Close the Distance (9 page)

After entering, Adrien took his elbow and escorted him to the reception desk. “My partner’s brother was brought in earlier this evening. Could you tell us what floor ICU is on?”

“Yes, sir.” She gave them the floor and directed them to the elevators.

Ion leaned on Adrien the entire ride up to ICU. Olive was standing right there when the doors slid open. She took one look at Ion and burst into tears. Holding out his arms, he wasn’t sure what she’d do, but he wanted to comfort her. His heart jumped when she threw herself into his embrace.

Adrien ushered them out of the way, then stood between them and anyone else in the hallway. Breathing deep, Ion tried to get control of his emotions. He was scared to death about Bogdan, but to know Olive wasn’t turning her back on him helped him gain a little control.

“Oh, honey, what happened?” He eased her away from him so he could see her face.

A handkerchief appeared over his shoulder and he took it before handing it to Olive. She let her gaze go to Adrien.

“Is this your boyfriend?”

Ion took a deep breath before introducing them. “Yes. Adrien Bellamy, this is my sister-in-law, Olive Vasile.”

“It’s nice to meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances.” Adrien’s voice was gentle.

Olive blinked and Ion figured Adrien was smiling at her.

“His smile has the same effect on me,” he told her as he winked.

Giggling, she wiped her eyes then sighed. “Bogdan was driving home and someone rear ended him. His car was smashed between the vehicle that hit him and the truck in front of him. They had to use the Jaws of Life to get him out and he just got out of surgery. He’s in a medically induced coma because he has swelling in his brain and they want to let it go down before they bring him out of it. He’s also on a ventilator.”

As Ion swallowed hard, his hands began to shake. Adrien took one of them in his and Olive took the other.

“What do the doctors say? Do they think he’ll be all right?”

“They are cautiously optimistic. Just like always. No point in getting our hopes up or anything.”

Ion glanced at Adrien and his lover encircled his waist, letting him rest his weight on him. “How are his doctors? Does he have good ones?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. They might be.”

Adrien gave Ion a hard hug then stepped away. “Why don’t I make some calls? I know some surgeons and they might be able to tell me who we should have looking after Bogdan.”

“Oh, we can’t afford it. Our health insurance is going to barely cover this as it is,” Olive protested.

Ion knew what Adrien was going to say, and though his pride argued that they shouldn’t accept charity, his practical side shouted that Adrien had the money and was willing to help.

“I’ll cover any costs that your insurance doesn’t, Mrs Vasile. You don’t need to worry about it at all. Just pray and be there for your husband.” Adrien kissed Ion quickly. “I’m going down to the lobby where I can make some calls without bothering anyone. Text me if you need me. I’ll be back up when I’m done.”

He and Olive watched Adrien stride away towards the bank of elevators. Once he disappeared behind the doors, Olive looked at Ion.

“Is he serious?”

Nodding, Ion offered her his arm. “Yes. While our first inclination is to say no and be proud, we have to be realistic. We’ll be paying off the bills for decades to come. I wish we could afford to say no, but to be honest, I believe that even if we said no, Adrien would go behind our backs and pay for it anyway.”

Olive frowned then realisation dawned in her eyes. “Are you telling me that your boyfriend is
that
Adrien Bellamy, head of Bellamy International? One of the richest men in the city and the new owner of Huntsman Toy Company?”

Ion chuckled. “Yes, that would him.”

“Holy shit!” She kept her voice low as they approached Bogdan’s room. “I had no idea.”

“I didn’t tell anyone who I was dating. You would’ve met him last Sunday if Mama hadn’t acted like I was committing the worse sin in the entire world by bringing him.” He frowned.

His sister-in-law stopped him. “Is that why Bogdan has been so upset this week? He wouldn’t tell me, but I know your mother has been calling him all the time.”

Ion sighed. Talking about it right then wasn’t going to help anything and he wanted to see Bogdan himself. “Can we talk about this later?”

Olive nodded. “Of course. Go in and sit with him for a little bit. I’m going to call your mama to let her know what’s happening. I sent them home once Bogdan got out of surgery. They don’t need to be here all night, plus I needed someone to watch the kids.”

