Escaping the Pain - 14. Chapter 14

When Dane woke up Tap was waiting in his room with a sunny smile and a muffin in a paper bag sitting on the bedside table.

"Hey sleepyhead. Finally decided to join the land of the living?" Dane nodded, grimacing when he took a drink of the warm water in his cup. Tap got up and refilled his cup with some cold water. Dane took a sip and cleared his throat, washing away the last bit of scratchiness leftover from his crying jag earlier. He didn't want to talk about that so he gave a simple yeah and concentrated on eating the muffin he pulled out of the bag. If he didn’t talk about it he could forget it.

"It's not warm. It was when I got here but that was over an hour ago," Tap apologized.

"I'm sorry," said Dane, "I didn't mean to sleep so much. I had a restless night."

"That's okay, I've been watching the highlights of the Yankees and the Sox game on Sports Center."

"You're going to make me ask about the surprise again aren't you?"

"Surprise? What surprise?" Tap was looking off at the corner of the room acting as if he had no idea what Dane was talking about. He fought to keep from smirking; Dane made this too easy by half.

Of course Dane knew exactly what Tap was up to but acting silly would make Tap smile and laugh and he loved that. He pouted, turning big pitiful eyes into a silent plea.

Tap couldn't help but melt and opened his mouth to spill the big surprise then stopped, "Hey! You did that on purpose!"

"Yeppers!" Dane gave a mischievous grin and Tap roared in laughter and the sound invited Dane to join in. It was a good antidote to the night before. Dane settled back into his bed, feeling better.

"So, are you gonna tell me now?"

Tap brought out a Wii game controller with a flourish. "Voila."

Dane looked puzzled.

"I've a bunch of games that only need one hand. It'll be fun. We can make it a competition. Winner gets something."

"What something?" Dane narrowed his eyes at Tap.

"Umm, winner's choice?"

"Hmm, seems like you had a pretty unfair advantage. They are your games after all," Dane pointed out, an overly innocent look on his face.

"I'll spot you a game."

"Three."

"Two. Final offer."

"I'll take it!" Dane smirked while Tap rubbed his hands together.

Tap got busy setting up the system, putting it on top of the DVD player he had left the day before. "Okay, we've got party games or bowling. Which first?"

"Umm, party games."

"Cool, I want to play quarters. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

It wasn't long before the two were laughing and yelling at each other, trading good natured insults and jibes. The rest of Sunday was spent in the same way, with breaks for the bathroom and lunch. By the time the afternoon was fading Dane had thoroughly trounced Tap, beating him by 6 games; 4 games more than what Tap had so generously spotted him.

"You little sneak! You totally played me!" Tap was frowning at Dane who was doing his best to look harmless and innocent in his hospital bed.

"Would I do that?" he asked in an injured tone.

"I think you'd do that in a heartbeat." Tap glared at him.

"Yeah, you're right." Laughter filled the room as they both giggled like little kids. "Now, what am I going to pick for my winner's choice?" Dane tapped his finger on his lips. "I think I want... ice cream."

"Ice cream?"

"Yep, praline pecan."

"Your wish is my command." Tap stood up and bowed making Dane laugh. "But it will have to be tomorrow. I've got to get home before my mom decides that I've fallen off the face of the planet and sends out a search party."

"I guess I'll give you a 24 hour reprieve." Dane said magnanimously, "This time." He dropped the act and looked a bit wistful. "You'll come back after practice tomorrow?"

"You know I'll be here." Tap leaned over the bed and gave Dane a little peck on the mouth. "See you tomorrow."

Once again Dane was alone with his thoughts, though Tap had left the Wii behind so Dane played a few games of trivia against the computer, smiling a bit as he spanked the game system over and over. Denise brought him his dinner right as he was finishing up the last game.

"It sure sounds like you had a good day. I could hear you guys laughing all the way down at the nurse's desk." She bustled around setting out his tray. "Alright, let's get you out of that bed and cleaned up so you can eat." She helped Dane sit up and supported him to the bathroom, waiting outside while he used the toilet and washed his hands.

