Hot Wheels - 17. No Kid Gloves, OK?

I was taking a nap on the couch when I woke up rather abruptly. I was alone and I remembered that Everett and I came downstairs where we watched TV until I drifted off; he must be in the kitchen, I thought to myself, mindlessly getting up and walking to him.

“Dad, where is Everett?” I asked, surprised that he wasn’t there.

“Outside,” my dad answered, not even looking at me.

I quickly ran outside, and there he was at the end of the driveway, talking to Hunter.

I decided not to step any closer to them, because it looked like they were having a decent conversation and I didn’t want to ruin any chances of them getting along.

I must not have been hiding all too well, because Hunter’s eyes shot up, and he called to me. Everett turned around and they both waited for me to approach.

“What you guys doing? It's cold out,” I said, not knowing who to look at.

“Everett just invited me to dinner, but I actually have a shift at the bar.”

“You got a job? Congrats…” I said awkwardly.

“Yeah, which sucks because we leave tomorrow,” Everett announced.

“We still have a few days, we can stay here.”

“I called the doc about what happened, and he said I need to come see him ASAP. I’m sorry Andy.”

Hunter gave me the look. The look that means “You should go with Everett, but I won’t be happy.”

“So what are you going to do Andrew?” he asked. Everett looked at him weirdly, and I guess he picked up the same vibe that I got from Hunter.

“Yeah, we should leave. I think my dad and I are cool.”

Everett took my hand and signaled me to take him back inside. We said goodbye to Hunter, and he walked off.

“He made the bar thing up,” Everett said.

“He has been looking for a job, maybe he is telling the truth.”

“We should pack tonight. My appointment is at two; I’ll get us a cab,”

I didn’t want to leave just yet, but I couldn’t tell Everett that. He needs me, I needed to be beside him tomorrow for whatever news the doctor had, or lack thereof.

My dad was not too happy with the news, he was looking forward to some alone time with me, but he said being with Everett was the right thing to do. I was sitting on my bedroom floor packing our clothes into our bags while Everett was arranging our taxi.

“Cab will be here tomorrow at ten,” he said, looking like a nervous wreck.

“Aww hon, you are way too tense. I’m sure nothing bad will happen, OK?”

Everett nodded to me, but I could tell he wasn’t paying any attention.

I thought I could help him cheer up with a suggestive offer: “Do you want me to help you get your mind off of things?”

He strolled his wheelchair closer to me and tugged on my shirt. He wanted me to get up from the floor.

“I’m scared” is all he said, and then he let loose. He started crying and the best I could do was comfort him, knowing that it was going to be a long night for him.

I helped him get into my bed and he turned his back, falling asleep quickly.

I turned, finding my dad at the door. “Is everything all right? I heard some crying…” he said quietly.

“Everett is kind of freaking out about tomorrow.”

“Hmmm, I thought you were the crier.”

“Not funny, Dad,” I said as I walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.

“So, you guys are pretty serious?”

“Yeah, we are,” I said as we made our way down the steps.

“Glad. I’m glad you are able to be with someone you love, and not feel ashamed about it. They taught me that being gay is some sort of a perversion where men do all sorts of disgusting things, but watching you and Everett is nothing different from when your mom and I were in love.”

My Dad surprised me, and I realized that he was growing. “Thanks Dad, that really means a lot coming from you,”

My dad hugged me at the bottom of the stairs and then he went to go sit in front of the TV.

“Why did I come down here?” I asked myself, and then I remembered. “Oh, dishes!”

Running the dish water had always had a calming effect on me, and then ordering the dishes in the way I would wash them: cups, plates, pots, followed by spoons and forks, like my mother taught me. The water was running and my hands were in the sink, I didn’t even see that the water was about to run over until I heard my dad. ”Turn off that faucet, it’s been running for a while!”

I mindlessly washed the dishes, and it was not even that much, but it felt like I was going on forever. I stopped for some reason; I couldn’t go on, and then I realized, I felt like breaking down too.

I finally got it done, and my dad went upstairs, reminding me to check that all the doors were locked.

I walked to the front door, for some reason, opening it, and went outside. I took a deep breath, realizing that I wasn’t going to see this place for a while, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a figure approaching; It was Hunter.

“What are you doing here? It’s after ten?” I said, quietly.

“I just came to say goodbye, I couldn’t do it earlier with Everett here, because I wanted to do this.”

Hunter kissed me, but it wasn’t a typical goodbye kiss, he went in knowing it was going to be the last kiss he ever gave me. Our lips pressed hard against each other, his stubble grazing my skin. He pulled me in hard, and moved us out of sight. For some reason, I felt it best to let him just say his goodbye, hoping that he didn’t want to extend it any further. Finally he broke away.

“That is not the face I wanted you to have when I kissed you.”

I was disappointed, and it must have shown on my face; I hadn't realized he would take it this far.

“You shouldn’t have done that Hunter, but you did. I’m sorry if I’m not happy about it.”

