This is the third version of this chapter rip
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I almost rejected the call. There would be a world of trouble if I was caught answering it during office hours. But with everything happening, I couldn't do that to him. "Hey, I can't really talk to now, what's going on?" I asked quickly, walking toward the bathroom in hope of appearing a little more casual about it. If he'd waited twenty minutes, then I would have been on my break and it wouldn't have been an issue, but Carlisle knew that, and the fact he'd chosen not to wait made me panic a bit.
"The CEO found out- someone told him, and Caius thinks he's going to be fired, and he's blaming me," he told me in a rush, freaking out. "I don't know what to do, Gar, I really want to leave, but I'm scared he'll stop me...he's pissed, and I don't want to be near him…" He sounded close to tears, and I could hear that he was frightened. Still, I doubted Caius would do anything too drastic to him; they were still in public, and his superior obviously already knew about it.
I cursed under my breath, glancing at the clock again. "Just walk out, Carlisle. He can't touch you."
"I can't, Garrett…You know what he's like…"
"I can take you home at lunch, it's not much longer," I assured him. "Don't go anywhere near him, if you're that worried, it'll be alright."
"...Can you stay on the phone with me?" he pleaded nervously, his voice shaking.
Groaning, I looked at my watch a second time, like somehow I could leave immediately. "I'm sorry, Carlisle, I really can't. I'll call you as soon as I can, but just stay away from him." Hanging up hurt, even when he told me it was okay, and I went back to my seat. It was the longest twenty minutes of my life, and I forced myself to calmly walk down to my car.
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Carlisle's work building was very quiet when I reached the right floor, and everything appeared normal, despite my heart drumming in my ears. I'd called him several times on the way over, but he hadn't answered. It wasn't keeping me calm at all. He wasn't at his desk, where I'd hoped he would be, and I tried not to be suspicious as I peeked around the corner at Caius's office. The door was open, and that eased my anxiety a little; even if he had Carlisle, he couldn't try anything if everyone else could see it. I didn't dare creep close enough to see who was in there, though.
Confused, I called him again, only for his phone to go off in earshot but be unanswered. Wandering back toward the lobby, I asked the receptionist about him. She just rolled her eyes.
"He was in trouble, last time I heard."
Nibbling my lip, I sighed and went back to the office. It was on a gut feeling that I tried the bathrooms. The door was locked, and my nerves prickled. I felt sick as I asked the woman about a key, faking needing to pee, and she was visibly confused about it being locked in the first place. Still, she gave it to me without question.
Part of me suspected that I might be about to scare the shit out of a janitor, because who the hell else locked the entire toilet block as opposed to a cubicle, but I did it anyway. I barely got a foot in the door before seeing red.
Caius had him jammed against the wall, one hand pinning Carlisle's hands above his head while the other was pressed over his mouth. Neither of them noticed me come in, and I slipped my keys between my fingers, stalking toward them.
"Get off him, you sick fuck." The closer I got, I could see that there had already been scuffle, and that Carlisle was already bruised and his clothing was torn. His eyes locked on mine, and he tried to get his hand off so that he could speak to me. Tears dribbled down his cheeks as his attempts to defend himself become weaker. His fingers ripped into the bigger man's arms, deep gouges torn into his cheek from my boyfriend's normally gentle hands.
Caius glanced back at me too, rage contorting his face. "I told you not to call him, didn't I? Are you scared of me, baby?" he sneered, his fingers squeezing tighter and pushing against his throat. Carlisle's lips were faintly blue now, and his struggles were half-hearted and feeble."You should have kept your mouth shut; you'll be sorry if you've fucked my career up." Without warning, and before I could get to him, he roughly threw him to the ground. A sickening crack sounded across the room as Carlisle's head hit the sink on the way down, but he ignored it, his foot crushing his rib cage as the metallic sound rang out.
I screamed.
Carlisle didn't. He didn't move.
"Get away from him!" Pain shot through my hand as my fist connected with his nose, and blood immediately poured onto the floor. My knuckles burned as I braced myself for his retaliation, but he stumbled back, stunned and clutching his injury.
"I'm calling the police," he gurgled past the blood filling his throat. His shout for help was directed into the office, as though he expected someone else to come running to his rescue. Good fucking luck.
"Do it," I snapped at him. Every inch of me wanted to go to Carlisle, but some primal instinct wouldn't let me take my eyes off of the predator, who still lurked against the opposite wall. Refusing to look away, I barely resisted digging my keys into his eye sockets.
"I've done nothing wrong; he wanted it," he growled. That end of my self-control. I knew the fucker was baiting me, but I couldn't stop myself.
My keys dragged as they slashed into his flesh, and we both slammed into the wall as my full weight hit him. I wasn't any fighter, and he quickly shoved me off him, sending me tumbling backwards towards Carlisle. My feet skidded in blood on the linoleum as I fought not to fall on him.
