Morbid

Arnold stepped onto the bus and the driver let out a low whistle.

“Jesus, kid. How many knuckle sandwiches did you eat?” The bus driver asked and Arnold didn't say anything, because he didn't get the joke. “How many times did you get hit in the face?”

“Twicce.” Arnold said.

“He must have been a big guy, huh?”

Arnold thought about the doctor's assessment. “He was a football player.”

The bus driver winced. “I'm surprised you don't look worse.”

Arnold lifted his t-shirt and showed off the shoulder and arm shaped bruise.

“Goddamn.” The driver said. “I hope you did worse to him!”

Arnold managed a half smile and the driver nodded.

“Good for you.” The driver said. “Have a seat and I'll get you to where you're going.”

Arnold scanned his bus pass and sat down in the front seat. After a two hour bus ride, they arrived at the stop near the college campus. The driver wished him well and Arnold waved as he left the bus. He crossed the deserted street and walked over to the campus. It was pretty late, so he entered the dorm building and saw that Doris wasn't there. He looked at the stairs and remembered his mother reminding him to not move very much, so he pushed the elevator button.

A quick ride up to the top floor delivered Arnold to a deserted and quiet hallway. He walked down it to his room and opened the door, stepped inside, and locked it again. He dropped off his backpack on a chair and put both cold compresses into the small refrigerator. He couldn't apply them again until they were cold, so he walked over to his bed and stripped off to his underwear.

Arnold propped up the pillows against the wall and made a good reclining position for himself, then got on the bed and relaxed. He took several deep breaths and closed his eyes for a moment, then he checked the alarm for the morning. It was still set for six o'clock and he adjusted it to five thirty. He was going to need the extra time to shower, because he felt stiff and knew he would need the extra time.

He rested his head back on the top of the pillow against the wall and closed his eyes again. He thought he had only blinked his eyes and looked at the clock again to see that two hours had passed. He closed his eyes again and let sleep take him.

*

Doris regretted not staying at the dorm long enough to meet Arnold when he came back on the bus. She needed her sleep and she had been staying up way too late nearly every night for far too long already. If she didn't start getting some proper sleep, her ability to do her job would start to suffer more than it already was.

It wouldn't be until the morning when she would discover how much she was actually going to regret not being there for him or seeing the state he was in before everyone else did.

*

Kevin woke up in the hospital and didn't know where he was, just that it was dark. When he lifted a hand to touch his very painful face, his hand stopped after a few inches with a clink. He blinked his eyes and looked at his handcuffed wrist and sighed.

Fuck! Kevin thought, angrily. The rotten bastard beat me again!

“Kevin?” A woman's voice asked from the darkness beside the bed.

“Mom?” Kevin asked back and he turned his head that way as she leaned forward to give him a hug.

“Why?” His mother asked. “Why did you assault that boy?”

“He killed Brad and Jake.” Kevin said and she gasped.

“Kevin!” She said his name harshly and let him go. “Stop saying such nonsense!”

“Mom...” Kevin started to say.

“Jake was a tragic accident. They even showed the pictures in the paper. He fell and hit his head and his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.” Kevin's mother said. “I'm surprised he could even stand while being that drunk.” She caught her breath and sighed. “I guess he didn't, actually.”

“Mom...”

“About your other friend... no one has said anything officially about what happened with Brad... but... there are rumors.” His mom said, not really comfortable talking about it with her son. “He was... trying to... force sex on his supervisor.”

Kevin looked at her with surprise on his face. “Brad wasn't forcing it!”

His mom gasped. “You knew he was...” She shook her head. “You better keep your mouth shut if you know what happened to him.” She said in warning. “If the police knew you knew about it, I think they would have some very hard questions for you.”

“Mom, it's not like that.” Kevin said. “They were...”

“I don't care what you think it's like.” His mom said and cut him off. “If you mention it to anyone, the trouble you're in will be that much worse.”

Kevin looked at the handcuffs.

“I'm supposed to tell them when you wake up, so they can take you to jail.” His mom said and leaned back into the darkness. “Go back to sleep and I can pretend that you didn't wake up.”

“Mom...”

“At least close your eyes, in case they look in and see you.” His mother said as she took his hand and he closed his eyes. “This may be the last bit of being outside that you... are going to have... for a while.” She sniffed and let out a soft sob, and Kevin felt really bad about making his mother cry. He didn't sleep a wink all night and neither did she.

