Part 3


“Hello? Is anyone in here? It’s Johnny.” The black man cautiously maneuvered into the waiting room.

“Hey, Johnny you made it.”

“Lonnie, where are the boys?”

“Right here, Johnny,” Lance said.

Johnny moved further into the room and found his boys sitting in a circle on the cold tile floor. “What are you guys doing on the floor?” He closed the gap between himself and the group, “Hey come here you guys.” The group’s manager held out his arms and was greeted by all four boys. He quickly engulfed them into a giant bear hug holding on for dear life. The older man needed the group hung more than the rest of them believed. Since hearing about what Lou was doing, he became worried for all of the boys and the condition of JC. Tears began falling from Johnny’s eyes when he felt the boys chests heave against his. He was startled when Justin spoke.

“Dr. Thompson was already here.” Justin sniffed.

“Justin,” the black man said while rubbing the small of the young man’s back. “Who’s this Dr. Thompson?”

“Oh. Um, well, he’s JC’s doctor I guess. Cuz, he came in here not more than like five minutes ago and gave us some information on JC’s condition. Thankfully,” Justin wiped the tears from his face, “he didn’t give many details.”

“Yeah. Is JC gonna be all right?”

Lance answered, “Dr. Thompson was very optimistic about the outcome of the surgeries.” Johnny moved his hand from Justin’s back and continued listening taking in the information that Lance was providing.

“So basically, it’s still a waiting game, eh.”

“I guess.”

Chris broke away from the group hug first and cast his body toward the couch. He threw his left arm over his eyes and then spoke, “You should’ve been here earlier. We couldn’t get these idiots to tell us anything.”

“Yeah it really was nerve racking,” Joey added. “Chris here nearly got thrown out.”

“It would’ve been worth it. I would’ve taken some of those assholes along with me. That’s for fucking sure.”

Joey left the group and sat beside Chris’s head and passed his fingers through the dark brown tresses in a calming rhythm. “Oh, before we forget. Some bastard of a detective was here trying to get information from us.”

“You didn’t tell him anything did you?” Johnny asked.

“No, Johnny,” Lance interjected his emerald eyes staring up shyly at the manager. “We knew better than to speak with him without seeing what you wanted done first. So we sent him off and told him we’d call once we figured out what we’re gonna tell him.” Lance finally broke away and stood by the lone window in the room staring out it. “Needless to say, he wasn’t to happy with our decision,” Lance’s voice cracked.

“But it was the right one. You did the right thing boys. The black man’s gaze held the sobbing form. “Don’t worry, Lance. I’ll think of something we can tell him to get him off our backs. It will be the truth, but only what we want him to know for right now. Cuz, if any of this shit is leaked out to the press, look out.”

Justin the only one left in Johnny’s embrace whispered, “Do we call his parents?”

“You mean you haven’t already.” Johnny said staring down at the red-eyed kid still in his embrace.

“No,” Justin said, “Lance thought we should see what you wanted to do first, sos we’d have our stories straight.”

“Well, Lance was right as always. You guys should never do anything without clearing it with me first, just in case.” He once again sent a gentle glance in the direction of Lance and then continued, “Even though I hate lying to his parents, I think he should be the one who tells them what happened. Only when he’s ready to.” Johnny let go of Justin and pulled out his cell phone. “I need to make a call. I’ll be right back. You guys stay put and don’t go anywhere.” With that Johnny left the cozy confines and headed somewhere close where he could make his call.

As soon as Johnny left Justin headed for the door. He was stopped by a southern accented, “Hey where’re you headed.”

“Look, Lance. I can’t stand here and not know what the hell is going on. I need to see him. I need to see for myself that he’s all right.” Justin’s voice escalated with each word. “And you ain’t gonna stop me.”

“Justin, sweetie. I’m not gonna stop ya. I just thought that well…maybe…I could go with ya.” Lance walked over toward Justin and reached out for his hand.

“Sure. Yeah. Umm okay.” Justin whispered. “We can get in trouble together.” He grabbed Lance’s hand and led the older blond out the door.

