What Remains (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 31

How much time has passed? Fifteen minutes? Thirty minutes? One hour? Carter wasn't sure anymore, and he hadn't been paying attention to the time as well until now. He was anxiously sitting in the waiting room, bent over, leaning on his knees, fingers intertwined and staring at the flooring. He had called his parents as soon as he was able to get to a telephone, and had asked them to call the parents of Alyssa, Chris, Paxton and Melanie as well to inform them about the situation.

Right now, Josh was undergoing surgery to stop the internal bleeding that the beating had caused. A doctor had come up to him right after Carter and the man who drove them delivered him to the ER.

Josh had a minor concussion, broken collarbone and needed stitches right above his eyebrow.

Even though the doctor had told Carter that he'd be alright, he still couldn't help but worry. The only thought that comforted him, was that they had given Josh anesthetics, so at least he wasn't in pain anymore.

Doctors and nurses passed, but Carter barely noticed them. He had cried a little while waiting in the waiting room during the first few minutes, but after the doctor had spoken to him he felt a lot more at ease.

Carter had also called the police to inform them about the situation. He wasn't entirely sure if an arrest would be necessary, but he wanted the police to be aware of the fact that Steve Marson was violent, and that maybe they could try to keep an eye on him or at least have him stay away from Josh.

It didn't take long until his parents arrived. As soon as he saw them, Carter raised from his chair and could see the all too familiar concerned look his mother gave him. She rushed towards him and swung her arms around him to pull him into a tight hug.

Not being able to control his emotions, Carter returned the hug and closed his eyes, feeling the impact all the tension and anxiety from the past hour now coming to surface. He now noticed that he was slightly trembling in his mother's hold and realized how much he had needed this affection.

"Where's Josh? Is he alright?" Mrs. Raymore asked her son after she let pulled away from the hug, yet still kept her hands on his shoulder.

Carter's eyes flickered from his mother's to his father's face, seeing that he wore the same concerned expression as his mother did, before looking back. "He'll be alright," he said after having inhaled deeply, "but he is really damaged." Carter sat back down on the chair, his knees feeling weak, and looked up at his parents. "He has a broken collarbone, minor concussion, and a pretty bad wound on his forehead that needs to be stitched."

Mrs. Raymore covered her mouth with her hand, something she alway did when shocked or disturbed. "Dear God..."

Mr. Raymore sat down next to his son and let out a sigh. "We should have known something like this would happen someday. This is not the first time Steve's drunken violence has gotten out of hand," he said. "I had really hoped he had changed in those five years. Clearly he hasn't."

Carter chewed the inside of his cheek, wondering if maybe they had acted sooner, they could have prevented this from happening. Either way, he was very well aware of the fact that he was in time to save Josh out of pure luck. Next time, there would not be such luck, so he knew he had to make sure that there wouldn't be a next time.

After a few minutes, the a nurse came up to waiting room, calling for Carter, and told him that Josh was able to receive visitors now.

He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but he knew that seeing Josh again, all beaten up, would break his heart.

Carter and his parents quietly followed the nurse to the room where Josh was staying in. They were told that Josh would have to stay in the hospital for one night, for check ups on his concussion, but that if everything went good, he would be able to leave tomorrow. Carter's parents had agreed on the fact that he'd be able to stay with them until he was fully recovered. He couldn't go back to his father's house, and he couldn't be alone in his boat whilst being injured like that.