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scarlettdreamPrompt 13. missing person: Lew Ashby
I guess bad language would make this not PG
for the April fools posting mahem over at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ds_aprilfools
And maybe we got ourselves a little famdamnily of stories here?
if Breathe is part one then this is part 2
The first part of the story and the disclaimer can be found here:
link to Part 1
When he woke up his whole body ached, a bone deep ache. He felt so heavy and tired he couldn’t even open his eyes, but the weight pressing down on his chest was frightening and he had to see what it was.
The room was brightly lit, white and sterile. He was suddenly aware of sound, insistent beeps, and of a nauseating smell, disinfectant and sickness. He couldn’t move and he felt panic rise in him. It was painful because it made his heart beat fast and he was suddenly aware that there was something wrong with the way he was breathing.
“Don’t panic, Lew, you’re in the hospital and you’re doing fine.” A hand gripped his arm and a face swam into view. Hank Moody.
He tried to reply, What the fuck? But something was wrong with his throat, he couldn‘t speak. He tried to touch his throat but couldn’t move his hands,
“Hey, he’s waking up!” Hank’s voice held a note of panic. “Hey, someone?” He turned back to look at Lew, “Don’t worry, you’re okay, just stop fucking doing that, they got your hand’s tied down to stop you from doing that.”
Suddenly Hank was gone and a nurse or doctor was touching his hand, peering into his eyes with one of those goddamned obnoxious pen lights, and he could feel his heart speeding up and fear made sweat bloom on his skin. Then he felt the welcome cool spread of something flowing into his vein, and it chilled the fear right out of him.
He was on a ventilator. And he knew that should scare him. He’d been dead for nearly three minutes. Even cool and calm from the Demerol, or whatever it was they’d iced him down with , three minutes? Dead for three minutes. made him want to laugh or sob, fucking scared is what it made him feel. But the cool in his body was spreading, taking the panic right down, making the scared feeling just slither away. They were going to leave him on the ventilator for another night, because there had been a couple of episodes even after they had got him stabilised, but when he woke again it would be gone.
Lew wanted to smile, or to wipe away the tears he could feel had tracked down the sides of his face, but he couldn’t move his arms. He was drifting off. He was thinking of snow.
When he next woke up everything was calm. The room was quieter. The lights were softer. It wasn‘t the same room. It was disorienting to close your eyes in one room and open them again somewhere else. But this room was restful so he didn’t mind. There was a soft noise and he opened his eyes.
Janie was sitting beside him. She was reading a book, had just turned a page, but she must have felt his eyes on her because she looked up.
He opened his mouth to say something but Janie stood up and put a finger to his lips to quiet him and said. “Don’t, your throat will be really sore.”
She leaned across and then she took her finger away and fed some ice chips into his mouth and he was so grateful he thought he might cry which was stupid as fuck.
“I’m glad you’re not dead, Lew.” She didn’t look glad though. “But I’m going to pretend you are.”
“Ja…” He croaked because she was right his throat fucking hurt.
“I told you not to say anything.” Janie was gathering her book and her bag. “I can’t do it, okay? I came over to your house because I thought…Well it was stupid. I know you won’t change. You can’t and I shouldn’t even try. But I...” She stopped.
Lew just lay there. He knew he wasn’t good enough for her. He’d always known it and it cut him up when he made her cry like that.
“They said you were dead. At the house, some guy there said you were dead. People thought you were dead. But Hank got hold of some more Epinephrine and.” She stopped and shook her head. “He saved your life. I hope you take better care of it this time you son of a bitch.”
Then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and left.
Lew closed his eyes. He must have slept again, because his mind was full of snow, soft, cold, peaceful, and he was startled when he heard someone whispering loudly,
“You’re sure he’s not dead?“
He opened his eyes.
“Yes Becca, I’m pretty sure.”
Hank and his daughter were both leaning over the bed peering at him. Becca wasn’t showing much, she never did and Lew had always admired that about the kid, but if anything she looked a little disappointed at his non-dead status.
“And you really stabbed him in the heart with a needle, like that old movie?”
“He…!” Lew tried talking for the second time that day, it wasn’t any more successful than his first attempt. He didn’t know if he was mad that someone had stabbed him in the heart, amazed someone had managed to find, said heart, after all many many people would have put money on him not having one, or for it to have shrivelled to the size of a peanut thereby making it impossible to inject, or outraged that the Kid was calling a work of Film Making genius that old movie.
