area of the living room.
“Lex!” I shouted in concern when I heard glass breaking. I raced to catch up to the young man, ignoring the trail of destruction he’d left in his wake. A few of the pictures in the hall were lying on the floor and the small runner was askew. One side of the living room was in the same condition, though this time there was more debris on the floor where Lex had knocked over a small side table my lunch dishes had been sitting on. I could only hope that Lex hadn’t cut himself on the broken glass.
I caught up to Lex as he reached the side door off the kitchen. “Lex, wait!” I called, but he didn’t stop. I wanted to kick myself for confronting him about the note. My ex had often said I pushed too hard when I wanted the answers to something. That trait had cost me everything but here I was doing it yet again.
“Lex, the stairs!” I called helplessly when I realized he wouldn’t see the porch steps.
Right after he disappeared from sight, there was a soft thud and I knew he hadn’t heard my warning or it had come too late. Fear lodged in my throat as I rushed out the door.
“Lex!” I yelled when I saw him lying in the snow at the foot of the steps. It took just seconds to reach him but they felt like some of the longest moments of my life. “Lex,” I called again when I reached his side. I was relieved to hear sounds falling from his mouth but when I realized what they were, my heart broke for him.
He was crying.
Not just crying but sobbing. The note, the one with the words forgive me scrawled on it, was clutched in his hand.
“Lex,” I said softly as I touched his shoulder. He automatically jerked away from me. It made no sense that his rejection stung. “Lex, I need to know if you’re hurt,” I said. I scanned his body but didn’t see any obvious injuries. “Does anything hurt?” I asked as I leaned over him.
He didn’t answer me. He didn’t even acknowledge my presence. I quickly stripped the sweater I was wearing off so I could settle it over his legs. Brewer had followed us outside and was anxiously pacing back and forth around Lex’s head. He stopped to lick Lex now and again, but the young man didn’t seem to notice the animal’s attention. I debated what to do. It was clearly too cold for Lex to be lying half-naked in the snow for any length of time, but I wasn’t sure I could get him to respond to me long enough to get him back inside.
“Lex,” I said again as I leaned over him. I risked running my thumb over his temple just to get his attention. To my surprise, he didn’t pull away.
“Lex, can you stand?”
No answer.
I repeated the question, but Lex remained silent. He was no longer vocal as he cried but tears continued to slip down his cheeks. It was only when his body began to shake that I made a decision. As soon as I started to work my arm beneath Lex’s body, he whispered, “Don’t.”
I paused. “I have to, Lex. You can’t stay out here—”
Lex turned his head so his eyes, his beautiful, unseeing eyes, met mine. “Don’t tell them I was afraid,” he said so softly it was hard to hear him. “Don’t tell them I was afraid, Gideon.”
If he hadn’t said my name, I would have sworn he was somewhere else in his head because he sounded so damn vulnerable. I didn’t ask who “them” was because it wasn’t important. I simply said, “I won’t, Lex,” and then I began to lift him to his feet.
Lex winced but managed to stifle whatever cry he’d been about to let out.
“Where does it hurt?” I asked as I wrapped my arm around his waist.
Lex just shook his head. “I’m okay,” he said. He sounded stronger, though he was clearly hurting. I tried to check the side of his body that he’d been lying on, but I couldn’t see much. But when I looked down at his feet, I saw spots of bright red blood in the snow.
“Did you cut yourself?” I asked as I remembered the broken dishes in the living room. Since I would have noticed blood on his hands right away, I could only assume he had some cuts on the bottom