|Bound To You|MxM

{13}~Reunions & Regrets~

JARON didn't have it in him to make sure he'd made a recognizable sound against the heavy wood before he blacked out.

~~~

JARON's eyelids felt broken. It felt as if they'd been dried and glued back onto his eyeballs. He could barely open them and when he did, they were smashed shut by the force of the bright white light glaring at him from the other side.

He had to wonder wether he was still in that state between dream and reality. He couldn't feel, see, hear, move. He was paralyzed, figuratively and literally. From fear and nerve damage. Or at least if he had to guess.

He'd never felt this weak in his entire life. This defeated. Not even when Alfredo had locked him up for weeks without food to teach him survival. He'd been reduced to nearly drinking his own sweat and piss. Now, he couldn't even move.

How had gotten here? It was a wonder. He couldn't remember shit.

Trying as hard as he could, he began to move his fingertips against soft material. Where was he?

His head lolled to the side and surprising pain snaked it's way across his body, unforgivably jabbing a million syringes against the marrow of his bones. The intensity of the pain caused him to involuntarily bow his back, arching well above the surface he was lying on.

A flutter was felt against his cheek. The first of his senses had began to activate in cause of the pain. It receded, only for a moment as the flutter was felt again. It called to him.

Unbearable pain he felt like never before, racing in and out of him and leaving him running cold. The all to short feeling was wiped away. A sharp exhale left him, signaling the end of his journey alongside reality. Off he went.

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DOM watched helplessly as Jaron bucked and bowed off the bed, rumpling the sheets. He'd been instructed not to touch him. He'll come around on his own time, they'd said.

But Dom didn't have the patience. Moving to the bed, he held his hand out against Jaron's cold, bruised cheek. The other man seemed to calm a little but it did nothing for Dom's panicked heart.

A short breath left Jaron's mouth, flitting over Dom's hovering thumb. Beneath his hold, Jaron went limp and all was quiet as if he hadn't moved at all.

Spooked at his own reactions, Dom quickly climbed off the bed and took up his phone to fire the imbecile doctor incapable of relieving Jaron of such pain.

He would need the best for Jaron. Only the best.

He called up an old friend from his many clientele list he'd helped out of the emotional gutter.

"King? I'm calling in that favor. I want to see you here by the sundown," Dom directed.

"Uh... evening doesn't really work for me...-," King cut himself short as if hearing Dom's glower through the phone. "I can clear things up. I'll be there."

Later that evening, Dom found himself sitting on the sofa chair by Jaron's bed, staring off into the moonlight filtering in through the shut glass balcony doors.

A knock sounded on the door, pulling him out of his stupor. Melli's head poked in through the door, followed by an explanation.

The man had arrived. Dom stood to greet the short, fairly attractive man with salt and pepper hair that walked into the bedroom. He extended his hands towards the smaller, softer hands of the doctors'. Nodding towards Jaron's still form on the large bed, no words were exchanged as the doctor moved to examine.

King laid out his case on the small, round table by the sofa Dom had occupied earlier. Carrying tools Dom couldn't possibly name, King approached the bed. He sat down on the side before moving his two fingers to feel for a pulse at Jaron's neck. Dom couldn't help but have to resist the urge to slap the doctors hands away.

Frustrated at his own irrational anger, he told himself the doctor was only doing his job and didn't deserve Dom's all to fast coming wicked fantasies of different ways to maim King.

"Help me raise his head, will you?" King asked politely. It annoyed Dom.

Grunting, he moved towards the other side of the bed and sat down, careful not to jostle Jaron.

"Pull his shoulder to turn him on his side," the doc instructed. Dom dis as told and held Jaron as if he was a fragility that would break even in his loose hold. "Hold him a bit tighter," King looked up at Dom, "You won't break him, I assure you."

Scowling at being caught in his pitiful habit, he tucked his head and held Jaron tighter. He had yet to find an excuse for his behavior but guilt. He had been the one to leave Jaron on what was meant to be an easy fix of a job. One of the simplest and Dom had even fucked that up. Now, Jaron was lying unresponsive and paralyzed in a bed, paying for Dom's reckless behavior. He shouldn't have left Jaron alone for such an unconfirmed mission. Especially when the job would've only taken one more day at most. Fuck that.

"Something isn't right here," King said while feeling up the back of Jaron's neck. It was where he'd been hit and it was slightly swollen and bruised an ugly reddish purple. The sight of it unfurled something deep, dark, and dangerous in Dom which he struggled to contain.

A quiet, but pained wail hit Dom's ear and immediately, he slapped the doctors hands away, tucking Jaron into him till he quieted. The movement made by Jaron was nonexistent and as Dom looked down at Jaron, he began to wonder if he'd imagined the sound.

Breathing deeply, he looked at the doctor who had already gotten up off the bed, standing by the table while he scribbled into a small, yellow notepad. Dom silently thanked the doctor for choosing to ignore his impulsively awkward reaction.

Once finished, King turned to Dom. "It seems Jaron has damaged the bone at the back of his neck and his spinal cord is in a fit right now. He has gotten a rare case. He is rendered into temporary paralysis in cause of the damage, however, bursts of energy allow him to move for a while; explaining how he was able to make his way here-,"

"How long will he stay like this?" Dom interrupted.

"Ah- I'd say, let's see...," King went back to his book. "Depending on his body's ability to handle the damage, as well as how much care goes into it, it shouldn't take more than a week or two."

Shit. Relief flooded Dom at the news that he'd have his Jaron back. However, the journey wouldn't be fun for either of them. He'd never seen Jaron consciously sit still for more than 30 minutes. Additionally, the guilt eating at Dom was slowly starting to break him. He couldn't run an organization in this state.

Sensing Dom's distress, the doctor tried to help. "Jaron should be back to his old self after this whole fiasco. I'll send prescribed medication. He should be conscious in the next few days. Make sure he doesn't move around to much and eats well."

Dom nodded and the doc turned back to his case. "Ah, may I take a blood sample. I'll get the results back to you along with the medication. Additional precautions," King smiled at Dom.

Dom wasn't aware he'd responded, maybe he hadn't. But the doc approached the bed with a syringe and a tube thing in hand.

Dom watched quietly as the doctor inserted the needle into the more visible vein in Jaron wrist and pulled blood out. Shuddering, he realized the life was being sucked out of Jaron and almost slapped the docs hand away again.

Anticipating the move, the doctor swiftly pulled the needle out and walked away calmly. Rolling his eyes, Dom settled back down, listening to Kings further instruction.

Once the doctor had left, Dom looked at Jaron. Allowing himself to do something he never ever did with anyone. He buried his face in the dent between Jaron's chin and shoulder, taking a long whiff of the barely there warmth radiating off of Jaron's body.

Putting his ear to the hollow of Jaron's neck, Dom settled down, letting the sound of the slow, steady beat calm his worries. Only now, he promised himself. Only today.