Once the pain medication hit his system, Otis was much calmer. His breathing had slowed to normal, though still raspy. She held him close, whispering to him how much she loved him and that everything would be okay.
After a few hours, he stirred, trying to sit up and lift his head. "Baby, baby don't move. I'm right here. It's me."
He moaned, trying to struggle against her.
"Relax. You're really sick, baby...Just relax. I know it hurts."
He mumbled under his oxygen mask. She pulled it away, beckoning him to say it again. "Get ...me off these fucking drugs..."
She sighed. He hated how he got on pain medication. He hated the lack of control it gave him. "No, baby. You need it. You really need it. Okay? I wouldn't lie to you...I know you hate them." He groaned in response. "I missed you, baby. I really, really missed you." She kissed his cheek.
"Missed...you too, Mama...Missed you...a lot..."
"Missed you more, I bet." She kissed his cheek again. She swore she felt his cheek raise slightly in a smile. "Baby, I gotta go eat somethin'. You gonna be okay till I get back?"
"Yeah..."
"Okay. Just go back to sleep. Before you know it I'll be back." She ventured down the stairs, hoping Otis would be okay just long enough for her to eat and get back up to him.
"Hey, uh..." Cutter approached her. "Did you know Otis can't swim?"
"Yeah...? He can just about enough to keep him afloat if he has to, but not well, or for very long. Why?"
"Oh...that was information to me..."
"What happened?"
"Ah...tryin' to get away from some people and I pushed him in a lake and dove in with him. Didn't know the dumb fucker couldn't swim."
She paused, trying to hide the rage boiling in her blood. "Was this before or after he got shot?"
"...after."
"So you're telling me. You pushed him into a lake without knowing for sure if he could swim after he just got fucking shot?"
"Did I fuckin' stutter?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Listen, you bullfrog son of a bitch. He's been through enough in his life. You think I don't know what you did to him, too? You were just like his daddy. If he doesn't come through this, I'll have your fuckin' balls on a plate."
"What! How the hell did you know that?! Little white rattlesnake son of a bitch!"
"I know everything about him. Everything. It was when you two were having a little pissing contest. You can't be trusted, Cutter. I know that, but he's still figuring that out. We'll see after this."
She wasn't aware of Mother firefly standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "John...you didn't, did you? You didn't...You didn't hurt him like that..."
"Eve, goddammit..."
"No...not my baby boy..." Her face turned abruptly from sadness to rage. "You better have a good fuckin' explanation, you bozo fuckin' asshole."
She could only sit back and smirk. Karma was a bitch, eh, Captain Spaulding?
Eve turned back to her. "How's he doing? How is my Otis?" She smiled, giggling. "Well, I guess he's your Otis..."
She smiled softly back at her. "He's doin' alright. He woke up for a second then went back to sleep. Figured I'd let him rest and come down for some dinner."
"Why don't you make him some tea while you're down here? It always relaxes him when he's...er...having a bad night, you know."
"Yeah...ah, He's running a pretty high fever, I don't know if that's the best idea."
"Oh...poor baby..."
She ate quickly and returned upstairs with the mug of tea. She decided it couldn't hurt, and might make him feel a little better.
He was awake when she walked back into the room. "Hey, Baby...You okay?"
"C...cold..."
"Ohhh, baby..." She wrapped his blanket tighter around him, pulling him into her arms once more. "You're runnin' a fever, Otis..." She offered him the tea, and he drank greedily. "Taste good to you?" He nodded. She let him settle once more, holding him close to her. He nuzzled into the crook of her neck, falling asleep. She stroked his hair, hearing his breathing slow as he fell into a deep sleep. The pain medication was working- it was relaxing him enough that he could sleep comfortably. She hated drugging him like this. But it had to be done. She heard him moan softly, shuddering. He was still cold. She didn't however, want to raise his body temperature, increasing the hold the fever had on him. So she simply held him, hoping that the comfort of her being there would be enough.
She heard a soft knock on the door.
"Come in. Just don't be loud. He just got back to sleep."
Cutter stepped into the room, sighing. "Listen, girl..." He glanced at Otis, and his face fell. "Ooh, shit..."
"Didn't you believe me when I told you he was bad?"
"I didn't want to." He sighed again. "Er...Listen, it's...certainly not that I don't regret what I did. I do. I was pissed and I lashed out in the worst kind of way that I possibly could against him. I got what I wanted, but I know I hurt him...real fuckin' bad. He doesn't trust me. He's made that very clear after that...But...That was the second time."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"Hey, we were both drunk. He was drunker'n I was and I hadn't had pussy in a long, long time."
"You think. That that is an excuse. To..." She shook her head, biting her lip. Tears were brimming on her eyes, she was so furious. Otis moaned beneath her. "Shhh..." She rubbed circles in his shoulders, and he quieted down again. "...He told me it was only the one time. Why would he lie to me, Cutter?"
"Aaahhhh..."
"Don't fuck with me, you miserable mother fucker."
"Well, there's two possibilities. One, he doesn't remember because he's pushed it down so much...Or two, I knew if Eve ever found out, she'd have my dick. So...I may or may not have threatened him that if he told anyone, I'd do the same thing his Daddy did to him and chain him against his bed and make him my little bitch..."
She felt rage boil in her chest. "Cutter...he trusted you."
"I said I really regret it. I've apologized and apologized to that little fucker."
"DO YOU THINK THAT'S ENOUGH!?" She screamed. Otis jumped against her, crying out in agony at the sudden jolt of movement, grinding his head back against her. "Shhh, baby. I'm sorry. Sorry. You're alright. Easy..." He glanced around the room, looking for possible threats. "It's okay. Cutter and I were just talking..."
She saw his eyes trace Cutter's outline, narrowing in disgust. He started to speak into his oxygen mask, and she removed it for him. "Fuck're you doing here...?"
"Came to check on you, kid."
"Fuck you...You don't care...What do you want..."
"Me n' your girl's just havin' a little talk." Spaulding smirked. Otis glared at him suspiciously, and his smirk faded. "She knows, Whitey."
Horror flashed across Otis's face, but he quickly squelched it. "Knows what..."
He sighed. "Knows how many times my dick's really been up your ass, moron. Eve knows because she spilled it downstairs when she was yellin' at me for not takin' better care of you."
She replaced the oxygen mask on Otis's face. "You promised to bring him back in one piece. Is there anyone you haven't let down in this world?"
"Honestly? Probably not. Listen, Whitey-"
"Stop FUCKING calling him that. He hates that." She growled. "Every time you say that he flinches."
Spaulding gulped. It wasn't often one of the family members was this aggressive with him, let alone a protective lover. "Listen, Otis..." He glanced at the girl, waiting for a reaction. "I...I can't take back what I did. But I do regret it. Wholeheartedly. I'm sorry I hurt you like that. Probably scared the shit outta you. I'm sorry, man. I want you to trust me again. You're a member of my family, so...I...I'll just give you time, yeah?"
Otis nodded. She could tell he was still exhausted and needed rest. "Now get the fuck out. He's sick and doesn't need any more of your bullshit." She growled.
Cutter laughed, finally gaining his courage back enough to defy her. "Don't you think for a second he'll let you coddle him like that forever. He ain't ever had anyone take care of him. He's a son of a bitch when he starts feelin' better." He left, cackling down the hallway.
