Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

scanned the covers of the other tabloid and gossip magazines and grabbed two more that had the name Gerald Delaware on the front.
    The checkout girl gave him a bit of an eye as she scanned them through. "My grandmother reads them. Goes through like ten a week."
    The girl pointed to the one with the blindfolded blond. "I hear he, like, got drunk and killed someone, and his family is, like, hiding him in Switzerland or something."
    Sebastian bit his tongue, wanting to leap to Daren's defense. "Maybe he just got sick of it all and ran away."
    The girl gave him a shrug and finished bagging up his purchases. Out in the car, he fished out the magazines and thumbed through them. None were anywhere near the truth. There was no hint of FBI involvement, other than the fact that they're looking for him. No talk of an investigation into the family. Not that he was expecting major investigative journalism, but it was good to check.
    When he got home, he dumped them onto Daren's lap. "So depending on which prime example of journalism you trust, Gerald Delaware is either being held by Islamic extremists and your family is negotiating your release before you're brainwashed or you OD’d and are at a top secret rehab facility. Or, you OD’d, died, and the John Doe that got dragged out of a Jersey cranberry bog is you and your family dumped you there so it would look like an act of violence instead. Or, according to the checkout girl, you got drunk, killed someone, and your family is hiding you out in Switzerland."
    Daren picked up the magazine with the blindfolded blond on the cover. "The thing is, those all sound halfway plausible." Daren tapped the picture of him puking. "You know, I wasn't actually drunk here. I caught stomach flu from some brat at some charity thing my grandmother was throwing. I was sick for, like, three days. But some paparazzi got that photo, and it was all 'Gerald Delaware Underage Alcoholic!' I mean it was sort of true, but still…"
    "Also," Sebastian pulled out the cane. "Your left shoulder is doing better, and your left knee is doing better. Between the two, it might be worth trying getting you on your feet."
    Daren stared at the aluminum cane and swallowed hard. "My knee hurts thinking about it."
    "I bet it does." Sebastian pulled aside the covers. "Today you stand." He held out the cane. "And maybe even take a step or two." Daren swung his legs around. They had lost a little of the fine sculpted muscle that Sebastian had first admired but still looked strong enough to hold Daren up. That definition could be gotten back, but priority one needed to be getting Daren a little independent mobility.
    Daren took the cane in his hand and pushed himself to his feet. Sebastian stood close to catch him but didn't actually touch him. He put both feet flat on the ground while leaning heavily on the cane. His eyes squeezed shut and his face twisted into a grimace.
    "Hurts?"
    "Yep." Daren's voice was a couple of octaves higher than it should have been.
    "I'll catch you if it gets to be too much. I don't want you to hurt yourself again. But if it doesn't hurt too much, try taking a step. You just need one."
    Daren gave a tight nod. He leaned his weight onto his right leg with its broken toes and swung forward his left leg with its twisted, probably torn knee. He leaned heavily on the cane using his left arm with the twisted and possibly torn shoulder because there was no way his right arm with the broken bones could hold him yet. He took another step towards Sebastian.
    Sebastian had hoped that Daren's ability to make it to the kitchen meant his knee wasn't as bad as it seemed. Now it looked like that had simply been a combination of fear and adrenalin.
    "Good. You're doing really good." Sebastian kept his arms out ready to catch him. Daren kept squeezing his eyes shut, tears already escaping from their corners. He took deep breaths, sucking them through his teeth as a light sweat pricked at his forehead. He took one more step before giving a yell. Sebastian caught him as the cane fell from his hand. Daren thumped the chair in frustration, which turned into another yell of pain.
    "Fuck!" he spat. "Fuck!"
    "It's okay."
    "It's anything but okay!"
    Sebastian helped steady him on his right foot even while Daren leaned into his body, shaking. "It's a start."
    "Don't give me any of that 'journey of a thousand miles' crap."
    Sebastian helped him settle into the chair. "You should be in multiple casts right now, recovering