Crimson pouring from his face, Caius limped out of the room, cursing me and yelling to call 911 at the top of his lungs.
"Carlisle- Carlisle, are you okay?" Kneeling next to him, I gently rubbed his shoulder, trying to keep him awake. Someone opened the door behind us, and I was instantly ready to lash out. The woman in the doorway just smiled awkwardly. "What?" I asked sharply, beyond pissed at that point.
"Do either of you need an ambulance? The police are on their way, but are you hurt?" she questioned, hovering. For minor injuries, there was a lot of blood on the tiles, and she looked slightly faint. Idiot.
I barely resisted a snarky comment. "Yes- he just beat the shit out of him, yes we need an ambulance." Through my rage, I was barely aware of Carlisle trying to squeeze my fingers in an attempt to keep me calm. I ran my thumb across his knuckles, leaning down to press a kiss against his cheek. "What's hurting?" I asked, feeling his body tense over and over again. My eyes were burning; he must have been in agony, and I couldn't help him. It was a bit of a dumb question to begin with - everything must have been painful at this point.
He mumbled that his back hurt, but was holding his arm around his chest like he was scared of it being knocked. "I-is he gone?" he asked tiredly, too out of it to have heard what the woman had said to me.
"He's gone," I assured him, brushing his hair off his face and pressing my hand against his forehead. I hoped the coolness of my palm might help him to stay conscious - he looked like he was going to pass out. "Someone called the police; he won't be here much longer."
Now, he looked terrified. "...What if they want me...I don't think I can get up," he pleaded. "I can't move, Garrett- if they want me to stand up-"
"They aren't going to want that, calm down," I soothed, sure that my heart was breaking. "There's no way you'll be in any sort of trouble for all this. Did he hurt you before I got here?"
The question reduced him to tears, and I wanted to throw up.
.
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It was another hour before we were safely in the emergency room. The tension started to release from his body as they pumped morphine into him, and the collar they'd secured around his throat to stop him moving didn't seem to bother him at all as he zoned out. Seeing him in so much pain was almost immobilising, and I could barely function past wanting him in my arms.
"Don't sleep, Carlisle," I pleaded. Running my fingers through his hair probably wasn't helping to keep him awake, but I couldn't hold his hand, seeming as one had been stuck in a splint and the other had an IV shoved into it, and I wasn't ready to break contact with him.
He coughed and then winced, and then coughed again, needing to sit up but not allowed. Giving up on that, he tried to free his arm to rub his face. "...lights are so bright in here…" he mumbled, the most coherent he'd been since we reached the hospital. "...sucks…"
"You hit your head really fucking hard." The laugh that came out was to hold back tears. Noticing him start to fidget, I rubbed his hand, wanting to calm him down. "Careful," I warned, stilling his fingers.
Suddenly, his eyes filled with tears again, starting to panic. "When do you have to go back to work?" I could hear that he was terrified, trying hard not to cry but about to anyway.
It was well over two hours since my lunch break had finished, but I didn't tell him that. The deed was already done anyway; I had sighed out for the day. Unable to face my boss, I called Riley instead, quickly giving him a run down on what had happened and then sending an email to my company when I was too much of a coward to face them. "Jesus christ, Carlisle, I'm not leaving you after that. For god's sake." I wouldn't be able to work anyway; I was going to throw up if I had to leave his side. The reassurance of being able to see that he was still breathing was all that was keeping me together.
"...y-your hands are bleeding…" he mumbled, voice shaking. "...h-he hurt you too…"
"No, no, I punched him; I hurt myself," I corrected. "Don't worry about it now, I'm fine. Let's just get you fixed up first." It didn't calm him at all, and I shifted to sit on the edge of the bed. My hand had barely brushed his thigh when he flinched violently, jumping away from me. We were both shocked, neither of us expecting him to have that reaction. The motion caused all number of monitors to come loose, setting them off beeping and screaming, and a nurse running into a room. She looked confused at the chaos, gently correcting everything before trying to calm Carlisle..
"You need to keep still," she murmured. "There's x-rays that need to be done before you can be moving around." Thank god, she wasn't accusatory; I didn't need someone else to snap at today. The mention of x-rays made my stomach clench painfully.
My hands were starting to throb now that I wasn't scared of that man harming him anymore, and I open and closed my fists several times to disperse the feeling. "Will he get to come home tonight?" I asked her softly, catching her arm before she could leave.
She looked apologetic. "Most likely not; he has a bad concussion; he'll be here for a while yet."
I just nodded, glancing at him to see if he'd heard. Unfortunately, he had, anxiously looking up at me. "I'll stay here as long as they let me," I assured him, trying to smile.
.
