A New Life - 25. It's Darkest Before Dawn

Keith and I looked at each other in shock. How could a sixteen-year-old get cancer? This can’t be happening to us. He squeezed my hand tightly and I squeezed his. Malignancy was a word we were not prepared to hear and it scared the living daylights out of me. We didn’t have any chance at all to say a word to each other before things started happening again.

A nurse walked up behind Mrs. Hundser and Dr. Prenderdast. He asked the nurse, "Get some blood for me please, Rachel." Then he turned back to Mrs. Hundser saying, "The blood test will rule out the endocrine disorders, renal failure and hepatic disease however it will be tomorrow before I get the results. We’ll get additional radiographs of the hip. Those will confirm or deny the existence of any fractures or malignancies. As soon as I see the radiographs I’ll decide on a physical exam then review his medical history. Osteoporosis poses the greatest risk. Hip fractures are significant at any age: repair can result in arthritis and eventual hip replacement. Assuming osteoporosis, there are some life-threatening conditions possible such as kidney failure, liver failure, neoplasia or cancer. Rheumatoid arthritis possibility poses potentially crippling disease. Endocrine disorders might be caused by any of a number of neoplasias. Repair of the epiphysis can result in a shortened leg, malformed bone and resultant arthritis. By tomorrow afternoon we'll know."

Nurse Rachel introduced herself then asked for Keith’s left arm. I moved around to the other side of the table then took Keith’s other hand. Seeing me take Keith's hand, she appeared confused for a second then smiled. Tying a rubber tube around his arm, the nurse tapped his forearm a few times then swabbed the area and began drawing the blood. Keith held his breath, gritted his teeth and snarled until finally she whispered, "All done. That wasn’t so bad now, was it?"

Silently I wondered, why do doctors and nurses always say that? It must be some psychological affirmation for them, not for the patient!

"Nah, it wasn’t too bad," Keith said while he exhaled. "I love grinding my teeth together while you vampires take more blood than I’ve bled in the last year."

I love his dry, cynical sense of humor. Maybe because he was flat on his back, unable to move from the waist down it was particularly sharp today simply so he could blow off steam.

The nurse smiled at us as she walked away and the doctor said, "Let’s get this young man over to radiography please, Rachel."

"I'll be back with two orderlies," she said. Then everyone left the immediate area and Rachel closed the curtain behind her.

Leaning down I kissed him and he sucked my tongue into his mouth. Pulling back as my breathing began to quicken, I said, "I'm not scared. Are you?"

He smiled and said, "It's not a tumor!" in his best Arnold Schwarzengger imitation.

Though he was trying to joke around, there was a slight quiver in his voice. "Even if it is, we'll get ya fixed up," I said.

Appearing thoughtful for a moment, Keith then said, "Ever since he said malignancy I've been saying, no way, not now. A year ago I had to search for reasons to wake up and live every day."

I nodded and said;"Six months ago I was pretty much a loner."

Our eyes became fixed on each other. Silently we transmitted feelings.

"I was so lonely, occupying my days and nights with music, school work and video games."

"Me too, I hoped I was ready for someone but couldn't find what I needed until I met you."

"All I ever wanted was to spend all my time with you."

After a few moments of silence, Keith said, "I fell in love with you that first night I think."

I could almost see us fighting the Nintendo hookup in his eyes; verbally sparring back and forth, getting sillier by the second. I asked, "Remember the bike ride the next day and how I almost rode right into you?"

"Uh huh."

"It was because I was so busy watching you, wondering if you were gay, hoping that you were, asking myself if I was too. Nothing else existed or mattered but you." I said, then paused for a few seconds before continuing. "It’s gonna be okay babe. We’ve paid our dues and then some."

Keith smiled up at me and whispered, "Come here."

I leaned down and he finger combed my hair around my ears, gently pulling me closer to him until our lips met. Those smooth luscious lips, his amazing tongue, the look of trust in his puppy dog eyes - all these things and so much more captivated me. From the very first day, all I ever wanted was to be near him. We held the kiss for a little while then just quietly looked at each other until the orderlies and nurse returned to wheel him over to get the X-rays taken. I followed along as far as they would let me and waited at the double doors for Keith to return. Five minutes went by, and every five minutes I checked my watch again as half an hour ticked on by. What the fuck could take so long, I wondered. Standing there alone with nothing to do but wait and wonder, I realized that I hadn’t taken a leak since before bed last night. I had to go pretty bad but if I went on a search for the men’s room, I might miss Keith’s return. Glancing at my watch once more, the double doors finally opened. It was the nurse - alone.

