Pure Innocence (6 page)

After that first hour’s rest Oliver seemed
to spend most of the morning asleep. Damon was pleased to see
Oliver hadn’t had anymore nightmares, but wished he could get Derek
in earlier to look at him.

Damon hugged the cup of coffee as he stood
by the window. As Oliver was in a private room, Callum had been
dropping clothes off for Damon regularly. He had given Callum a key
to his apartment the day that Oliver and Joe had been admitted, but
even now after Joe had been discharged, Callum still kept bringing
the clothes. This time, he’d fetched Damon’s mail, and Damon had
taken the time to shower, dress, and go through it while Oliver
slept.

He was just reading the letter he had got
from Annie when he heard a noise from the bed and glanced up.
Oliver had woken up and was blinking sleepily. Damon put his mail
down and smiled. “Feel better?” He got a shy nod and a small smile.
Damon gestured to his papers. “I just got a letter from Annie, my
foster mum I told you about?” He grinned. “She doesn’t do
email.”

Damon shuffled everything together and stood
up. He came over to the bed. “Thirsty? Hungry?” He held the water
glass for Oliver and gestured to the covered tray. Oliver turned
his nose up. Damon laughed, and uncovered the chicken deli wrap,
and Oliver’s eyes widened. It looked a million times better than
the cheese on wheat he’d been offered earlier. Oliver shifted and
tried to sit up. Damon helped and soon Oliver was tucking in. Just
as he was finishing a nurse came in with his tablets, which, Damon
noted, were at least two more in number than they had been
yesterday at this time. He would have to ask Derek about this as
soon as he got Oliver home.

Oliver obediently swallowed them and the
nurse chuckled at the nearly empty plate. “So Mr. Kerrick guessed
correctly then?”

Oliver glanced at Damon, and back at the
nurse. “Guessed what?”

Damon interrupted smoothly. “That you would
prefer a chicken and avocado wrap. I have a friend that swears
avocado is the food of the gods, apparently.”

Oliver waited until the nurse was gone, and
then attempted to fix a hard stare on Damon, which was completely
ruined by the answering smirk he got. “This isn’t from here, is
it?” Damon shrugged. “I can’t keep costing you all this money,”
Oliver protested.

Damon grinned. “Stop worrying, boy. That’s
not your job, and it’s a waste of energy.” Damon sat still, holding
Oliver’s gaze. “I think we need to establish what you have to do
here.”

Oliver smiled softly. “As you say, when you
say it?”

Damon grinned back. “That’s a good
start.”

****

Oliver was doing his best to keep his
frustration in check. He’d napped again, after lunch, which was
annoying him immensely. It seemed all he had to do was listen to
Damon’s low voice and he was asleep in minutes. And now this stupid
woman was asking him all sorts of things he really didn’t want to
talk about. The hospital shrink. Well, she could go and shrink
someone else because he wasn’t going to talk about his mother, and
he definitely wasn’t going to talk about him being locked away. Not
ever. Damon had got him out and he wasn’t going to think about
those things any more.

At one point he’d even shut
his eyes rudely, only to snap them open at the low
boy
that Damon
positively growled. Oliver sighed. He knew he was being a brat, but
his hands hurt, and well, he wasn’t going to talk about it. He
wasn’t going to even think about it, he didn’t care how long they
had to sit in silence. The stupid woman thought silence would make
Oliver uncomfortable and feel like he had to say something to fill
the void? She hadn’t grown up where Oliver had; silence was
wonderful there.

“
Perhaps it would be better
if Mr. Kerrick left?”

That brought Oliver’s head
up. “What? No.” He glanced at Damon for reassurance. Damon didn’t
look worried at all. Oliver glanced back at the woman. She looked
bored, totally disinterested in anything he might say. Oliver felt
a flare of anger. “Actually, I’d like
you
to leave, please.”

He paled when the woman stood abruptly. “You
need to know, Oliver, your discharge is dependent on all your
doctor’s opinions.” With that veiled threat the woman swept out of
the room.

Oliver felt his tiny spark of courage fizzle
away and raised horrified eyes to Damon. “She wouldn’t…she
can’t.”

