The Protege by Cole Denton

Patrick

Twenty-four-years-old | November

Ididn’t let go of Chase’s hand until we were in the emergency room and the doctors and nurses were bustling around him. A woman wearing a hospital badge and black pants with a floral shirt came over to me.

“Hi, I’m Heather Lott, one of the crisis management counselors.”

“Hi.”

“Is Chase your brother?”

“Yes, but not by blood. His family adopted me when I was in high school.”

She smiled at me kindly. “I need to speak to Kristin or Charles. Do you mind sharing good contact numbers for them?” I provided her with all of the numbers I had and also gave her the numbers for Chase’s grandparents.

The doctor informed us that they would need to pump Chase’s stomach quickly, before the pills had time to absorb. He gagged a few times when they inserted the tube down his throat, and I felt bad for him having to endure this pain—the mental anguish that caused him to spiral.

Once the doctors and nurses had completed the procedure, I sat on the side of the bed closer to him. I remembered Hollis had done this for me, and it made a huge difference in my thoughts at that time. I only hoped I was making the same impact for Chase.

Chase rolled toward me and cried into my sweater, his voice raspy and hoarse from the tube. I leaned my back against the pillow and wrapped my arm over his head to try and calm him down. I rubbed his upper arm as he leaned against me, for comfort or support, I wasn’t sure which.

“They’re going to be disappointed.”

“They love you, Chase.”

“Hollis can’t find out, Patrick.”

“Chase, even if I don’t tell him, he’s going to find out.”

“He’s going to lose it. Hollis is going to kill him,” Chase murmured.

“Hollis isn’t going to kill anyone.”

“He can’t know. Promise me you won’t let him throw his career away for me.”

“Chase, what are you talking about?”

“He told me he’d wreck Hollis’ career if—

“If what? And who is he?”

“Perry.”

The guy the pills were prescribed to.

Chase buried his face against my side.

“I thought I had it handled.”

I hadn’t planned on pushing Chase to talk, especially under the current circumstances. He’d tried twice to kill himself, and I didn’t want to potentially make anything worse. But when he mentioned Hollis’ career, I was curious as to how all of this was laced together.

“What is going on, Chase? What has happened?”

“Perry. He said if I wanted a modeling career and for nothing bad to get out in the media that I needed to comply. He said Haley and I had the ‘it’ factor, and we could make a lot of money on the side by doing it.”

Doing it? Doing it as in…

“As in having sex?” I risked the question.

“Yeah.”

“And Perry would photograph it?”

“Yeah.”

“Chase—

“I know! Please don’t turn on me.”

“I’m not. This isn’t your fault.”

“It is. And now Haley is pregnant by me, and it’s my fault. We were into it the first few times and liked it. Then he started getting too pushy and touchy, and things got weird. We told him we didn’t want to do it anymore and just wanted to model shoes and clothes. He said if we didn’t continue, he’d release the pictures online and the negative press would not only wreck our careers, but Haley’s mom’s and Hollis’ too. So we went along with it.”

“Did this guy put his hands on you and Haley?”

I could feel Chase nod against my side.

“Did he do anything else to either of you?” I asked him before I had enough smarts to end the questioning.

“He showed me how to position myself and stuff. But sometimes I volunteered instead of him using her.”

Fuck. Yeah, Hollis is going to kill someone. I took a deep breath and was glad I was sitting down with him because when his folks and Hollis found out … oh my God.

“Chase, you can always come to me. You could have told me, and I would have gotten you out of that mess and away from that sleaze.”

“I wanted to model, though. I wanted to be good at something. Morgan and Hollis have so much going for them, and I didn’t want to be the fucked up spazz brother who couldn’t do anything.”

I swallowed hard and squeezed his shoulder. I rubbed his arm over the scratchy hospital gown.

“Not that way, Chase. No one has a right to make you do things by manipulating you. No one has a right to touch you and do God knows what.”

“I was tired of being in everyone’s shadow and tried to make it work.”

“You’re not in Hollis or Morgan’s shadow.”

“I just want to die.”

“No, you don’t, Chase.”

“I do.”

“You don’t. I was just like you. Different circumstances, but a lot of the same. I had wanted to die several times before I moved in with you guys. I even attempted to kill myself.”

“You tried to end it all too?”

“I did, yes.”

He was quiet for a few minutes as I remembered back to the times I tried to put an end to all of my suffering, but couldn’t completely go through with it.