“Excuse me miss. I need to make a phone call. Is there a place where I can use my cell phone?” Johnny asked.

“I’m sorry sir, but cell phones aren’t allowed in hospitals.” She looked away from her paper work only briefly upon answering him. “And if it’s on. You need to turn it off.”

“I just need to make a short call.”

“I just need a million dollars so what’s your point.” She again looked only slightly at the black man. Her gaze fell upon the cell phone in the man’s hand, “I thought I just said you can’t use a cell phone in the hospital.” The dark haired nurse eyed Johnny, “it disrupts the machines we have in here.”

“Honey, I’m with the group that was brought in here. I’m their manager. I’ll just make it quick you can even time me. I just don’t want to leave those boys for a long period of time, so can I just make the dang call?”

“It’s nice to want things isn’t it, but I don’t care if you’re the President of the United States needing to make a call to stop nuclear war. You are not using that phone in here.” She stood up from her desk; “I’ll not be responsible for some poor saps death because you couldn’t follow simple instructions.” The nurse stood in front of him, “Besides if you’re their manager than you should be able to afford the pay phone, and if you can’t then there is always 10-10-220,” she laughed softly to herself.

“Fine whatever.” Johnny shoved himself away from the desk walking away from the nurse mumbling. “Bitch.” The irate manager quickly found the exit of the emergency room and stood outside. He could not find a signal beside the towering hospital so he had to move down the street a bit. Finally, once a signal was detected he dialed the Chasez’s number and waited for an answer.

“Hello.”

“Karen? Is that you?” Johnny covered his other ear.

“Yeah, who’s this?”

“It’s Johnny. Johnny Wright.”

“Well, how the hell are you doing? What are you calling here for? JC’s with you.”

“Well that’s why I called.”

“Why?” Johnny could hear the tightness in Karen’s voice. “What’s wrong? Oh God, please tell me what’s wrong!”

“There’s been an accident. You need to fly out to Dallas as soon as possible.”

“Nooo,” she sobbed, “Please, God no.” There was a long pause before another voice came on the line. “Is it bad? Where? What hospital?” the deep but strained voice of JC’s father asked.

“He’s at Mercy General and yes it’s bad.”

“What happened? Is he all right?”

Johnny gripped the cell phone tightly in his hand as he answered the emotional wreck of a man; “I think it’s best if you just come here as quickly as possible. The doctors haven’t told us much. So the sooner you’re here the better.”

“Okay, we’re on our way. Thanks Johnny, bye.” Johnny clicked off his cell phone and thought, I guess that went well. I only hope they get here in time, who knows how bad the poor kid is. I swear if I see that motherfucker Lou, I’ll kill him myself; Justin will just have to wait in line. The manager ran back toward the emergency room and found his way back to the waiting room. Wes greeted him once again as he entered the spacious waiting room. The black man was surprised when he was only met by two of the remaining four group members. “Hey where’re the other two.” When Joey and Chris heard Johnny’s voice the jumped up and stood before him.

“Umm,” Chris stuttered. “They um…” the brunette scratched the back of his neck. “They…”

“They needed some fresh air,” Joey replied stepping up behind Chris and placing a supporting hand on his shoulder. Chris looked over his shoulder and mouthed and thanks.

“What the fuck do you mean, Joey? I fucking told you assholes to stay here.” Johnny was angrier and angrier as he thought about the two youngest members leaving after he told them not to. “Jesus. I… Why can’t you fucks listen to me?” Johnny threw up his hands and restlessly sat on one of the couches.

“Johnny, it’s not like they did it in spite of you. They just needed to get out.” Joey walked over and sat beside their manager. He tilted his head back against the couch staring at the ceiling. He motioned Chris over and felt the oldest member of the group sit beside him. “Johnny you weren’t there. You don’t know what we saw.” Joey closed his eyes and grabbed Chris’s hand trying desperately not to cry but failing.

