Damaged Goods by Cooper West

Author:Cooper West [West, Cooper]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

JESSE WASN’T sure if he was still drunk, but he hoped so. His mother had gotten him entirely soused on wine the night before, and then served up Bloody Marys for breakfast. By afternoon, Jesse was both woozy and nursing a headache, which did not seem fair. He managed by hiding in his flat and pretending to do research online, which consisted of his clicking randomly on links to kitten memes and not actually reading anything.

His headache had cleared and it was nearly time for dinner again when his mother showed up at his door.

“I’m not even late yet. I was on my way down,” Jesse bitched, finally getting out of his pajamas and into a pair of jeans.

“Jesse. Honey.”

Jesse looked up at her. She stood in the doorway, twisting her hands. She looked so uncharacteristically meek that Jesse stared at her. “What’s wrong?”

“I got a call from Frankie…. Mr. Bowers. It’s on the news. There was some kind of something at Hogan’s earlier.”

“Some kind of something?” Jesse’s blood turned cold.

“A fight? Or something. I don’t know the specifics, but no guns, no one is seriously hurt. Frankie said Templeton was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. Davey was treated on scene.”

“Oh. Oh, shit.” Jesse stumbled around for a shirt to put on.

“Get dressed, honey. I’ll be in the Jeep. We’ll go to the hospital. Frank said Davey is there signing stuff for Templeton.”

Jesse nodded at her retreating back as he grabbed his sneakers, running out the door barefoot anyway while fighting his jacket. He put his shoes on in the Jeep, his mother roaring down the roads in the encroaching darkness. It was only a little bit after sunset and the lingering shadows seemed to slow down time. Jesse did not feel panicked, but instead warred with a deep sense of anger and worry. He knew this involved Cory, but what he didn’t know was if Templeton would be willing to see him. Or how hurt he was. His mind kept going in loops, trying to imagine what had happened, until his mother put a hand on his thigh.

“Stop thinking. We’re nearly there. We’ll find out what happened from Davey, okay?”

Jesse nodded stupidly and turned his mind to simply watching the scenery speed by until they pulled into the hospital parking lot. They managed to find the emergency room lobby, where Davey was talking to the receptionist nurse. He looked grim but no worse for wear, which set Jesse’s mind at ease.

“Hey, Mom.” Davey bent over and kissed Jesse’s mother on the cheek, affectionate but solemn, then jerked a thumb at Jesse. “Thanks for bringing him.”

“Don’t ‘mom’ me. I’m calling your mother as soon as I know what happened here, David Anderson Carlyle.”

Davey cringed but nodded. “Yeah, okay, better you than me, I guess.”

“What the hell happened? Where’s Templeton?” Jesse grabbed at Davey’s arm.

“He’s in for some tests. Nothing’s broken. He wasn’t even in the fight really, just took a bad fall and bumped his head. Probably sustained a minor concussion, if my field medic training isn’t too out of date.

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