“What made you change your mind?” he asked.

“Your brother.” I took a deep breath. “Hollis changed my mind. I couldn’t imagine not seeing him anymore.”

I looked up when Charles appeared at the foot of the bed. He looked like he’d aged many years during his drive over, stress and worry marring his features. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to get a call from an emergency room saying any of his children were in the hospital. Charles’ shoulders relaxed a bit when he saw Chase. Seeing that he was alive probably alleviated a lot of stress.

“Chase…” Charles said, swallowing back the unease in his voice as he hurried to Chase’s bedside.

He sat on the opposite side of the bed and tugged Chase into his arms. Chase went willingly and hid his face against his dad’s chest. Charles held a hand on the back of Chase’s head, cradling him as if he were a delicate piece of glass. And I didn’t doubt for a moment that Chase was very delicate right now. I worried about everything that might be uncovered with this fucking asshole Perry once things settled and his parents started digging.

“I’m here, bub,” Charles tried to soothe and console Chase as he cried in his arms.

I gestured with my thumb to let Charles know I was going to step out into the hall for a bit. He nodded, but before I got off the bed, I patted Chase’s lower back.

“I’ll be right back, Chase,” I told him.

As I got off the bed, Charles reached out and took hold of my hand. He whispered, “Thank you for getting to Chase.” I nodded and left Chase with his dad for a little while. I stepped out into the hallway and looked to my left and then right, unsure of where to go or what to do exactly. I needed to call Hollis. I looked at my watch; 3:30. Hollis was still at the gym. He’d want to know. I walked to the nurses’ station, and before I could open my mouth to ask about a phone and bathroom, one of the nurses smiled at me. I recognized her as the one who had been helping with Chase.

“How can I help you, sweetie?”

“Um, is there a phone and bathroom I could use?”

“Yes, the bathroom is at the end of this hallway and to your left. There’s also a small waiting room and lounge across from it with phones. How is your brother?”

“I think he’s going to be okay. His dad is with him.”

Just then the crisis counselor, Heather, joined me at the counter.

“I’m going to go introduce myself to your father. Your mother should be here soon.”

I nodded. It felt good to hear someone call Charles and Kristin my parents. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and check my arms for blood. Kristin would freak out if she saw blood on me, knowing it was from Chase. As I rinsed the soap off of my arms, I thought about the knife at home and the few places where there was blood. Maybe I could get back to their house and clean it up so Kristin and Charles wouldn’t see it. Chase didn’t need to see it again either.

When I got out of the bathroom, I went into the lounge and sat by a table and phone. There wasn’t anyone else around, so I had some privacy. I decided to call the TCF gym and talk to Hollis. Since I had the number to the gym portion, I called it rather than the main number. Frank, one of Hollis’ conditioning coaches, ended up answering the phone.

“Hey, Frank, it’s Patrick.”

“Hey, want me to find Corey?” Frank assumed I was calling for Corey since I was his assistant.

“No. Is Hollis still there?”

“He is. He’s in the ring with Marty. Need me to get him or want me to have him call you when he’s done?”

“Um, I kind of need to talk to him now.”

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

How much do I tell him?

“Patrick?”

“Um, yes, but something has come up. I’m at the emergency room with his brother.”

“Shit. Morgan or the little guy?”

“Chase, his youngest.”

“One sec, I’ll grab him.”

“Okay. Can you make sure someone drives him? I don’t want him to drive while he’s worried.”

“No problem. Two of his security guys are here, so he won’t be driving for sure.”

I could hear Frank set the phone down and then whistle sharply.

“Hollis, Marty! Hollis needs to take a call. Patrick is on the line.”

I heard Hollis ask if I was okay. It made me smile to hear him voicing concern over me to the guys on the team.

“Hello? Patrick?” Hollis’ voice filled my ears, his breathing labored.

“Hey—”

“Are you okay? What’s up?”

“Don’t freak out; just listen.”

“You can’t tell me not to freak out and then expect me not to freak out. What’s wrong?”

“Chase called me this morning and was upset. He said he needed help, and something in his voice just didn’t sound right. So I went right over and… He had tried to commit suicide, Hollis. His arm was cut, and he had taken a bunch of pills—”

“Is he okay? Is he alive?”

