As the early morning sun broke the horizon Trucker looked up from his paper when he heard a soft knock on the door. Rising slowly he rolled his neck and arched his back, trying to relieve the tiredness and stress he felt. Last night had been challenging, with Priestly waking when the pain pills faded and moaning in his sleep. Trucker hadn't wanted to leave him alone, fearing he wouldn't hear Priestly if he needed him so he had slept on a chair in the corner of the room. As he reached the door and opened it he was surprised at who was on the other side.
A very tired and slightly disheveled looking Tish smiled and held up a fast food bag, "I brought breakfast".
Trucker smiled warmly and moved to the side, extending a silent invitation to come in. Tish strode in and sat down at the small kitchen table emptying the contents of the bag onto the hard surface. Trucker closed his door and sat down across from Tish and reached for a wrapped sandwich.
"Is he awake?" Tish asked softly, not wanting to wake Priestly if he was still asleep.
"No, not yet. He'll have to eat at some point though, so I'm assuming he'll wake soon."
Tish nodded slowly, deep in thought. She had been thinking a lot since yesterday. She had always viewed the sub shop group as her friends, never just coworkers. Trucker was always looking out for them, and Piper and Jen were the best girlfriends ever. Priestly on the other hand… Of course he was a friend but it felt like there was always something else, just below the surface but never recognized. Not wanting to delve too deep this early in the morning she gave herself a mental shake.
"I'm going to go check on him" she stated, turning quickly and disappearing down the hall. She didn't see the small knowing smile Trucker gave her.
As she reached the doorframe she stopped and took a deep steadying breath, mentally preparing herself for what she might see. After gathering herself she gently padded into the room and let her gaze fall upon the softly snoring Priestly. He looked better today in some aspects, and worse in others. His face, by some miracle was not swollen but his torso was a rainbow of painful colors. She grimaced as she listened to his short breaths, realizing even in sleep he felt pain. She grabbed the chair from the corner and quietly placed it near the bed before slowly sinking into it. It wasn't often she could sit in silence with Priestly; as a matter of fact she didn't think she ever had. He was always talking, singing, or joking; it was strange to see him so still and quiet. Not wanting to waste this opportunity she let herself look at Priestly, really look at him. She started at the top of his head with his brightly colored hair that was in slight disarray from the long night. She smiled to herself as she thought about all the different colors and styles he had shown up with over time. Before she even realized what she was doing her hand was snaking its way through his bright red strands. She jerked her hand back when awareness hit her and chastised herself. Her eyes continued drifting lower taking in his long lashes and full lips, his strong jaw and…woah… muscular torso. Where did that come from? She had always thought he was just lean, but he was built. She couldn't believe she had never noticed it but underneath all the loud clothing, tattoos and piercings; Priestly was a beautiful man.
What am I doing? What am I thinking! I have Tadd, and this is Priestly we're talking about here. Beautiful, sweet, funny Priestly…
A groan brought her back to reality as she saw his eyes blearily open with slow blinks. Have his eyes always been that green?
"Tish? What are you doing here, where's Truck?"
Tish noticed his speech was still slightly halted from his damaged ribs but he was speaking much better than yesterday.
"In the kitchen, you need anything? Breakfast, pills, anything?"
Priestly's eyes had lit up at the mention of food, and Tish smothered a smile as he replied, "Breakfast would be awesome!"
Tish rose and disappeared out of the room leaving Priestly alone. He laid still for a few minutes trying to get his bearings. He mentally took in his injuries trying to determine what hurt least to most, it didn't take long to realize his ribs were definitely the worst. Grunting with strain he propped himself up against the headboard and reached over for the Tylenol and water. He didn't want the strong pain killers, they made him groggy. As he swallowed the small pills he heard Tish's voice carry from the kitchen. To say he had been surprised to see her when he opened his eyes would be a gross understatement. He was shocked, but also very pleased. Even though he would never say it out loud, he was smitten with Tish. In his eyes she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, yes she was a little bit of a bitch, and a little promiscuous, but that was just her and underneath all that was a kind, wonderful person. He lightly sighed not wanting to go along that train of thoughts and waited for Tish to bring him breakfast.
"Here ya go!" she happily stated before handing him a breakfast sandwich, which he immediately started eating.
His eyes closed and a content smile played on his lips as he finished the sandwich and licked the remnants off his fingers. "God I was hungry".
"I see that, did you even taste it?" was the amused reply.
He smiled sheepishly, "Heh…ya I tasted it".
They sat in a comfortable silence both lost in their own thoughts when Trucker came into the room. "Feeling any better?"
"Ya, I'm not great but good, considering."
"Good, well I just wanted to let you two know that Piper and Jen are on there way over. They wanted to check on you before they open the shop".
He grinned, "Sounds good, I love seeing all my ladies in the morning". Trucker laughed and exited the room awaiting the arrival of the two girls. Tish rolled her eyes at his reply, stood and followed Trucker.
A short while later Priestly heard a knock, announcing the arrival of Piper and Jen. He smiled to himself, humbled by how much everyone cared about him. If someone had told him a few years ago that he would have not one or two, but four people that cared deeply about him he would have laughed in their face, but now… He frowned as his thoughts turned dark, thinking about past events that were best left alone.
"Knock knock, how's our injured chameleon today?"
Priestly softly laughed at Jen's words, "Not bad, feeling more like a kicked puppy though."
Piper grimaced, "Ya, I bet".
After everyone was up to date on Priestly's health Trucker clapped his hands together, "Well now that everyone's here, I think we need to talk about yesterday".
Everyone silently agreed and looked to their injured friend to start talking. Priestly's eyes widened and his breaths started coming in short bursts, "What? No, I mean…" he stuttered. "It's not important, it's over. Can't live in the past right. Just move on. Yup" he rambled as sweat broke on his brow.
Not expecting that reaction everyone frowned before looking to Trucker for something to say. "Priestly, I'm sorry but we need to talk about it. We trusted you yesterday when you said no to the hospital, now you have to trust us and let us know what's going on".
Wide green eyes met his as he heard a broken, "Please…"
Trucker nervously licked his lips, "No Priestly, don't make me the enemy. We're your friends, we won't judge".
Priestly slowly looked from each person, meeting their nervous gazes before landing on Tish. He held her gaze before he finally looked down at his clasped hands. He swallowed thickly. This is it, he thought before he opened his now dry mouth and began to speak.