"Where’s Keith?" I asked.

"He’ll be along in a few minutes." She answered, "Hip injuries are quite painful. It was difficult getting him into position to take the X-rays."

Hearing that only filled my bladder to overflowing. "Where’s the men’s room?" I asked.

She pointed down the hall and said, "Third door on your left."

I hurried down the hall and stood at the urinal. Isn’t it strange how when you try to rush it you only seem to piss more and for a longer period of time? And you know that once ya start you just can’t easily stop. When I finally finished, my pants felt loose, like I had lost five pounds. Quickly I washed up and ran back down the hall.

Drew and John began getting bored and fidgeting around the waiting room. It had been over three hours since they arrived at the hospital. How much longer they would have to wait for some word on Keith’s condition was unknown.

Mr. Hundser noticed his sons wandering around getting antsier by the minute. He got up and went over to the admissions desk and told his wife, "I’m going to take Drew and John home. They’re bored to death and they can wait at home as easily as here."

"Good idea," Mrs. Hundser replied.

"I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ve got my cell phone. If something happens give me a ring," Mr. Hundser said, then leaned forward and kissed his wife’s cheek. He then gathered his sons and drove them back home.

During the drive John asked, "Dad, is Keith ever gonna be able to walk again?"

Though he was also concerned about Keith’s health, Mr. Hundser assured him, "Of course he will." Having limited medical knowledge, the thought of crippling or life threatening diseases never occurred to him. All he was concerned about was the effects on the growing bones. Now he knew more and it scared him.

As soon as they got home and walked up to the front door, they could hear Rush barking. "Drew, do me a favor and take the puppy out back right away before the little guy explodes," Mr. Hundser said.

"Okey doke," Drew said then asked, "Can Corey come over for a while?"

"Sure, I’d appreciate it if you’d both stay home today though," Mr. Hundser said to both boys while unlocking the front door. "I’ve got to get back to the hospital and if I need to call I don’t want to be searching for you."

Drew went to get Rush and John headed straight for the refrigerator while Mr. Hundser checked the answering machine. There were two messages on the machine. The first one, at ten in the morning played. "Keith, where are ya bro?" Mike's voice asked. "We're still going to Brian and Doug's right? We're on our way over. See ya in a few."

Around the corner came Rush running and sliding to a halt in front of the back door. Drew followed and went out back with the puppy.

The second message played. "Jim, its Doug. Is everything all right? Some unnatural things have happened already this morning and I've just got a bad feeling. Mike said you folks weren't home when they were by this morning. You know how superstitious I can be. There's been a disturbance in the force. Give me a call."

"That was weird," John commented.

"He's always doing stuff like that. He probably dropped some coins and a penny landed on its side or some such nonsense," Mr. Hundser said as he picked up the phone to call Doug. Brian answered and Mr. Hundser relayed the morning's excitement then grabbed a quick sandwich before leaving for the hospital.

The orderlies pushed Keith out from the radiology area. One look at his face and I could see he’d been crying. He was tweaked to say the very least and I reached for his hand as the orderlies led us back to the examination area. At first, I was paying attention to Keith and where I was walking but then I noticed one of the orderlies looking strange. Not knowing what was wrong and thinking that it might be something about Keith, I asked him, "What’s the matter?"

"Nuthin’" he said, but glanced down at Keith’s hand in mine.

My Irish temper swelled like never before. Even if I wasn’t gay or if this was Mike or Derrick on a gurney in pain, I would still hold their hand. It disgusts me to no end that people can treat friends so coldly, without any consideration whatsoever. That’s one of the ways my dad would be and I promised myself a long time ago that I would never act that way. I shook my head and sighed then said;"Perhaps you need to find a job where you won’t have to deal with people."

He chuckled and said, "Is that what you think, you little faggot?" The other orderly said nothing.

Mocking him, I laughed, "HaHaaa! You know what? You’re twice as stupid as you look. Your name is on your uniform and I intend to file a formal complaint. Start looking for a new job, asshole."

Mrs. Hundser walked up from behind me. Hearing what I had said, she asked, "Is there a problem Preston?"

"Not really mom," I said, emphasizing the word ‘mom’. "It’s just that Mr. Klingenbeck here seems to have a problem with certain kinds of people."

"I see." Mrs. Hundser said. As we walked back into the exam area, it was obvious that Mr. Klingenbeck recognized Keith’s mom and was putting a serious stain in his underwear. Mrs. Hundser leaned down, kissed Keith's cheek then said, "I'll be back in a flash," and followed the orderlies out of the room.

