Rentboy

around. They hadn’t gone
    far when they stopped at a room with a security guard sitting outside.
    “Why does he need security? Is he in danger?”
    “It’s just a precaution.” The guard opened the door for them.
    Eddie was asleep. His jaw was wired shut, and his left leg was in a metal caliper that held it
    straight and had screws going through his flesh directly into the knee. His skin was yellow with
    iodine around the screws, and the whole thing was held up by wires suspended from a frame. The
    doctor wheeled Fox over to the bed close enough to take Eddie’s hand. It was very cool. “Why is he
    cold?”
    The doctor placed his hand on Eddie’s chest and then his forehead. “He’s not; he’s fine.
    Sometimes the extremities get cold after surgery.”
    “When is the wire going to come off his jaw?”
    “Maybe ten days,” the doctor said. “Let me take you back to your room now. He’s not going to
    wake up for hours, and you should be lying down.”
    “Hang on,” Fox said. Slowly he stood and leaned over the bed rail. With his fingertips, he
    touched Eddie’s face and then leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. “I love you, dear.”
    Chapter Seventeen
    The twins screamed, running down the steps toward him. “Fox!”
    Gathering them into his arms, Fox kissed and hugged them. “How’s my favorite aliens?”
    “Mum,” they said in unison, looking at the open front door. It was eleven in the morning, and she
    was up. She wasn’t dressed, but still, she was up and smiling. As if that wasn’t enough, the twins had
    said their second word ever.
    Fox turned to wave to the driver who had brought him home from the hospital, but the man was
    already cruising slowly out of the driveway. In the hall Tara kissed him, surprising him with her
    strength when she hugged him tightly. “I wanted to come to the hospital, Afton, but they wouldn’t let
    me.” She still smelled of booze, but she was not drunk by any means. “The man who came to tell us
    what happened said it was called St. Mark’s. He said you weren’t allowed visitors. I tried to look
    them up, but I couldn’t find them on the Internet or in the phone book.”
    Fox had spent four more days in the hospital. When he tried to see Eddie again, he found they
    had moved him. Mr. Conran had returned, saying Fox was not allowed to speak with Eddie until he
    had been debriefed, and he had left it at that.
    “I know. It’s a new hospital, and they were really strict.” Was he going to spend the rest of his
    life lying? “I’m fine now.”
    “What about your boyfriend? The hospital said he was driving the car.”
    “Yeah, he was. He was worse than me. Broken bones. He’s still there.” They walked into the
    bright, extensive living room and sat on the big leather sofa. The room was spotlessly clean and tidy.
    The curtains were wide open. Never in the four years they had lived in the house had they all sat in
    the living room together. “You two been cleaning?” The twins smiled at him. They looked really
    happy.
    “I’ve been up with them every day, Afton,” Tara said proudly. “I’d forgotten how nice it was
    when he’s gone and it’s just us. I wonder if he knows about the car accident. I thought about trying to
    get in touch with him, but I didn’t know how.” At the mention of their father, Arden grasped Fox’s
    hand, and Alder leaned into his side.
    “I suppose he’ll be back soon enough.”
    “Afton, things have got to change, luv,” Tara said. She looked fixedly at him, and he knew
    exactly what she meant.
    “I know,” he said quietly. “I’ve had lots of time to think about it over the last few days.”
    William Baillie was going to die. It was just a matter of when.
    “When do you think he’ll come home?” she asked fearfully.
    “Any day, unfortunately.”

    * * * *
    The twins were in the shower together, filling the bathroom with steam and making the air moist.

    Fox panicked when he breathed it in and quickly stepped back onto the landing to gather his wits. He
    hadn’t been able to touch a bin bag since he got home, and he’d had to show the twins how to put the
    rubbish out. The shower terrified him, and going out in the rain had become impossible.
    Taking a deep breath, he walked back in, speaking loudly and firmly, which always reassured
    the twins. Someone in their lives had to know what they were doing.
    “Blinkin’ heck, aliens, you didn’t open the window or put the fan on.”
    Giggling