“Yes, I called an ambulance immediately, and they rushed us to UCLA. Your dad is here now, and Kristin is on the way. Chase is okay.”

“Thank God. Okay… I’m on my way.”

“Don’t drive, Hollis. Let Steve or someone bring you.”

“Steve’s right here. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

With that, he was gone, and the phone line went dead. I took a few minutes for myself and poured some water from the water dispenser into a cone-shaped paper cup. I filled it and drank it three times before I went back to Chase.

Kristin was here now and sitting on the side of the bed with Chase and Charles. The counselor sat in a chair and spoke in a hushed tone. I felt awkward and wasn’t sure if I should stand back and give them space, or if I should go stand by the bed. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel like I was a part of their family, but this was a delicate situation. Charles made eye contact with me and gestured with his head toward the empty chair closest to the small table beside the bed. I took the seat and turned my focus on Chase as he talked to his parents. I didn’t even realize Hollis had arrived until I felt his hand on my shoulder.

I looked up at him and then started to stand to offer him my seat. He put his hand on my chest and shook his head to keep me from giving him the chair.

My leg bounced nervously while I listened to the counselor, Charles, Kristin, and Chase talk. The more I listened, the worse all of this sounded. The police had been informed about Perry’s porn photography ring, and Heather said they’d be stopping by later to get a report filed. I prayed Hollis would be able to keep it together, mainly for Chase and Kristin’s sake.

Soon, one of the nurses came over to tell Heather that a room for Chase was ready. Hollis and I moved into the hallway and then followed behind the nurses as they pushed his bed down the hallway. Charles and Kristin walked on the same side of the bed, and Kristin held onto Chase’s hand. Steve and Jacobi from Hollis’ security team walked a few feet behind us. When the nurses pushed the bed into the elevator, it was evident there would only be room for Kristin and Charles to ride with them.

“We’re going up to the fifth floor. When you get off the elevator, go left and his room will be right across from the nurses’ station. The room number is five-ten,” one of the nurses said to us.

We waited for the next elevator to arrive, and then Steve and Jacobi rode up to the fifth floor with us. Hollis crossed his arms over his chest, and I could feel the anger radiating off of him.

“Can you guys make sure additional security is added for Chase while he’s in the hospital? I don’t want anyone going near him unless it’s family or medical staff.”

“Of course,” Steve said.

Steve and Jacobi stayed outside of Chase’s room, and they were working with the security company to arrange security coverage. Hollis seemed like a bomb ready to go off at any moment. He was quiet and almost rigid. Though, I suppose finding out your brother almost killed himself would cause that kind of reaction.

Morgan arrived shortly after Chase ate some soup and crackers for dinner. And not too long after that, the police arrived to take Chase’s statement and file the report. I understood the sense of urgency in order to get that creep off the street. There was a good chance that Chase and Haley weren’t the only victims.

Watching Kristin and Charles listen to many of the disturbing details was horrible. Morgan was able to maintain some composure to help keep Chase and their parents calm. Hollis sat on the bed with Chase while he shared his story with the officers.

“You guys don’t need to stay. Kristin and I will be here all night with him. Chase needs some rest, and with so many people in here, it might prevent him from relaxing. We’ll call you boys in the morning,” Charles said.

“Alright,” Morgan said as he sidestepped his dad and went over to the bed. He patted Chase’s leg over the blanket and then sat next to him. “Get some rest, bub.”

“I will.”

“I love you, Chase. No matter what. Got it?” Morgan asked while he rubbed the top of Chase’s head. Chase nodded and then looked down.

Hollis took his spot next to Chase, and the second he sat down, Chase started to cry. Hollis wrapped his arms around Chase and held him while he cried.

“I’m sorry, Hollis. I didn’t want anyone wrecking your career. I tried—”

“Shh, stop it. You don’t have to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. Not a damn thing. I’m so sorry all of this has happened. I’m not at all mad at you. I love you so much, and I’m so glad you called Patrick. I will be back in the morning.”

“No, man. You have your training. Your fight is in a few weeks with Brendan Rowe,” Chase said.

“I don’t care. You are my priority. You, Mom, Dad, Morg, and Patrick. You’re my priorities. I’ll be back in the morning. I love you, bub.”

“Love you too,” Chase said. He kept his head on Hollis’ shoulder for a few extra moments before Hollis got off the bed.

I stepped closer and took hold of his hand.

