15 – Brilliant Ideas (2)

Luke had returned to the TV, and Clay soon joined him. Skye had hidden herself away in her bedroom. All was quiet. Too quiet, even for Skye.

“Maybe we were a little rough on her,” Clay admitted. “I think she’s learned her lesson.”

“Yeah. If she’s good for the rest of the day, I’ll let her have a couple cookies after dinner.” Luke stretched his back as he stood up. “I’ll go check on her.”

Luke walked up to their bedroom door, which was still closed. He knocked. “Skye?”

No answer.

“Well, this is my bedroom too, so I’m coming in.” Luke opened the door, revealing a Skye-free room. “Skye? Where are you?”

He searched the closet, and under the bed. Strange. Maybe she was in the bathroom.

The bathroom door was wide open. Luke walked inside, and checked behind the shower curtain. “Skye?”

He left the bathroom, and called Skye’s name as he searched the rest of the house. Was she playing some sort of game with him? He searched under the kitchen sink, and in the fridge, before moving onto the laundry room. She wasn’t hiding in the washing machine, or the dryer. He moved on to Clay’s room. His heart raced as every potential hiding spot came up empty.

“Skye!” Luke shouted through the house, raking his hands in his hair. “This isn’t funny. Come out now!”

“What’s going on?” Clay asked, as Luke returned to the family room.

“Skye’s gone.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve searched everywhere! I can’t find her.”

Clay jumped off the couch, and called Skye’s name. He helped Luke search places he had already searched. Skye couldn’t have gone out the front door without him seeing her, but there was the back door. Luke ran out the back door, into their open backyard. “Skye!”

He searched the perimeter of the house, calling her name. Screaming her name. Why didn’t they have a cursed fence? They never needed one, given how secluded their house was from the rest of town. But it would have kept Skye from running off into the woods.

Was she in the woods? Or had someone kidnapped her? Did a wild animal get to her? Luke ran back in the house, a heavy lump in his throat. “She’s not outside. I mean, I don’t see her. What if she’s lost in the woods?”

“You can try searching there. But I’m calling the police.”