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For the next few hours, he went through rounds and rounds of scans. The pain relief helped calm him, but made him feel so sick that he didn't want to move. I prayed he wouldn't vomit; at the very least, he had cracked ribs, and the pressure of it would have been awful. The beeping monitors were so monotonous that I was drowning them out, and all I wanted was to hug him, but I could barely touch him without causing pain. He'd settled down a while ago, but I couldn't get my mind off of Caius.
"What'd he do to you before I got there, today?" I asked carefully, nervous to hear the answer as it made him immediately anxious. The way he reaction to me touching his clothing had freaked me out, and I desperately wanted him to disprove my suspicion.
"...not what he wanted to…" he mumbled. Seeing the expression on my face, he backpedaled a bit. "I-I don't want to talk about that here, Gar…"
"I know, Carlisle, but did he…" The word seemed too harsh for me to bluntly ask him, and I struggled to find a way to soften the question. Instinctively, I reached for him again upon seeing that he was upset.
My hands on him made his breath catch in his throat, but he allowed the contact this time. "Please leave it, you came in before he could get any of my clothing off, please just drop it…"
"If nothing happened, then you wouldn't be so jumpy," I reminded him, settling for rubbing his fingers.
"He's so invasive- I can't help it…" Pleading with me not to be mad, he tried to hold onto me, only comforted when I leaned my elbows against the bed to be close to him. "Nothing happened, I don't want to think about him anymore."
I sighed through my teeth and nodded, surrendering. It was after seven PM now, and we were both tired. My phone was beeping insistently in my pocket, but I ignored it, knowing I wouldn't want to speak to whoever it was anyway. Carlisle's fingers were cold in mine as he fought not to fall asleep.
When the curtain moved behind us, I glanced over my shoulder expecting a nurse. Riley offered me a guilty smile, holding up a couple of containers. "Victoria didn't want you two to starve yourselves; she made casserole and thought you could use some," he told me, coming to sit in the chair in front of us.
Although it sounded good to me, and I realised that I hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was nearing twelve hours later, Carlisle quickly pressed his good hand over his mouth. His IV pulled immediately, and both Riley and I winced. "Go- go and eat with Riley," he told me in a rush.
"Are you going to be alright by yourself-" I started, but he cut me off.
"Yes- please take it away," he pleaded, struggling not to be sick.
Not wanting to stress him out even further, I kissed his forehead, smiling apologetic at my co-worker and leading him away. We could sit in the cafeteria; it would be quiet by that time of night, and it was close enough to Carlisle that I could get back to him in a few minutes, if I needed to.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't realise that he was-" he apologised immediately as we started walking, clearly worried.
"It's not your fault, Riley, he's had morphine, and it's making him feel like crap," I explained.
"Is it weird, me being here? Should I go?" he asked, hesitating. "If you just want to sit with Carlisle, I totally understand. I didn't mean to barge in..."
I shook my head. "No, I'm glad you're here. I don't know what to do, honestly...it's nice to have something familiar."
Without warning, he hugged me, holding me there for a few seconds before he let me go. "Are they letting him out tonight, do you think?"
"...I don't think so; he needs the pain relief too much, and he hit his head pretty hard, so they want to keep an eye on him...Thank you for coming, Ri..."
"I'll drive you home when you want to go, then. And our boss was fine with your email; I went to talk to him, and he's not upset with you for having to leave." That was a relief; my car was still parked at work seeming as I had come in the ambulance with Carlisle.
"Oh my god, you're a lifesaver," I groaned guilty, letting him pass me a container of food as we sat down. Automatically, I glanced around to see who was near us, and my stomach hurt a bit.
Riley did the same, frowning and reaching over to squeeze my forearm. "We can go somewhere else, if you feel weird here...I know you don't eat at work at all, and..."
My face flushed at his observation; the only other person who'd ever been tolerant about my food related issues was my boyfriend.
"Here is fine." Raking my fingers through my hair so hard it hurt seemed to help calm me down, and I forced a couple of deep breaths. I knew I had to eat, considering that I nagged Carlisle about it so intensely.
Riley took the lid of a container and slid it across the table to me. "Is he okay? Do they know what's happening with him yet?" He was sweet enough not to watch me eat, which I'd be forever grateful for.
The semi-warm meal burned as I swallowed. My stomach almost rejected it as I thought about Carlisle, but I managed to keep it down as I shook my head. "No, they haven't told me anything...they think he has broken ribs, a-and I don't know what to do with him...can't even hug him…" I mumbled at the food. "They're going to admit him overnight, and I already miss him…" The thought of it made me want to cry. That wasn't going to happen in front of my co-worker, though, no way.
"You could stay with me, if you wanted?" he offered, touching my hand to remind me to keep eating.
"Thanks, Riley, but I just want to go home," I admitted. Feeling sorry for myself, the only person I wanted to be around was my boyfriend.
"That's okay, just tell me when you want to go." Despite his smile, he still looked worried.
