And then it hit me. By my own choice, I was sitting alone in my hospital room on New Years Eve. And I even almost missed it completely over contemplating the current situation, while everyone else was probably celebrating right now.
I watched the pretty lights for a while, before I slid further down the bed to put my head on my pillow and get to sleep.
The next day, my long awaited liberation came about. After almost a week of being restricted to lying in that bed, the swelling in my leg wound had reduced enough, and, in the absence of any signs of infection or inflammation, I would finally be freed of my catheter!
You can not imagine the elation I felt when I was finally sitting on the porcelain behind a closed door, instead of having someone watch me use a bedpan. Though the broken collarbone quickly reminded me of my remaining restrictions after the deed was done. Being allowed out of bed was proof that my healing process had progressed smoothly, so being discharged the following week was a real possibility now.
Despite the doctor’s warnings, I tried to get out of bed as soon as the catheter was out and almost fell flat on my face. The leg did not hurt at all anymore while I was lying in bed, but when I tried to use my thigh muscles to walk, it suddenly hurt a lot! According to the doctors, who expected that outcome and had a wheelchair already waiting for me, it would take a while and quite some painful effort before I could make full use of that leg again. At least I could wear shorts again, not to mention enjoy my last few sponge baths without a tube in my dick!
Two days later, on the morning of January 3rd, I was released, and immediately realized just how complicated my life would be in the near future.
I managed to put some sweatpants on, and was even able to pull a shirt over my head with only slightly unbearable pain levels, but tying my shoes one-handed was simply impossible. Dressing myself would be a challenge, but I could manage as soon as I got my hands on a shoehorn. At least I didn’t have to climb stairs to get into my apartment. I realized the real problem when they wheeled me out of the building, though.
The Land Rover I drove when chauffeuring Mia was an automatic, but since I was out of commission, they had driven it back to the company parking lot. My Jeep, however, was a manual. With my right arm strapped to my torso, there was no way for me to safely shift gears while driving. Even if I managed to dress myself, I couldn’t drive anywhere myself. At that particular moment, I couldn’t even call for a cap, since I had no money in my pocket that wasn’t dyed red.
I was just standing in front of the hospital’s entrance, pondering on whether I should call Paul and ask him for a ride, when the problem was solved by an unexpected benefactor.
“Need a ride?” Jack’s voice called out from a few feet to my side.
“Oh!” was my entire comment upon realizing who just called out to me.
Truth was, I wasn’t exactly comfortable with the idea. I was used to being on my own and having to constantly defend myself, so people seeing me in this state, and people knowing I needed help, made me ... anxious. That was also the main reason why I didn’t want the Millers to visit me before. Ultimately, though, I didn’t have much of a choice. Even if I blew him off now to call someone else instead, he already knew anyway.
“Yes. Thanks. I didn’t plan that far ahead, to be honest.”
He just grinned and patiently watched me as I shuffled towards his waiting car. He then helped me into the passenger seat, put my bag and crutch in the backseat, and we drove off. He was quiet for about five minutes before he spoke up in a confusingly regretful voice.
“Dad told me what you said when he thanked you for saving Mia.”
“Uh ... Sorry, but what did I say?”
“That he should thank me instead of you.” The regret was gone from his voice. Now he sounded stern. Almost angry. And I had no clue why.
“Is that a bad thing somehow? You did good. You reacted when the others were panicking.”
“I fucking locked you out of the safe-room!” he suddenly got loud. “You took a bullet for my sister, and instead of fucking helping you, I slammed the door in your face!”
That surprised me. But what surprised me even more was the sudden drop in my anxiety level.
“So?” I asked calmly, which made him look at me like I lost my mind. Only then did I understand how this must have been eating away at him for the entire week I was in the hospital. “Jack, you did good! I mean that! There were ... what? Nineteen people on your side of the door? ‘The needs of the many’, and all that.”
“The What now?” he asked, visibly confused, but had also calmed down a little.
“Seriously, Jack. That movie is possibly a cultural heritage at this point.” I shook my head in disapproval. “What if I hadn’t been able to take him down? How many of you would’ve been shot if that door was still open?”
“Yeah, sounds nice when you put it like that in retrospect, but at the end of the day, I was ... simply...” his voice trailed off, but I already knew what he was complaining about.
“Course you were. I’d be surprised if you weren’t. Some random asshole with a gun showed up in your house and started shooting people! Ever heard of Fight or Flight?” he hesitantly nodded his head. “You might think you chose Flight because you slammed the door shut. But Flight would’ve meant running. Instead, you had the presence of mind to not only slam the door to protect yourself like you claimed. You grabbed Mia and pulled her into the room before you closed it. You did your job as her big brother.”
He drove on for a minute or two, eyes focused on the road, before he responded.
“Thank you, Tim.”
“I didn’t say that to make you feel better. I meant every word. Now, if you wanna help me, I’ve been craving a proper meal for a damn week, but I’m pretty sure whatever I have in my fridge has gone bad by now.”
“Grocery store it is, then!” he proclaimed, in a distinctly better mood, and drove us to a store relatively near to my apartment. That made me stop.
“Jack? I just realized that I never told you where I live. How did you know which direction to drive in?”
“Well, about that...” Suddenly, he looked a little guilty again. “Mom and Mia MAY be waiting for us at your place?”
He really ended that sentence like it was a question. I wasn’t sure if he was asking for permission or acceptance.
“Why?”
“Mom has something to talk with you about. Don’t ask me, she didn’t tell me.” he quickly prevented my obvious question from being asked. “But when Mia heard, she insisted on coming too, to ‘make sure you settle back in Okay’. I think she just wants to see your place. Dad would probably be there as well if he didn’t have to work.”
As he looked at me, trying to gauge my reaction, my first impulse was to ask them to leave as soon as we arrived. But, honestly, Nora and Mia were the two people outside my workplace that I’d deem most likely to actually care for me, given how I saved Mia’s life and witnessed Nora’s behavior after Aaron showed up in the hospital. The deciding factor, however, was how I felt two nights before. Sitting all alone in that sterile Hospital Room on New Year’s Eve sucked.
“Alright.” I nodded after reaching a conclusion. “Let’s finish up so they won’t wait too long.”
After that, we drove to my apartment building and, as threatened, were greeted by Nora and Mia, who looked a little worried about the way I groaned while moving, but accepted my assurance that I was okay.
Entering my apartment, Mia and Jack acted much like Ava had on her first visit, though they quickly found different things that held their interest. While Nora helped me put the groceries away and clean out my fridge, Jack inspected my TV-assembly, and Mia took a good look at the photo collage of Tess. So, I took that opportunity to speak with Nora.