Keith was pale and sweating, breathing a little faster than normal and obviously hurting badly. There were no words I could say. I looked around the room for a wash cloth or something that I could wipe his face off with but saw nothing. Pulling up my T-shirt a little bit, I used that to wipe his brow. Suddenly I felt a sharp jab of pain below the belt. I hadn't bumped against the table but the feeling quickly disappeared so I dismissed it. When I finished wiping Keith's face I found the stool, rolled it next to the table and sat down.

Taking Keith's hand again, I noticed that every thirty seconds or so he would squeeze my hand very tight, his body would stiffen up then go limp. This happened a few more times, each time squeezing my hand a little less, trembling and taking a deep breath. After about ten minutes, Keith finally appeared to be breathing normally again and his hand went limp in mine. We had spent summer days together where we rode our bikes for miles, went surfing for a few hours then stayed up until dawn but never have I seen him as exhausted as he was laying on that examination table. Again, I felt a stabbing pain below the belt that disappeared as suddenly as it happened.

Mrs. Hundser returned. She took hold of Keith’s other hand saying;"They're developing the X-rays. Dr. Prenderdast won't be back for twenty or thirty minutes. Can I get you something from the cafeteria?" Keith shook his head then she looked over at me.

"Just something cold to drink, please. Oh, and a towel or a washcloth."

Mrs. Hundser walked over to the cabinets on one side of the room, opened a drawer and pulled out a towel. I let go of Keith’s hand saying, "Just a sec babe, I’ll be right back," and walked over to Mrs. Hundser.

I whispered, "He’s in so much pain, this is destroying him."

"I know. Hip problems are the most painful but the doctor needs the X-rays."

"Can’t they give him a little something?" I begged.

"Not until they see the X-rays Preston. If the doctor decides that he needs to do a physical exam, Keith has to be able to try to move for himself and let us know what hurts and what doesn’t. Once everything is taken care of, I’m sure the doctor will prescribe something."

Discouraged, I asked, "Isn’t there something more I can do?"

"Seems I’ve heard that exact question about three months ago," she said, smiling at me.

It actually took a minutes thought to realize what she was saying. Keith had obviously asked that question when my mom passed away.

She nodded for me to go back to him, and then she left the room.

Sitting beside Keith, I noticed that he didn’t look quite so pale. "Hey babe, I’m back," I said, "You're looking a little better. How do you feel?"

"Like I’ve been split in half and glued back together."

I started wiping his face and asked, "Ya wanna tell me what happened?"

"They had to move me from one table to another. It was cold and hard and my skin stuck to it when they moved me around. All they did was ask me to try and spread my legs a little bit. When I didn’t spread them far enough, they did it for me. It wasn’t like they forced it or were rough but damn dude, it fucking hurt!"

"Was it like the first time we made love?" I asked.

"Way worse. If any kind of sex ever felt like that, I swear I’d be celibate."

"Keith Hundser joins the Jesuits. Somehow I’m having trouble picturing this," I joked.

He giggled and said, "Baby, that first time was a little difficult at first but soon it felt so amazing. And you keep making it better each time. Lately it’s been like a quick shock to the system then the most fantastic feelings ever. I wish we could do it all the time and still walk."

"The next few days, I really get to play doctor. I’m gonna do anything and everything they say to get you healed as soon as possible."

"I hope it’s only a few days, Prez. Every time a simple leg movement makes me want to scream, I get more scared that it might be something serious."

After looking at the worried look on his face, I looked up at the fluorescent lights for a few seconds then closed my eyes, searching for something to say, some way to make him feel better. Against my eyelids I saw the fading after images that everyone sees after looking at a bright light. "Play a game with me," I said.

Shocked, he said, "What? Here?"

"Not that kind of game, you big nut case. Look up at the lights," I instructed and Keith did as I said. "Now close your eyes. See the little after images?" He nodded. "They start out white, like the light. The purest, whitest white ever. Then they start to change colors. What color do you see?"

"Pink."

"Like a baby girls blanket, a soft color that fills you with love and hope. Still seeing any colors?"

"Yeah, green."

"The color of trees and grass. A joyful, happy color if there ever was one." I was simply associating his colors with the first things that came to mind and it really relaxed both of us a lot. "See any other colors?"

"Yeah, deep blue, like your eyes."

"Or the ocean. Some folks feel all salty and sticky after swimming in the ocean. Not me, I feel cleansed."

