When The Right Door Opens (6 page)

“Fact is Jamie, and I know you don't want to
hear it, but I need to look at you, to know how to treat you. It is
my duty to help you. Now, I certainly won't force you to do
anything you don't want me to do, but if you don't let me take a
look at your backside, I need to call an ambulance and you are
going to be admitted to the hospital. There, they are going to call
the cops, because it's standard procedure for rape victims, male
and female alike, and from there on, I don't take any
responsibility anymore.” Jamie simply shook his head no. Kai
couldn't interpret if it was still refusal to let him do his job,
or refusal to go to the hospital.

“Look at it from this side, you fainted and
fell into my arms, you puked on me and now you are sitting naked on
my sofa. Usually, that's something only my ex-husband did after
having one too many drinks. There is not much worse it can get.
I'll even leave, so you are alone with a professional. Okay? You
are going to be fine and I bet many more men in your line of work
have been through this. Don't be ashamed, okay? It was not your
fault.” The brothers made see Jamie a little sense and he looked
up. His eyes met Sebastian's briefly.
My ex-husband... did he
just say, that he is gay? Beautiful brown eyes. Blonde hair.
Strange combination. Comforting voice and warm strong arms.

“Would you please leave?” he asked Sebastian
almost inaudibly. He could see Kai as a paramedic, but Sebastian
was a handsome man who had taken charge of him when he was unable
to do it himself. Sebastian had seen him in a very vulnerable
situation, he didn't need to see him any more exposed than he
already was. Sebastian nodded understandingly and left without
another word.

Jamie heard a door close carefully and he
took a last strengthening breath before resignedly turning to his
stomach. He buried his head in his arms, while Kai carefully
cleaned his upper thighs and the crease of his ass with the
washcloth, before he could take a first look at Jamie's abused
hole. Talking Jamie soothingly through everything he did, he gently
washed him up and was relieved when he found that there was nothing
that needed sewing or other medical attention. Everything was
intact, although a few thin vessels were harmed and the tender
flesh looked really raw and swollen. When he was done, he let go of
Jamie and took a few steps away from him, while the other man sat
up on the couch, as best as he was able to.

“Okay, so... You are lucky. There's nothing
damaged beyond repair, no bleeding and no need for sewing. The
flesh is tender and sore and it will stay that way for a few days,
maybe a week.” Kai waited for Jamie to acknowledge what he had
said, before he continued: “If anything else hurts or if the pain
doesn't get better or if anything starts bleeding again, this is
mostly aimed at your rectum, you'll need to see a doctor. You need
to rest and stay in bed for a few days, for the concussion to heal
properly. This will take up to seven days, so don't rush it. This
is obligatory. Don't move around too much. Sebastian knows what to
do for tonight. I would suggest you'd stay here. It's late anyway.
If there is anything else, I beg you, for you and your daughter, go
see a doctor or come see me. Do you understand?” Jamie nodded
again.

“Thank you, really. I knocked at two other
doors, before I came here.” If anything, Jamie's shoulders dropped
even more.

“Don't mention it. And it wasn't me, but Beb
who opened that door.” Kai gave him a small smile, while cleaning
his stuff away. Sebastian stuck his head through the door and Kai
quickly gave a cursory report. Jamie stood on wobbly legs and
looked at the robe in Sebastian's hands, but he didn't say a
word.

“I thought, that you might want to take a
shower, before your daughter arrives.” Sebastian suggested and
Jamie agreed, grateful for the offer. Sebastian handed Jamie the
robe. It was just the right size and Jamie put it on.

Sebastian led the way up the stairs and
showed him a large bathroom and a guestroom with a king size
bed.

“I put out some clothes. I think we are the
same size, more or less. They should fit. Um... there is a spare
toothbrush in the bathroom drawer and there are fresh towels too.”
Sebastian fidgeted with his hands and looked like he was about to
say something, but he didn't know what to say. He simply stood
there, not knowing what to do or what to say.

“Thanks.” Jamie quietly said, before walking
past Sebastian and closing the bathroom door gently.

