Paybacks
Chapter 11
*****
Bosco dropped the duffle bag they had retrieved from his car on the floor, grabbed the remote, and plopped down on the couch. Faith entered the apartment, nearly tripped over Bosco's bag, and looked her partner up and down. "Sure Bos. Make yourself at home." She picked up the bag and held it up for Bosco to see.
"What?"
"You seem to have dropped this in the middle of the floor."
"In case you haven't been informed I have cracked ribs; which cause pain and discomfort."
"Bosco you carried it all the way upstairs. Three more feet weren't going to kill you."
He slowly got off the couch; careful not to jar his sore ribs. Bosco took the bag from Faith, and placed it at the end of the couch. "Happy?"
"Yes." She proceeded to grab the remote from him, and took a seat on the couch.
He gave her a look of disbelief. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know. Sitting on my couch watching my TV."
All he could do was shake his head as he sat down, and waited for Faith to stop flipping through the channels. "Oh no! We are NOT watching soap operas. No way!"
"Sorry pal. I'm the one with the remote."
"'Cause you stole it from me, and besides I'm a guest so I should decide what we watch."
"First, I'm not going to spend all day watching repeats of SportsCenter, and second, when you're under my roof you aren't really a guest…you're more like one of my kids."
The officers exchanged glances. "For some reason I don't think that last part was a compliment."
They sat in silence for the next few minutes. Faith watching her soap while Bosco grew more and more annoyed. "Come on Faith. Can we please watch something else?"
"Fine. What do you want to watch? And don't say ESPN."
"I wasn't going to. You got any movies?"
"Yeah." Faith got up to see what movies they had on the shelf.
"Oh, and no chick-flicks! I hate chick-flicks."
Faith rolled her eyes. "Isn't it time for you to take the pain medication that knocks you out for hours?" She asked hopefully.
"Nope. Not for a while," came his cheerful reply.
They finally decided on the movie 61*. Bosco picked it because it was a sports movie, and Faith agreed to it because she thought the guy who played Mantle and Maris's roommate was good looking.
*****
As the final credits rolled across the screen Bosco got up and rummaged through his bag. "What are you looking for?"
"Uh…nuthin'. Nevermind." He sat back down under the watchful eyes of his partner. She noticed him wrap his arm around his body as his face contorted in pain.
"If you're looking for your pain killers they're in my purse. I can get them for you."
"No, that's alright. I'm fine."
"You don't look fine. I can see it on your face, you're a little pale."
"Really Faith, I'm fine."
"Bosco you can't fool me on this. I got beat with a pipe and it hurt like hell, and I had the added protection of my vest."
"Really. It's not that bad." He coward at the look his partner gave him. "Ok, Ok, so it hurts really bad."
"Why don't you go lay down on my bed. I'll bring you your pain pill."
Bosco was stretched out on the bed when she came in with his pain medication. She helped him sit up as he was having trouble moving.
"This stuff isn't going to knock me out is it?"
"No. I figured we'd save that so you can sleep tonight."
"Good." He downed the pills with the glass of water Faith handed him. She helped him ease back down onto the pillows. "Kinda creeps me out being in your bedroom Yokas. Seeing as this is where you and Fred, well, you know."
"You're impossible!"
"I'm kidding. Take a joke." He laughed, but then stopped and curled himself up in a ball when the pain hit.
"I'll let you get some rest." She headed for the door.
"I'm not planning on sleeping. You can keep me company."
"I guess." Faith sat down in the chair that was on the other side of the room. For close to ten minutes silence filled the room, neither officer knew what to say to strike up a conversation. Which was highly unusual since Bosco could talk nonstop about anything even when no one was paying attention. Yokas stood up, "Man, it's stuffy in here. I'm gonna open the window."
"No!" Bosco didn't mean to shout, and was now feeling rather embarrassed.
"Geez. Give me a heart attack! All I was going to do was crack the window open."
"I'd prefer if you didn't."
Faith had seen the look of panic on his face when she had mentioned the window. Then she remembered how he had cried out in his sleep the first time he was in the hospital. "Bos, can I ask you something?" she asked softly.
His eyes were closed; he took a deep breath, winced, and opened his eyes as he exhaled. "Yeah."
"Do you remember when you were in the hospital the first time? You had a nightmare, and you whacked your arm on the bed rail?"
He stared at the ceiling dreading what was coming next. "Yeah."
"Well, you kept saying something about a window…that you were sorry for opening it. What was that about?"
Bosco continued to look at the ceiling, and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "That night Skaget beat up my mom I told you that my dad used to hit her too."
Faith nodded though Bosco couldn't see her. His voice sounded sad, and Faith was wishing she hadn't brought it up. "Look Bos, you don't have to tell me. I never should have asked."
He still didn't look at her as he continued. "When he couldn't get in the house he used to come to my bedroom window. He'd tap on the window 'til I woke up then I'd let him in the house after he told me that he loved me, and he just wanted to sit with me. As soon as I let him in he'd go straight for my mom."
"God Bos. I'm sorry." Faith's eyes were tearing up. She had no idea he was carrying around this burden.
The ceiling still held his gaze, and he seemed distant. "So, I'm not big on having windows open."
"I'm sorry Bosco. I never should have asked. It was none of my business."
He turned his head so he could look at Faith. "You're only the second person I've told. The night after that AJ guy was murdered; I went to find my dad. I told him what I just told you. Then I asked him if he felt any responsibility for my mom's problems or Mikey's…or mine."
"What did he say?"
"Nuthin'. The bastard didn't say a word," Bosco's words were filled with hate. He looked back up at the ceiling. "I'm kinda tired Faith. You think I could be alone for awhile?"
"Yeah, sure thing." She kissed his cheek before she left; an unusual gesture of her affection. Bosco smiled on the inside. He knew he had a good friend in Faith.
Author's Note: In case you didn't know: Chris Bauer (Fred Yokas) played Mantle and Maris's roommate in the movie 61*.