"What are you two doing?" Mrs. Hundser asked from behind me.

I half turned and said, "Just playing a little color game."

She handed me a big cup of soda while saying, "It must’ve been a fun game because you both look so much better."

I took a sip from the soda and noticed Keith licking his lips. "Ya want some?" I asked and he nodded. "You just stay still," I said, then handed the soda to his mom and walked around the table behind his head. Sliding my hands under his shoulders and neck, I lifted him while his mom gave him the soda. He must’ve been really thirsty because he drank half the cup of the soda in a few sips from the straw.

Laying him back down, Keith said, "That takes care of one problem."

"Is there another problem?" his mom asked.

Blushing a little he said, "Umm… well yeah. I gotta leak."

"We have just the remedy for that here too," Mrs. Hundser said. Then she walked back over to the cabinets and returned with one of those hospital piss jugs.

"Ugh! Can’t I use a toilet?" Keith said.

"Certainly," his mom said, "all you have to do is sit up and walk down the hall."

"Damn," Keith mumbled, as he took the jug from his mom. "It looks awfully small."

"No one has ever filled one up yet," She said, then turned around and left the area, closing the curtain behind her.

Keith studied the jug for a few moments then sighed and said, "I guess this is supposed to go between my thighs." When he was ready, I pulled the blanket down to his knees and watched as he carefully tried to squeeze the bottle between his legs. He winced once but managed to get himself situated and pulled his soft dick out of his boxers. While waiting for relief, he commented, "This is so weird, laying flat on my back and pissing. One wrong move and it’s a big mess."

"Just be thankful you’ve got a nice size weenie and can point it into the jug." I chuckled.

"If it were any colder in here, there’d be another problem," He said, then started to relieve himself. A few seconds later, he snarled and said, "The jugs getting warm". From beyond the curtain, we heard his mom talking with the doctor. They were obviously talking about the X-rays. No fractures were found. Keith finished relieving himself, put his dick back in his shorts and, pointing to the bottle between his legs whispered, "I should leave this here so if he hurts me I can dump it on him." I would’ve cracked up but I was busy eavesdropping on the doctor and Keith’s mom. Finally he said the words that we most wanted to hear - "no sign of malignancies." Unfortunately, he followed those words with two others that we didn’t want to hear - "physical exam".

Dr. Prenderdast pulled open the curtain and said, "Hello, Keith."

"Hey doc." Keith said.

"Let me explain what I have to do so you understand. Earlier in the week I was most concerned with your knee. Now we have both the knee and the hip to worry about. I’m going to need to see how far you can move each leg. Then I’m going to have test the full range of normal motions. All these tests are simple enough and will help me diagnose exactly what is wrong. It will likely be quite painful I’m afraid."

"Worse than last time?" Keith asked.

"Maybe so, it depends on the nature of the problem," The doctor said. Then he called over the orderly to remove the urine bottle. When I saw Mr. Klingenbeck walk over, I practically had to bite my own tongue off to keep from giggling. It was so perfect seeing that ignorant, homophobic jerk being assigned the task of piss-boy.

The doctor removed the blanket and stood at the foot of the table. I quickly moved to the head of the table. He looked at me and asked, "Are you sure you want to stay here?" I nodded and he said, "That’s fine. Please let me do my job and remember, it’s not enjoyable for me to cause Keith any additional discomfort." He turned to Keith’s mom and said, "Jen, roll up a towel for Keith."

"What’s that for?" Keith asked.

The doctor answered, "For you to bite on and stifle any screams or obscenities."

Keith trembled for a second and I felt a cold shiver run down the spine. Mrs. Hundser handed Keith the rolled up towel then the doctor said, "Keith, lift your left leg as high as you can."

Keith nodded then grunted as if his leg weighed a ton. Maybe he lifted it two inches off the table then it dropped back down with a thud. "Okay, now lift the right leg." Dr. Prenderdast instructed. With less effort, Keith lifted his right leg to about a forty-five degree angle but that’s as far as it went before he let it back down. The doctor put his hand out to the side of the table, instructing Keith to swing his leg over and try to touch it. The left leg he couldn’t move at all. With great effort the right leg moved but still didn’t touch the doctor’s hand. It surprised me that Keith wasn’t able to move his right leg as he normally could have. After all, it was the left leg that was hurt. I stood there watching Keith’s face and his legs as the doctor gave each instruction. Keith was sweating profusely and obviously trying to do as the doctor asked but his body wasn’t able to respond.