“Well, I wanted to say goodbye, so there you go.”

He backed away, and disappeared back into the darkness. I peeked around the bush, looking up to my bedroom window, hoping Everett wasn’t somehow peeping through. I went back inside, locked everything and turned off the lights. Later, I got into bed, behind Everett, cupping him so that he could sleep at ease.

The night went by fast. I woke up to Everett rubbing my face, and I could hear him mumbling some words. He was smiling.

“We overslept. The cab will be here in less than an hour,” Everett said.

Everett and I got ready and I carefully took him downstairs. With the luggage placed at the door, we sat and waited.

“When I felt you get into bed last night, it kind of helped. I was struggling to fall asleep, thanks babe,” he said, cupping my chin.

“It’s what I’m here for. But I need to tell you something.”

Everett let go of my chin, resting back in his wheelchair. I sat cross-legged on the floor and I couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Hunter was here last night. He came to say goodbye.”

“Is that it?” Everett asked, laughing.

“No, he…” I couldn’t get the words out. I took a breath and decided to spill it.

“He kissed me, it went on for a while, but I didn’t enjoy it.”

My eyes shot straight to Everett’s, I was trying to read his expression. His face was blank and hard to read.

“I knew he would do something like that.”

“I’m sorry,” I offered, hoping he wouldn’t react too badly.

“Let’s just forget it and get back to normal. I just want to get back to the dorms, the basketball court, and be like we used to be.”

As soon as Everett finished his sentence, I saw the taxi cab pulling up. I hugged the cat and said a last goodbye before locking the door behind us.

“Don’t look so sad, you’ll be back,” Everett comforted me.

“Good day, the booking was to go to the Medical Center and then straight to the campus right?”

“Yes, thank you,” Everett said, and I seated him.

The cab pulled out and I thought it would turn around leaving the same way it came but it went forward, down the road, passing Hunter’s house. He sat on the porch with Ben, but he didn’t see us pass.

“That was Hunter,” Everett pointed out.

“Yeah, he lives there with his grandparents.”

“I hope it is good news, I hope the doc say I will walk soon.”

I smiled at Everett’s positive attitude and decided that that’s what I should have been doing all along. “So, what are you most excited for when you get better? Surfing or proper basketball where you don’t get treated with kid gloves?”

Without any hesitation, Everett answered: “Dancing.”

I laughed at his response. “Dancing? You never told me you like to dance.”

“I don’t, but I want to take your hand in mine and dance. At my senior prom I refused to take a date with me; I didn’t want to dance with a girl, so I sat and watch Rory and James dancing amidst laughter. They clung onto each other, not once minding the rest of the hall.”

“Who is Rory and James?” I asked.

“I didn’t know them personally, and they came to senior prom separately, but when the slow music started, the two guys just embraced each other and slow danced.”

“We can dance even if you are in the chair silly,” I said, punching his arm.

“Nope. I want to stand in front of you, look down into your eyes and dance. We have that start of term dance coming up, but I don’t think these bastards will be working so soon.”

All I could do was smile at him, that’s the only thing I could do without giving him any false hope, smile and assure him that everything would be all right no matter what. The rest of the drive was quiet; Everett was thinking deeply and I was looking out the window, watching the pieces of land disappear as we moved closer and closer to the city, and before I knew it, we came to a stop, in front of a tall white building.

“This is it, hon,” Everett said, opening his door. The driver helped him into his chair and told us he would be waiting in the parking lot.

“You’ve never been here. It’s quite scary looking, I know, but the doctors are really friendly, especially the ones who deal with cases like mine.”

“I’m OK," I assured Everett. "Do you know where to go?”

“Just push!” Everett yelled jokingly.

As soon as we entered the doors, I froze. A lot was going on: doctors running around, people in wheelchairs, some happy and others sad.

“Front Desk,” I heard Everett said, pointing to the left.

“Everett, so nice to see you again,” a nurse greeted him. “Doctor Ellar is already waiting for you and they have the physical therapist here as well.”

The nurse escorted us towards a back hall, which was restricted to patients.

“This is the private part of the ward. We're not allowed to let you enter unless you’re family. I will take him from here,” she said.

Everett wasn’t too pleased. “No. He is coming in with me, so let him in.”

“It’s OK, I can wait outside,” I assured him.

“Its mandatory procedure, Everett, you know that,” the nurse told him, and he nodded. I hugged him and she strolled him away. I waited outside the gate, and he disappeared into one of the rooms. The nurse came back out and told me that they were inspecting him now, and he would be there a while.

You know the scene. I was leaning against the wall, staring down an empty hallway with a doctor popping out of one of the rooms. After a while I felt like a doorman, opening the gate for them as they entered or came out.

I looked at my watch, and it had been half an hour, but still nothing. Finally the door opened and one of the doctors came out. As they approached, I couldn’t help but ask about Everett.

“Hello, you were with Everett? Will he be much longer?”

The doctor who had the name tag Ellar, looked shocked. “I’m sorry, you are?”

