Boys Like You

I sat on the old, worn vinyl sofa that I’d sat on before and shoved my hands underneath my legs for warmth, shivering when I heard someone cry out from down the hall. Was it a patient? Or a family member.

I guess it didn’t matter, because either way, it meant that someone was in pain. Someone hurt, and that sucked.

A nurse at the station smiled at me. She looked young. Too young to be a nurse, but her pretty eyes and soft smile made me feel a little better. “Can I help you, hon? Visiting hours are nearly over.”

I shook my head. “I should go,” I said and jumped to my feet.

“Who are you here to see?” she asked.

“It’s fine. No one.”

I ran to the elevator, and once inside, pressed M for the main floor. The doors started to slide back into place but a large, meaty hand stopped them and a tall man stepped in with me.

I knew this man. I knew his tortured eyes. His large, powerful shoulders. The tattoos.

I recognized him from the last time I’d been here with Nathan. It was Trevor’s dad.

And boy, did he look awful.

We rode down in silence, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t even know I was there. He was off somewhere, somewhere dark and sad, and when he stepped off, I followed.

I followed him out the front doors of the hospital and down the side until he stopped near a stone bench and a waterfall. I shivered slightly as I watched him pull out a cigarette and light it.

He took a long drag and leaned against the bench, head bent toward the starless sky as he slowly exhaled.

I watched him take another long drag. I stepped back, wishing the shadows were darker here. Why had I followed him? What was I doing? I needed to find Nathan, not stalk Trevor’s dad.

“Do you know him?”

I jumped at the sound of his voice and glanced around quickly just to make sure he wasn’t talking to someone else. But there was no one there.

Shit.

“No,” I said carefully.

Trevor’s dad glanced my way, and the unmistakable sheen of tears glistened on his face. He didn’t try to wipe them. He just took another drag and flicked his ashes onto the ground.

“So why are you here?”

I stared back at him, unsure and more than a little intimidated by his size and his pain. I remembered how angry he’d been with Nathan. How he had threatened to kick Nathan’s ass if he ever…

Panicked, I took a step closer.

“I’m looking for Nathan.” The words tumbled from me before I could take them back, and I waited for his reaction, my gut churning with fear and my heart hurting at the pain in his eyes.

He didn’t say anything. He just watched me for a few seconds and then took another drag before tossing his cigarette. Carefully he ground the butt with his booted foot and then pushed off from the bench.

He was too quiet, and suddenly I was more than a little scared—not for me, but for Nathan.

“Did you…did he come by? His parents are worried and I know that…” I need to find him.

He stopped a few inches from me, this large, powerfully built man. His hands were tight at his sides, fisted, and I took a step back.

“Who are you?”

Surprised, I didn’t answer at first, and he shifted his feet, exhaling tiredly as he rolled his shoulders. The lines around his eyes deepened, sinking into his skin. I held my breath, not sure what to expect, but then he whispered, “Never mind.”

He moved past me and I turned to watch him, unsure what I should do or say to make things right. I wanted to make things right. I wanted him not to hurt.