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"…I don't know what to tell you Karen. All I know that is I have a really hurt and angry kid who needs me right now, and something you did drove him to come here tonight." Dan said coldly over the phone a few minutes after Lucas arrived.
"Dan, please, let me talk to him." Karen pleaded.
"Lucas, do you want to talk to your mom?" Dan asked, covering the mouthpiece.
Lucas shook his head.
"Karen, he doesn't feel like talking right now, and neither do I. How about I take him to work with me tomorrow and just let him process everything that's been going on."
"Dan please…"
"Do you really want to push the issue right now?"
"Fine. Andy and I need to talk about this anyway."
"You do that." Dan said, hanging up on her.
Lucas was sitting at the kitchen island with his head buried in his arms.
"I think it is definitely time to call it a night." Dan declared.
"Absolutely." Deb agreed.
Lucas sat up.
"I'll go in a minute."
"Don't stay up too late." Deb said.
"Yeah, you're coming with me to the dealership tomorrow." Dan said.
"Alright."
"Night, Lucas." Deb said, kissing the top of his head.
"Night, son." Dan said.
"Good night…" Lucas said.
Lucas walked up to his bedroom and leaned against his doorway, staring into Nathan's empty room.
It was like it usually was, bed unmade, CDs and DVDs scattered all over the floor, video game controllers sitting on top of two green beanbag chairs.
He went into his room, and then into his bathroom. He sighed, realizing that in his rush to leave, he forgot to pack stuff he needed, like his HCM medication. He slammed his medicine cabinet shut and got into bed, where he stared at the ceiling for a long time.
Nathan was wide awake, sitting up in his bed. His room in rehab wasn't bad or anything, but it wasn't home.
He tilted his head back so it was against the wall. It was coming back, he could feel it. All the pain from the past few months.
It was amazing how much he had managed to numb for so long.
He really wished he could just get up and go talk to Lucas. He would shake him awake, Lucas would whine for a few minutes, and then they would talk until they both fell asleep. Then Lucas would complain about it more in the morning. Nathan smiled to himself.
Nathan swallowed hard, trying not to lose it. He calmed himself down and sighed.
"First night is always the hardest." Kyle, his roommate, said quietly.
"I'm in actual physical pain." Nathan said hollowly.
"Withdrawal is a bitch. Sorry kid, you're probably not going to be sleeping well for awhile."
"Is there any way to deal with it? Because I really want some pills. Like, now."
"Well that's the point of rehab." Kyle said.
"I know…"
"Miss home already?"
"I missed home the second I pulled up here. There just so much that I messed up on, especially with my brother. I can't stand being here knowing that he's mad at me."
"I'm sure he just wants you to get better."
"I know he does. He told me before I left. He hugged me, and told me he loved me. Why would he do that?"
"Because…he loves you?" Kyle said.
"But still."
"No buts." Kyle said firmly.
Nathan smiled weakly and shifted his knee, which felt a little sore.
"I'm sorry if this is annoying you. I would have gone to Lucas' room by now and talked to him about it."
"At three in the morning?"
"Yeah, well it's our bonding time."
"How old is he?"
"Seventeen. Three months older than me."
"…We have different moms." Nathan said after a pause.
"I gathered. So you're close?"
"He's my best friend. Which is funny because I used to despise him."
"Wow."
"We got into a fight before I came here. He told our dad about my problem, and I got so pissed off at him, I just punched him."
"Guessing by that black eye you're sporting, he hit back."
"Yeah, he's scrawny, but he sure can throw a punch."
"Lovely."
"So how about you?"
"Well I have a wife at home, who is praying I get over my alcoholism, and I have a brother too, but we're not that close."
"Are you going home soon?"
"I hope so. I don't think about drinking anymore, but I just want to be sure. I have to be sure."
"That's good."
"Look, I know this is less than encouraging, but you plan to be here for what? Several weeks?"
"I want to be home as soon as possible."
"It's going to be rough."
"Yeah." Nathan sighed.
"Now I don't know how much longer I'll be here, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here. Group therapy can be kind of intimidating."
"Just a little."
"You did well though, most people don't open up that much. Especially the first time."