“You’re right Joey I wasn’t there, but I know it must’ve been bad. I mean, I never seen Justin so quite. I need to know what happened in detail. I can’t go in blind.” Johnny leaned forward placing a hand on Joey’s knee. “I need you to tell me.” Joey groaned a little but said nothing. “Please.”

Joey looked over at Johnny eyes filled with tears, “I can’t,” he whispers.

The older man determined that Joey would not be able to tell him anything. So he looked toward Chris who was gripping Joey’s hand tightly and staring into nothingness. “Chris, what about you? Can you tell me what happened?”

“Yeah.” It was barely a whisper but Johnny heard it.

“Okay, go on, but take all the time you need. I can only image what it was like.”

“No you can’t. Cuz it was nothing I’d ever imagine.” Chris finally made eye contact with the manager. “Johnny it was the most God awful thing I’ve ever seen. What they were doing to him.” Chris paused and blinked back tears. “What Lou was doing to him? It was… was … ”

“Unimaginable,” Joey whispered finishing Chris statement.

“Chris, you don’t have to tell me all the details okay but you can’t leave out the important parts.”

“The important parts, Johnny,” Chris questioned. “How can I determine what’s important and what isn’t.”

“Just tell me what happened?”

Chris glanced away and stared out the window. He closed his eyes and began telling Johnny what exactly went down last night. Chris described in detail the conversation the four them had prior to looking for and finding JC. Then he told the manager about how JC was tied down, bloody and beaten while he was being raped.

“Huh,” Johnny gasped. “Lance didn’t tell me about that over the phone. I didn’t know.”

“No, Johnny, Lance wouldn’t have told you over the phone. He was barely able to call 911.”

“So, that’s why they need air.” The manager could not believe the story Chris had just finished. All the pain and suffering the poor kid went through was now evident and Johnny could not wait for revenge. “What about you two?”

Joey finally opened his eyes and whispered, “We’ve got to be the strong ones for the youngins’. It’s just the way its gotta be.” Johnny just shook his head.

“Justin, do you know where were goin?”

“Yeah, Lance. Just give me a minute.” The youngest blond ran his fingers through his curls as the group stood in the middle of the hallway. “Tiny’s making me nervous, you know its not easy sneaking around when you’ve got a three hundred pound black guy tagging along.”

Lance snickered, “Yeah, just be thankful Sexual even let us out of the that damn waiting room. I mean we should’ve known they wouldn’t let us out of their sights. Besides he isn’t three hundred pounds stop over exaggerating.”

“Yeah, whatever. That’s the last time I let you negotiate our way out of somewhere.” Justin began moving forward again with Lance following closely behind and Tiny a few feet further back. “I mean what could possible happen in a fucking hospital.”

“When your involved Justin, anything could happen.” Lance paused for a minute as they made another turn. “You do realize Sexual Chocolate will be like our shadows. Even more so now than before.”

“Humph, lot of good that did JC. Wait.” Justin stopped suddenly. “I recognize this hall. This is it. Come on.” The three quietly and quickly made their way down the hall until Justin halted. “In there,” he whispered and pointed at a curtained off room. “That’s were I was taken. I’m sure of it.”

“Okay, curly led the way.” Justin did not move. “Justin?”

“I’m scared Lance.” Justin’s azure eyes looked into emerald ones. “I’m scared.”

“Hey, Baby J. I’m scared too but we’ve come all this way. Let’s not turn back now. I’ve gotta know how he is, just like you.” Lance grabbed Justin’s hand again and pulled back the curtain. The two boys went into the area while Tiny stood just inside with his back facing them. Justin was right. This was the area that Lonnie carried him into earlier that night. “What now Justin? JC isn’t here.”

“No, he’s on the other side of that curtain.” Justin cautiously sauntered over toward the opposite wall where another curtain was drawn closed. The blond tenor grasped tightly the edge of the curtain. He stood there for a second until he felt Lance’s presence behind him and then quickly yanked the curtain open. Once the curtain was drawn opened Lance let out a gasp and Justin softly pleaded in a painful voice, “Oh, JC. What’ve they done to you?” Tears fell freely from his eyes as he looked upon his worn out and battered friend’s body.

