Chapter Fifteen
Sam woke Matt at lunchtime to have him up and out in time for the appointment. Drew was going to stay in the apartment, the door locked, and he wasn’t going to answer it unless it was Sam.
It was with a mixture of relief and reluctance that he waved them off. Matt still looked like hell, except that he’d washed his hair. Drew guessed that would only help. If he’d turned up clean-shaven and perfectly turned out, maybe they’d be less likely to take into account his symptoms with the gravity needed.
While they were gone, he kept himself busy. Starting with the kitchen, he cleaned everything in sight, going so far as to empty the refrigerator and clean it out, too. The oven took a lot of scrubbing but he was thankful for something physical to put his mind to.
Worries plagued him even as he worked. That Matt wouldn’t get the help he needed. That Sam wouldn’t get the time off work. That Diego had moved, because how would Drew find him then?
He forced himself to push those thoughts to the back of his mind. If it came to it, he still had other ways to contact him. He’d vowed he’d never use the email address again, and he suspected Diego would have scrubbed it once he’d figured out what Drew had sent. But Diego was clever. He always left friends like Drew a way to track him down.
A sound at the door had him up and moving, crouching down behind the kitchen counter out of view of the doorway. He heard it open and a moment later, Sam spoke.
“Just me, Drew.”
Relieved, his heart still pounding, he clambered to his feet, sheepishly peering out at Sam.
“You’re back.”
“Yeah,” Sam replied, hanging up his jacket.
“Where’s Matt?” The other man was conspicuous in his absence.
“They’ve admitted him. The doctor met with him, then the psychologist. And both of them spoke with me. They were really great, they understood how serious things were straight away. I think they talked to him about meds, but they want to do that while he’s under observation. They said sometimes it increases the suicide risk because the meds give more energy while the mood is still on the floor.” He paused. “Sorry, I’m rambling. It was an intense afternoon. Bottom line is, he’s in there and he’s safe. I’m going to swing by his apartment, pack up some things for him, and drop them into the hospital. I’ve called his sister and his mom and they’re both coming to the city for a week or two. They’ll crash in his place.”
Leaning against the door, he gave Drew a tired smile. “Work has given me a week of leave starting the day after tomorrow. I was thinking we’d spend tomorrow drawing up some plans and making sure Matt is settled, then head off on our road trip. The sooner we move on this, the better. I’m guessing Russell is going to start getting impatient. If he can’t get to you directly, he’ll look for other ways. Maybe that’ll be Logan or your Dad. More than likely, it’ll be me. I’ve already called my landlord, Vex, and given him a heads up. He’s a vet, too. Doesn’t take any nonsense, so if Russell tries anything, he’ll shut it down. He’s also going to check the building’s cameras, see if anything suspicious shows up.”
“Do you think it will?” Drew asked.
Sam seemed in two minds about answering, and a moment later, Drew learned why. “There’s someone across the street watching the apartment entrance. There was a man there yesterday and a different one there today.”
“Watching… watching for me?”
“Can’t be certain, but probably.”
He almost asked why but that was obvious, wasn’t it? Now that Russell had found him again, he had no intention of losing track.
“What if they come in here looking for me?”
“You stay inside, you don’t answer the door. If anyone tries to get in, call nine-one-one. I’ll ask Vex to keep an eye out.”
“You’re leaving me alone?”
He hated how needy he sounded. Sam didn’t owe him anything. Let alone an explanation. Sam sighed, rolling his shoulders as he leaned against the door.
“Come here,” was all he said. When Drew hesitated, Sam grew more insistent. “Drew.”
He crossed the room towards Sam, noting how tired the other man looked. Once he was within arm's reach, Sam caught him by the hand, tugging him closer.
“It’s okay to be scared, to be freaked out. But I don’t believe you’re in any immediate danger right now. I think they’re watching and waiting. They know you can’t stay in here forever.”
“But then how am I going to leave and get the eviden—”
Sam pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him.
“I have a plan for that, I promise. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Right now, I have to go to get Matt sorted. After that, I’ll swing by the store and pick up some food. We’ll have dinner and get a good night’s sleep, in a bed this time, and tomorrow we’ll work out our next steps. Okay?”
Sighing, his shoulders sagging, Drew could do nothing but agree, still worried that Sam was wrong about him just being watched. “Okay. But what if—”
“Then you dial nine-one-one.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to ask.”
“It’s not hard to figure out what’s worrying you. The same kind of things that are worrying me, except I have the experience to read a situation like this. I promise, the second I think things are going to escalate, we’ll get you somewhere safe.”
“Where’s safe from Russell?” he asked morosely.
“I can think of a place or two,” Sam replied, running his thumb across the inside of Drew’s wrist.
“I feel safe with you,” Drew pointed out.
“And I’m not always going to be there. Which is why we have to tackle this the right way. You don’t want to be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.”
That he didn’t.
He turned the tables on Sam, encircling his wrist with cool fingers, feeling the beat of Sam’s pulse against him.
“Thank you for doing this. It seems like you put everyone else ahead of you.”
“Story of my life,” Sam said with a wry smile. “I had better get going. I want you to text me every thirty minutes so I know you’re okay.”
“Of course. Should we have a code word?”
Sam looked like he wanted to laugh but was holding it back with difficulty. “Why not? Needs to be something ordinary, that no one would suspect.”
“I’ll put an x at the end of my message if I’m in trouble. No x, all is good.”
Sam raised an eyebrow at that. “Do you normally end a message with a kiss?”
He blushed. “Good point. Okay, if I sign off with my full name then. Consider that a call for help.”
“Got it. Don’t leave the apartment, okay? Not for any reason. If the fire alarm goes off, call Vex. I’m sending you his number now.” He tugged his phone from his pocket. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Call me if anything comes up.”