He shook his head as his eyes filled with unshed tears. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Lansing. We shouldn’t have been on the phone while he was driving. It’s my fault.”
Joy reached over and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, pulling him into her. “First, you know you’re supposed to call me Joy. Second, you are not responsible for Kyle’s actions. Was he at least handsfree?”
He leaned into her, his body shaking. “Yeah. He was using Bluetooth.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding and ran her hand up and down his arm, comforting him. Honestly, the fact that she had someone to take care of was easing some of her own anxiety. “That’s good. It’s not your fault,” she insisted again.
Jackson pulled away and opened his mouth to say something more but was cut off when the receptionist returned. “You may go back now. Exam room six on the left.”
Joy grabbed Jackson’s hand and tugged him through the doors and down the corridor. When Joy entered her son’s room, she suppressed a gasp of horror when she saw her handsome golden boy. There was a cut on his head and bruises on the left side of his face. His left pant leg had been ripped open and his leg was wrapped with an elastic bandage. Joy rushed to his side and took his right hand in both of hers. “Hey, baby,” she said, giving him a small smile but unable to hide the tremble in her voice. She couldn’t help it. Her youngest was hurt.
Kyle let out a soft groan. “I’m okay, Mom. Don’t freak out.”
“I’m not freaking out,” she insisted. “I am concerned about you though. How are you really?” She glanced at his leg. “That doesn’t look good.”
He shook his head. “It’s broken. They’re going to set it soon and then discharge me.”
“Broken?” Jackson gasped out.
Kyle’s green eyes shifted to Jackson. They stared at each other for a moment, and Joy frowned when she saw something painful and raw pass between them.
“I’m sorry,” Jackson said softly. “It’s my fault.”
Kyle let out another groan and ran a hand through his thick honey-colored hair. “No, it isn’t, Jay. And I’m sorry, too.” He squeezed his eyes shut and winced as he covered his left eye with his hand. “I think my face hit the window.”
“Did they give you painkillers?” Jackson asked, moving to the other side of the bed. He reached out as if he were going to grab Kyle’s free hand but then stopped and clutched the bed railing instead.
Joy watched the two young men, wondering just what exactly was going on between them. They’d been friends for years, but had it turned into something more? There was definitely something between them. Had Jackson’s claim that he was Kyle’s boyfriend been the truth? If so, why had he told her he’d just said that to get in to see him? She’d known Jackson was gay for years and had always accepted him, no questions asked. Was he protecting Kyle? Her son had dated plenty of girls, and she’d never suspected he might be interested in men.
“Kyle?” Joy asked.
He pulled his gaze from Jackson and stared at her. “Yeah?”
“Did they give you painkillers?” she asked, deciding that whatever was happening between Kyle and Jackson could wait. She needed to know the extent of her son’s injuries.
“Yeah. I think they must be kicking in because I’m getting a little spacey.” He gave her a half smile and winced again, this time touching the left side of this lips. “Ouch.”
“Okay. Broken leg, bruising, anything else I need to know?”
He shook his head slightly. “No. I don’t think so.”
She nodded. “Did you call your dad?” Joy realized she should’ve called Paul the minute she’d gotten off the phone with Kyle, but she’d been so panicked and rattled after the day’s events that she hadn’t even thought of him.
“No!” he said sharply. “I don’t want him here.”
Joy’s eyes widened at the outburst. Even though she and Paul were in the middle of a divorce, they’d been careful to keep their kids out of it. Not that the separation was messy. If anything, it was the most amicable divorce Joy had ever heard of. Paul had moved out. They’d worked out an agreement with an arbitrator, and that was it. All that was left was waiting on the state to make it official. Their three kids were grown, so there wasn’t any custody or alimony to work out. They done well over the years, so even though the assets were split fifty-fifty, both of them had ended up in a good place financially. “What happened, Kyle? Did you and your father have a falling out?”
“Falling out,” Kyle scoffed. “You could call it that.”
Joy sank down into the plastic chair next to his bed. “What did you argue about?”
Kyle glanced over at Jackson and then turned back to Joy. But before he could say anything else, the door swung open and the doctor walked in.
“Are you ready to get that leg set, Kyle?” the doctor asked with a kind smile.
Relief washed over his pained face, and he nodded.
“You must be Kyle’s mom,” the doctor said, holding her hand out to Joy. “He’s a little beat up, but the good news is that he doesn’t need surgery. We can set the leg without that.”
“How long will I be in the cast?” Kyle asked.
“First we’ll fit you with an air cast until the swelling goes down. Then you’ll be in the regular one for about six weeks if everything goes well. After that, we’ll move to a boot while you continue to heal. But while you’re in the cast, you’ll need to stay off it completely.”
“He lives in a second-story apartment,” Joy said. “No elevator.”
“That’s not ideal. Going up and down those stairs will be precarious on crutches. And if he reinjures it, it could mean surgery.”
Kyle groaned.
Joy patted her son’s arm. “Looks like I’ll have a roommate for a while.” She turned to the doctor. “He’ll come home with me.”
“Glad to hear it.” She made a note in her chart. “We’re going to take Kyle to get that cast on, and as soon as we’re done, you can take him home.”
Two orderlies arrived, and a few minutes later, they were rolling Kyle out of the room.
When Joy and Jackson were alone, Joy studied the normally outspoken young man whose personality was usually larger than life. His face was white, and he looked shaken. “He’s going to be okay. You know that, right?”
Jackson nodded. “Yeah. He scared me there for a minute though. I heard the crash on the phone and…” He shook his head. “I’m not sure I’m ever going to forget that.”
A shudder ran through Joy as she imagined her son’s car hitting that tree. It felt like a punch in the gut, and her chest ached with the realization that the outcome could’ve been so much worse. She shook her head. The last thing she needed to do was worry about what hadn’t happened. She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “So, you and Kyle? Is everything okay there?”
He glanced away. “I’m sorry, I can’t talk about this, Mrs. Lansing.”
“Call me Joy,” she insisted again.
“Right. Joy.” He took a seat across the room from her and stared at his feet.