He squeezed her hand before going into the room. All kinds of machines surrounded Bogdan and tears began to fill Ion’s eyes. He’d been angry with him for seeming to take their parents’ side, but he’d never thought he’d see his big brother laid low like this. He wanted to touch Bogdan, yet there didn’t seem to be any place not covered with bruises or bandages.

The only reassurance Ion received was from the whoosh and whirl of the machines helping Bogdan breathe. He listened to the beep of the monitor as it sounded Bogdan’s heartbeat. Ion stood at the end of his bed, staring at him, and tears rolled down his cheeks.

Adrien walked back in and said, “Come on, love. I need to talk to Olive then we should go home. You can come back tomorrow and spend all weekend here if you want. Plus you have emergency time you can take and if you need more, I’ll talk to the HR department. We can work something out.”

Adrien took his hand, leading him from the room. Ion glanced back once before he followed Adrien to where Olive stood by the nurse’s station.

“I called some people I know. One of the best neurosurgeons in the country will be here tomorrow morning to talk with you and to look over Bogdan’s charts. We went to Oxford together and he’s doing this as a favour to me. If he thinks there is anything else he can do differently from what they’re doing here, he’ll let us know.”

Olive threw her arms around Adrien, giving him a huge hug. “Thank you so much, Mr Bellamy.”

“Please, call me Adrien. We’re family now and since I don’t ever plan on letting Ion get away from me, we’re going to be in each other’s lives for a very long time.” Adrien kissed her cheek. “Are you staying tonight or are you heading home?”

“I was just waiting for Ion to get here. Now that you’ve come, I’m going to head to Mama’s to pick up the children. I’ll be back in the morning. They won’t let us sit in the rooms for long while he’s in ICU, but we can come in for short periods. Were you coming back in the morning as well, Ion?”

“I’ll spend as much time as I can here this weekend. I’ll have to talk to my boss at Bellamy and see what my options are for taking time off during the week.”

“Do you want me to set up a schedule so you’re not here when your parents are?” Olive asked. “I know it’s going to be hard enough to see Bogdan like this. Dealing with your mama can be trying on the best of days.”

They shared a laugh and Ion rubbed his chin. “No. Don’t worry about keeping us apart. If she chooses to make a scene while we’re here, that’s on her. I’m not going to argue or debate with either of them about my life. I’m just glad you’re still on my side.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? My best friend and her wife watch the kids all the time. I don’t care who you love as long as you’re happy.” She hugged him again. “Now go home and take your wonderful boyfriend with you. I’ll text you in the morning to let you know when I’m going to be here.”

“I love you, Olive. If you need anything, you let me know.” He embraced her back.

“No matter what, you tell us. We’ll get it for you as soon as we can.” Adrien took his turn getting a hug.

Ion held on to Adrien’s hand as they left the hospital. He didn’t say anything until they were almost back to his apartment.

“I should call Patrick and let him know. He cares about Bogdan like he’s his big brother.” He fumbled with his cell.

“Don’t worry. I already took care of it and Patrick is meeting us at your place. He’ll spend the night and go to the hospital with you. I have a meeting first thing in the morning that I can’t miss, but Patrick will go to make sure the neurosurgeon gets there okay.”

“I can take care of things myself you know,” he pointed out, even though he didn’t feel very together at the moment.

“Of course you can, and as this situation continues, you’re going to have to be strong for Olive. Let me be strong for you right now. I’m a little more removed from the shock of it, so I can focus on the things that need to be done while you be there for your family.” Adrien held out his hand. “More than likely, there will be a time when I’m going to need you to be strong for me. That’s what being part of a serious couple means. We take turns being the rock when the other needs to lean.”

Ion took Adrien’s hand then brought it up to his mouth. He brushed a kiss over Adrien’s knuckles. “I love you so much.”

“And I love you.”

* * * *

Patrick was waiting for them in Ion’s apartment and he hugged Ion tight. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t believe it when Adrien called me. I let my parents and Patrice know. They’ll stop by your parents’ tomorrow to see if they need anything.”

Nodding, Ion realised he was exhausted and all he wanted was to curl up in Adrien’s arms and rest. Maybe when he woke the next morning, he’d find out it had all been a terrible dream.

“I think we should all head to bed, gentlemen. Tomorrow is the start of a very long road ahead of all of us,” Adrien suggested.

