Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

handed him a tissue from the bedside table to wipe his eyes. He was quiet for a moment. "When I was in the Navy there was this kid who'd had an accident, compound fracture of his femur. Most painful broken bone you can get. I thought he also had a head injury and triaged him as such because when I asked him his name he said Jerry. According to his dog tags, it was Thomas. So I marked head injury and sent him on to the doctors. Found out later that they did an MRI and couldn't find any brain injury, but someone noticed that his wisdom teeth hadn't developed yet. Turns out he was sixteen and stole his older brother Thomas' birth certificate to get in. He was in so much pain from that break that when I asked him his name he forgot to lie. You were down a pint of blood, easy, head injury on top of everything else, and when I asked your name you said Daren without a second of hesitation. Maybe you're not really Gerald Delaware anymore. Maybe you never really were."
    Daren tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Maybe Gerald Delaware is dead," he said softly. "Maybe he was beaten to death on the floor of the men's room in a bar called the Blue Dragon. That might not be a bad thing."
    Sebastian gave his shoulder a little squeeze. Putting temporary splints on broken bones was one thing. Faking knowledge of psychology was a little different. "For what it's worth, you're nineteen; I think you're supposed to be having an existential crisis."
    "Did you have one?"
    "I spent my nineteenth birthday watching a man bleed to death, so it was more nihilistic than existential, at least for the first half. Then I got shore leave and spent three days getting laid by an Australian performance artist who had a tattoo of the Virgin de Guadalupe on his back and a DNA molecule on his dick. He talked me into spending the next six months reading Gravity's Rainbow and Finnegan's Wake . And those screwed with my brain in whole special ways."
    Daren blinked at him then his brows came together. "How the fuck do you get a tattoo on your dick?"
    "I did not ask."
    "I mean, forget the pain; you'd have to be up through the whole thing, wouldn't you?"
    "He was into some Tantric shit. Might have helped."
    "I'll pass on that one anyway." Daren just cringed and shivered a bit. "There are places needles don't belong."
    "That's pretty much what I thought."
    "Why were you even in the Navy anyway? I mean you're…" Daren randomly wave a hand towards Sebastian.
    "I went through six high schools in my last four years. College wasn't an option."
    "I did eight in four years. Kept getting kicked out."
    "Yes, but your family is rich. They could have bought a college for you to go to." Daren ducked his head a little. "The military was a good option, but I wasn't up for getting shot at. I figured if I landed on the right ship, or better yet a stateside post, I could get the GI bill while dodging minimal bullets."
    "So what did you study?"
    "Haven't yet. My boyfriend broke up with me really hard at just the wrong moment, and I ended up signing up for another stint. Between that and the Reserve period, I've only been a civilian a couple of months."
    "You should probably get rid of me quick then. I wouldn't be surprised if my grandfather sent a sniper or something to take me out."
    "He better not. I've put a lot of effort into keeping you alive. I'd be really fucking pissed."
    Daren laughed. "I'll be sure to pass that along."
    ****
    Sebastian was on his shopping run when he spotted a little box in the old people's section of the drug store. The picture on the box was of an adjustable aluminum cane with a good looking grip on it, but this one looked like it folded up like a blind person's cane.
    He looked at the price. He knew his bank balance was at nearly nothing, but Daren was going to have to start walking soon, and it was half off. He dropped it into his basket with some sensitive-skin shaving cream and a pack of fresh razors.
    The drug store wasn't particularly busy, but they only had two cashiers open, and of course, Sebastian found himself in the one with the trainee checkout girl and an old lady who couldn't figure out how to use her bank card. He ran his eyes over the rack of trashy magazines then yanked one out. The headline was "Delaware Heir Held Captive– Brainwashed!" On the cover was a grainy picture of a blond with a blindfold over his eyes. In the corner was a little insert picture of Gerald Delaware being sick all over a luxury car. Sebastian