They both turned their eyes on him.
“See, he’s not dead.” Hank said, Lew thought he sounded a little smug.
“Yes Dad, so it seems.” Becca’s stare was as always pretty hard for Lew to take, but he wasn’t really up to leaving. Then she turned back to her father and you could hear the softening in her voice as she said, “You, really did save him. So does that make you his bitch too?”
“No Becca, if anything that would make him my bitch. But I think I told you when I first moved out, Old Hank is strictly a ladies man. I don‘t go that way. Not that there‘s anything wrong with the love of one man for another, or the sisters doin’ it for themselves, Daughter, it‘s just not my path.”
“Hhmm.” Becca sounded unconvinced as she turned back to Lew and then said, “Everyone thinks you’re dead. It’s been on the TV and the internet, , so I suppose for the vast majority of the world it is, in fact, the truth.. And now there’s a rumour that your body was stolen from the morgue before they could do the autopsy, you have your own conspiracy theory as well. So, how does it feel, to be dead?” And she pinned him with that young-old stare.
“I…” He throat still wasn’t working right.
“Oh, here.” Becca scooped some ice chips and shoved them at his mouth. “Do you remember it?”
The ice chips made it easier and Lew said, “Cold.”
Becca shook the little scoop in his face before shoving more ice in his mouth, saying, “Well yes, that’s because ice chips are made from ice.”
But he could see in past her un-expressive face, and he knew on the inside she was smiling and yanking his chain. He’d spent a little time round the kid, and even though a fuck up like him shouldn’t have ever got within a million miles of a sweet well balanced kid like Becca, and he knew in some ways she saw through him like glass. But he knew she was also someone he had to be truthful to, like it mattered a great deal to not lie to her. So he said, “No, when I wasn’t here. The place I went to was cold, and there was snow, mountains, blue sky, peaceful, except…”
Lew was puzzled, there was something else but he couldn’t remember what.
“Sounds like Canada.” Hank was leaning closer, looking at him like he wasn’t sure of something.
“I don’t know, never been there.”
“Well maybe that’s the answer. Now you’re dead you should go to Canada.”
link to part 3
I guess bad language would make this not PG
for the April fools posting mahem over at
ds_aprilfoolsAnd maybe we got ourselves a little famdamnily of stories here?
if Breathe is part one then this is part 2
The first part of the story and the disclaimer can be found here:
link to Part 1
When he woke up his whole body ached, a bone deep ache. He felt so heavy and tired he couldn’t even open his eyes, but the weight pressing down on his chest was frightening and he had to see what it was.
The room was brightly lit, white and sterile. He was suddenly aware of sound, insistent beeps, and of a nauseating smell, disinfectant and sickness. He couldn’t move and he felt panic rise in him. It was painful because it made his heart beat fast and he was suddenly aware that there was something wrong with the way he was breathing.
“Don’t panic, Lew, you’re in the hospital and you’re doing fine.” A hand gripped his arm and a face swam into view. Hank Moody.
He tried to reply, What the fuck? But something was wrong with his throat, he couldn‘t speak. He tried to touch his throat but couldn’t move his hands,
“Hey, he’s waking up!” Hank’s voice held a note of panic. “Hey, someone?” He turned back to look at Lew, “Don’t worry, you’re okay, just stop fucking doing that, they got your hand’s tied down to stop you from doing that.”
Suddenly Hank was gone and a nurse or doctor was touching his hand, peering into his eyes with one of those goddamned obnoxious pen lights, and he could feel his heart speeding up and fear made sweat bloom on his skin. Then he felt the welcome cool spread of something flowing into his vein, and it chilled the fear right out of him.
He was on a ventilator. And he knew that should scare him. He’d been dead for nearly three minutes. Even cool and calm from the Demerol, or whatever it was they’d iced him down with , three minutes? Dead for three minutes. made him want to laugh or sob, fucking scared is what it made him feel. But the cool in his body was spreading, taking the panic right down, making the scared feeling just slither away. They were going to leave him on the ventilator for another night, because there had been a couple of episodes even after they had got him stabilised, but when he woke again it would be gone.
Lew wanted to smile, or to wipe away the tears he could feel had tracked down the sides of his face, but he couldn’t move his arms. He was drifting off. He was thinking of snow.