.
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Riley stayed with me until the doctor decided to send Carlisle up to a ward, and visiting hours were well and truly over. It was almost midnight anyway. The continuous beeping still sounded in my ears once I was out in the street, and the weather had turned nasty, rain pelting our backs as I ran after Riley to his car.
"You okay? They'll look after him," he murmured as we caught our breath in the vehicle.
I nodded slowly; I couldn't exactly tell him otherwise. The lump in my throat wouldn't shift, and I just wanted to go to bed. "Thanks again for coming, Riley...and for bringing me home."
"Are you coming to work tomorrow?" He hugged me goodbye as we pulled up outside of my apartment block, and I repressed a sigh. His frowned only deepened when I shrugged. "Please don't, Garrett. Either stay home, or go and be with Carlisle; don't come in to the office."
I just nodded and thanked him again, dragging myself out of the car. I ran straight up stairs and in the front door, barely having enough time to shrug off of my clothes before throwing myself into bed.
The whole house felt hollow. Curled up in bed, I sent Carlisle a couple of texts on the off chance that he was still awake, but desperately hoping he wouldn't see them until the morning. The bed was colder without him, and I wasn't used to sleeping without someone wrapped around me. It was going to be hard to get any rest.
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I woke up the next morning to a message from Carlisle, telling me that he'd been sent to a ward and what was happening. It didn't make me feel any better for leaving him by himself, but as everyone kept reminding me, he was an adult. Even if I wanted to wrap him in cotton wool.
Not wanting to bother Riley again, I caught the bus to the hospital once it wasn't ridiculously early. I felt sick as I waited for the elevator to reach the right floor; I had no idea what kind of state my boyfriend was going to be in, or whether he'd managed to sleep at all last night. He was always so anxious away from home, I couldn't imagine it going well.
Despite the urgency I'd felt rushing there, I hesitated before going into his room. Stupidly, I felt like I should knock or something. A nurse saw me and chuckled under her breath. "He's fine; you're allowed in there," she told me.
I nodded, and tried to force a smile. It fell instantly. Something about the sight of my Carlisle with an IV shoved in his arm, the other tightly bandaged, almost forced me to tears. Not wanting to wake him up, I quietly sat in the chair next to the bed, unable to help reaching over to touch his hand. It didn't seem to disturb him at all, and I guessed they'd loaded him up on some kind of drug during the night.
He was awake the second he tried to move, the pain tearing him back into reality. "H-hey..." he managed to smile when he saw me, his fingers tightening around mine slightly.
"Are you okay?" I asked, trying not to let on how worried I was. It was a really dumb fucking question; he was literally in hospital.
He must have known, because he nodded despite the state he was in. "...you look like shit…"
"Says the person with a drip in their arm." I hadn't expected everything to look so much worse tonight; the collar might have been gone, but it was replaced with dark marks everywhere he'd been held.
"Did you sleep at all last night?" The genuine worry in his face almost made me laugh; adorable idiot.
"For a couple of hours. Don't worry about me, Carlisle, jesus." I watched him as he tried to shift, helping him free himself from the blankets when he couldn't manage it. The brace on his arm made my heart ache. "Your wrist is broken?"
"...shattered...I landed on it I think...and my ribs…" he admitted. "I missed you, Gar...want to come home…"
"I want you home too." Shuffling closer, I ran my fingers through his hair to get it off of his face, leaning forward to kiss him carefully. "When do you think they'll let you out?"
"Not for a few days," a doctor murmured from behind me, making me jump as they came into the room. "You have internal bruising, which we need to keep an eye on, and a form of whiplash; you'll be staying here until we're confident your stable." His hands were everywhere as he took his blood pressure, shone a light into his eyes, ignoring the discomfort on his face as he poked and prodded him. "Breakfast will be here soon; we also need to manage your weight. Your injuries wouldn't have been as severe if you were healthy."
His face fell immediately, pink rushing to his cheeks as he looked down. "...not hungry…"
"You'll be here longer if you refuse to eat, Carlisle, even if your stomach is hurting."
Part of me was glad that someone else was concerned. He couldn't get away from it if doctors thought there was something wrong too. Perhaps hospital wasn't a bad place for him to be after all. Even if he looked like he wanted to be sick. "It's okay, we'll manage," I whispered to him as the doctor left a few minutes later. "We'll deal with anything that happens."
Swallowing hard, his hand tightened around my fingers. "...the police came to see me last night; they want me to press charges against Caius for everything…"
"And you don't want to?" I frowned, already knowing that we were going to argue about this later.
"N-no...but I'm going to...I don't want him to hurt anyone else."
"He'd better bloody lose his job, before anything else," I grumbled, leaning over him to hug him as much as I could. He buried his face in my shoulder, already stressed about it.
"...this sucks…"
Understatement of the century.