Silence filled the cab as the vehicle sat outside the hospital.
The cab driver stared at Chad and Will through his rearview mirror as it seemed neither of them were going to leave anytime soon.
Eventually, Chad turned his head toward Will.
He was staring out the window, motionless, fists clenched tightly.
Unbuckling his seatbelt, Chad scooted closer to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Listen, Will, I know you're upset and you have every right to be. But you need to control yourself. And as much as you want to hurt Paul, it's not worth it. It'll only make things worse." Chad said, his voice hushed. He gave his shoulder a light squeeze.
Slowly Will turned his head to look at him and saw his look of concern. He stared at him for a moment, before frowning. He shrugged off his hand and got out of the car.
"Will!" Chad called after him, but he ignored him, hurrying toward the hospital.
Paul and T sat across from one another in the waiting room, thick tension surrounding them.
T sat in the chair with his legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, and his arms crossed over his chest. He kept one eye on the door and the other on Paul, watching his every move.
Paul sat hunched over, face buried in his hands. He shifted, uncomfortable in the plastic chair. He looked up, caught T staring at him. He lifted his chin and held his gaze, showing he wasn't easily intimidated.
Just then, they heard shouting. Recognizing Will's voice, they both jumped out of their seats and hurried toward the front desk. As they approached the front desk they saw him pointing an accusing finger at the receptionist.
"Where's my daughter! I need to see her, please," Will screamed at the young woman. His face was bright red and his hair was plastered to his forehead.
"I need you to calm down, sir," she stammered.
"Calm down? You want me to calm down? For all I know, my daughter could be dead." He shook his head. "You're useless," Will whispered.
The receptionist's face had gone pale and she looked as if she was going to cry.
Chad came up behind Will. "Okay, that's enough," Chad said quietly near his ear and tried steering him away.
"GET OFF ME!" Will shouted and pushed him away. He glanced around the room. All eyes were on him. He felt the room spinning round him and leaned against the closest wall. "This isn't happening. I'm dreaming the whole thing." Will said putting his face in his hands and shaking his head back and forth. "It's all my fault," he muttered over and over again.
Paul felt his heart break at the sight of him. This was the opposite of what we wanted. "It's not your fault. Don't go blaming yourself." he said calmly, regret written all over his face.
Will paused when he heard Paul's voice and looked up, he said. "No! It's yours!" he shrieked, marching up to him. He banged his fists on his chest. "You had one job, Paul. But you couldn't even do that right!" He glanced up into his emotionless eyes. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? Because you think it's my fault Sonny left. And this was some sort of revenge. Are you happy now?"
Paul said nothing. He just stood there, allowing Will to take his frustrations out on him.
Will's chin quivered and a sob escaped him as he gripped Paul's shirt tightly. "I hate you!"
Paul stared at him with an angry, confused, hurt look. He managed to pull Will off him and took a few steps back.
Will fell down to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Just go," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Chad and T turned their heads towards Paul, stern looks on their faces.
Paul put a hand to his mouth, shook his head and broke into tears. "Will, I'm so sorry," he said softly and took off running.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going," Chad shouted. He glared in his direction, "I swear, when I get my hands on him…"
Chad made to move past T but he grabbed his arm. "No, Chad," he pleaded. "Just forget about him."
"Fine, whatever," Chad huffed and went to sit down.
T quietly let out a sigh of relief before turning his attention to Will.
He remained kneeling and staring at the ground.
Slowly T approached and knelt down beside him. "Why don't we sit down?"
Will nodded weakly. T took his arm and helped him up. As they moved toward the seating area T briefly explained that the doctors were running tests on Arianna and that they were waiting on them for more information.
Will sighed, slumping into his seat, staring straight in front of him.
Chad glanced up at Will and offered him a warm, reassuring smile.
T stood beside Will, placed his hand on his shoulder.
A heavy silence hung in the air.
T glanced around the room and spotted a vending machine down the hall. "Anybody hungry?"
Chad shook his head. "Nah I'm good."
T looked at Will, but he remained silent. "I'll go get us some water," he said.
Chad nodded his head in agreement.
T gave Will one final glance, and then walked off in the opposite direction from the vending machine. He looked around the hallway as he headed towards the double doors. He glanced through the small glass windows and saw the bare wooden stairs that led up. Worth a shot. He shrugged and pushed open the door. When he reached the top of the stairs he saw Paul leaning against a brick wall on the balcony of the hospital. When he had come closer, he heard him sniffling.
Paul, sensing he's not alone, turned his head away from him, wiping his nose with his sleeve. "What do you want?" he huffed.
"I know I've been treating you like crap but—"
Paul pushed himself off the wall and turned to face him. "You're just trying to look out for Will. Believe me, I know. I want what's best for him too," he said, his voice breaking.
T nodded and stretched out his hand.
Paul eyed him warily.
"Can we at least call a truce—for Will's sake?"
Paul hesitated before taking his hand and shook it.
T offered him a soft smile.
He simply smiled back.
