep Down
Chapter 9
Craig
Stretching his head from side to side to work out some of the kinks in his neck, he stared at the computer screen. No work had been completed for the last half hour, but he couldn’t get up the energy to be bothered about it. He’d explain it to Darren if he had to.
A knock at the door had Craig tensing, all previous efforts for tension release gone, and he considered not answering it. His instincts were telling him Alex was at the door again. But, as usual, Darren’s voice overrode his concern.
Trailing to the front door, he braced himself before opening it, letting out a sigh when he saw the next-door neighbour.
“Good morning, Miss Nora.” Miss Nora was a lovely lady, getting on in age now, but walking her little terrier, Trixie, every day without fail.
“Craig,” she greeted. “I wanted to check on you, dear. I heard the argument you had with the young man who came to visit, and I was concerned.”
Fuck, not good. Craig had hoped nobody had witnessed their interaction. “Yeah, everything’s fine. The doctor came around to check that I was alright and wasn’t working too hard.” He smiled, trying to make everything seem as okay as it should be.
“Good, good. Glad the doctor has been taking care of you.” She shuffled away. “Think he needs to work on his bedside manner if he’s yelling at you.” Craig didn’t think the words were for him as she murmured them as she waved over her shoulder to him.
It was only afterwards Craig considered the implications of telling her it was a doctor.
****
Darren had been more lenient on his working hours these past few weeks, but he’d nevertheless become angry when Craig’s hours had decreased slightly or when Craig explained he struggled to concentrate and his body ached; Darren kicked out but didn’t say a great deal. His apology was in his silence and in their lovemaking.
It was one area Craig knew would never be violent because it was Darren’s way of apologising. Darren would hold him tenderly, caress him gently, make love to him with sincerity. And Craig loved it.
There had been no more visits from Alex, thankfully, and Craig had relaxed enough to be back to normal. His body had fully recovered: the bruising was going, the aching vanished, and the headaches had receded for the most part. He got them more often than before, especially if he spent too long at the computer without pause, but they were manageable.
Craig was behind schedule with his workload, but he was catching back up again. Currently, he was designing for an art gallery, and he kept getting distracted by the paintings he added to the site. They were amazing.
Four o’clock came, and he signed off, heading for the kitchen to make chicken casserole for dinner. He retrieved the ingredients, and a sense of calm flowed through him as he continued with the recipe he knew by heart. The silence, except for the knock of the knife against the chopping board, through the house was cleansing. Craig paused what he was doing and closed his eyes for a short second, smiling. He busied himself again, and soon the smell permeating the air made his stomach rumble.
Craig heard the door open and close, and he switched off the oven, removing the dish. Placing it on the counter as Darren enter the kitchen, he whirled around with a smile. It froze on his face as he took in Darren’s demeanour: lowered eyebrows, white lips, flushed cheeks, narrowed eyes. Something was drastically wrong. Something the quiet snick of the front door closing hadn’t alerted him to.
“Everything okay?” he asked hesitantly.
Darren’s tongue came out to lick his lips before he spoke. “Imagine my surprise, when I got out of my car on the driveway, when I was asked if everything was alright with you now?” He paused and continued in a slightly higher tone. “Is Craig okay now? It was nice of the doctor to do a house call the other week, wasn’t it? Shame, he shouted at Craig. You would’ve thought doctors nowadays would have a better bedside manner than that. I checked on him. At the time. He said he was okay.”
Craig blanched when Darren threw his gym bag across the floor so hard it slammed into the wall, but he kept his gaze on Darren.
Darren shrugged and shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He paused, but Craig knew better than to answer. “Are you sleeping with him? Fucking him behind my back? While I’m at work?” He stalked closer until he was face to face with him. “Telling him secrets?” Darren raised his eyebrows in question.
“No—” Craig was prevented from continuing by a punch to the face, and he stumbled backwards into the fridge.
“Is my love not enough for you?” Hands grappled with the front of Craig’s t-shirt, and he was thrown out the kitchen door into the living room, landing on his side. “Everything I gave you…” he pulled Craig vertical again, “and you throw it in my face!” Darren shoved Craig back, and he fell over the sofa, into the coffee table. “I gave you love! I gave you a home! I gave you meaning!” With every sentence, Darren kicked a part of Craig’s body.
Craig tried to shelter to protect the most delicate parts of his body, but he hurt everywhere. Obviously, he hadn’t been as healed as he’d appeared to be. Blood was pouring from his face, and one of his eyes was closing again. Darren straddled him and grasped his arm, pulling it behind his back.
“You want to see your doctor again?” Darren pulled harder, and Craig tried not to say a word. Unfortunately, it was the arm he’d dislocated before, and he remembered what Alex had previously told him seconds before Darren pulled his arm out of the socket. Fire streaked down his body as Darren let go, and Craig tried to hold his arm to his body, but Darren lifted him up again and threw him towards the front door. “How can you do this to me! After everything I have done for you!”
Craig rolled to his back, trying to find the most comfortable position. Thoughts of Alex flew through his head: his smile…his laughter…his comments about abuse.
Darren straddled him once more, and Craig lifted his usable hand to defend his face. Darren gripped his throat, repeatedly banging his head back against the floor until Craig could no longer understand the words Darren was saying. Alex’s face floated in front of his face and black spots danced alongside it.
The next thing he knew, air was rushing back into his lungs and loud noises were filtering into his ears.
“Mr Talbot? Craig? Can you hear me?” Light shone in his eyes, and Craig moved his head away from it. “He’s responsive. It appears he has a dislocated shoulder, multiple gashes on his face, bruising appearing on his right eye and throat and…” a hand probed the back of his head, making him cringe, “possible gash or at least bruising at the back of his head.” More pressure on the back of his head, but something softer cushioning it.
Craig was jostled, and he gritted his teeth as pain flowed through his shoulder. “Craig? My name is Casey. I’m a paramedic. We’re going to be taking you to hospital. We need to move you, and I apologise in advance because this will most likely hurt, but once we get you situated, we will give you something for the pain.”