The worst part of the exam was when the doctor began moving Keith’s legs, bending and flexing them, pushing them up towards Keith’s stomach, testing the full range of normal motion. The doctor was nice and explained everything but still it had Keith screaming in agony. He bit down on the towel and hollered loudly. His grip in my hands was tighter than ever before. Tears poured from his eyes and down the sides of his face.

I can’t explain the effect seeing this had on me. Of course I was scared because the doctor really wasn’t doing anything abnormal but Keith was in great pain. Sometimes I wanted to scream at the doctor, "Okay, just fucking wait a minute!" it made me so angry that he was hurting Keith. But I held my comments. With each test, I could almost feel the pain Keith was going through. My entire body would tighten up, inside and out, then go limp as if standing there was a great strain. I held back my own tears as long as I could but eventually they flowed freely. While I didn't sob hysterically, my throat felt like there was a huge concrete block in there every time I swallowed.

By the time the doctor finally finished his exam, Keith seemed to be barely conscious and I was completely drained of strength. Keith’s mom was almost as bad as I was, occasionally wiping her eyes with a Kleenex. How she can work in a hospital and see this sort of thing every day is beyond my capacity to understand. She followed the doctor away from the table.

Keith stopped crying and started the squeeze, shiver and shake routine as the painful aftershocks enveloped him then dissipated over and over again. I looked over at the doctor and Mrs. Hundser as they talked quietly about the exam results. Nurse Rachel came back and listened then came over with a syringe saying, "This is to help you rest." She gave Keith the shot and I asked, "What’s the deal, does the doc know what’s wrong?"

She answered, "He knows what it isn’t. Tomorrow, after he sees the blood test results, he’ll have a diagnosis. For now we’ll treat it as a severe muscle strain."

In the short period of time it took her to answer, I felt Keith’s hand go limp in mine. I looked over and his eyes were closed. The nurse walked away and I was tempted to yell, "Hey, can I have some of that?" Oh God, I was a physical and nervous wreck.

An orderly, Mr. Hundser and I loaded an unconscious and stretcher bound Keith into the back of the Suburban. I crawled in the back too and laid down beside him for the trip back home. Once we got Keith home and in bed, I left him to sleep for a while.

I was sitting in the living room with Drew and Corey watching a sitcom on TV. Rush was lying on the floor beside me contentedly gnawing on a rubber bone. It was weird because one second I was chuckling heartily but the next second I was crying and unable to stop. I covered my face for a few moments until I could pull myself together.

It was all too much. Being in the hospital emergency room again and fighting those memories. Keith could be very sick and he was in such agony during the exam. Carrying him into the back of the Suburban reminded me of lifting my mother's coffin into the back of the hearse. When I looked up all the Hundser’s and Corey were sitting around me.

Smiling weakly, I said, "Sorry. I guess I’m just a big baby."

"You think crying makes you a baby, somehow less of a man?" Mr. Hundser asked, and I nodded.

Mrs. Hundser said, "Feeling emotions is what makes you a man. It makes us human."

"Yeah but Keith was like a rock when I needed him," I argued.

"Is that what’s bothering you?" Mr. Hundser said.

"That just ain’t true," Drew said. "There were plenty of afternoons Keith stayed alone in his room crying while you were at the apartment."

Mrs. Hundser said, "He told me there was one night he drove to the scenic overlook on Kanan Road and just sat in the car crying."

John said, "One night while you were sleeping, he picked me up at Kim’s and a truck cut us off during the ride home. He never said a word but the second he stepped out of the car, WHAM! He punched a hole in the garage wall and it didn’t even hurt."

"You can’t be in love with someone without sharing their pain," Mr. Hundser said. "If you only wanted to be around for the good times then you’d be one of those fair weather only kind of friends."

Learning that he had not only cried with me but also cried when away from me made my heart swell in my chest.

After a few moments, Mrs. Hundser asked, "Do you know how many trauma patients or families of trauma patients I see in a week?" I shook my head and she said, "Between two and three dozen. This is LA. I see it all; car accidents, domestic violence, drive by shootings, you name it. I rarely ever cry when I happen to be down in the emergency room and it never ceases to amaze me what those doctors and nurses deal with every day. But seeing my son in pain and seeing you share it with him is what made me cry."

"Don’t ever think that you’re not man enough," Mr. Hundser said sternly. "Those gang-bangers fighting over a piece of street corner have nothing compared to you. What you did today took guts."

