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1631 Words
Robert opened the door to the apartment before shaking his head in disappointment. Holding out a face mask, he told Markus to wear it and not take it off unless he wanted his father to b***h him out for getting sick. Leading the young man down the hall, he stopped outside Jaxon's door.
"Before I let you go in, I have to ask," Robert's eyes darkened as he spoke. "Are you here to start a fight?"
Shaking his head, Markus said, "Not at all. Luke and I found out who the culprit was and confronted her. Luke pulled one of my father's tricks and decided to send all the intel he found to Ambrosia and Callum."
"Good to know." Opening the door, Robert stepped aside. Showing him to the teen's bedroom, he gave Jaxon a warning look before he shut the door and returned to the living room.
Markus looked at the bed where his boyfriend was lying. Jaxon looked small and weak under the layers of blankets that were forcing him to sweat out the brutal head cold that assaulted his sinuses. "How are you feeling?"
Jaxon's eyes popped open as soon as Markus laid his hand on his forehead. His dark, nearly onyx eyes were clouded, and his nose was red.
"Rudolph," Markus joked, touching the tip of Jaxon's nose with his index finger.
"You shouldn't be here,” Jaxon said, his voice nasally and strained.
Yup, Markus thought. He's definitely too sick to be running around. "Thought I'd come and check on you, seeing as we haven't spoken since Wednesday."
Again, Jaxon groaned, "I hate being sick. It rarely happens, but I hate it so much. I can't breathe, I can't see straight, I can't go twenty-four hours without having someone force that God awful medication down my throat. I can't hang out with my friends, and it’s all because someone sneezed behind me in class on Tuesday."
"Anything else you hate about being sick?" Markus asked. He knew that Jaxon just wanted to vent to someone. Anyone, really.
"The headache is relentless! Please, just put a bullet in me. Put me out of my misery," the teen pleaded.
Letting his eyes drop, Markus entwined their hands. "Luke and I got the issue resolved, by the way."
"You found out who..." Covering his face just in time, Jaxon avoided spraying Markus with his germs as he sneezed. He moaned when his boyfriend rubbed his back.
Looking around, Markus spotted the small blue tub of Vick's and grinned. "Turn over and take off your shirt. I'll put some of this stuff on your back."
Sighing contently, Jaxon did as he was told. He jumped when the first icy-cold stroke of the medicated rub touched his burning skin. Relaxing, he let Markus apply it.
Smiling sadly, Markus let out a deep sigh, "I kept my head, and didn't freak out this time. I went straight to Luke to get some answers, and we found out that the one responsible was my apparently homophobic mother. She actually had the gall to tell me that it was just a phase, and that no son of hers was going to be gay."
"I was a little worried, but I trusted you to do the right thing this time," Jaxon whispered.
His heart went out to the teen as he heard the strained, nasally breathing. The way that every breath sounded like Jaxon's last made him worry even more.
"Ambrosia said you were fine, right?" He listened as Jaxon tried to laugh.
Another coughing fit, then, "I got a fever, chest congestion, and my nose is completely blocked. Oh! And on top of that, I'm drowning in blankets and have to take that disgusting oral liquid crap.”
Markus answered as he capped the container before he put it back. "I have to go, but I'll come again tomorrow, okay?"
Smiling, Jaxon nodded.
Covering his boyfriend up, Markus listened as the wheezing breaths evened out. Jaxon could hardly stay awake long enough to converse with him, but he'd made a decent attempt. Grabbing the hand sanitizer off the dresser, he rubbed it into his hands before leaving the room.
Robert looked up at Markus as he passed the living room. "Yo!"
"What?"
"How is he?" Robert asked, concern flashing in the dark brown depths of his eyes.
Markus grimaced. "He's suffering. I put some eucalyptus rub on his back, but he fell back asleep almost immediately."
