A/N: Again, Black Sunday. Get it. Listen to it. Boulevard of Broken Dreams played a big part in the mood for Leon in this part too.. So, go listen. Go on. Shoo!
P.S. I know nobody really reads these, but I just wanted to thank everyone who's reviewed so far. Your reviews give my muses a nice kick in the butt that they just can't ignore. Thankyou.
Leon stared vacantly at the concrete in front of him, callused fingers dragging back and forth across the rusty looking stain. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, only that the sky had turned from a beautiful bright blue to an ugly, morose grey. Then the rain had started. Then stopped. Then started again with renewed vigour. The water was making the dried up blood soften and liquefy beneath his fingers, leaving a watery, brownish red substitute for Jesse's blood smeared on his fingertips.
Jesse had bled out. Right there on the footpath in front of him. And he hadn't been there to help him.
"Fuck Jess.. I'm sorry."
Leon unfolded his legs and lay down on his side, palm laying flat in the watery substance, mindless to the rumbling thunder overhead or the icy rain. He was soaked to the bone and knew he was going to get sick if he stayed where he was, but he couldn't bring himself to move. This was the only place that he still had a part of Jesse to cling to. He had called around to everybody he knew to see if they could give him the whereabouts of Jesse's grave, but no-one had been able to shed any light on the matter. Nobody knew where his little brother was lain to rest. So all he was left with was a blood stain and a slab of concrete. The Jetta had been seized by the Police and was currently impounded down town. Morbidly, he wondered if the city council would object to him erecting a pseudo grave right there in the middle of the path. He gave a small snort of laughter at the thought. The laughter soon turned hysterical, then to tears. The tears soon turned to out and out sobs and he broke down completely there in the street, curled into the wet concrete and blood stained water. He was alone now and it was so painful it hurt to breathe.
Leon blinked sluggishly, his head pounding like he'd been partying non stop for the past week. He was met by darkness, the smell of rain thick in the air and the sound of distant traffic rolling over the water soaked tarmac.
"Shit," he groaned, sitting up carefully, "Musta fallen asleep." He mumbled, rubbing the place on his cheek he was sure was both red and grazed from rubbing against the rough concrete. Looking around, he noted that the street lights were all out, despite the neighbourhood being bathed in darkness, and Letty's car wasn't in the driveway. She must still be at the hospital, he thought, wincing when his knees cracked as he stood.
"Some fuckin' neighbours." He muttered spitefully, scowling. He could have been hurt and nobody had moved to check on him in over three hours. That's how long he'd been out for. He wondered how long Jesse lay there before somebody realised he was dead.
The steps up onto the porch took more out of him than he expected, but the staircase inside was worse. He was tired, cold and sore from sleeping on the cold footpath in the freezing rain and nothing sounded better than curling up under his down quilt after a long hot shower. But he couldn't do that. After checking his watch quickly he went and got in the shower and sat there until he didn't feel cold any more then went to get dressed.
"What do you wear to visit a hospital?" He asked himself out loud, in the end settling for a pair of jeans and a dark green sweater, the sleeves pushed up onto his forearms. Pulling on a pair of old hiking boots, he ran a hand through his damp hair quickly before grabbing his keys, wallet and cell, then headed out the door.
Visiting hours finished at nine Letty said on the message on his phone. He still had a good two hours until then, so he took his time getting to the hospital and stopped to get he and Letty some coffee, languidly climbing out of the car after parking next to Letty's car.
On the way up to Vince's room, he thought about the message he'd gotten from Let, her voice shaky and quiet. She sounded upset and afraid when she'd rattled off the room number and visiting hours. Leon only hoped she was in a better state now than she had been a couple of hours ago. He decided against telling her about his little nap, knowing it would only worry her more than necessary. She'd been a lot more affectionate and motherly since the accident.
As soon as he stepped off the elevator he noticed a couple of younger nurses over by the small office staring at him, but kept on walking. The only woman that got his attention as of late was Letty. He was too busy keeping her afloat to have time for anyone else.
"Excuse me, sir? Is there anything we could assist you with?"
Leon stopped walking and turned, gazing at the two smiling women. One was kind of short and blonde, but curvy in every way that mattered, the other a little taller and brunette. The brunette lacked a waist. Seriously. Both were attractive women and from the looks of it they knew it too.
He quirked an eyebrow and scowled. "Did I stop and ask for directions?"
The brunette's smile wilted slightly. "Well, no. We just thought as we haven't seen you in here before, you might need some help."
"Oh, you did?"
The blonde moved from behind the desk and walked closer, hips swaying with each step. Leon sighed and closed his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for this sort of thing. If this had happened a few weeks earlier, he would have jumped at the chance and would be half way to the car with both of them by now, but it didn't and he wasn't.
"Look," he interrupted as she started to open her mouth, "I want no part of either of you. So you can just forget whatever it is you're about to say and back the fuck off." He snapped, aggravated. He inwardly cringed at how much of a bastard he sounded like, but couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for it. Ignoring the look of contempt coming from the blonde, he spun on his heel and stalked down the hall toward Vince's room.
