Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

his own
    hand to cover Ty‟s for a moment.
    “Sounds like you were,” Zane murmured. He shifted his eyes to
    look around even though there was nothing to see. “What time is it?”
    “Late,” Ty answered, his voice sounding as if he had turned
    away. “Can you… can you see anything?” he asked tentatively.
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    Zane shifted a little more onto his side, facing Ty, letting his
    cheek settle on the pillow. “No,” he whispered. His fingers moved
    slightly on Ty‟s hand. While he‟d never been touchy-feely, now that he
    couldn‟t see, touching was much more important to his state of mind.
    He wondered how long Ty would tolerate it.
    “Damn,” Ty sighed. He gave Zane‟s hand a squeeze and pulled
    away as he stood, just like Zane had known he would. “You need
    anything? I‟m going to go find caffeine. Maybe some real food.”
    Zane resisted shaking his head slightly. It hurt and made him
    queasy. “No. Have you been here the whole time?”
    “Yeah,” Ty answered in a surprised voice. He almost sounded
    offended that Zane had asked. “Why?”
    “Chill, okay?” Zane said with a sigh. “I figured you had, which
    means you‟ve been here awhile without a break. When did you eat
    last?”
    “Lunch,” Ty answered as he moved away completely. “Want me
    to fi … doctor and see … get some food?” he mumbled, his voice going
    in and out of earshot. Zane thought he might be looking around the
    room for something or possibly putting a jacket on. He might have
    detected some rustling of fabric.
    “Yeah,” Zane said, swallowing on the hint of dread that hit him in
    the chest. He bit his lip and shifted more onto his side and pulled the
    pillow hard against his chest like he did at home. Damn, he hated this.
    And he hated even more being scared about it. He squeezed his eyes
    shut hard.
    “What‟s wrong?” Ty asked as his voice moved closer again.
    Zane reminded himself he was a grown man who‟d faced all sorts
    of dangerous and really frightening challenges in his life and tried to
    relax, with only a bit of success. He cleared his throat. “You‟ll come
    back, right?” he finally asked. He winced. Damn, he sounded like a
    baby.
    There was silence in response, but Zane could still feel Ty‟s
    presence beside his bed. Finally, Ty moved, and the denim of his jeans
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    scraped softly. He reached out and put his hand on Zane‟s forehead.
    “It‟ll be okay,” he assured him, then removed his hand.
    Some of the tension melted, enough that Zane could breathe
    easily again. He nodded against the pillow. “Go on. I‟ll be here.”
    There was no response, no sound of Ty moving, but it felt like the
    warmth had left the room, so he knew Ty was gone. Zane‟s jaw
    clenched, and he pushed his face into the pillow. This blind shit had
    been easier to handle when he was mostly unconscious and unable to
    focus. With nothing else to do, he started listening, closing his eyes and
    really listening .

    AFTER the claustrophobic hell that was the hospital‟s crowded food
    court, Ty found himself rattled and unkempt as he made his way to the
    elevators. He didn‟t smile and nod at people as he passed by; he didn‟t
    even see the people he passed by.
    He kept his head down, face set in a frown as he fretted over what
    needed to be done. He‟d talked to his mom for at least half an hour as
    he‟d waited in line in the café, trying to convince her that no one had
    died and that he and Zane both had all their parts intact. When he‟d
    hung up, he‟d told himself to appreciate the fact that she cared,
    remember it was out of love, be glad your mom is still around. Zen, Ty,
    Zen.
    Then the thought that Zane had a mother had hit him like a
    truckload of panicking chickens and he‟d needed to sit down. He‟d lost
    his place in line. Fuck the line.
    He was listed as Zane‟s emergency contact, which meant the only
    notifying of family was going to be done by him . The prospect of
    calling Zane‟s parents to tell them he was seriously injured, and oh, by
    the way, I‟m your son‟s partner who let him go by himself into the
    building that blew up, nice to meet you, has he told you he likes cock?
    Ty closed his eyes and shook his head, surprised to find himself
    riding the elevator up already.
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    He took in a deep breath and blew it out carefully. This was
    merely lack of sleep and possibly a little trauma getting to him.