T put one hand into his jean pocket and scratched the back of his head "Look, Will's not thinking straight. You saw the state of him."
"So?"
"Don't take it personally."
Paul shrugged. "Well, either way, Will hates me, and that's not good."
"He doesn't hate you. You just need to give him some space, right now."
"What if...what if something happens?"
T's face fell when he saw the terrified look in his eyes. "Nothing's going to happen. She's going to be okay." he assured him.
"I hope you're right."
Paul downed his drink and slammed his glass on the counter.
"Rough night?"
He turned his head towards the voice.
The guy was quite short with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a lean figure. He cocked his head at Paul, leaning against the counter with his elbows.
Paul nodded, then quickly looked away.
"I could change that." The guy smirked when Paul looked back at him. "But it's going to cost you." He glanced down at Paul's wrist at his very expensive watch. "And by the looks of it, that won't be a problem."
Paul's gaze slid up and down his body, appreciating him.
He met Paul's gaze. "So, what's it gonna be?"
He nodded once again.
A sly smile crept up the boy's face.
As they exited the bar they could hear the people counting down to midnight.
"Horton?"
They all looked up expectantly.
The doctor approached them. "So as you know we ran several tests on her."
There was a long pause.
Chad crossed his arms over his chest. "And?"
"It would appear that she's contracted scarlet fever."
Will let out a loud gasp. "Is she..." He swallowed hard, feeling a lump form in his throat. "Is she going to be okay?"
He nodded.
They all let out a sigh of relief.
"Luckily the infection was in its early stages. She's being treated with antibiotics as we speak."
"Can I see her?" he asked hopefully, but the doctor shook his head.
"Though it's being treated, the illness is still contagious."
"Oh." Will looked away, miserable.
"There must be some way," T mumbled.
The doctor took a deep breath before responding, "Follow me."
February 5, 2016
Paul sat in a hunched position with his arms tightly wrapped around his stomach. He had bags under his eyes and his face had the look of someone who was under immense pressure. He heard his therapist sigh but avoided making eye contact with her.
"Have you told anyone? Perhaps your parents," she asked gently.
He shook his head.
The therapist pushed her glasses up on her nose and glanced down at her notes. "You said your father's here in Salem."
He could feel his body stiffen and finally looked up to meet her gaze. "That's correct."
Her lips curled into a smile at the small improvement. "Why haven't you told him?"
"I'd only known him for a few months…We're not close." His voice faltered and he looked away, embarrassed.
She eyed him curiously before leaning forward in her chair, "Have you seen him recently?"
He nodded slowly, biting his lip nervously. "He wanted to grab some coffee and talk. He seems like a nice guy….It's just…things have been awkward between us. You know, I have this feeling…I mean he's never said it, of course, but I think he's still uncomfortable with the fact that I'm gay."
She offered him a small smile. "Maybe he just needs more time."
He shrugged again. "He doesn't even know the real me. He probably got bits and pieces of my life from tabloids. Besides, why would he want to get to know me? I ruined someone's life. It's just my luck that he happened to know him. I can tell he cares deeply for him."
"Maybe, but he took initiative and reached out to you. Don't you think there's a slight possibility that he's not bothered by the whole thing? And that he wants to be a part of your life," she questioned.
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever."
"Give your father a chance."
"Why should I," said Paul, raising his voice slightly, "My life is nothing but disappointment. He'd be embarrassed. Besides, he missed out on all the good things."
"Oh, now, I'm sure that's not true."
"He missed me being born, he missed me starting school, losing my first tooth." He paused, taking a deep breath. "He wasn't there to watch me pitch my first ball. And now my professional baseball career is down the drain. So what more could he do?"
"I know things look bad for you right now, but they will get better. And your father can help you, if—"
"Even if I did give him a chance, I don't even know where to start."
"You'll have to show him he can trust you." she advised him.
"Yeah, but once he knows about..." his voice trails off. "He'll probably think differently of me."
"There must be someone you can trust," she urged.
He puffed out some air and ran his hand through his hair. "There is one person but he won't even look at me."
"It's Will, isn't it?"
He didn't reply.
She took his silence as a yes. "He'll forgive you."
"Yeah, but when?" He sighed. "It's been weeks."
"You can't rush these things. He's still healing." she said calmly.
He simply shook his head. "No, he needs to man up," he said, tightening his grip on the chair. "He's not totally innocent in all of this. He painted me as the villain. And everyone believed him." he spat.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
He let out a loud, frustrated groan.
His therapist eyed him, concerned. "Come in," she called, her voice slightly wavering.
Marlena opened the door and stepped inside. As she neared the desk, she caught the murderous look on Paul's face and paused in her steps. "Is this a bad time?" she asked as she looked between the two of them.
"No. Not at all." her colleague assured her.
Marlena looked at Paul, frowning, uncertain.
Feeling two pairs of eyes watching him, Paul became uncomfortable. "Sorry." He murmured as he got up from his seat. "I just can't do this right now." He turned and quickly ran out of the office.