When Treston saw the helpless expression on Chad's face-as the ridiculous felt flower danced around to a tinny music box version of You Are My Sunshine-Treston looked up at the ceiling and started to laugh. He'd never mentioned anything about this song to Chad, and he'd never seen anything as dumb and adorable at the same time as the dancing flower.
"I heard you're going to be okay," Chad said. "The docs told me nothing's broken and you didn't even need stitches. Lyon drove me over here because they wouldn't let me ride in the ambulance. I've been here the whole time."
"I suppose Lyon told you about what happened with the wedding," Treston said. He glanced down at his lap and frowned.
"I'm sorry," Chad said. "I know how much you wanted everything to work out."
Treston flung him a look. "Are you really sorry?"
Chad hesitated for a moment. He turned off the music box and set the flower on a table beside the bed. Then he looked directly into Treston's eyes and said, "I'm sorry you were hurt. I'm sorry my driver slammed into you. I'm sorry that asshole left you naked at Lake Mead. I'm sorry for all the bad things guys have done to you all your life. But to be honest, I'm not sorry the park ranger backed out. There was something about him I never trusted, something kinky and weird. The man was a perv. I knew he'd never make you happy and I'm glad you didn't marry him. And if that makes me a horrible person, so be it."
Treston shrugged. "I should have known he'd back out. I should have seen it coming. It's my own fault and I have no one to blame but myself. He said my past didn't bother him and I believed him. Now, that's rich."
A nurse entered and told Treston he had to get dressed. "Looks like you're going home and we need the room." Either she didn't recognize Chad with a beard, or she wasn't star struck.
Chad smiled and picked up the felt sunflower. As he crossed to leave so Treston could dress in private, he said, "I'll be out in the waiting room. My car is outside."
"I was going to call Lyon or Chickey," Treston said.
"I already did. I told them you were fine and I would take care of you."
Treston looked him in the eye. "I'm curious. Why were you even driving near the club today?"
Chad looked down at his shoes and shrugged. "I wanted to see if you'd really go through with it. I wasn't going to do anything. I just wanted to watch from a distance."
"So you wound up slamming into me instead," Treston said.
"You can't blame me for that," Chad said. "How could we have known you'd barrel out of the parking lot without looking?"
"I know," Treston said. "I just can't believe you did it."
Chad shrugged again. "I'll wait outside for you."
When Treston was dressed, he signed a few more forms and a nurse wheeled him out to the waiting room where he found Chad signing autographs. Treston thanked the nurse and stood up on his own. He felt sore and still a little shaky, but he knew he could walk on his own now.
The instant Chad saw him get up he stopped signing autographs and jogged over to help him to the door with the silly felt flower in his hands. He grabbed Treston's elbow and said, "Are you sure you're okay to walk? Maybe you should put your arm around me and lean on me."
"I'm fine," Treston said. "I don't have a home, I don't have a job, and I don't have a future anymore. But I can still walk on my own."
The same driver who had slammed into the van was standing next to the back door of another limo Chad owned. He asked Treston if he was okay and apologized for the accident. Treston thanked him and told him he was fine, and said he took full responsibility for the accident because he hadn't been looking when he'd pulled out.
After that, they drove back to Chad's house without saying a word. When the car pulled up to the front entrance, Chad didn't wait for the driver to get out. He jumped out first, ran around the back of the car, and opened Treston's door. Then he reached for Treston's arm and guided him up the front steps and into the main hall.
The older man in the white jacket with the expressionless face was waiting for them at the door. Chad set his palm on the small of Treston's back and said, "Is the room ready?"
The older man nodded and said, "Everything's ready."
Chad gave Treston a gentle push toward the grand staircase and said, "I put you in the guest room that overlooks the pool. It has the nicest view. And it's as far away from my room as you can get."
Treston smirked and said, "I see. That way you can bring in as many guys as you want and I won't disturb you. But don't worry. I won't be here longer than one night. I'll be out of here tomorrow morning. I'm getting out of this town for good."