He sighed in relief when he got back to bed, "That still hurts but not as much."

"That's the way it works," she patted Dane on his shoulder, "you'll be back to rights in no time at all."

Dane ate his rubbery chicken dinner and watched a few sitcoms. He rested his head against his pillow, tired and yet unable to sleep. Denise walked in at 8:30.

"Hey sweetie. It's about time for me to go. I talked to Dr. Wikels and he said to give you this sleeping pill if you need it."

Dane looked at the paper cup. He really didn't like taking anything that made it hard for him to wake up but he knew was safe here. He nodded and swallowed the little pill with a sip from his water cup.

"I'll see you again in a few days if you are still with us." Denise gave Dane a small hug. Not very professional but he looked like he needed it and the grandmother in her couldn’t resist.

"Thanks," Dane smiled at her gratefully.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

Dane slept through Sunday night, not even waking when the nurse came into check on him. He woke up on Monday feeling optimistic. The pain in his arm and leg was less and when Cherie came in to help him get up for the day he didn't feel like he was going to faint from exhaustion when he got out of the bathroom. He had even taken the time to wash his face and brush his teeth standing up. It was funny how something so simple made him feel like he was on the road to getting better.

Of course that made him start thinking about what was going to happen when he did get better. Mrs. E said she'd be back this week. He knew she said he'd never have to go back to his dad's house but what if wherever he got sent was just as bad? Or worse, what if he had to change schools again? He fretted about all the unanswered questions he had until breakfast was over. Finally Dane decided stressing out about it wasn’t going to change anything; he would just have to try and wait patiently. To make the time go faster until Tap could come by after school Dane had the nurse get his books for him, studying would help distract him. Dane decided to start with geography, pulling out his book and laying it on a pillow in his lap.

He was lost in the midst of the great lakes and rivers of South America when a knock at the door startled him. He looked up and saw Mrs. E in the door. His heart immediately started racing, especially as she was followed in by two men.

"Good morning, dear," Mrs. E pulled the chair over by his bed and sat down, putting her large bag down by her feet. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better." Dane felt a reluctance to admit that fact but it was true. He was getting better.

"Who are they?" Dane gestured to the two men standing in his room. He knew the way he asked was rude but he was too nervous to be his usual polite self.

"This is Mr. Echels," Mrs. E gestured to the older gentleman in a crisp suit. Something about him screamed lawyer to Dane, having seen his father's friends from work growing up he had noticed they all had a certain air to them. She continued, "He was your mother's estate lawyer. Now he's yours."

"Mine?"

Mrs. E nodded and Mr. Echels walked up to Dane's bed holding out the hand not carrying his briefcase. "It's nice to meet you, young man. Yes, I am your lawyer. Your mother set up a substantial trust for you before she passed." Dane shook his hand.

“Wait? A trust?” Dane was confused. Being reminded of his mom dying made him sad but he was getting used to it. “I don’t understand.”

“We’ll get to that in a moment son.” Mr. Echels stepped back from the bed.

He gestured at the other man who had yet to be introduced. "And you are?" This man was younger, somewhere in his early 20's and very attractive with spiky blond hair and light brown eyes. He was dressed simply in a pair of khakis and a polo that showcased his fit body.

"Hey," the guy smiled and waved from where he stood, "I'm Charlie."

Dane smiled at the guy's accent, pure southern charm oozing out of every syllable, "I'm Dane."

"Nice to meet you," Charlie grinned back.

Dane pulled his gaze away from Charlie and looked back at Mrs. E, "So? You said you had to talk to some friends and you'd be able to tell me more about what would happen after I left the hospital this week. Are these guys those friends?"