~~Chapter 3~~

Jamie stood in the bathroom and took a look around.
There was not much to see, a regular clean and tidy bathroom
accentuated here and there with earthy colored accessories. Jamie
looked at his own reflection in the mirror, his jaw was bruised and
he could see the imprints of fingers on his skin. There was dried
blood on his chin and forehead and his right cheek was swollen and
bruised. He remembered thinking that his nose had broken in that
other bathroom, but now he saw that it was intact, if a little
swollen over the bridge too. It could be worse, but he dreaded the
moment he would see Agnes, and he needed to explain to her what had
happened. She would see the finger-imprints and she would know. But
before he had to cross that bridge, he yearned to take that
shower.

Jamie let the warm water run down his body,
grateful that Sebastian had thought about it too. He felt dirty,
even more than he usually did after being with a John. Could he
have done more to prevent it, could he have done more to get away?
Jamie put his hands against the tiled wall and let the spray
massage his neck and back. He saw the water turn red and disappear
in the drain. It was like a picture out of a horror movie. He
looked away and straightened up to reach for the shampoo. He
smelled it and put a generous amount on his palm, before lathering
his hair and rinsing it off again. The scent of lavender was heavy
in the air. Jamie did the same with the body wash. It was woodsier,
but he liked the scent and he recognized it as the same he had
smelled on the robe and now that he came to think about it,
Sebastian had smelled the same too. Jamie washed up carefully and
thoroughly. He took a few more relaxing minutes under the water
spray, before turning off the water and climbing out of the shower
stall. He would have loved to stay and enjoy the warm water some
more, but he didn't want to be rude either.

Jamie cleaned the mirror with the palm of his
hand and was relieved to see that he looked much better now. He
felt refreshed too. He rubbed himself dry and wrapped the robe
around himself tightly. He took a moment to inhale that smell
again. He closed his eyes and a picture of Sebastian wearing
nothing but a sexy smile appeared before his eyes.
What was
that?

Walking back down the hall to the guestroom,
he felt sore and his head hurt slightly, but Kai had reassured him
that a slight headache was typical for a concussion. Jamie put on
Sebastian's clothes and they did, indeed, fit him fine. A knock on
the door startled Jamie. Sebastian entered with a glass of water
and a pain pill, which Jamie gratefully took.

“Thank you for your help. I'll wait for Agnes
and then I'll be out of your hair.” Jamie said, his eyes never
leaving the floor. After the thought he had had in the bathroom, he
didn't dare looking at Sebastian, he didn't want to see the
judgment in his eyes, the disappointment or maybe even disgust.

“No. Please, stay. You need some time to heal
and maybe some supervision because of your concussion.” Jamie's
gaze shot up, a little too fast and he felt the throbbing pain in
his head again.

“I can't. I have a child to take care of and
she needs to go to school. I can't.”

“I understand, but you need to. You are no
help to your child when you are sick. Maybe her mother-”

“No. Lauren doesn't want her and it's none of
your business anyway.” Before Jamie could say anything else, the
doorbell rang and he followed Sebastian down the stairs. Jamie
noticed for the first time how careful Sebastian took each step and
that he limped.

Kai had already opened the door and Lauren
was already rambling away noisily. Agnes stood close to her and
curiously looked into the house.

“Agnes!” Jamie exclaimed under his breath and
broke into a wide watery smile, when he saw his daughter. She
pushed past her nagging mother and ran into her father's arms.

“Daddy. What happened to your face? You
didn't call. Lauren wanted to bring me to our apartment, but Marty
refused to let her in. He gave us a few bags and boxes and said to
never come back again, unless we bring the money you owe.” Jamie
blinked hard at all the information his teenage daughter was giving
him. When disaster strikes, it strikes bad.

“Dad, are we really homeless now? Where are
we supposed to go at this hour?” Agnes looked forlorn while she
waited for her father to answer her questions. He always knew how
to reassure her. But this time he stayed silent. His eyes betrayed
him, and Agnes knew that nothing would be okay any time soon.
Nothing would change. Her father would not change and he would not
give up his job. Maybe it was not his choice, but maybe he also
didn't try hard enough. She fought hard to keep her thoughts from
spilling from her mouth and fighting with her dad in front of these
people. She also had a hard time keeping her tears of relief and
frustration at bay.