*

Arnold's alarm went off and he hit the button. He went to the kitchenette and grabbed one of the cold compresses. He walked over to the dorm room door and opened it, then sat down at the table and lightly held the compress to his face. His face stung quite a bit more, which meant it was healing and the doctor had been right. He stayed there for ten minutes and then put the compress back in the small refrigerator and walked over to the bathroom.

The bruise on his right side and across part of his abdomen was still stiff, so when he stepped into the shower, it really did take him quite a bit more time to wash like he thought it would. He avoided letting the water hit his face directly, like the doctor had warned him, and finished cleaning himself. When he stepped out and grabbed a towel, he saw the familiar hallway scene. Several girls were standing around and talking about different things as he dried off.

Arnold hung the towel up to let it dry and walked over to his dresser to get new underwear and put them on, then went back to the refrigerator and grabbed the cold compress again and put it on his face.

“Arnold! Oh, my GOD!” One of the girls in the hallway yelled when they finally got a good look at him and saw the large bruise. Every single girl in the dorms was out in the hallway a moment later and looked at him with surprise on their faces.

“What happened?” Emily asked from the next room, because she just couldn't ignore a shout like that.

“I was assaulted on Saturday in my front yard.” Arnold said. “It was one of the guys that wrecked my house.”

“Oh, god.” Janet said and walked over to him. She only wore a thin beige cloth bra and matching panties. “I'm sorry you were hurt.” She said and went to hug him, then stopped. “Oh, damn. I guess you can't be hugged for a while.”

“I can't kiss anyone properly, either.” Arnold said and moved the compress out of the way. They all gasped at the sight of his face and some of them covered their mouths to stop themselves from crying.

“I'm so sorry.” Janet said and lightly touched his face, then she had a strong urge to kiss him. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on the edge of his cheek and partially on his mouth, just like his mother Annie had.

“Thank you.” Arnold said.

Janet wiped at her face and caught the tears before they ruined her make-up. “I wish I could do more than that, like magically heal you.” She said. “It's going to be hard on you for the next few days.”

“It stings pretty bad now.” Arnold said and his hand lightly touched the bruise on his side. “It's really stiff.”

Janet turned around and looked at Pam. “What time is it?”

“Huh? Oh, It's quarter after seven.” Pam said. She hadn't walked over, even though she thought that she still needed to apologize to him.

“I better help you get dressed.” Janet said as she turned back to Arnold. “The walk to the lab is going to take you longer with your side like that.”

“Okay.” Arnold said.

“I'll help, too!” Rachel said and darted over. “I'll help hold you steady.”

The two girls led Arnold over to his closet and he told them which suit he needed, then the other girls gathered in the doorway to watch them dress him. A few were tempted to go in and help as well; but, they would have gotten in the way if they did.

Arnold was carefully dressed as he kept the cold compress on his face. Janet asked him what happened and what the doctor said and did, and he explained about taking it easy for a couple of days. Arnold actually used Rachel for balance because his other hand was occupied and then Janet slipped his suit coat onto him.

“You should leave it unbuttoned.” Janet said. “If the doctor didn't wrap your chest, it means he didn't want extra pressure on it, just like your face.”

Arnold nodded.

“Girls? If someone is almost dressed, they can lead him down to the elevator and make sure he gets to the lobby okay.”

“Ooo! Me! Me!” A young woman said and waved a hand. “I always dress early!”

“We have a winner.” Janet said and led Arnold over to the door. “The rest of us need to hurry and get dressed ourselves.”

“Good point.” Rachel said and looked at Arnold's escort. “Try not to molest him in the elevator, Billy.”

“I hate that nickname.” The girl responded and took Arnold's arm. “My name is actually...”

“Rebecca.” Arnold said and she and nearly everyone else caught their breath.

“You... know my name?” Rebecca asked.

“I know all of your names.” Arnold said and as she led him through the crowd, he pointed to each of them and said their names. They were all stunned by this, except for Rachel, since she had found out a few weeks ago and had kept it a secret. She was glad that she had, because seeing a hallway full of women stare at Arnold with their mouths open in astonishment was absolutely priceless.

Rebecca rode down to the lobby in the elevator with Arnold. Surprisingly, it didn't stop at any other floor. When the doors opened and Rebecca stepped out with Arnold, she heard a little shriek and then Doris was in front of Arnold.