JC’s misused body still laid upon the bed Justin last seen him on. It was positioned differently, however. It was now located nearer the glass partition, so close that Justin could see JC’s swollen face. Justin noticed then the large wire fixture that was attached to the brunette’s jaw directly in front of him. There were wires running from JC’s swollen eyelid and from behind the ear just near the hairline. The bruises and discoloration adorning JC’s face were the same since the last time he saw his friend, but now seemed worse than before.

“What’s that?” Lance asked while pointing in the direction of a metal contraption near the sleeping forms hip.

“I haven’t a clue, Lance.”

“I wonder if it has something to do with his fractured pelvis.” Lance wondered out loud.

“Maybe.” Justin pressed himself closer onto the glass. They stood there in silence until finally their reverie was broken.

“Guys, someone’s coming.” Tiny came into the area, “Hide.”

Dr. Thompson noticed the open curtain and decided investigating it. He carefully quietly moved toward the once enclosed area, stepped in, and stood for a moment taking in his surroundings, until he heard a noise and then soft laughter. “Okay, whosever in here better come out nice and slow.” Nothing. “I’ll give you thirty seconds and if you don’t make yourselves known then I’ll call security.” Just as he finished his sentence something crashed onto the floor. “That’s it,” the doctor yelled and flicked on the lights. When the lights came on Dr. Thompson could see two figures huddled in the corner and one very large one under the bed. What the hell, he thought. “Come on out.”

“Okay, Doc. You’ve got us.”

“Justin? What are you doing in … Wait a minute.”

Justin and Lance stood from there corner and slyly walked over toward Dr. Thompson. They had huge grins on their faces. “I can’t believe you told Tiny to hide under the bed. I wish I had a camera. Cuz, no one is gonna believe us,” Lance chuckled.

“I can’t believe he did it,” Justin laughed.

“Wait a minute boys. You mean to tell me that one of your bodyguards actually fit under that bed.” The bed tipped slightly and out poured a rather irate bodyguard.

“Yeah,” the two blonds said in unison.

“Well, did you get to see what you wanted?” the doctor suddenly asked.

Justin gaze fell upon the floor. “Yes, but what is all that wiry stuff on him for?”

“If you would’ve waited like I had asked then you would know, already. I sent a nurse into the waiting room with some new information, your medication and prescription.”

“What was she gonna tell them,” Lance asked.

“Just simply that you will be able to see him in about an hour or two.” The doctor stepped toward the two boys and placed a hand on each shoulder. “Boys. It is very admirable for you to be this concerned for your friend but you can’t break hospital rules. You have to follow them just like every other person who comes in here hoping for their loved ones to be all right. From now on you need to stay either in the waiting room or in that hallway or even the chapel. Don’t come back down here. All right.” Dr. Thompson ended his speech by asking the three men to come back to the waiting room.

“Okay.” The two boys agreed.

“All right then. Let’s head back toward the waiting room.” The doctor led them out of the area. “Your manager wants detailed information about JC condition, so I will be filling him in as well. Will you guys be able to handle the detailed version?”

“Yeah, if you think we need to hear it,” Justin whimpered.

“I think it will help you better understand what your friend is going through and will be going through.”

“Okay, then.”

The four men walked slowly down the hallway that led in the direction of the waiting room. Wes was still guarding the door when the group approached. Wes’s facial _expression was one of anxiousness. He wanted information about and the condition of his charge just as badly as the rest of them. When Tiny finally was beside the worried black man, Wes whispered. “How’s he, Tiny”

“I don’t know, Wes. I didn’t get a chance to see him. But the doc here is gonna give us some more detailed information. Maybe Johnny will let us sit in.”

The larger group entered the waiting area. They gathered around the doctor and waited for him to speak.

Dr. Thompson extended his hand to Johnny and introduced himself. Upon completion of the introductions the two bodyguards pulled Johnny aside for a brief moment and asked him if they could say and listen to the doctor. Johnny agreed.