"Well, not really. First, I had the idea of placing you with your friend’s family, the Leerans. Since they don't have foster certification that would probably have been temporary unless we could push the paperwork through the system." Dane felt a surge of excitement, staying with Tap? That would be amazing. He immediately began to daydream about maybe sharing a bedroom with him, ooh, and a bathroom! But he was pulled up short in his imaginings.

"That was before Mr. Echels contacted me last week though."

"What does he have to do with it? He's a lawyer, right? What do I need a lawyer for?" Dane looked disappointed and confused. Charlie tried to give him an encouraging smile.

"I met with your dad last week," Mr. Echels said, "Did he not tell you anything of our conversation and your inheritance?" No one missed Dane's flinch at the mention of his dad. Mr. Echels was saddened by the situation Dane found himself in; he had really liked his mother.

"I haven't seen Dad since last Monday and I have no clue what you mean about inheritance."

"Well then I'm not surprised you have no idea what I'm talking about. Your mom had an extensive and very well thought out personal investment portfolio with a firm in the same office building I work in. I happen to be an estate lawyer so when she began to decline she came to me. I made out a new will for her and in it she left pretty much everything to you."

"Me?" Dane's eyes were wide open in shock and he was leaning forward in his bed as his mind worked furiously. "But, I'm a minor. Doesn't that mean my dad gets everything?"

"No. In your case, your mother was smart enough to put the money into a trust until your 18th birthday when you could take control. In the meantime I'm the executor."

Dane sighed in relief, "Wow, that's a lot to take in."

"Yes, I am sure it is. But we have more to talk about. See, your net worth is now somewhere around 2 million dollars, though most of that is wrapped up into various long term investments. However, the interest earnings you can siphon a bit from are more than enough to pay for your daily living expenses."

Dane sat back against the bed limply, completely shocked and still not quite sure what all of this meant for him. "Wait, so what you are saying is that I have enough money to live on my own now?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. You even own an apartment building with some vacant units, so finding a place to live wouldn't be hard at all."

"But, I'm only 17."

Mrs. E spoke up, "That is why I am here. You have a court hearing scheduled for today with Judge Hecksem. He's a pretty fair judge and I think that asking for your emancipation considering you are almost done with your senior year of high school and can provide both a place to live and money to support yourself is reasonable. He should grant the emancipation."

Dane was nodding, getting more and more excited. He could stay in school, finish with Tap and Neri, and he didn't have to worry about living with strangers. "But, what is he doing here?" Dane was looking at Charlie.

"Well, we talked with Dr. Wickels before we came in this morning. He thinks you will be ready to be released on Wednesday but you're still going to need help moving around and taking care of yourself. Charlie is the son of my best friend and a home health care provider. He agreed to come and meet you, to see if you two would be able to work together to get you better." Mrs. E looked pleased at how things were turning out.

She really was. All too often she had to go with a less than ideal situation when she placed teenagers but this was all working out nicely. The poor boy had been through enough lately with the death of his mother and the abuse he had suffered at the hands of his father. She only wished that things could work out this well for the other kids she advocated for.

"Can I afford that?" Dane looked at Mr. Echels.

"Sure, you have more than…"

He was interrupted by Tap walking in the door without knocking. "Hey, babe, guess what I’ve..." Tap froze as soon as he saw the new people in the room, his face flushing. Oh gods, what now? His mind instantly starting to think the worst.

"Dane?" Tap's voice had a bit of a quiver in it.

"It’s okay, Tap. What do you have?" Dane said gently, ignoring the looks between the other people, focusing on Tap. He could see the instant worry and panic warring in Tap. He smiled to let him know he was okay.

"Uhh, I brought you lunch. Another one of Mom's subs, she uh, she told me to tell you to eat all of it or she'd come over here at dinner to make sure you were eating enough." Tap moved up to Dane's bad side, setting down the brown bag he carried with the coffee shop's logo on the side.

"That's right; I knew I had seen you before." Mr. Echels had been trying to figure out why Tap looked so familiar, "You work with Keri at my favorite coffee shop. She's your mom?"

