Page 233 of The Locker Room
Xander blinked at him, and then a real, full-fledged grin
blossomed, even though it felt like seven shades of crazy. “What in the
fuck have you been smoking? Jesus, Leo, the shit you say!”
He went back inside, and Leo followed him, finally deigning to put
his loafers on without socks, and they went for the latest update.
When Chris woke up on the fourth day, Xander was asleep in his
room. The nurses had brought him a little cot, with an extension, and
Penny was asleep next to him, with her hand on his shoulder so he
wouldn"t start twitching in his sleep.
Xander woke up to Penny"s rather hysterical giggle, and he bolted
upright, terrified that he"d missed something.
“Chris, you fucking dork,” Penny was saying, somewhat brokenly.
“Fucking Jesus—”
“Wha?”
Chris blinked, his face swollen and the bandages on his head
moving when he did. “Penny, ge" your han" off my man….”
Xander fell to his knees in front of the hospital bed and wept clean
tears, while Chris fumbled numb fingers through his hair.
An hour later, Chris had fallen back to sleep, and then and only
then did Xander go to Cliff and Alicia"s house. The first thing he did was
take a real shower in one of Cliff"s big, full-sized shower-baths instead
of a half-one in a cubicle. Then he fell asleep on their guest bed—Chris"s
old room, he learned the next morning—and slept for nine hours straight,
and for once, no scary monsters intervened.
202 Amy Lane
When he woke up, he dressed in sweats and begged Penny to take
him back to the hospital, because Chris was awake now, pretty please,
little sister, cantcha please go faster?
She made him eat breakfast first, and had Alicia"s housekeeper
pack him extra food for the way there.