Damon shot over to him and immediately
cupped his face. “She can’t do anything. You already have an
appointment with such a well-respected doctor, he is requested to
consult out of state. You are not to worry.” Damon brushed a thumb
over Oliver’s cheek and Oliver leaned in gratefully, ignoring
Damon’s chuckle.

“
However,” Damon added, “if
you are ever rude to anyone like that in my presence, boy, ever
again, I’ll leave.”

Oliver’s eyes widened. Boy?
That wasn’t the first time he had called him that. He’d heard it
said plenty of times at Ecstasy, but usually at the start of an
order of some sort.
“Boy, let’s have
another dance. Boy, fetch me a drink.”
Boy, suck my dick.
Damon must have
some experience in the clubs.
Who was I
kidding?
Everything about Damon screamed
“Dom” but the way he said “boy” was different. It wasn’t
derogatory, it had never accompanied an order. It seemed…
possessive, yes, but caring not just owning.

The man’s gray eyes bored into him. Damon’s
thumb drifted over Oliver’s lips and he opened them in shock,
swallowed at seeing the glint in Damon’s eyes. “No, I won’t leave,”
he said, “but act like a brat again, and I’ll spank your ass. If
you’re lucky.”

Chapter Five

Oliver was nervous. He sat dressed casually
in some sweats and a t-shirt that Damon had magically supplied
without leaving the hospital, waiting for Damon to bring the car
around so they could go home. Home? Well, Damon’s home anyway.
Actually, now that Oliver thought about it, he was only positive
Damon had been home once in the last week. Someone must have been
bringing Damon his changes of clothes in, and the clothes that he
was wearing.

Oliver’s right thumb and forefinger were
uncovered and working, mostly. It still hurt to make a pincer
movement with them, picking up a spoon was challenging, holding a
glass was impossible. He’d managed to balance toast with them, and
the nurse had joked he would probably be able to sign his own
release forms. Oliver didn’t bother telling her he was left
handed.

Oliver had waited two very long days until
they’d told him this morning he would be allowed to leave. No one
was impressed he wasn’t eating much, but at least the shrink or
whoever she was hadn’t come back. Damon had disappeared to see the
doctor after she had left and when he had got back, he’d said
Oliver wasn’t to worry about it anymore, and Oliver had been quite
happy to believe him.

Everyone kept asking him if he was pleased
to go home. No one seemed to worry that it wasn’t his home, except
Oliver. Half of him was then more worried because he was wishing it
was his home, and he still didn’t understand what a total stranger
was doing willing to take on the huge job of looking after him.
Oliver sighed. Then there was the other thing. Every single fiber
in Damon screamed masculine to him, but he’d lain with him on the
bed, skin on skin, and he never had a problem touching him. If
anything, he seemed to go out of his way to touch him more.

“
That was a big
sigh.”

Startled, Oliver looked up. The door had
been propped open by the nurses coming in and out all the time, and
he hadn’t heard Damon come in.

“
Are you gay?” The words
were out of his mouth before he could catch them, and scalding heat
crept up his face. Worse, his answer from Damon was silence. Oliver
closed his eyes in horror. He was going to die for real this
time.

Then Damon chuckled. “Yes, although it’s no
big deal, and it’s nothing else you need to worry about.” Oliver
felt Damon’s palm on his face.

Oliver opened his eyes curved his lips in an
answering smile.

Damon took two large strides over to him.
“That’s better, Oliver. I like to see you smile.” Damon’s hand came
out automatically and Oliver leaned into it, which triggered a
bigger smile on both of them, and Damon chuckled. “Ready to go
home?” He bent his head to the side when he didn’t get an immediate
reply. “That’s what the sigh was for, wasn’t it? I leave you for
five minutes and you start worrying again.” Damon carefully leaned
down and cupped Oliver’s chin. “Boy, I’ve told you. Your job is to
get better. That’s all you have to think about. You have any
worries, you give them all to me.”

Boy.
Damon had called him that many times, but at first Oliver had
thought it casual, automatic, but as he’d had that very deliberate
gaze fixed on him, he’d known Damon was choosing his words very
carefully. Boy? The word made his mouth dry and his pulse speed up.
He shouldn’t like it. He shouldn’t want it. It was dangerous. Being
someone’s boy had never done him any good.