"Yeah." Tap looked at the older guy in the suit, not knowing who he was made him nervous. He just stood next to Dane protectively, watching the people in the room with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Ahh, Tap, This is Mr. Echels, my lawyer," Dane smiled when he said that, it felt so weird coming out of his mouth. He gestured at the other man, "and Charlie."

Tap nodded at both men, "Nice to meet you." He was studying Charlie now with a slight frown.

"We were just talking about..." Dane paused, looking at Mrs. E, "I can tell him right?"

"Sure, though this isn't set in stone until after the judge gives his okay." She wanted to make sure Dane didn’t get his hopes up too much, even though she thought the judge would approve their request.

Dane nodded, "I understand. Anyway, Mr. Echels said my mom left me enough money and a place to live so I won't have to go into a foster home or anything."

Tap's face lit up, he knew how afraid Dane had been of that situation. He had even gone so far as to ask his parents if Dane could come stay with them, swearing he wouldn't take advantage of the situation. They had promised to consider it. That was what he had gone home early the night before to talk to them about. He had planned to tell Dane about it over their lunch.

"That's great!" he said.

"But I'm still going to need help when I leave with an arm and a leg out of commission. We were just talking about that. That's why Charlie's here."

"Right, I can help you in the evenings and overnight but I'm taking nursing classes during the day, so we'll have to find someone else to take the other 12 hour shift."

"You don't need to hire anyone, I can do it!" Tap said eagerly. He had already planned out how he would help Dane to and from school before he talked to his parents. He looked at Dane, "I can pick you up and take you to school and help you between classes since I don't have any. Then you can do your homework and studying in the library after school during baseball practice. That's done about 6 p.m. so you wouldn't be home alone long or you could come to my parent's house."

Charlie was smiling and Mrs. E and Mr. Echels looked thoughtful. "Don't you have to work in your family's coffee shop?"

"Well really it's just my sister's. Mom works there and I'm just helping out so Tammy doesn't have to get up early to make the bread and bagels. I can get up a little earlier to get that done before I pick Dane up."

Dane had tears in his eyes and a small smile on his face as he faced Tap, "You'd be willing to do that?" Tap nodded. He started to reach out to brush the tear that trickled down Dane's face away before he remembered their audience and stopped. Dane was too touched to care though, grabbing Tap's hand where it hovered between them and pressing it to his cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.

Mrs. E stood up, "Wonderful! It looks like this will all work out perfectly. I'll be back this evening after I finish up with the court session and my other cases and let you know the judge's decision, Dane. As long as that is in our favor, I'm sure this will work out."

Dane was still holding Tap’s hand as he looked at the three adults and smiled; his happiness and relief fairly beaming out of his face, "Thank you so much. You don't know how scared I've been." Tap squeezed his hand and everyone smiled at him. Dane was a very special person and it didn't take anyone long to figure that out. His sweet and gentle nature had survived all he had endured and it made others love him easily.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

Tap had stayed as long as he could visiting Dane but he had to get to class. He spent the entire class running laps for Coach Benz who was still pissed at him for missing the game with Pineboro. The team had managed to overcome the loss of his presence though and pulled out a win so at least he was able to join practice instead of running more laps on the field.

Tap just loved the feel of his leather mitt on his left hand as he squatted behind home plate and worked with the team's pitchers. After warming up they had a little bit of a scrimmage game. Halfway through Troy Bakers stepped up to the plate with a runner on second and first. He was trying to bring the others in and swung too hard, clipping the ball and sending it straight up in a pop fly. Tap ripped off his face mask and centered himself under the ball, firing it over the pitcher the instant it smacked into his mitt to Dave Barrett at second base to catch the runner out. Dave sent the ball flying to first base where the runner slid back in, trying to beat the ball. Tap watched as the base coach called him out and the team began hooting and hollering, even the three players who were out.