Room 243, 245… 247b.
He froze in the doorway, reminding himself to stand up, blindly reaching out to grab the doorframe. He hadn't gotten a real good look at Vince that day on the truck. All he could see then was Vince's bulky form swinging from the thin wire cable and a lot of blood. He was too far away to see anything in great detail. Looking at the big man now, he was grateful that he missed it. There was a nurse on the opposite side of the bed, facing him, but she had her head down concentrating as she peeled some bloody gauze from Vince's forearm, never once offering a word of comfort to the obviously uncomfortable man on the bed. The top half of his arm was already exposed, making Leon think she had been at it for a while now. The wounds looked red and angry, never a good sign. Letty was nowhere in sight.
"Please.. It hurts!" Vince moaned, crying out when a patch of gauze that had stuck to the wound was ripped off. Sweat was beaded on his forehead, the moisture making his already unruly hair damp.
The nurse scoffed. "A man your size should be able to handle a little bit of pain! Stop acting like a baby!" She snapped, absently wiping away the blood that oozed from the wound.
"I want Letty!" He screamed back at her, trying in vain to move away from her strong grip.
"Mr. Orello! You will lay still and cooperate or-"
Leon finally found his voice. "Let him the fuck go." He was almost surprised at how dangerous he sounded himself. The nurse looked up in shock, stumbling over her words for a response. Vince on the other hand was reaching out for him with his good hand, painfully distressed. Moving quickly, Leon put the cardboard coffee tray down on the small bedside table and took Vince's hand in his, shocked at the insistent tugging that pulled him closer until he was practically on the bed. He glared hotly at the nurse.
"Leave whatever it is that I need to fix his arm over there and get out."
She spluttered, "But sir, it's against hosp-"
Leon saw red. "Get the fuck out before I slap you with a malpractice suit! You're supposed to take care of him, not cause more damage!" By now, Vince was close to tears and his arm was oozing blood in some places, a thick watery fluid in others. It didn't look good at all.
"Sir, you cannot just walk in here and-"
Unable to ease himself out of Vince's grip, he straightened and looked at her with a blank, eerie expression. When he spoke, his voice was deadly quiet.
"Get out now. Before I forget that you're a woman and do something I may regret."
She blinked at him. "You wouldn't."
A dry, humourless laugh escaped him. "Lady, with the past few weeks I've had, I'm not sure there's anything I wouldn't do. Get. Out. "
Following her out of the room with his eyes, he turned back to Vince, eyes softening instantly. "How ya doin', Pumpkin?"
The bigger man had never looked more pathetic and to top it off, he was hot to touch. Hotter than he should have been.
"I hurt."
Leon nodded, prizing himself from Vince's grasp to move around to the other side of the bed to where the abandoned medical supplies were. "This don't look good, dawg." He leant down, eyeing the weeping wound.
"I'm usually asleep for this part."Vince mumbled, embarrassed. He flinched when strong fingers pressed the edges of the wound together.
Leon looked up through his brows, green eyes meeting blue. "You been a bad boy, Vincent?"
"I don't know… They keep me drugged all the time. I can barely remember my own name." He admitted quietly, eyes downcast.
"Well I ain't no expert, but I think this is infected." Leon muttered, reaching for some cotton wool and the bottle of hydrogen peroxide. He steeled himself for the reaction he would get, apologising over and over as he poured the liquid over his friends bloody arm.
"It's alright, V," he soothed, feeling slightly strange coddling the older man, "It'll stop hurting soon. Hey, come on now… No tears, V." Cleaning the area as quickly and thoroughly as possible, he squeezed out an entire tube of lignocaine over the open wound and pressed the gauze patches over the top. He picked up a rolled up bandage then wrapped the entire arm from palm to shoulder. The fact that Vince could feel the pain but wasn't able to move his arm very well failed to escape him. Just as he was taping down the ends, Letty walked in holding a McDonalds bag. Her eyes widened at the sight of them.
Leon knew he looked dishevelled from running his fingers through his hair and he was pale. Inflicting pain upon Vince had made him feel like throwing up.
"What happened!"
She was beside the bed now in exactly the same place Leon had been fifteen minutes ago.
"Some nurse was practicing her torture methods on him when I walked in."
Blinking back tears, she leant down, nuzzling Vince's cheeks and dropping kisses over his face. "I'm sorry, boo. I didn't think you would wake up so soon.. I'm so sorry…"
Leon slowly stepped back, watching the two. He wasn't needed any more. Suddenly, that empty, alone feeling came rushing back. He brushed the small but painful abrasion on his cheekbone, then reached into his pocket for his keys.
"I might go, Let. I'm not needed here."
She looked up at him with wet, dark eyes, "Le, what are you talking about? Where are-" but he was already out the door.
"Did I do something wrong?" Vince asked, unsure of himself. That in itself was something that would take a lot of getting used to. Letty shook her head, eyes soft, but confused when she looked at him.
"Course not, V. Now," she sat up straighter, "How's about you tell me who the nurse was that was in here when Le arrived, hmm?"