“Show me.” Doris said and Arnold moved the compress out of the way. “Sweet baby Jesus!”

“He has a huge bruise on his right side, so no hugging.” Rebecca cautioned her.

“I'd ask you what happened, but you need to get to work.” Doris said. “You can tell me about it later.”

“Arnold, do you want me to walk you there?” Rebecca asked.

“You need to get your books and go to class.” Arnold said.

“I knew I forgot to bring something with me.” Rebecca sighed. “I need to go in the other direction anyway.” She looked up at his face. “If you need me to walk you anywhere at lunch or something, let me know.”

Arnold nodded. “Thank you.”

Rebecca gave Doris a probing look, then she stood on her toes and kissed Arnold's cheek. “You're welcome.” She said and stepped back into the elevator and the doors closed.

“I'm tempted to take you there myself.” Doris said.

“You need to work.” Arnold said and nodded at her desk that had two young women in front of it.

“Oh, damn.” Doris said. “I will see you later, Arnold.” She said and strode back over to her desk.

Arnold left the building and he walked at almost his normal pace. Sleeping in a reclining position for two nights in a row had stiffened his muscles up a little more, because his body tried to keep itself in that position. His normal eight minute walk had doubled to sixteen and then he entered the building. A few people noticed him and for the most part ignored him, except for the curiosity that he was holding something to his face.

“Good morning, Arnold.” Professor Hamil Cresnlav said as Arnold stepped into his office. “It's only an easy day today. It's just basic course materials and nothing special needs to be done with the lab.”

“Yes, sir.” Arnold said and went to the lab. He put the cold compress down and quickly put out the basic setup for the students and then went to his place beside the professor's desk and applied the cold compress again. Just then, Amy, Cissily, and the other lab workers came into the room and none of them were surprised to see that everything was already set out and ready.

Cissily turned to comment and saw him holding something to his face. “Hey, sexy man! Are you hung over a little, too?”

Arnold moved the compress out of the way and each of them reacted pretty much the same as the girls in the dorm hallway, except for Cissily.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Cissily said loudly and went over to him. “What the fuck happened to you?”

Arnold explained and when she tried to hug him, he stopped her. “I have a huge bruise.”

Cissily had his shirt opened and was staring at it when the professor came in.

“Please wait until after class before you strip my assistant, Miss Thomas.” Hamil said.

“Look at this goddamn thing!” Cissily exclaimed and ignored his comment as she waved at Arnold's stomach. “He came to work looking like this!”

“I like work.” Arnold said.

“My boy, are you all right?” Hamil asked and finally noticed Arnold's face. He moved Arnold's hand with the compress slightly and frowned. “You should have called and said you couldn't work today.”

“I already worked.” Arnold said and waved at the lab.

Hamil sighed. “I suppose I can't order you to go back to the dorm and rest.” He said and watched Arnold put the cold compress back on his face. “Try and not exert yourself too much.”

“Yes, sir.” Arnold said.

“Miss Thomas, button him back up before the students...”

The buzzer sounded and then the lab door opened. All of the students came in like a flood, noisy and full of life, then a few saw Arnold's shirt open.

“You see? I told you!” One of them said and pointed. “Rebecca said he was hurt!”

The hustle and bustle of the class for the first ten minutes was all about Arnold and him having to explain what had happened. Professor Hamil Crenslav let it go on, because he knew that they wouldn't concentrate without getting the spectacle out of the way first. He was glad that it died out on its own and he proceeded to teach the class.

By the time the morning was over and they left the lab for lunch, word had spread like wildfire. A few people even clapped when Arnold entered the cafeteria, his face exposed, because the compress was no longer cold and he had put it in his pocket. The woman behind the counter told him she would hug him if she could and handed him his meal. Angela at the register looked to be on the verge of tears as she got him his drink and Arnold paid her.

“I would do more than hug you if you weren't so hurt.” Angela said and handed him his change.

Arnold went with Cissily and Amy, at both of their insistence, and the girls at the table stared at him as he sat down with a grunt.

“It's true, then?” Maxine asked. “You were tackled?”

Arnold nodded.

“Are you tired of telling everyone about it?” The black woman with dreadlocks asked.

“No.” Arnold said and explained it all again while he ate.