"It takes more strength to accept people for what they are than to fight them," Mrs. Hundser said.

Sometimes I amaze myself when I need to have something repeatedly drilled through my thick skull. I guess we can all be that way to some extent for one reason or another though. "That reminds me, what happened to Mr. Klingenbeck today?" I asked.

Mrs. Hundser smiled and said, "Oh, I had a chat with him and his supervisor. Turns out just last week he ridiculed a Chinese man. Things like that can't happen in a hospital or any other service oriented organization. If I must, I can accept someone choosing to be that way privately but in a business? No, at the hospital we can't accept that. Today was strike two, the next time he puts someone down, he’ll be fired on the spot. If he worked for me, I’d have shown him the door after the first incident."

John got up from the floor saying, "I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?"

Mrs. Hundser said, "I was planning on pot roast but since the roast never made it out of the freezer I guess we’ll have to…"

"Order pizza!" John and Drew yelled.

Frowning as she got up from the sofa, Mrs. Hundser said, "I was thinking of Chinese food."

"I vote for Chinese," Mr. Hundser said then he turned and said, "Corey and Preston need to break the tie."

Corey said, "Pizza sounds good."

"We still have a tie. Chinese." I said, while Drew and John shook their heads.

"Then we’ll order both," Mrs. Hundser said.

John followed his mother and father to the kitchen while Drew; Corey and I waited in the living room. Drew turned up the volume on the TV and started flipping channels. Sitting next to him on the living room floor Corey started giggling. I looked over and saw Corey had formed one hand so that it looked like a four-legged animal of some sort, with his middle finger pointed out to form the neck and head. His animal shaped hand ran up and tapped Drew on the leg then ran away. He did it again and Drew brushed his hand away. Corey softly mewed like a cat then his hand ran up and tapped Drew on the leg again. Drew shook his head and giggled as Corey’s kitty cat hand escaped then warily started back towards Drew’s leg.

Drew growled like a dog and Rush stood up to find out where the intruder was. Corey’s kitty cat hand stealthily crawled towards Drew’s leg once again. Drew barked then Corey hissed and Rush hid behind my legs growling. I couldn’t take it anymore and started laughing then slid down off the couch onto the floor. Rush crawled into my lap but watched Corey and Drew more intensely than I was. Soon, puppy dog Drew and kitty cat Corey were making up, licking each other's faces and of course, Rush joined in on the fun. John returned from the kitchen but when he saw Corey and Drew making out, he did a quick left face and walked down the hall to his bedroom.

Standing up, I decided to leave Drew and Corey to go check on Keith. Rush followed and, as I walked quietly into the dark room, he went straight into his crate. He sat in his crate watching me as I stood at the foot of our bed watching my boyfriend sleep. Keith hadn’t moved a muscle. It was so good to see him resting comfortably after a day of such horrible pain. I remembered him explaining that it felt ten times worse than being kicked in the nuts and another sharp jolt shot through me. While standing there I finally had the chance to think and admitted to myself that I had been having sympathy pains for him all day long. What I felt was a few imaginary pangs though, definitely no where near as intense as Keith had felt since the moment he woke up. Recognizing that we were so emotionally attached to each other, not pitying but actually sharing the pain made me want to crawl into bed with him so badly, just to hold him and let him know I was near. Up until the final part of the examination it was good to be there with him. I felt like I had been able to help him get through the tedium and discomfort of the day in some small way. During that final part of the exam I could almost hear his unspoken pleas for mercy but could only hold onto his hands as tightly as he held mine.

Patting my leg for Rush to come out of his crate I then left the bedroom. From the hallway I couldn't see Keith's parents in the living room so I walked out to the kitchen to talk with them.

They were sitting at the table. I sat down with them and asked, "What did the doctor say we needed to do for Keith?"

"Until we learn the results of the blood tests, only bed rest." Mrs. Hundser answered. "Unless we hear otherwise, he'll be in bed for at least a week. I'll take the day off tomorrow."

I nodded and thought for a few moments then said, "What if he needs to go to the bathroom? You can't lift him alone."

"We were just discussing that," Mr. Hundser said. "I have two very important meetings tomorrow and one Tuesday morning."

"Seems we need to split the duty," I said.

"You need to go to school too Preston," Mrs. Hundser reminded.

"You both need to work too. I'll manage school Tuesday afternoon and as soon as he's able to get around by himself. Mike or Derrick can get my books from my locker and bring home any assignments."

Mr. and Mrs. Hundser looked at each other then they both nodded. The phone rang and I got up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Oh dude, please say he's home and okay?" Mike said, sounding like a nervous wreck.