The black man looked at Dr. Thompson and asked, “So how bad is it? I need to know his condition, when he will be back on his feet, what meds he’ll be taking, and any other thing you think may be helpful.”

“Okay, but maybe everyone should sit down.”

“Chris, move over.” Lance moved toward the couch.

“Sit on my lap Lance. Cuz there ain’t a lot of room here.”

“K”

“Justin sit here,” Joey got up from his position and let the youngest member sit as he took the armrest.

Justin sat on the couch. His body was becoming tense with the thought of new information about JC. He felt like he was being pulled in every direction, getting dizzy and disoriented. His breathing was becoming erratic and his head was throbbing. His face paled a bit.

“Justin,” the doctor’s voice rang. “I’ll get you something for that.” Dr. Thompson briefly left the room.

“Chris what’s wrong with Justin?” Lance asked. The blond bass was facing in the opposite direction and couldn’t see what was going on.

“I don’t know, scoop.”

The doctor walked back into the room and over toward Justin. The old man extended his arm out and opening his hand. Inside the grasp were two white pills. “You need to take these young man.”

“Why? I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. When you were first brought in here you suffered from an anxiety attack and a very large one at that. These pills are to help make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

“What are they?” Chris asked.

“They’re called Librium. Justin will need to take them three times a day.”

“Oh.” Justin took the pills and swallowed them dry. When he opened his eyes again he noticed that the doctor had seated himself across from Johnny.

“Okay Mr. Wright what do you need to know?”

“Basically, Dr. Thompson I need to know everything so that I know what to do with the situation.”

“Well, all right then. When JC was brought into the emergency room he was given morphin. We did the appropriate blood work, performed an EKG, chest X-ray, a CT scan and a MRV before we began any surgery. At this time, however, I have switched his pain medication for OxyContin. When JC wakes from the surgeries he will be able to administer his own pain medication when he needs it. However, OxyContin is a very strong and addictive painkiller. We will eventually be changing the medication to something a little less addictive more than likely Lortab or Norco. We also have been feeding him Valium to keep him heavily sedated, but we’ve lowered the amount and he should be waking in an hour or two.” The doctor paused, “Is everything clear so far.”

“No,” Justin sadly spoke. “What’s a CT scan or a MRV?”

“Well, Justin a CT scan is a Computerized Tomograph. It shows internal fractures and injuries in a three dimensional format. The MRV is called a Magnetic Resonance Venogram, just another way for us to get information about the injured areas.”

“Oh.”

“Any other questions so far.”

“No doctor. Please, keep going. I need to know about his injuries,” Johnny plainly stated.

“I guess I’ll start with the simplest injuries. JC has eighteen stitches above his right eye. I told the boys here that these stitches will not cause an identifiable mark and that hasn’t changed. The second injury is a fracture in JC’s jaw. The fracture occurred as a result of a heavy blow to the condyle, which is located in the jaw joint. This type of fracture is fairly common and easily readjusted. We called in a maxillofacial surgeon to handle both these facial injuries. The surgeon determined that JC’s mouth should be wired shut as well as performing a rigid fixation, which is a surgical procedure where the patients jaw is fixed to a metal plate. The wiring will only be necessary for about 7-10 days and then it will be removed. The metal plate will remain upwards of two months, during this time JC will be able to speak but limited.”

The group sat quietly. Listening intently to the detailed information Dr. Thomson was finally giving them.

The doctor continued. “JC’s larynx, well, specifically the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the superior laryngeal nerve were both severely bruised. This causes paralysis of the vocal folds, which will then led to hoarseness.” Moving his gaze toward Justin answering an unspoken question, “Yes, as I said before, he’ll be able to sing again.” Justin gave a small smile. “The next injury is one of the more serious ones and is the main reason why we ran so many tests. JC has incurred a pelvic fracture. Sometimes pelvic fractures can be extremely dangerous due to the fracture hiding other injuries such as neurological or vascular. That was not the case with JC. His fracture occurred in a fairly common area. JC was administered analgesia prior to surgery and stabilization of the fracture. The procedure performed is called EX-Fix or External Fixation Technique where we place pins on either side of the fracture and connect it to rods outside the skin.”

