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I gave him a bottle of water and watched as he swallowed the pills, satisfied.
“Cheese or ham? That’s all I’ve got, I’m afraid.” I searched the fridge and looked for anything else I could offer, but other than some limp lettuce, half a tomato, and a cucumber that had seen better days, I had nothing.
“Either, but no butter on my bread.” He groaned and held onto his side.
I shut the fridge door and looked at him, amazed. “I beg your pardon. No butter? Won’t it be dry?”
“Unless you have mayo. Do you have mayo?”
Good question. I opened the fridge again, and there at the back was an almost empty bottle of mayo. I’d best add that to the shopping list.
“You’re in luck, although I’m not sure how long it’s been there.” It wasn’t something I ate. “How are you feeling?”
“Everything still hurts. My back, ribs, face. I thought I was gonna die, Mac.” Tears filled his eyes, and I’d have done anything to take away his pain.
It broke my heart to see him this way, but in time, he’d heal.
“I know, babe, and it will hurt like a bitch for a while. Why don’t you sit down? I’ll bring this through to you. Might be an idea to take a shower when you’re feeling up to it. Always makes me feel better.”
His lip trembled as he looked around him. “What am I gonna do, Mac? I’ve got no home to go to. I won’t put Gran in any danger, and Brian is dangerous. He proved that this morning. I need to go back home.”
“What the hell for?” I asked, confounded by his announcement.
“I’m not going back to live. I have stuff there I need to pick up: clothes, my phone charger, my money. That is if they haven’t found it already.”
“I can take you back whenever you want, when it’s safe. When we know no one will be there.”
“I’m not sure it’ll ever be safe, and I don’t have a key. I didn’t have time to pick it up while I was being dragged around by my hair.” He rubbed his scalp and winced.
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. Does your gran have a key we could use?” I handed him his sandwich and led us both to the conservatory.
“Actually, she does. Has it for emergencies.”
“I think this counts as an emergency. We’ll go as soon as you feel up to it.” We ate our sandwiches in silence. I’d eaten nothing save for a cereal bar that morning, and I doubted Frankie had eaten either.
“I’ve ruined your days off,” he said morosely. “You’ll hate me.”
“Jesus, Frankie, I could never hate you, and you haven’t ruined my days off. We’d planned for you to come here anyway. I was going to go to Dad’s and help him clear the garden ready for winter, but I can do that another day. You need to rest.”
“No. Don’t cancel on my account. I can stay here on my own. I really don’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re not at all.” One problem with being a doctor was that we cared too much, and when that happened, some were prone to take advantage of our good nature. I’d fallen into the trap before, but even though I hadn’t known him long, I knew Frankie wasn’t one of those people. “I can postpone Dad for a day. He won’t mind, especially if he knows why.”
“Please don’t tell him. Don’t tell anyone,” he pleaded, his eyes full of tears. “I’ve been so weak. I should have stood up to him. I feel so ashamed.” He whispered the final words, and my heart broke.
I rushed to sit next to him and gently took his hand in mine. “Situations like yours aren’t uncommon. We see it time and again, but I’ll tell you one thing, people who suffer abuse on a long-term basis as you have are some of the strongest people I’ve seen. You haven’t given up. You’ve endured it for fuck knows how long to protect your loved ones. It’s admirable, and I guarantee that none of my family would judge you for being weak.”
Abuse of any sort was a sore subject for me, and many other caregivers. Unfortunately, sometimes it didn’t end well, but I was so grateful it had ended this way for Frankie. That he’d come out of it with his life. I vowed from this day forward to protect him, to never let him go through that again.
He was strong and determined.
And he was right here. That was what mattered.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
FRANKIE
One day’s rest turned into two, and there wasn’t an inch of my body that didn’t hurt in some way.