"Nice triple play, Leeran, Barrett, Saunders," Coach was pleased with them and called an early end to practice. "I want to see that kind of hustle when we play Champas High later this week! Go shower!"

Coach stopped Tap when he went to join his teammates in the locker room. "Making you run all those laps wasn’t really fair earlier. I know you were doing the right thing but damn, this team needs you! They play twice as good with you out there chattering and firing them up. You're not going to be out anymore this season right?"

"Well I don't plan on it, Coach. Of course I didn't plan on missing last week's game either. I know Districts is in 2 weeks and I plan on being there. I've sort of signed up to help Dane during the day and weekends though, so I was going to ask if I could drive him to the games with me rather than taking the bus."

"Dane's the kid who was in the accident? The one you were hurt helping?"

"Yeah, and he's sort on his own now and he's in casts so he needs a lot of help. Plus, I think it would do him some good to get out and be around the guys."

"Well, I'll talk to your parents before Districts and we'll see how it goes, okay?” The coach patted Tap on the shoulder, “Alright, son. Go take a shower."

Tap walked out of Coach Meeks office into the steamy locker room full of showering and changing teen guys. He stripped off his shirt when he got to his locker, opening it up and pulling out his bag with his change of clothes. He sat down on the bench that ran in front of the row of yellow lockers to pull off his shoes and socks.

"Hey, man, awesome throw. That ball came to me sweet as anything," Dave said as he stood just down the bench from Tap, a towel wrapped around his waist. He pulled his clean clothes out of his locker and dropped his towel to pull on his underwear.

Tap grinned at him, "You didn't do too badly yourself, making the play to first." He shoved his practice shoes in his locker.

"Yeah, well, all of us have been working double hard since you were out last week. Coach was riding us hard man."

Tap grimaced, "Shit man; that sucks. I guess you guys must be kinda pissed at me."

Dave sort of shrugged, "Not me. I heard you were out because you got hurt helping out that new guy. He got hurt pretty bad, right? Some kind of car accident?"

"Yeah, he broke an arm and a leg and had a nasty head wound too. I was just glad I was able to get to him so fast; I didn't even notice I took off without shoes. Cut the shit out of my feet so the doc wanted to give them time to heal." Tap was dropping his pants and wrapping his towel around his waist when Dave looked up from pulling on his shirt.

"He's coming back to school right? Your friend?"

"Yeah, probably next week. I’ve been getting Dane’s homework so he won't get behind. Smart little shit got it all done last week though so we spent the weekend watching movies and playing video games. I had to do something to keep him busy; you would not believe how boring the hospital is!”

"Yeah, he's in my Econ class. Pretty quiet but knows his stuff from what I could tell."

Tap felt a burst of pride, "Yeah, he does that. He's an alright guy, I'm glad I took the time to get to know him."

Dave slung his practice bag over his shoulder and shut his locker, "Well maybe when he gets back to school I can hang out with you guys or something."

Tap was surprised, "Yeah, that sounds good."

Dave gave him a light punch on the shoulder as he walked by, "Cool. See ya later man."

"Later!"

Tap walked into the showers, thinking over his exchange with Dave. A few more of the guys asked him some questions about the whole accident and him missing school and practice, and even asking how Dane was doing. Tap was pleased the guys cared enough to ask and couldn't help but thinking of how surprised Dane would be when he told him.

That reminded him of his plans for after practice so he struggled to pull his clothes over his still damp skin before slamming his locker shut and high tailing it to his car; he had some ice cream to pick up.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

Later that night Dane was trying to sleep. He was restless but not for the same reasons as the nights before. Now he was excited. He was safe from his dad, Tap had used the word boyfriend that evening before he left; giving Dane a warm glow in his chest. He was almost shocked when Tap told him about his teammates asking about him but even that gave him a feeling of hope that things would only get better from here on out. He still missed his mom terribly but for the first time in a long time he felt at peace with his life, the terrible fear that had been weighing him down was almost completely gone.