“Hey,” Lance says. “Is that what we saw around JC hip.”

“Yes.” The doctor smiled. “Now with a pelvic injury there are certain things we need to keep our eyes on. The first thing is Avasular Necrosis, which is a disruption of the blood supply to the area due to the fracture causing the loss of the leg. The second is paralysis, which we haven’t detected any problems thus far. A pelvic injury includes a great deal of pain for the patient, JC is currently being given OxyContin, Heparin an anticoagulant, Coumadin, and Indrocrin, which prevents bone formation in areas around the muscle.”

“Holy, shit, doctor. That’s a lot of meds. Are they all necessary?” Johnny asked.

“Well, of course they are.”

“Will he be taken that many medications once we take him home?” Justin softly questioned.

“No, he will need three medications, but we can talk about that later, okay Justin.”

“K”

“Finally, his last serious injury and probably the hardest to talk about. JC suffered a prolapsed rectum. These usually occur in older people due to the weakening in the rectal wall. However, due to the violent nature of the attack, the pulling and tearing or the muscularis coupled with the continuous flexing of his knees and hips caused JC’s prolapse.” The doctor heard gasps and then heart wrenching sobs. He knew he had to go on, however. “At first we thought that we could just gently push the rectum in and then tape the buttocks together. When we went to follow up with a digital rectal we noticed that this procedure would not work. Our next option was the Lockhart-Mummey operation, however, due to the massive amount of tearing we believe that it would not succeed either. So our last option was the Cauterization Treatment. In this procedure the rectum is cauterized in linear fashion extending to the submucosa in four quadrants. The surgery produces perirectal inflammation and scarring that prevents the rectum from falling. So far the surgery seems to be working. We’ll know more in about 6-8 days.”

“That it.”

Dr. Thompson looked at Johnny quizzically, “Yes.”

“Okay then. How long will you be keeping him?’

“Well, ideally we would like to keep him for at least two weeks for observation and follow up tests.”

“Wow, that’s a long time. That’s too long. Can we shorten it?”

The doctor decided he really didn’t like this man much. “Well, Mr. Wright. JC has some major and at one time life threatening injuries. I think it would be rather ridiculous for you to expect him out of here any sooner.”

“Look, doctor. You don’t have to come up with some sort of cover for this mess. I do. So spare me your lecture.”

“All right then. Justin you will need to pick up your prescriptions as soon as possible.”

“Right. Umm, doctor can we see him again.”

“Yes, I’ll make sure all of you can see him before you leave.”

“We’re not leaving any time soon doctor,” Chris answered.

Doctor Thompson smiled. He knew the others wouldn’t leave JC until they were absolutely sure about his condition. “We will be moving him upstairs to a private suite that the hospital uses for important and influential individuals. I will make sure that the staff place four cots in there with him, okay. How does that sound?”

“Oh thank you doctor,” Justin said as he moved forward and embraced the doctor. Lance, Joey and then Chris quickly followed Justin.

“Your welcome, boys.” After pulling away from the group of boys he slowly made his way out of the room.

***

“Well, Johnny what do you think?” Lance quite voice asked.

“I think we’re in deep shit here guys.”

“Why?” Justin voice cracked.

“He can’t stay here that long Justin. It isn’t feasible.”

“What? Johnny who the fuck cares how long C is in here for. I mean as long as he needs to be treated he should remain here. We can’t take him out early,” Chris nearly yelled.

“Yes, we can and we may. Listen guys it’s difficult and you know that, but we might have to remove him from the hospital in case the press gets wind of this story.”

“Johnny,” Justin whined. “We cant’ do that. I won’t let you do that.”

“I agree with Justin,” Lance added.

“Me too.” Joey said.

“He needs to be taken care of Johnny, we can’t provide everything he needs right now.” Justin eyes teared up, “Please, Johnny let him stay here.”

“Justin it doesn’t matter what you want.” He looked over at the heartbroken blond. “All I can say Justin is will see. Will see.”



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