When he next woke up everything was calm. The room was quieter. The lights were softer. It wasn‘t the same room. It was disorienting to close your eyes in one room and open them again somewhere else. But this room was restful so he didn’t mind. There was a soft noise and he opened his eyes.
Janie was sitting beside him. She was reading a book, had just turned a page, but she must have felt his eyes on her because she looked up.
He opened his mouth to say something but Janie stood up and put a finger to his lips to quiet him and said. “Don’t, your throat will be really sore.”
She leaned across and then she took her finger away and fed some ice chips into his mouth and he was so grateful he thought he might cry which was stupid as fuck.
“I’m glad you’re not dead, Lew.” She didn’t look glad though. “But I’m going to pretend you are.”
“Ja…” He croaked because she was right his throat fucking hurt.
“I told you not to say anything.” Janie was gathering her book and her bag. “I can’t do it, okay? I came over to your house because I thought…Well it was stupid. I know you won’t change. You can’t and I shouldn’t even try. But I...” She stopped.
Lew just lay there. He knew he wasn’t good enough for her. He’d always known it and it cut him up when he made her cry like that.
“They said you were dead. At the house, some guy there said you were dead. People thought you were dead. But Hank got hold of some more Epinephrine and.” She stopped and shook her head. “He saved your life. I hope you take better care of it this time you son of a bitch.”
Then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and left.
Lew closed his eyes. He must have slept again, because his mind was full of snow, soft, cold, peaceful, and he was startled when he heard someone whispering loudly,
“You’re sure he’s not dead?“
He opened his eyes.
“Yes Becca, I’m pretty sure.”
Hank and his daughter were both leaning over the bed peering at him. Becca wasn’t showing much, she never did and Lew had always admired that about the kid, but if anything she looked a little disappointed at his non-dead status.
“And you really stabbed him in the heart with a needle, like that old movie?”
“He…!” Lew tried talking for the second time that day, it wasn’t any more successful than his first attempt. He didn’t know if he was mad that someone had stabbed him in the heart, amazed someone had managed to find, said heart, after all many many people would have put money on him not having one, or for it to have shrivelled to the size of a peanut thereby making it impossible to inject, or outraged that the Kid was calling a work of Film Making genius that old movie.
They both turned their eyes on him.
“See, he’s not dead.” Hank said, Lew thought he sounded a little smug.
“Yes Dad, so it seems.” Becca’s stare was as always pretty hard for Lew to take, but he wasn’t really up to leaving. Then she turned back to her father and you could hear the softening in her voice as she said, “You, really did save him. So does that make you his bitch too?”
“No Becca, if anything that would make him my bitch. But I think I told you when I first moved out, Old Hank is strictly a ladies man. I don‘t go that way. Not that there‘s anything wrong with the love of one man for another, or the sisters doin’ it for themselves, Daughter, it‘s just not my path.”
“Hhmm.” Becca sounded unconvinced as she turned back to Lew and then said, “Everyone thinks you’re dead. It’s been on the TV and the internet, , so I suppose for the vast majority of the world it is, in fact, the truth.. And now there’s a rumour that your body was stolen from the morgue before they could do the autopsy, you have your own conspiracy theory as well. So, how does it feel, to be dead?” And she pinned him with that young-old stare.
“I…” He throat still wasn’t working right.
“Oh, here.” Becca scooped some ice chips and shoved them at his mouth. “Do you remember it?”
The ice chips made it easier and Lew said, “Cold.”
Becca shook the little scoop in his face before shoving more ice in his mouth, saying, “Well yes, that’s because ice chips are made from ice.”
But he could see in past her un-expressive face, and he knew on the inside she was smiling and yanking his chain. He’d spent a little time round the kid, and even though a fuck up like him shouldn’t have ever got within a million miles of a sweet well balanced kid like Becca, and he knew in some ways she saw through him like glass. But he knew she was also someone he had to be truthful to, like it mattered a great deal to not lie to her. So he said, “No, when I wasn’t here. The place I went to was cold, and there was snow, mountains, blue sky, peaceful, except…”
Lew was puzzled, there was something else but he couldn’t remember what.
“Sounds like Canada.” Hank was leaning closer, looking at him like he wasn’t sure of something.
“I don’t know, never been there.”
“Well maybe that’s the answer. Now you’re dead you should go to Canada.”
link to part 3
