Chapter Ten

Room 2351. Second floor. Go right off the elevator.

They followed the nurse's directions until they passed an empty station. Room 2351 was an open door on the right. A small black plaque said so.

Isaac went in immediately, standing at the side of the bed, holding Roger's hand. Greg could hear his gentle sobs, and he spoke, although Roger wasn't awake. Greg stood too far away to hear, not that he tried.

Leonard stood beside him, with Kyler close behind. "Do you need us in there with you?"

Greg shook his head without taking his eyes off Roger.

"We'll be in the waiting room." Leonard and Kyler turned back the way they all had come and left Greg standing in the hall.

Greg stood against the far wall, staring at the man who fathered him. Roger appeared so small in the hospital bed compared to Isaac as he stood vigil. The white sheets and tan blankets swallowed him until tubes were the only thing left.

A nurse came from the nurse's station, stopping beside him.

"You can go in if you like."

Greg looked at her briefly, taking in her brown scrubs and her nametag, which read Pamela Woods, RN.

"Are you a relative?"

Greg nodded. "What type of cancer does he have?"

"Lung." She didn't pretty things up with big words that would mean nothing to Greg, and he was grateful for the fact she'd dumbed down the diagnosis. "The doctor will be able to tell you more. I can call him if you'd like."

Greg shook his head. "That's not necessary."

Tears came to his eyes, and if someone had asked, Greg wouldn't have been able to tell them why that was the moment he decided tears were necessary. He had an image in his mind of going down a long metal slide with Roger ready to catch him at the end. Roger had smiled and then laughed when Greg had stopped halfway down using the rubber of his sneakers to hold himself in place. That might not have been a real memory but something his mind manufactured, but it didn't matter.

He remembered the sadness that had swirled around Roger like his own personal tornado, though. That had been real. He remembered how Roger had carried around that sadness like luggage. Greg couldn't remember a time when he didn't have it.

Maybe he didn't know Roger at all. Maybe his father drank for a reason that had nothing to do with making Greg's life miserable.

"If you need anything at all, please, don't hesitate to ask." Greg had forgotten the nurse was still standing next to him until she spoke. Her departure was the prod Greg needed to enter the room.

Isaac nodded but otherwise didn't say much.

Greg pulled a chair around for Isaac to sit in, which he accepted with a mumbled, "Thanks."

Greg pulled the other one around to the opposite side of Roger's bed and sat. He took off his hat and slumped, placing it over his face. He rested his head against the back of the chair and closed his eyes.

Greg heard the blood pressure machine wheeze. He had a blanket thrown over him, which hadn't been there when he had first shut his eyes. His cowboy hat wasn't over his face anymore either, which was what made him open his eyes.

When he did, he saw Brian sitting in a chair at the far end of the room. He had a laptop on his thighs and studied whatever was on the screen. He typed even as he pushed his glasses farther onto his nose.

Greg stood, pushing the blanket off as he did.

Brian squealed, his hand coming up to his chest as if he was holding his heart in place. "Jeez. You scared the crap out of me."

Greg smiled. "Sorry."

He stretched and peered around the room for his hat. The hat sat on the dresser next to Roger's hospital bed. It half covered up a, thankfully, clean and empty bedpan.

Isaac sat in the opposite chair, holding Roger's hand. Their gazes met and Greg nodded before turning back to Brian.

"Come here." Brian crooked a finger. The sparkle in his eyes suggested all kinds of good things if Greg complied.

Greg crossed the room, trapping Brian's knees between his legs when he stood close enough. The computer lid slid down a couple of inches when Greg leaned down, crowding Brian. Greg braced himself with a hand on the wall and cupped Brian's cheek with his free hand.

Brian softened his lips, making them even more kissable then they already did, so Greg didn't waste any more time. He pressed his lips to Brian's, memorizing what that felt like, taking in Brian's scent while he was so close. Fresh air and vanilla. It was a refreshing contrast to the sterile atmosphere in the hospital.

Greg pulled back, his forehead resting against Brian's. "Thank you for being here."

Brian's perfectly shaped eyebrows drew together. "Of course. I wish you would have called me instead of me hearing from Kyler that you needed support."

Greg straightened and took the computer, setting it on the floor next to the chair. Greg dropped to his knees, wiggling his way between Brian's legs. He snaked his arms around Brian's waist and hugged him close. "The relationship I have with Roger is complicated." Brian played with the ends of Greg's hair and traced the line of his collar. "I haven't spoken to him in six years and haven't seen him in four."

"Avoiding someone in Pickleville isn't easy, I bet."

Greg smiled. "No, it isn't."

"What did they do to you?" Brian rubbed Greg's back with one hand and dug his fingers into Greg's hair with the other.

Greg shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"I think it does, babe. I think it matters a lot."

"I don't want to hurt you. Ever." Not like Sherri and Roger hurt each other.

Greg's sigh came out shaky. He tightened his hold to hide the worry.

"Why would you say that?" The hand in Greg's hair disappeared, and Brian tried to push at Greg's shoulder.

Greg shrugged and refused to let go. The second he did, Brian would put a stop to the dating and any other thing they might have going. They would contain their romance to the happenings in the barn, and that was fucking sad.

In Pickleville, everyone knew everything, so Greg knew Brian came from a good family whose parents had probably never even argued in front of him.

"Greg."

Greg shook his head.

"Stop being a baby." Brian pushed on his shoulder again, and that time Greg lifted off.

"What?" His response was childish. He couldn't hide from the rejection, no matter how much he wanted to, and it did feel like a punishment. Maybe that reduced his maturity level. The fact that he refused to meet Brian's gaze was another thing that didn't help prove his adulthood.

"Are you sulking?"

"No."

"I think you are, but whatever." Brian cupped his hands around Greg's cheeks. "I have questions."

Greg finally met his gaze. "I'm not talking about my shitty childhood."

Brian smiled. "Okay. Then let's talk about this hurt you plan on not inflicting on me. Do you have a temper?"

"Sometimes."

"And are you violent?" Brian suspected Greg's parents were. He didn't have to say anything for Greg to know it. The knowledge was there in his eyes. He probably heard the gossip.

"I've never been before, no." But he could feel the stress building, threatening to explode. All the sadness and confusion would manifest into something darker at some point, and he didn't want Brian there when that happened.

"Have you ever hurt anyone before?"

"No. Never." But his father had never died before, and he'd never faced his mother as an adult.

"That's what I thought. You're focusing on something that isn't even a thing." Brian pulled him back, hugging him close. "One more question. How did you know about that wedding date thing?"

Greg closed his eyes as he pressed his cheek to Brian's chest. "I read a sci-fi book a couple of years ago. The author wrote it in the 1960s. The book was futuristic."

"You remembered something that insignificant from a book you read two years ago?"

Greg shrugged. "I have a semi-photographic memory."

"I'll remember your sneakiness." Brian rubbed circles on his back again even as he chuckled.