Neither he nor Patrick complained, and within thirty minutes, Ion crawled under his blankets to join Adrien. Patrick slept out on the couch. Adrien pulled Ion tight against him before placing a kiss on his lips.

“Try to sleep, love. I’m here and you’re not going to have to be strong on your own,” Adrien informed him.

Ion murmured, “I love you too,” but didn’t think he was going to be able to get a wink. Yet the warmth of Adrien’s embrace combined with the crash of his emotions dragged him into the darkness.

Chapter Eight

When he and Patrick stepped out onto the ICU floor the next morning, Ion spotted his mother exiting Bogdan’s room. He tensed, but Patrick ignored him to walk over to her and give her a hug.

“Mama Vasile, I’m so sorry. I’ve always thought of Bogdan as an older brother. I’m here if you need me for anything,” Patrick told her.

“You’re a good boy, Patrick.” She patted his cheek, but her gaze shot over to where Ion stood. “Olive told me you were coming this morning, so I stayed because I wish to talk to you.”

“Yes, Mama.” Ion didn’t offer to hug her or kiss her cheek. She wasn’t very welcoming anyway.

“Patrick, sit with Bogdan until Olive comes back. She had to go and drop the boys at their babysitter’s.”

“All right.” Patrick slapped Ion on the shoulder before he went into the room.

“We’ll go down to the cafeteria so we can talk.”

He let her lead the way, knowing by the set of her shoulders that she wasn’t happy with him.
No shit, Sherlock. Doesn’t take a genius to know she doesn’t want you around.
But he would stand his ground because Olive did want him there and until she said otherwise, he would be here for her.

They got some coffee then found an out-of-the-way table. She took a sip before looking at him.

“Olive told me what your friend is doing for us. I wish you to tell him thanks, but no. We can’t take his money.”

“I will tell him no such thing, Mama. Adrien is doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He has the money and he doesn’t see the point of Olive and Bogdan going into debt because of his hospital bills when he can pay them.” Ion held on his mug so tightly, he was afraid it was going to shatter in his hand.

His mama stared at him. “We don’t need help from him. It is bad enough you think you are in love with him and that you are telling people he is your boyfriend. I won’t be indebted to his kind.”

“His kind? You make him sound like some strange alien creature. Is it because he’s gay or because he’s rich that you don’t like him?” Ion’s anger began to rise. “Let go of your pride and bigotry, Mama. Adrien is a good man who is only trying to help us. He doesn’t want Bogdan or Olive to worry about anything except getting better.”

“Your father is going to talk to Olive about accepting that man’s help and I’m sure she’ll see why we can’t take charity.” She’d chosen to ignore his question, but Ion knew that it was probably a little bit of both reasons making her act that way.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen, but I have to warn you that if it does, Adrien’s just going to sneak around behind your backs and pay the bills anyway. I know him and he’ll do it because it’ll make me feel better.” Ion grinned. “Adrien loves me and will do anything to make my life easier.”

She winced when he said ‘love’ and he wanted to shake her. He wanted to demand she tell him how their loving each other in some way affected her or Pops.

Her smile was strained, showing how difficult talking to him was for her. Ion didn’t care if it made her uncomfortable. She needed to hear what he had to say and whether she accepted him and Adrien afterwards was up to her.

“How does Pops feel about this?”

To be honest, he wondered if his father even knew what the fuss was about. There had been times while he was growing up when his mother had hidden things from his dad because she hadn’t thought they were important enough to bother him with.
Is having me want to introduce them to my male lover important enough for her to interrupt his ball game?

“Your father feels the same as I do,” she informed him, but she shifted her gaze away from him when she said it and Ion wasn’t a hundred per cent convinced.

His phone vibrated and he checked the screen to read Patrick’s text. “Patrick says that both Olive and the neurosurgeon Adrien asked to check over Bogdan’s case are here. Were you coming back upstairs with me or is being in my presence bothering you too much?”

“I’ll go home. Olive can tell me what the doctor said later. Tell Patrick goodbye for me.” His mama stood.

“Why don’t you have a problem with Patrick being gay, but you act like it’s a mortal insult because I am?” It was a question that had been annoying him for quite some time.