REESE CALLED the rehab facility and asked them to tell Grandpa that he would be in late that day because he needed to do another interview and because he and Toby had to look at possible venues in Santa Monica and Hollywood. He hated it that he was being torn away from Grandpa already. His hiatus hadn’t been nearly long enough, but once they finished the show, there was a sense of urgency that the story needed to be told.
When Grandpa heard the songs later that afternoon, he was overwhelmed. He couldn’t speak through the emotion for several minutes.
“This is beautiful, son. You said everything I never could.” And that mandate sealed the deal. It was time, and the world was going to hear his manifesto, even if the person it was intended to celebrate was no longer in his life.
Reese couldn’t bring himself to contact Jude. His sane brain told him he was stupid for asking Jude to choose him over his family, but his heart still hurt. And it was more than that. He’d thought Jude would stand by him, and when he sent him away from his uncle’s home… well, Reese’s ignorant pride wouldn’t let him acknowledge that he was just as guilty of breaking a promise. He’d told Jude he’d be there for him, take care of him and support him, and for that he felt terrible. He just had no idea how to repair the damage from the latest pass of Hurricane Reese, so he threw himself into the musical. He hoped and prayed that Jude would hear and understand… somehow.
When he arrived at the rehab facility that night, it was after ten o’clock, but Grandpa was still awake. Camilla had just wrapped up a visit with him, so he knew the old man would be in a good mood. He thought he should give them a few minutes to themselves, so he told them he was going to grab a cup of coffee and he’d be back. As he headed toward the cafeteria, he saw a familiar figure in scrubs. A wave of fear, love, anger, and confusion passed through him as he realized that the guy moved all wrong to be Jude. His shoulders were pulled up and tense, and he walked with a limp—definitely not his Jude.
“Not every guy in scrubs looks like him,” he muttered to himself, but as the guy turned the corner, Reese’s heart stopped. Reese ran after him, ignoring shouts from the nurses’ station. When he caught up, he grabbed the man by the arm, and Jude yelped. Tears filled Reese’s eyes as he looked into Jude’s beaten and bruised face.
He brought his hands up to cup Jude’s jaw. “Oh my God. What happened to you?” He couldn’t hold back the sobs as he attempted to pull Jude into his arms, but Jude pushed him away.
“What are you doing here?” he asked around a swollen lip. Reese’s sorrow turned to anger in a flash.
“Who did this to you? What happened, Jude?”
Jude looked around and pulled him into an empty room. He wrapped his arms around his midsection and Reese noticed one of his hands was bandaged. Jude didn’t speak. He just looked at the floor and seemed to try to get his breathing under control.
“Jude. Please. What happened?” Reese asked in a softer voice when he realized that yelling at him wouldn’t help.
“I got robbed.”
That was it. He said nothing else. Reese shifted his weight on his feet and tried to be patient, but when Jude offered no other explanation, he had to fight the urge to shake him.
“Robbed? Where? Have you been to the hospital? Did you file a police report?”
“In the parking lot. Yes. And yes. Now can I get back to work, please?”
The whole time Jude wouldn’t look at him. It hurt Reese to see his beautiful face so damaged and his body twisted in obvious pain.
“You shouldn’t be at work. You should… you need to lie down, get some rest. Why don’t you go—” The fury inside Reese rose to an unprecedented level. “You were sleeping in your fucking truck again, weren’t you? Goddammit, Jude!”
Jude finally raised his gaze, and he looked just as furious.
“It’s of no concern to you,” he bit out through clenched teeth. “Get out of my way. I have a job to do.” He shoved past Reese, grabbed his cart in the hallway, and winced as he pushed it ahead of him.
Reese stood frozen. It was all his stupid fault. If he hadn’t pushed things…. But he had, and he put Jude in danger. He couldn’t go after Jude, but there was something he could do. He took out his phone.
“Hello, Germaine? It’s Reese. I’m sorry to call so late. I got your number from Kyla.”
“Yes, Reese, what can I do for you?” Her tone gave Reese no clue as to how she felt about him. He hoped she wasn’t angry.
“I need your help.”