“Rest up. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Chase tugged my hand closer and then flung his arms around me. He leaned his head against my chest and stomach while I smoothed his hair down.

“Thank you for answering when I called.”

“I’ll always answer. Whenever you need me, I’m here for you.”

I guided him to lean back and rest against the pillows. He immediately pulled the sheet and blanket up and rolled onto his side. Charles walked out into the hallway with Hollis, Morgan, and me, and I could tell by his face that today had shaken him. He hugged Morgan and Hollis and then me.

“Thank you so much, Patrick. I don’t know what we would have done if we’d gone home and found him unresponsive.”

“I’m glad he called me.”

“Dad, Steve and Jacobi are going to stay the night. If you or Mom need anything, you let them know,” Hollis said.

“Sir, will you be needing a lift home?” Steve cleared his throat and asked. Before he could answer, I spoke up.

“Did you drive? Morg?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I drove here.” Morgan looked at Steve and then to Charles. “I’ll make sure Hollis and Patrick get home.”

“Very well. I’ll let the rest of the security team know that you’ll be with Morgan and Patrick,” Steve said and then returned to the chair by the doorway.

“Want me to drive?” I asked Morgan when the three of us got into the elevator.

“I’ll drive. Can I crash at your place for the night?” Morgan asked.

“Of course. I wouldn’t want you driving all the way home tonight. It’s late, everyone is stressed, and it’s just not a great idea to be out on the road distracted,” Hollis added.

“Do you guys think we could go to the house?” I asked as we walked to Morgan’s SUV.

“Mom and Dad’s?” Morgan asked.

“Why?” Hollis asked.

“Chase’s bathroom is kind of…” Morgan and Hollis stopped walking and stared at me. I didn’t want to worry them. “Kristin or Charles don’t need to see that when they get home. Chase doesn’t need to see it again either.” I looked down as I tried to put into words what it felt like or was like to see the scene where you tried to kill yourself. I pictured the phone cord wrapped around the clothes bar in my closet when I was in high school. My eyes welled up because it hit me like a ton of bricks that I had been so alone with all of that as a teenager. “It’s … um…” I took another deep breath and exhaled slowly while I looked at the asphalt. “It’s just hard to see the leftover scene of when you’ve reached the absolute lowest point in your life,” I murmured.

“Fuck,” Hollis said as he walked toward me. He pulled me into an embrace. I wrapped my arms around him. I had wanted to comfort him all night, but there hadn’t been a private moment for the two of us to share.

“You guys can wait downstairs, and I can clean it up,” I volunteered.

“The fuck you will,” Morgan said. “You aren’t cleaning anything up alone.”

We rode in silence to the house, and when we got there, I led Hollis and Morgan upstairs to Chase’s bathroom. The three of us stood in the bathroom and looked around at the chaos, each of us lost in our own thoughts. We cleaned the bathroom quickly and in silence, and Morgan took the knife to the garage. He said he put it in a cardboard box and set it in the trash.

When it was all done, Hollis told us to sit at the table. He brought over some cans of Coke for us and sat down. We were all tired, but at the same time, we’d been hyped up on adrenaline. I could feel the crash coming on, though, the longer we sat there.

“Come on, let me get you guys home,” Morgan said.

“My SUV is outside. I can drive Hollis and me,” I said. “You can stay here, at least where you’re comfortable.”

“You sure?” Morgan said and then glanced at Hollis to see how he felt about it.

“Mom mentioned that Grandma and Grandpa were going to come over tomorrow and help with some things at the house for a while,” Hollis said. “Are you able to take off from class tomorrow?”

“Easily. I’ll email my professors and let them know we’re having a family emergency.”

Morgan walked us to the door and then hugged both of us before we left. Hollis promised him we’d call him as soon as we got to our place so he’d know we made it safely. Right now, everyone was a little bit on edge and trying to take care of one another as best as we could. As soon as we got out of the neighborhood and onto the main road, Hollis started talking.

“I feel completely helpless and useless,” he said. His head was leaning against the headrest of the seat. I knew that he was physically drained from the workout today, and then he was thrown into the mentally and emotionally draining situation with Chase.

“Chase is going to need you,” I assured him.

“I have no clue as to how he feels.” Hollis slammed his fist against the armrest on the door. “No fucking clue. And the police better arrest that motherfucker before I find him.”

I stayed quiet while I drove, but I understood so much of what he felt.