Chad stopped in the middle of the stairs. He sent the older man a look and said, "That will be all. I'd like some privacy now." When the old man disappeared, he turned to Treston and said, "For your information, I put you in that room because I didn't think you'd want to be in my room. I didn't want to assume anything. I know how you feel about guys like me and I figured the last thing you'd want to do was sleep in my bed tonight after what you've been through."
Treston noticed a hint of anger in his tone. "You were right. The last thing I would even consider is sleeping with you tonight, or ever again, for that matter."
Chad's face turned red. He climbed three more stairs and stopped at the landing. He sent Treston a backward glance, threw the felt sunflower music box against the wall, and said, "The one thing I don't get is you seem to enjoy taking all kinds of shit from assholes like the creepy park ranger, yet the one man who says he loves you and doesn't give a good fuck about your past is the one man you push away. I'll be the first to admit I can be a fucking asshole. I know I'm not perfect, buddy. But neither are you. And it doesn't stop me from loving you. I have never judged you once. And that's a lot more than you can say about any of the other guys you've been with. But most of all, I'm still here. I didn't take your money and leave you stranded and I didn't run away on my wedding day like a coward."
Treston ignored him. When he saw the felt sunflower hit the wall, the music box started to play and Treston ran up the steps. Everything that had happened that day seemed to hit him all at once. He went down to his knees on the other side of the landing and picked up the sunflower and held it to his heart. He felt a sting in his eyes, tears started streaming down his face, and he doubled over sobbing in a way that looked more like retching.
When Chad saw this, he unclenched his fists and ran over to him. He went down on the floor, put his arms around him, and held him so tightly he had to rest his cheek against Treston's back to calm him down.
Through his sobs, Treston said, "I thought you'd broken it. It's the nicest thing anyone's ever given me. How could you just throw it at the wall that way? How could you be so mean?"
Chad didn't seem to get it. "It's a cheap piece of shit from a hospital gift store."
"No, it's not. It's a wonderful gift." He couldn't seem to stop crying no matter how hard he tried to steel himself.
Chad sounded confused. "Calm down, it's okay. I didn't think you'd care. I'll buy you a hundred more if you want. Just please stop crying. It's the one thing I can't stand."
"I can't help it," Treston said. "I'm trying to stop. And I don't want a hundred more. I only want this one. I thought Cooper had finally been the one to take away all my sunshine. I thought he'd done me in once and for all. And then when I saw you standing in the hospital with this flower, I got my sunshine back. Very few people know this is my favorite song. I know it doesn't make sense to someone like you, but it really is the most wonderful thing anyone's ever given me. And you didn't even know."
"Well," Chad said. "I guess I finally did something right. Let's give mean old Chad a little credit for once."
Treston sat up and wiped his eyes. "Did you really mean what you said? The part about my past?"
They leaned back against the bottom step together and Chad put his arm around him. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. That's one of the good things about getting older. You mean what you say more often than not."
Treston sighed and exhaled. He turned the music off, but he wouldn't pull the sunflower away from his chest. "You're so bad for me. But I do love you. I fell in love with you the first night, but I didn't want to admit it. And I can't keep doing the same thing over and over again."
"Neither can I," Chad said. "That's why I don't want to let you go that easily." Then he stood up and reached down for Treston's hand. "Let's go upstairs. It's been a long day for both of us. When I saw you knocked out in the van this afternoon, I thought you were dead for a moment. I've never felt anything so intense in my life. And when I realized you weren't dead, all I wanted to do was pick you up and hold you."
Treston stood up and said, "I thought you were really Jesus for a minute. I wasn't sure what had happened and all I saw was your face surrounded by bright white rays."
Chad put his arm around him and led him up the next flight of stairs. "I'm glad to hear it, because I need all the encouragement I can get. This part could either get me an Oscar or make me a laughingstock around the world. I'm not as young as I used to be. I've already read articles that say I'm too old to play Jesus. It's like they are waiting for me to fail."