“Good idea.” Luke hurried back outside, and into the woods, keeping an eye out for any sign of her. Hopefully she hadn’t traveled far.

~~~~~

Sebastian, Axel, and Jake arrived in urgent care. Several people sat in the waiting room, and one person talked to a lone receptionist at the front desk. Sebastian leaned against Axel. He’d sit down and let Axel talk to the receptionist for him. But they both figured the receptionist would want to see his ID and insurance. Despite still being in a lot of pain, Sebastian found he was able to put a little weight on his leg. He could probably even walk unassisted, though it would probably hurt.

The person ahead of them walked away. Sebastian limped to the desk with more help from Axel than necessary. “I messed up my knee.”

"I'm going to need your information." The receptionist slid a fingerprint reader towards Sebastian. Sebastian put his finger on it, and it turned green. The receptionist typed something down on a tablet. Then, he turned the tablet towards Sebastian. “Now I need you to fill this out.”

It was a bunch of questions about his medical history and what medications he took. None of it applied to Sebastian, so all he really had to do was sign it.

“We’ll call you when we’re ready,” the receptionist said.

The wait was a long, boring one. Now Sebastian knew why he never went to doctors. And he was beginning to think his knee was only sprained. A bad sprain, but nothing he couldn’t cure at home. He felt guilty for ruining Jake and Axel’s day like this. They should be out doing whatever it was boyfriends did. Quite frankly, Sebastian didn’t want to know what the two got up to when he wasn’t around.

Or did he? Sebastian allowed his mind to wander there. He snuck a glance at Jake. As much as he disliked Jake, he had to admit, he was good-looking. And now that they saw more of each other, they were starting to get along. Sebastian would be lying if he said Jake hadn’t grown on him. (Not that he’d ever tell Jake that.)

Axel, of course, was the better looking one. Two good-looking men getting sexual with each other? It was a pleasant and arousing thought...

And absolutely disgusting! What the hell was he thinking? Sebastian squeezed his eyes shut. Not only were they both men, but they were his only friends.

A nurse finally opened a door, and called Sebastian’s name. Jake muttered something about it being quick as Axel helped Sebastian up. They followed the nurse to a room with a few chairs and an examination table. The table was covered with cheap, crinkly paper. Sebastian sat on it with his legs laid out straight while the nurse took his blood pressure and asked questions about his knee.

“I haven’t actually looked at it,” Sebastian said, “but I can barely walk. Is it broken?”

“It could be. We need you to take off your pants to look at it.” The nurse handed him a white towel. “You can cover yourself with that if you need to. The doctor will be here in a few minutes.” With that, the nurse walked out, closing the door behind her.

Jake smirked at Sebastian. “You heard the woman. Take ’em off.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes, and somehow managed to kick off his shoes without too much effort. As he unbuttoned his jeans, he remembered which boxers he had on. Normally he wouldn’t wear this particular pair, but he was far behind on his laundry.

“Need help?” Axel asked.

How hard would Jake laugh at him if he put the towel over himself before taking off his jeans?

Already, Jake wore a stupid grin. “Aw, don’t tell me you’re shy.”

Heat crept up Sebastian’s neck. “I’m not shy!”

“We can look away if you’re embarrassed,” Axel said.

“I’m not embarrassed!”

“Then take your pants off before the doctor comes back,” Jake said.

Sebastian managed to slip them halfway past his butt before things got painful. He couldn’t move his leg well enough to get his jeans off any further. It didn’t help that they, like his boxers, were too tight on him. In that moment, he vowed to never fall behind on his laundry again.

Axel angled himself in front of Sebastian. “Here. Lift your butt up, and keep your legs straight.”

Sebastian did. Axel gripped the sides of his jeans, near the pockets. He slowly pulled them down, but grabbed his boxers with them. In a panic, Sebastian yanked at his boxers before they could go down too far.

“Sorry!” Axel pulled his hands away, flushed.

Jake laughed. “Nice bush!”

Like Sebastian had planned on anyone seeing that part of him. “Get on with it,” he said to Axel.

“Axel grabbed the waistband of the jeans instead, and continued slipping down his jeans. He stopped at the knees, moving slowly on his injured one.

It would be pleasurable, if Sebastian wasn’t in pain. And if he wasn’t wearing old, tattered boxers covered in puppies.

Once his jeans were off, Axel’s eyes landed right on them. He gave Sebastian a playful smile. “Cute, but I think you need a new pair.”

“All my others were dirty.” Sebastian sat up, casually setting his hands over his lap. Not only was this pair too tight on him, but it was missing the button that kept the slit closed. That combination of factors left a risky gap there. And despite the setting, Axel pulling down his pants still aroused him. The last thing he needed was for his erection to pop out.

The usual shame over his feelings for Axel greeted him.

“Are those from your childhood or something?” Jake asked teasingly. “Your first pair of boxers?”

They were actually from his teenage years, but Sebastian didn’t correct him. Instead, he draped the towel over his lap, then took a look at his knee. It was red, and slightly swollen. He was expecting worse.

Someone knocked on the door before opening it. A male doctor stepped in, closing the door behind him. “I’m doctor Naussman. I hear you have a fractured knee.”

“It hurts to move,” Sebastian said. “But it looks okay.”

“When and how did this happen?”

“A couple hours ago. I… skateboarded into a tree.”

The answer didn’t phase Naussman. He’d probably heard stupider stories. He poked and prodded at his knee in ways that brought the pain back.

“How far can you bend it?” Naussman asked.

“It hurts to move it.”

“Can you at least bend it?”

Sebastian managed a few inches before yelping in pain.

“Have you walked on it at all?” Naussman asked.

“I couldn’t at first. I might be able to now, but I haven’t tried it.”

“Can you?”

Axel helped Sebastian off the table, while Sebastian held the towel over his crotch. He attempted to walk across the room. It was difficult, but not impossible. He still needed Axel’s help getting back onto the table. Or maybe he didn’t really, but enjoyed the extra attention from him. It was something to unpack.

“It doesn’t look fractured.,” Naussman said. “If you want, we can do x-rays to be certain, but it's most likely a bad sprain. Nothing a little rest can’t cure.”

Waylon would be pissed enough at however much this visit would cost. There was no need to bring x-rays into it when it probably was a sprain. “I’m good.”

“Okay. I can write you a prescription for pain medication. Only take it when needed, and no more than twice a day. What pharmacy do you use?”

Sebastian wasn’t sure. There was only one pharmacy in Gilran. Hopefully that was covered under his insurance. He explained this to Naussman, and Naussman typed into his tablet. “I sent it over there. I recommend staying off that knee for at least three weeks. Even if it feels better, you might make it worse. Put ice on it for the next few days, and keep your leg elevated when possible.”

Naussman left the room to let Sebastian put his pants back on.

“Do you even need my help?” Axel asked. “After seeing you walk, I’m beginning to think you just like my attention.”

He said it like a joke, but Sebastian still felt a flush of embarrassment and guilt over the situation. “I can try.”

It was slow moving, but Sebastian manged get off the table and onto the floor. He tossed the towel aside, and felt a cold breeze. Mortified, Sebastian tucked his flaccid dick back into the slit of his boxers. But the damage was already done.

Axel turned his head away. Jake howled with laughter. “Damn, you’re hella small!”

“I’m a grower!” Teeth gritted, Sebastian grabbed his pants, and attempted to pull them on.

“That’s what they all say.”

Axel helped Sebastian keep steady as Sebastian slowly got his pants on. But Axel kept his eyes averted. Would this be better or worse if he was hard? Sebastian buttoned his pants, and Axel finally looked at him.

“I am,” Sebastian insisted.

Axel gave his shoulder a pat. “There’s nothing wrong with a small dick. I think it’s… cute.”

Cute?!

Jake laughed some more. Axel elbowed him. “That’s enough. Poor Sebbie’s been through enough today. Let’s go.”

Snickering, Jake followed Axel out. Sebastian clenched his jaw, hot with embarrassment, as he limped after them. At this point, his pride hurt more than his knee.