“No, you aren't homeless, because, you are
staying here, with me. I am Sebastian.” he extended his hand to
Agnes and waited for her to take it. She didn't take it, instead
she looked at him suspiciously and then at her father, who looked
at Sebastian too, his face was full of awe, but he also looked like
he didn't understand, what Sebastian was saying.

“That's Kai over there with... Lauren? He is
my twin brother, but we don't look a lot like each other.”
Sebastian joked and pointed at Kai, who stood with Lauren watching
the scene. In fact, the brothers had the same facial structures and
the same build, but where Sebastian's hair was blonde, Kai's was
brown and while Sebastian's eyes were brown, Kai's were blue.
People often mistook them for one another.

“Look, Jamie, I don't care what you do and
who you are with, but I need to go and I won't take her for a
while. I had enough of all of this. Get your life back together and
then we will talk, until then... I am young, I have a right to live
too.” Lauren said coldly.

“Your bags are in the trunk. Get them out, or
I'll take them with me. Either way, I'm leaving. Now!”

Jamie felt the dizziness come back. Sebastian
saw him sway and how his eyes lost focus. He moved behind Jamie, to
hold him steady, careful not to let on that something wasn't
entirely right with Jamie in front of his daughter and Lauren.

“Kai, could you” Sebastian needn't say more
and Kai went to get Jamie's bags and what was left of his material
life.

“How about a late night bowl of ice cream?”
Sebastian suggested cheerfully and led the way to the kitchen. His
cane was still resting under the coat rack, but this time, he took
it for support. The day had been long, his leg and knee was hurting
and he had to admit that he needed the cane. Defeated, he looked to
the floor, careful not to face Jamie or Agnes.
Very
attractive
, he thought sarcastically.
I'm a cripple at
thirty-three
.

Jamie sat down on one of the stools that
stood around a counter in the kitchen. Although he was careful, he
had to suppress a hiss at the pain he felt. Agnes yawned tiredly,
but her eyes lit up, the moment a bowl with chocolate ice cream
appeared in front of her. Ice cream was a luxury they didn't
indulge in very often, so, when Agnes had it for once, one could
see that she was still a child and far from the grown-up she
pretended to be.

“Thank you.” she said politely, before
attacking the ice cream like she hadn't eaten all day. Jamie saw it
and he had to ask “Didn't you eat tonight, honey?”

Agnes shook her head no and continued
shoveling bite after bite into her mouth. Jamie was raging inside.
Hadn't he arranged dinner for Lauren and Agnes? He tried to
remember, but most of his day was a blur. But the question
remained: how could Lauren not feed their child? He wanted to say
something, but Sebastian brushed his hand slightly to get his
attention and shook his head.
How does he know?
With every
other person, Jamie would have taken his hand away immediately,
strangely Sebastian touching him casually like this didn't bother
him at all, it was soothing.

“Can I have yours too?” Agnes asked with a
bright smile, pointing at her father's untouched bowl. She didn't
even acknowledge the hands of both men resting on each other.

“Yeah, yes. Of course.” Jamie answered and
smiled faintly, pushing his ice cream over.

“Thanks” the girl mumbled again, already
diving into her treat.

“Can I bring you anything else?” Sebastian
asked softly and Jamie shook his head. He didn't feel like eating
at all. He wanted a bed and a pillow and he wanted to sleep.
“Listen, thank you for everything you are doing for me – us, but I
can never repay you and we are going to dive your world into
chaos.” Now it was the time to finally withdraw his hand. Only
seconds later, he already regretted it and missed the tingly
feeling against his skin. Sebastian's hands were large and soft,
but still very manly.

“Stop it, please. I need a bit of diversion
and chaos in my life right now and it was my idea that you'd stay
here. I am sure we can figure something out. I am not very
complicated to live with and if we establish some ground rules in
the morning, I think we can be perfectly fine. Don't worry. I am
sure we can work it out. It's not the first time that I live with
roommates.” Jamie nodded already sunken in his own thoughts again.
He didn't even realize when Kai stood next to him and hugged his
brother tightly. When Kai touched his shoulder, he jumped,
startled, and blushed, embarrassed. Kai held out his hand to shake
and Jamie took it.