Damon straightened as the nurse bustled back
in. She started checking an embarrassing list on the state of
Oliver’s health. When she got to the confirmation of bowel
function, Oliver wished for a hole in the ground he could hide in.
He was mortified, and mumbled confirmation that he had been. It
wasn’t like he was eating a lot, so he’d hardly noticed. He was
more mortified though because he was actually lying. There were so
many nurses they had each happily taken confirmation from Oliver
that another nurse had helped him. There was no way in hell one of
them was going to wipe his ass.

The nurse clucked happily and held out some
forms to Oliver’s uncovered right hand for him to sign.

“
Does he have to do that?”
Damon asked.

The nurse looked up in surprise. “No, but
its good practice. Helps him relearn muscle use. I was just hoping
for a tiny mark, I know he is unable to hold a pen properly.” The
nurse sounded offended.

Damon sighed. “I know that. What I meant was
Oliver’s left handed.”

The nurse agreed there was no need for him
to sign anything, and took the forms away. She gave Oliver another
smile. “I think you made a wise choice to live with Mr. Kerrick.”
Oliver felt Damon stiffen slightly beside him.

The nurse continued, oblivious to Damon’s
reaction. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Park Place is an excellent
nursing home, but I think Mr. Kerrick will have a more personal
touch.” Oliver watched as the nurse suddenly smiled as she realized
what she had said. Laughing, she disappeared out of the room.

Oliver was stunned. “A nursing home?”

Damon shook his head. “You’re coming home
with me.” Oliver held his breath for a few seconds while he studied
Damon’s face. He looked so confident, so sure his decision was the
best for Oliver. Oliver knew then he wouldn’t disagree, he somehow
knew that Damon would be hurt if Oliver doubted him, questioned
him.

“
How? How did you know…” He
remembered Damon’s comment to the nurse when she had asked him to
try and sign the forms with his right hand.

“
How did I know you were
left-handed?” Damon grinned at Oliver. “Because when you go to
reach for anything before you remember your hands are bandaged, you
always start with your left, automatically. It shows it’s the
dominant one.”

Oliver blinked. Was there anything this man
didn’t notice?

“
I also know you lied to
the nurse.”

A red wave of shame washed over Oliver. He
knew exactly what Damon was referring to.

“
I understand why.” He
stood closer. “If it doesn’t happen naturally, we will sort it out.
I’m not letting you become sick. But—” Damon stared at him. “You
don’t ever lie to me. That’s also on your responsibility list.” He
turned to the door as they both heard footsteps. “So, three things.
Get better, no worrying, and no lying.” Damon strode to the door
just as the nurse came back. “I’m going to bring the car
around.”

****

Damon almost felt like whistling, which was
ridiculous because he was pretty sure he hadn’t done that since he
was about eight. He drove carefully, making sure he didn’t take any
tight corners, mindful that Oliver hadn’t got the use of his hands
to keep his balance with. He pressed the pad on the dash that would
lift the gate to the underground garage, and noticed Oliver’s eyes
had gotten wider. Damon chuckled. He wasn’t ashamed of his nice
apartment. He’d worked damn hard and for a very long time to make
sure his finances were secure.

He pulled into his marked bay and got out.
“Wait.” He issued the instruction without thinking. He pulled the
two bags he had from the car, and pressed the call button for the
elevator at the same time. He opened the car door to be met by
Oliver’s wan face with two huge eyes staring at him. “Oliver, what
have I told you?”

The worry immediately left them, and he got
a shy smile instead. Damon put his arms around Oliver’s back and
Oliver rocked twice until he got sufficient momentum with Damon’s
arms at his back to stand up. They had practiced this in the
hospital. When Oliver was high enough up, he could stand on his
own, but the car seat was low and it made him clumsy. Damon got
them in the elevator with little fuss. Damon kept a supportive hand
at Oliver’s back as they rode up.

“
Are you hungry?” Damon
checked his watch, he had to be. Damon had also been given a list
of other warning signs to look out for with Oliver by Dr. DeSouza.
Apparently eating disorders were a thing to be aware of as
well.