"The last time he was sick was about a month after he got here. He was burning up so badly, David had to put him in an ice bath. At one point, Ambrosia admitted him to the hospital," Robert shuddered, recalling the way David had barged into the office with his newly-adopted son hanging limply in his arms. He scrubbed a milk-chocolate hand over his face and expelled a breath, "Jaxon looked dead when David brought him to Amber that day. He was admitted for two days, and not once did David leave the child's side except to tend to his daughter."
Robert looked at the young man in front of him, taking in his appearance. Markus looked as though an enormous stress had been taken off his shoulders. His body was still tense, but it was more out of worry than anything else. His mouth was drawn into a tight-lipped frown as he sat there, deep in thought.
"What the hell are you doing here? Go home, Mark." David's sharp, cutting tone made Markus sit a little straighter.
Swallowing, he said, "Lukas called over earlier, and he seemed so sick that I just wanted to check on him. I wore a mask and used the sanitizer."
"Is that right? Robert," David asked as he looked at the other man.
Robert smirked, knowing that the eighteen-year-old had purposely omitted the fact that someone was trying to break them up. "He's not lying, Sir. Jaxon wouldn't let me apply Vick's, but he let Markus do it. So, Mark, did you find out who sent you that picture?"
"My mother and her friend Felicity, A.K.A. Foxy. Thankfully, my little brother is an ace hacker, so they won't be bothering us anymore," Markus confided.
David narrowed his eyes. "Double meaning behind your visit, then?"
"Nope. As I said, my brother and I settled it. I only stopped by because she pushed me into a horrible mood, and I wanted to check on my boyfriend. I can't believe he's that sick because someone sneezed around him," Mark muttered.
Scoffing, David poured himself a bourbon. "More like on him. He didn't stand a chance even though he took immediate action. He came home on Tuesday and was perfectly fine. I went in to wake him the next morning, and I couldn't get him to respond. Thank God Amber was available. Hopefully, we'll be able to avoid the hospital this time around. Seeing him on a ventilator once is one time too many."
"That's horrible," Markus gasped.
"He's normally a lot stronger, but with the recent temperature fluctuations, his body wasn't able to handle it. I should have let him train sooner. Russell took him on to help him make his body stronger, and it started helping him build up his immunity. Now he's strong enough to fight it with the aid of medication and rest." David sat down as he finished speaking.
Staring over at Markus, he could see that he truly cared for Jaxon's well-being. Could that be another reason for his jealousy? "You would die for him, wouldn't you?"
Markus's head shot up. "Sorry?"
Leaning back, David kept a straight face as he repeated the question. He watched a fire grow in Markus's eyes.
The young man nodded, his eyes holding steady. "No, I wouldn’t die for him. I’d do something a whole lot harder, though. I would live for him. I would do anything to keep him safe, David. Forget society and their idiocy—I love him, and that's that. When we're done with college and university, I want to get your blessing."
Blinking, David exchanged glances with an equally shocked Robert. Finding his voice, he said, "Promise me one thing, and then prove it with your actions. You can't blame him for anything without finding the truth first."
"Is that all it's going to take?" Markus scoffed. "Fine. I'll prove I can change, David. You can count on it."
Nodding, David told him to go on home and get some rest.
When Markus walked in the door, his father was sitting down with Ambrosia. She looked up at him, first in pity, then with pride. "Your father was just telling me how you handled getting that picture today. Where did you go?"
He licked his lips and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I went to check on Jaxon."
She nodded, indicating the space next to her. "Sit a moment, will you?"
Taking a breath, he moved stiffly to the chair before sitting down. He looked between his father and the Donna, unsure of what to think. Was he in some kind of trouble?
"I was telling Amber about your mother, and what she said to you. Being a mother hen, she wanted to check on you and your brother. She already talked to Luke," his father explained.
Nodding, Markus said, "Mind over matter, I guess. Her opinion didn't matter, so I didn't pay it any mind."
The statement was more than true, especially since his father came clean about the divorce. Once he was dismissed, he went to his brother's room. Sitting with him on the bed, he told him how Jaxon was doing. Knowing Luke was more concerned than he let on, he held his brother’s hands in his as they prayed for Jaxon's speedy recovery.
- Writer
