"A Sanctuary Safe and Strong"(Marianas Trench)

Chapter 7

Despite nearly dozing off the minute Matt walked out of the room, the thought of his family was too strong to ignore. Josh realized that he truly did need to call his parents, whether he wanted to or not. At the very least, he needed to let them know that he was alive. He knew they'd have still been there, sitting in those horrible chairs and staring at him while he slept if Matt hadn't decided to stay instead, sending them home by presumably promising them that he'd watch over his friend so that they wouldn't have to look at Josh, studying his wounds and mentally planning for a funeral that, luckily, wouldn't have to happen . The guitar player had probably convinced them that Josh was just going to rest for the majority of the time and that there was no need to hang around, but then he stayed anyway, as Josh's protector. The singer owed the younger man for that. His mother would have been a complete wreck, fussing over him the entire time. Smiling to himself as he dialed his parents' home phone number, Josh made it a point to go easier on the brunet for saving him from being mothered to death. 

"Hi, it's me," the singer said when he heard his mother's voice on the other end, sounding as though she'd been, or currently was crying. "Mom...mom, stop. Mom! I'm okay. Don't...no, don't cry. No...I'm fine. I'm alive." He paused and took a deep breath. His head was beginning to hurt, even with the pain medication he was given several hours prior. How long ago had it been? He couldn't remember. 

Josh hated that his mother was so upset over everything, even though he understood exactly why. He realized that if he put himself into her shoes and the situation was reversed, he'd have been feeling the same way. "Mom, seriously, listen. I'm okay. I know how I looked earlier, but I was just sleeping before. Anesthesia, you know? Honest." He had the distinct feeling that he'd probably have this exact same conversation again with several more people before everyone had moved on and everything was almost forgotten.  

Josh shook his head in mild frustration as he listened to his mother sniffling and rambling on the other end of the line, silently reminding himself that he loved her very much, and that she was only taking things so hard because she loved him too. He knew, without the shadow of a doubt, that she wouldn't be sobbing so hard that she was incoherent if she didn't care about him an extraordinary amount. Just the same, the singer mentally thanked the universe when his father picked up the second extension and calmed his mother down before Josh had to simply hang due to his inability to stand the guilt of being in a hospital and worrying her, even though he hadn't done anything wrong. Old feelings of blame just wouldn't allow themselves to be laid to rest.  

"Guys, listen, please. Just for a minute. I wanna tell you what happened." Josh took several more minutes to explain what he'd been through, leaving out the more gory details to save his parents from having to hear the worst of it all. "And the doctor just said he'll release me tonight, probably, so I'm just gonna go home and sleep," he said, deciding to forego mentioning that the cops needed to come check things out before he could even step foot back inside his own home. It would just upset his mother all over again and she had finally settled to just the occasional hiccup and sniffle on the line. "I just wanted to tell you what was gonna happen and that I'm as fine as I could possibly be, so don't worry. I'll drop by sometime really soon, though. I promise. I have to get some shi- some stuff settled at home first."  

The singer paused long enough to let his mother speak again. "No, I don't think I need a ride. Matt's still here, I'm pretty sure. I don't have the energy to call everybody to let them know what's going on. Can you make a few calls to let them know that I'm okay?" 

After his mother jumped at the chance to help her son, Josh ended the conversation by telling his parents that he loved them both and reminding them once again that he was alive and that he'd be out to visit them as soon as he was physically able before finally shutting off the phone completely and setting it back down on the night stand. For the second time since this whole thing had happened, he was both grateful and annoyed to be loved. 

Between the time Matt had left the room and the time he found his way back, a nurse had come in to change Josh's bandage and administer new intravenous pain medication. That, he was even more grateful for. The ache in his shoulder and side were getting worse and he couldn't find a position that wouldn't leave him shifting his body and switching positions to try to ease the discomfort every couple of minutes. 

Matt wandered back into the room minutes after the nurse had left, holding a paper cup of vending machine coffee that smelled vaguely like burning plastic. "Mike says he's glad you're awake and feeling okay. Ian says 'fuck you.'" The brunet kept his words short as he dropped back down into the chair and crossed a foot over the opposite knee, leaning back and taking a sip of the steaming liquid. 

Josh carefully rolled his head against the mattress and stared at Matt through eyelids that seemed to be closing against his will again. The phone call to his parents had completely sapped him, as expected, and he wouldn't be at all surprised if he fell asleep mid-word during his conversation with Matt, so he kept it short, words slurring a bit in exhaustion. "Mom cried." 

The guitar player lifted the corners of his mouth in a slight smile and took another sip of coffee. "You're just that precious, princess," he teased for the first time since showing up at the hospital. 

"Fuck me for being so fucking cute," the blond muttered nearly inaudibly. Josh's eyes slipped shut for a final time, the pain medication having taken effect sooner than he would have liked, but no sooner than he'd estimated.