"He's home and asleep bud," I said, wondering how he knew anything was wrong.

"You didn't say he's okay Prez."

"He's okay Mike. There's still a few more tests we're waiting on."

"What's the scoop? Did he break something?"

"Nothing's broke. All we're waiting on is a blood test."

"A blood test?" Mike shouted. "What for? Oh damn dude, can I come over?"

"Hold on man, let me check." I said, then asked the Hundser's.

Mrs. Hundser held out her hand, asked for the phone and I handed it to her. "Michael… yes, he's fine… yes, you can. Is Derrick there? Let me speak with him… Are you okay to drive? Yes, he's fine. Drive carefully okay? There's no hurry… Yes… bye-bye." She said, then hung up the phone. "Michael's going to give himself an ulcer by the time he's twenty." She commented.

"I know how he feels," I said. "I may seem to be sitting here but on the inside, I'm doin' a hundred yard dash."

"Save up that energy," Mr. Hundser said, "the next few days we'll need it."

Mrs. Hundser said, "Relax Preston. Almost everything is treatable so there's no reason to worry."

"I know. It's just been a hell of a day. Hospital emergency rooms, hours waiting and worrying, watching him unable to do the simplest things." I said, then wiped the tears from my eyes. The lights were on but still the room seemed dimmer than normal, I noticed. Shaking my head, I sighed then said, "He's the last person I'd expect to get hurt or sick. You just never know."

"That's why you need to make the best of every day," Mr. Hundser reminded.

The pizza delivery person rang the doorbell then, shortly thereafter, Mike and Derrick showed with the Chinese food delivery person right behind them. Mr. and Mrs. Hundser explained almost everything to them, except the cancer part, while we ate. I really couldn't eat much. Afterwards Mike, Derrick and I went out to the garage to talk more about Keith. Honestly, I didn't even consider fibbing when asked if I was with him the whole time. I probably should have though. Mike wanted more details than I was prepared to give and I started leaking tears again. Then Mike started crying and of course Derrick started too. If Mike had learned anything about cancer we would've had a spastic houseguest. Before they left I asked them to get my books from school and bring them home for me. After spending the whole day trying to be positive and strong I barely slept that night, tossing and turning continually getting harassed by horrible nightmares.

Around six in the morning, while I was lying there awake, Keith woke up. He had slept for about fourteen hours. I turned and watched, as he gradually became conscious. There was no sign of discomfort on his face, just the usual early morning groggy Keith.

He opened his eyes, took a deep breath and hummed as he recognized his surroundings then he turned to look at me.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"Pretty good, gotta leak again though," he answered, and then began carefully trying to sit upright on the bed. Making it halfway, he winced and said, "This ain't gonna be easy."

"You're supposed to stay in bed until further notice," I said as I got up. "We got a bunch of those piss jugs for ya. If you have to take a dump you can use a bed pan or we can try to carry you to the toidy if you can make it."

He curled his lip up in disgust and said, "I'd rather try to make it to the bathroom for both."

Sternly I said;"Only if you can make it without a lot of pain. You're not supposed to put any strain at all on those muscles."

Keith still tried to swing his legs towards the edge of the bed but finally he gave up. "Damn. This sucks bad!"

Shaking my head I said, "Now I got ya right where I want ya! In bed!" and laughed evilly as I left the room to go get a jug from the bathroom.

"I don't want you doin' this Prez," He shouted after me.

"Doin' what Keith?" I shouted back.

"You know! Waiting on me hand and foot, emptying bottles of piss and, God forbid, bed pans."

"There's no other choice. If it means one less day of seeing you cringing at every movement then I want to do it," I said as I handed him the jug.

He pulled his beautiful flaccid penis out and started leaking into the jug almost immediately. He didn't look up at me but said, "Sorry Prez." He wasn't blushing; it was the tone of his voice that gave me the impression he wasn't only talking about piss jugs, he was apologizing for everything we went through yesterday and would be going through for the next few days.

"Don't be, you couldn't have done anything to prevent it."

For the next few moments, I filled him in on what the doctor had said, that we were still waiting for test results and that his mom and I would be home to take care of him. When he finished relieving himself, he popped the cover on the bottle and moved it over to the night table but he left his teen meat hanging out of his boxers! Instantly my dick lengthened in my briefs. He smiled and beckoned me to him.

My mind said, "No," but my legs moved me over towards him. I kneeled on the floor beside the bed.