"I haven't been talking about my problems much, so it seemed easier to open up to strangers."
"True." Kyle agreed.
"I'm sorry, I'm keeping you awake."
"Don't worry about it. Its better than listening to you tossing and turning all night."
Nathan sighed and shifted some more.
The next day, Dan sat at his desk, filling out paperwork. He saw his head mechanic walking past his office, so he got up and followed him.
"How's it going, Chris?" He asked.
"Good, Mr. Scott."
"Good…" Dan said awkwardly.
"Your boy's doing okay. Helping us out is taking his mind off things." Chris said knowingly.
"Really? He's feeling better?"
"Somewhat. He fixed Nathan's tape deck. Got so frustrated he slammed his fist against the dash and the tape that was jammed just flew out. " Chris chuckled.
Dan laughed. Chris smiled, he wasn't used to his boss being pleasant. Not that he minded.
"Why only somewhat?"
"Seems a little tired and doesn't look like he's feeling well."
"Where is he?"
"Finishing up on the exterior of Nathan's car."
"Okay. Thanks." Dan said, going to find Lucas.
"Looks great." Dan said loudly, causing Lucas to jump.
Lucas stood up. Dan saw what Chris had been talking about.
"Yeah…I fixed the tape deck."
"I heard."
"Yeah, so now I'm just…fixing…other cars." Lucas said absently.
"Do you want to go home? Because you don't look so good."
"What do you mean?"
"You're obviously tired."
"I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Thinking about Nathan?"
"That, and I left my medicine at my mom's."
"Lucas, you should have told me."
"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was important."
"Okay, we're going home now." Dan said, taking Lucas out to the car.
"Wait what about Nate's…"
"You can come get it later."
They headed home and Lucas was asleep by the time they got there. Dan reached over and felt his forehead, Lucas definitely was sick. He shook Lucas awake and they went into the house.
"Deb?" Dan called.
"In here." She responded from the kitchen. She left Karen a message saying that she needed to take the day off.
Lucas walked in and sat at the island. He then rested his head in his arms.
"Lucas honey are you okay?" Deb asked, going over to him and feeling his forehead.
"He did not get any sleep last night, did not take his medication, and is running a fever."
"Oh Lucas…"
"I just need some sleep..." Lucas mumbled. He walked upstairs.
Dan sighed.
"He's not doing so well." Deb said sadly.
"He's probably still reeling a bit from all this."
"We all are."
"Yeah. I'll be home early. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, right now I have a sick stepson to take care of." Deb said with a small smile.
"Okay. Be back soon." Dan said, kissing her and hurrying back to his car.
Nathan woke up the next morning feeling awful. He barely slept and everything seemed to hurt.
"Rough night?" Kyle said gently.
"Yeah." Nathan mumbled.
"Look there's no magic cure to make you feel better-"
"Sure there is. There's Percocet, Oxycontin…"
"Nathan. You know what I meant."
"Yeah…"
"Why don't you call your family?"
"Not in the mood."
"Okay. But you're going to have to talk them sometime."
"I can wait."
"Alright…" Kyle said, leaving the room.
Nathan inspected his face in the mirror. He looked like hell. His hair was all tousled, his eyes were red and there were dark circles underneath them.
He sighed and sat back down on his bed. Then he punched his pillow before picking up the phone.
Lucas had slept through the rest of the afternoon and stayed in his room all night. The next morning he was on the Internet, trying to find more information about painkiller addiction and the rehab process.
Deb came upstairs and softly knocked on his door.
"How are you feeling?"
"A lot better, thanks." Lucas said.
"Okay, well I have to go to work. Your dad is already gone."
"Is it going to be weird?"
"What?"
"Going to work with my mom."
"Definitely won't be the most fun day at work I've ever had…but Karen is my friend and I would like to hear her side of the story as well."
"I guess…"
"We'll work it out. I don't want our little arrangement to change." Deb said.
"Me either."
"Have a good day." Deb said, closing the door.
A few minutes later, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
Silence. Lucas rolled his eyes.
"Hello?" Lucas repeated.
"…Hey." Nathan said quietly.
Minor cliffhanger. Teeheehee.
Coming up…angst! It will be oh so fun.
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