“I’m Andrew.”

“And what is your relation to my patient?”

I wanted to say protector, lover, best friend– husband – but that was for another day.

“I’m his boyfriend,” I said, defiantly.

“Oh…well, he uhm… He will be out soon, but I can’t disclose any of his medical details with you, sorry.”

The doctor walked away and I turned back, waiting for him to be done.

I heard the familiar sound of Everett’s wheels and he emerged from the room alone, pushing himself with a folder on his lap. I tried reading his face; was he happy? Was he dissatisfied?”

I opened the gate for him and immediately got to it. “What did they say?”

“In the car,” he said, and I pushed him out of the Center.

“You sound disappointed, hon,” I said once we reached the parking lot.

“I don’t know, I thought when I came out of here today I would be able to walk; I know it’s silly, right?”

Everett’s words saddened me. We got to the cab and the driver helped Everett get seated.

“They said that I have been showing rapid improvement. I could get up and walk at any moment as far as results show.”

“That’s great news! Why are you so sulky?” I rubbed his back, trying to cheer him up.

“I want to walk now, Andy,” he said, with saddened eyes, the kind of eyes you make when the universe has dealt you a bad hand.

“You will, just be patient, OK?”

Everett nodded and the cab pulled away once again.

“Hey, weren’t we supposed to go to your house for a couple of days?” I remembered.

“I’m sorry Andy, I can’t deal with them right now.”

“Did you manage to speak to Daniel?” I asked.

“Yes and no. He didn’t want to talk about it, so I told him I was going to have to tell Mom and Dad, so he talked.”

“What did he say?”

Everett lowered himself to me before he spoke softly. “He said that he led the guy on and that he was drunk and he doesn’t remember if he agreed to it or not.”

“Marco didn’t seem aware of anything, and I think Dan kind of took a liking to him,” I told Everett.

“I just hope he’ll be OK. I told him to call me whenever he feels like he needs to blow off steam.”

After another hour of driving, we made it to our final destination, campus.

“Yeesh, this place is deserted,” I said, laughing.

There wasn’t anybody in sight until we entered the dorms and saw that some people had already started moving in.

“Hmmm, I wonder if Ian is back,” I said mindlessly.

“Ian?” Everett asked.

“Yep, he is my new roommate. We met the day I left actually, and didn’t I tell you?”

“You never mentioned him to me. He cute?”

I laughed but didn’t respond. We made it to Everett’s room first, I unpacked his clothes back into his drawers.

“Are you going to rest a bit, or are you coming back to my room?”

“Yeah, let’s get you settled in first,” he answered.

Across from Everett’s building was my dorm, and as we entered my hallway, my dorm room door was open. “He is here,” Everett said.

Ian was sitting on the floor, packing his own clothes in his drawers and I stupidly knocked as I entered, frightening him, as he jumped up.

“Oh, hey Andrew. I didn’t think you’d be back yet.”

“Yeah. This is Everett; he's my boyfriend,” I said nervously. And then I remembered why. It had totally slipped my mind; Ian and Everett might be connected by a death.

“Please to meet you. You aren’t a stalk-ish, freaky type of guy, are you?” Everett joked

Ian laughed: “No, why?”

“Long story!” I interrupted them.

“So Everret, when did you get your wheels?”

“Couple of years ago,” he answered.

“Sorry dude… What happened?”

“Everett doesn’t like talking about it, maybe some other time, Ian,” I said, trying not to sound overly rude.

Ian nodded and continued with his clothes, but Everett knew something was up.

“Ian and I will figure things out. How about you go get that nap?” I said, walking out into the hallway with him.

Everett had a smirk on his face. “You’re acting totally weird, and are you jealous that I was talking to Ian, or what?”

“No, it’s not that. I just don’t know him that well, OK?”

“OK then, you stay, I’m going to roam the halls a bit, drop by later on, OK?” Everett said, I leaned forward to kiss him and he strolled off.

I panicked and straightened out my shirt before going back in the room. Ian was sitting on his bed, going through his stationery; I guess he was going to sort them for his desk.

“Gay, huh?” he said in a friendly tone.

“Yeah, you?” I responded.

“Nope. I’m cool with it, by the way,” he said, continuing with his sorting.

I started unpacking, but I kept stealing peeks at Ian. He seemed so calm and I thought that maybe I shouldn’t bring up the accident, hoping that he wouldn’t either.

“You’re not American, are you?” he broke the silence once more.

“No, English lad here,” I said in a jolly tone.

“You and Everett been together for a long time?”

“Yeah, a couple of months,” I answered, trying not to sound guilty. In fact, I wasn’t guilty of anything, was I?

“Cool. They always say gay guys are only gay for the sex, but I knew that wasn’t true.”

I laughed at his remark and that was the last words we spoke to each other for the day. I felt so uncomfortable, I started to think that maybe having Marco as my roommate was much better than this. Ian wasn’t threatening, but I keep having the feeling that there was something lurking beneath the surface.