Jae

I needed to talk to Doctor Abts, had to know for certain he suspected what I already knew. If Lucas ever wanted to press charges, we’d need everything from this visit to support that. I trailed down the hall, anxious to find him, and much to my luck, I did. He was sanitizing his hands and about to step into another room.

“Dr. Abts. Can I speak with you for a moment?”

He looked over his shoulder and frowned, eyeing me for a beat as he thought. “Make it quick.”

“Lucas… his medical records. You, well. You suspected abuse… yes?” I asked bluntly.

He looked up and down the hallway, then shot me a dirty look. “And if I did, what’s it to you? Don’t think I’ll be altering anything in his chart to hide what you did.”

I caught my breath and swallowed hard, everything now adding up. Abts had been rather short with me throughout Lucas’s visit, shot me looks I couldn’t quite decipher here and there. It hadn’t occurred to me that the doctor might assume it was me who beat Lucas, but now it all added up. The thought of anyone thinking I could hurt Lucas was awful.  

“Whoa, whoa, no. That’s not what I’m asking.” I paused, sighing as I tried to choose my words carefully. “Doctor Abts, I’m a cop, and Lucas is a friend of mine. It’s sort of a long story, but Lucas—I’d just seen him yesterday and he was perfectly healthy; nothing broken. He told me this morning he’d “slammed” his hand in the car door on accident and couldn’t drive. So, I offered to drive him to school today. Safe to say, it didn’t take long for me to realize somebody had taken their rage out on him, not that little VW Golf of his.”

Abts raised his brow and looked me over once again, as if he was deciding whether to believe me or not. He didn’t cut me off though, so I took that as my sign to continue.  

“I’ve reason to believe it’s somebody in his home, and while he won’t admit who, I’m certain I know exactly who that somebody is. Lucas has stonewalled me completely on this; he’s afraid, and he doesn’t seem ready to face said person yet. My hope is that he will at some point though, and when he does, we’re going to need these medical records as evidence to press charges…if you catch my drift.”

Abts shifted on his feet and exhaled heavily, his expression changing completely. “Look, I’m a mandatory reporter, just like you, but Lucas is a legal adult. There’s nothing I can unless he asks for help.”

“I’m in the same position, Doc. Lucas won’t tell me anything, and until he does, I can’t help him either. I guess what I wanted to confirm is that his records would… reflect your honest opinion of what may have been the true cause of his injury, as opposed to it being a car door…does that make sense?”

Abts nodded repeatedly, seeming to finally understand my question. “My chart notes accurately reflected my concerns and the signs of abuse I observed. Now, I must go. Technically you and I shouldn’t even be having this conversation, mister Hoffman.”

I let out a relieved exhale. “Of course. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.”

He nods, looking me over once more. “… glad we cleared this up, as I’d misjudged you.”

“No harm done; I appreciate your willingness to hear me out.”

Abts just nodded, and then gestured to the door we’d been hovering by. “Gotta head in. Take care of that kid, yeah?”

“Already on it.”

With that, we parted ways, and I made my way briskly back down the hallway towards the lobby. Once I stepped outside of Urgent care, I made a beeline for my car, but was no doubt surprised by the scene unfolding before me. Lucas was lying back in the passenger seat, eyes shut, taking long, lazy drags off one of my cigarettes.

I huffed and shook my head, not bothering to hide my amusement.

“Thief.” I smirked, flicking the top of his curly head playfully. Lucas sucked in sharply, no doubt inhaling too much smoke too fast, and proceeded to cough heavily. “You know that’s illegal, right? You’re only eighteen, Lu. Want me to put you in handcuffs?”

Lucas sat upright in his seat and wiped his mouth, flashing me a smutty grin. “Yes, please!”

I slipped into my seat and just shook my head, buckling in. “You’re too much, Lucas Price.”

“I dunno, I think I’m just the right amount of extra.” He laughed, blowing smoke at me pointedly. “But seriously though, you should get your lungs checked Jae. You didn’t even crack a window earlier!”

I stared at him and exhaled a dry laugh, snatching the cigarette away. “Yeah, yeah.”

Lucas balked and slumped down into his seat. “You know it’s gonna be your ass going to the doctors next for lung cancer, Jae. Seriously though, how many of these things you smoke a day?”

I smirked and said nothing, driving us out of the parking lot. “Spend enough time around me and you’ll see.”

“One word,” Lucas chuckled. “Cancer.”

“Fuck off, I’m trying to quit anyway.” I responded, shoving him gently as we hit a stop light. Lu blushed, smacking my arm back playfully. Our banter felt silly, surface-level mostly, but I wasn’t sure what to say to him after his appointment. All I could think about was how much pain he must be in, and how bad his x-ray truly looked. I was worried about him, and felt like he was again, using humor to deflect.

“Lu?”

“Yes, Daddy?” He snickered, stifling a wince as he cradled his busted hand.

“If something happens at home again… I want you to call me, okay?” Lucas’s smile faded quickly, and his entire demeanor shifted dramatically. He dropped his gaze to the floor, kicking his backpack a bit in silence. “Lu.” I pressed, eyeing him as we turned into the pharmacy parking lot.

“Nothing’s gonna happen.” he muttered, hugging himself. It killed me to see the way his confidence just evaporated at the mere mention of what his father had done to him, or what he might do in the future. I sighed heavily, putting the car in park, watching him intently.

“I hope that to be true, Lu… I do.” I said, reaching out to brush some of his hair off his forehead. “But if something happens again, just know I’m here for you.”

“Yeah… ‘kay.” Lucas mumbled.

We sat there in silence for several minutes, and it couldn’t have been more awkward. I wished Lu would just let me help him, that he’d be honest about what happened, but I was fooling myself if I thought that would happen overnight.

Sighing, I changed the subject. “Well, your meds should be ready; I’m gonna go grab them so you can get your first dose in before you get to school. Alright?”

Lucas nodded. “Okay…”

I smiled at him and got out of the car, but before I shut the door, he called out to me. “Um, Jae?”

“Yeah, Lu.” I paused, leaning on the roof of the car as he tried to think.

“Thank you…”

“Don’t mention it.” I winked, shutting the door gently. I turned and walked across the parking lot, the wind whipping at my clothes bitterly. All I could think about was how vulnerable Lucas looked just then, and how quickly his demeanor shifted. I wished I could take the pain away for him; wished I could rescue him from his circumstances, but only time would tell if Lucas would let me.

I was never great at being patient, especially not in situations like this, and I knew deep down I wouldn’t be able to stay detached from what was happening to Lucas at home, no matter how hard he tried to keep it away from me. Sure, we’d agreed to fuck, no strings attached, but staying true to that would be difficult.

Worrying about Lucas, that was going to become a new specialty of mine.