Imposter in Zebra-striped Briefs by C.C. Dado Page A

about me? I’m not sure if that is much better.”
    “I know, dude. I know,” Josh said, pushing on the gas pedal as the light turned green. The sympathetic look in Josh’s eyes turned to shock as he suddenly slammed on the brakes. Nathan’s entire body froze when he heard the sound of tires screeching. The impact felt like life in slow motion, then suddenly in fast forward before everything went black.

Chapter 16
    Josh hated hospitals (Josh)
     
     
    THE SOUNDS of the machines beeping as they monitored patients and the overwhelming smell of antiseptic assaulted Josh as he made his way through the lobby to use the phone. It was like an aura of fear and pain permeated the air. Josh reached into his pocket for his phone. They had taken Nathan here after the accident because the passenger door was smashed in and caught his right leg. They wanted to scan it and make sure it wasn’t broken, and make sure he didn’t have a concussion from the force of the airbag that knocked him out. What a fucking thing to happen on his wedding day. Luckily everyone was okay for the most part. Somehow he had walked away without a scratch. He had already called Brandon and spent ten minutes assuring him he was okay.
    Josh wasn’t sure what he was about to do was a good idea, but he dialed the phone anyway.
    “Hello?” David said,
    Josh could hear the sound of the wood lathe in the background.
    “Hey, this is Nathan’s friend Josh.”
    “Look, I know I was a dick. I have been trying to get hold of Nathan to apologize, but he won’t answer my calls. I was thinking about just stopping by but I know it’s your wedding day, and I didn’t want to cause problems.”
    “I’m glad you realize you’re an asshole. But that’s not why I’m calling. Not that I think you deserve to know anything about Nathan right now, but I actually think he cares about you. We were in an accident this morning. Nathan’s in the hospital.”
    “What? What hospital?” David sounded frantic. Josh could hear him rifling through things, until he heard the rattling of keys. The last thing this day needed was another accident.
    “Hey, calm down. He’s going to be fine. Probably has a broken leg and maybe a concussion. They are doing some scans now, but I thought you might like to know. We’re at Swedish Hospital.”
    “I’m on my way.”
    “Yeah, I thought you might be,” Josh said, disconnecting the call.

Chapter 17
    Meeting Nathan’s Mom (David)
     
     
    DAVID FOUND Josh in the emergency room waiting area. “Have you seen him? Have you heard anything?” David asked.
    “Brandon and Dotty are in with him now. They were helping him get all his insurance and paperwork stuff sorted out. He has a mild concussion and a broken leg, but other than that, he’s fine.”
    “Thank God.” David sat down and lowered his head, completely exhausted by his emotions since he got Josh’s call.
    “You know, if you are going to be here when he comes out, you need to be sure you want this. Don’t mess around with him,” Josh said.
    David felt himself getting irritated over how protective Josh sounded about Nathan. Nathan was David’s, but he admitted to himself he didn’t have the right to say that after what happened and tilted his head in acknowledgment of Josh’s words.
    David sat not so patiently in the waiting room for the next hour, listening to some guy in the corner ramble on about his crossword puzzle, driving him nuts. Everyone dealt with emergencies differently, David guessed. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Even though they told him Nathan was fine he still wouldn’t be okay until he saw him. He kept seeing the look on Nathan’s face at the shop, so freaking hurt. How could he have treated him like that? What a fucking jackass, he finally finds the one thing he has been looking for and he’s too scared to take it.
    “What’s a seven letter word for hot porridge?”
    He was just about to snap and tell him to please shut the fuck up