He whispered, "You were great yesterday. I love you Preston Albert O'Brian."

"I'm gonna keep on showing that I love you babe, for the next week and the next sixty or so years, every chance I get."

Keith put his hand under my arm and started pulling me onto the bed. I noticed his dick was getting longer and harder by the second. "Show me now," He whispered.

"Oh God Keith," I said breathlessly as I moved onto the bed beside him, "you know I want to but we really should wait."

He kissed my forehead then said, "Think of it as a thank you. I want to make you cum buckets."

"What about you?" I asked, trying to delay the inevitable.

"Just play with me Prez," he said as he reached into my briefs. "We've only got a few minutes before everyone starts waking up."

There was no way I could deny him, not with his magic fingers slowly stroking my cock. He pushed my briefs down a little bit and pulled me closer. I'm not sure what it was that made this session so sweet. Maybe it was all the emotions we bared to each other the previous day. It might've been the silence and the way we looked into each other's eyes nose-to-nose, breathing fast and deep while our hands stroked and fondled away. Whatever it was, he had me leaking precum in practically no time. With his thumb he spread it around the head of my cock, making me inhale sharply and shudder. Grinning at my reaction, he whispered, "Mom's gonna be around today so don't cum on the sheets. We don’t want a smelly mess to give away our fun."

I nodded then a minute or so later warned him I was getting close.

Letting my throbbing cock fall from his hand, he patted his chest saying, "Come here lover, let me taste you."

Kicking off my briefs, I straddled his chest and immediately he began mouthing the base of my cock. My eyes rolled back into my head. He knows that sets me off quick. Licking his way to the head, he engulfed half my erection. He kneaded my butt and wiggled one finger into my hole, teasing my prostate mercilessly. Seconds later, I grabbed hold of the headboard. Our clock radio went off a few moments later and so did I. Keith hummed and swallowed but in three days a lot built up. Around the sixth blast, he backed off and the last of my load dripped over his mouth.

He coughed and giggled then said, "Geez dude, ya almost drowned me."

Gasping for breath, I released the headboard and snuggled beside him, covering him with kisses. He pulled the blankets back over us. Soon we heard Drew and John getting ready for school and sounds from the kitchen. I started to get up to put my briefs back on but he held me in place. With only his smile to read, I started giggling and he hugged me tight. One by one, everyone in the house came in and saw us lying there under the blankets. Drew came in after his shower and accused Keith of faking everything just to get another few days off of school. I could vouch for the fact that he faked nothing. He was indeed very hurt and only able to move slightly better than the previous day. But the first thing my horn-ball boyfriend thought of was showing me that he loved me and appreciated the efforts I made at the hospital. Only after Mrs. Hundser came in and talked with us for awhile then mentioned breakfast, did I struggle out of his grip and get dressed to serve him breakfast in bed.

Later that day, after lunch, Keith refused to use a bedpan. He didn't care that it would hurt a little to move and explained, "It won't hurt near as much as that exam did and I absolutely will not have you or my mom cleaning up another mess." Once he was sitting upright, he threw an arm over my shoulder and I grabbed him around the waist. It was still too painful for him to walk on his own though. I sat him back down on the bed and thought for a moment then gave him a piggyback ride to the bathroom. While I was loitering outside for him to finish, the phone rang. I ran to the phone and beat mom to the speakerphone button. We both said hello at the same time. The woman from Dr. Prenderdast's office on the other end of the phone laughed at us. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Keith's blood test. Tendonitus was the doctor's final diagnosis. Seven to ten days of bed rest followed by another week or two of exercise. When I got back to the bathroom, Keith was sitting in there singing a goofy country blues song that he made up about being abandoned on the shitter! I was in such a state of relief and hearing him singing goofy lyrics with no real melody had me cracking up hysterically as I opened the bathroom door.

"Very funny. I thought I was left to grow roots in here. Where'd ya go?" He said, as my laughter dwindled to giggles.

Knowing he was going to be fine and seeing him there, with messed up bed-hair, sitting on the porcelain thrown looking as incredibly sexy as ever made me laugh longer. Eventually I replied, "The doc called. It's only tendonitus, a few days in bed and a doctor appointment on Friday to check your progress. Your mom's going to pick up a prescription at Long's Drugs and something else I'm gonna really enjoy."

"What?" he asked suspiciously.

I recited the doctor's instructions, "Heat on the injury and Aspercream is to be applied generously to the swollen area."

His eyes opened wide and he giggled, "sounds like fun to me!"