Chapter Fifteen: Things Could Be Worse

    Brian opened his eyes slowly, adjusting his head against the softness on which it rested. As he focused, he smiled slightly. Honey had insisted he lean against her while they slept. Although he’d made a token protest, his injuries had left him weak and in pain, and he didn’t put up much of a fight. The mattress and blankets made a significant difference, and he hoped they’d helped Honey too. He shifted against her and she stirred uneasily.
    “Hi,” he murmured softly.
    “Hi.” Honey opened her hazel eyes and gave him a sweet smile. One hand reached across to gently stroke his battered face. “You look even worse.”
    “I’ve felt better,” Brian admitted. “But it just looks worse than last night, the bruising is coming out.” He started to sit up, but the pain that shot through his chest caused him to gasp and a grimace marred his handsome features.
    “Brian,” Honey prodded anxiously. She helped him to sit up, supporting him as best she could.
    “I think I might have cracked a rib,” he said, breathing with some difficulty.
    “What?” Honey cried. Immediately she began lifting his sweater, revealing his toned bare chest.
    “Hey,” Brian protested half-heartedly.
    “Don’t be silly,” Honey instructed, her eyes widening as she took note of the additional bruises and scrapes. “I need to examine you.”
    Brian remained still while she gently ran her long slender fingers over his chest and abdomen.
    “It would probably help a little to have it strapped,” she said, frowning.
    Brian shook his head and took hold of her hand. “You really are my best pupil, Honey.”
     Honey shrugged. “I try to pay attention, and don’t forget I took that course earlier this year. I like to be useful.”
    “Useful.” Brian couldn’t keep the admiration out of his voice. “You are absolutely incredible. I’m so proud of you.”
    Honey lowered her head, partly to re-examine his wounds, but mainly because she didn’t want him to see how embarrassed she was by his praise.
    “I’m going to strap this now,” she announced.
    “What with?” Brian asked puzzled.
    “Turn around,” Honey said.
    “Huh?” Brian said, not sure he had heard her correctly.
    “Turn around, please, Brian.”
    Confused, Brian did as she asked, turning as far as his discomfort would allow. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that Honey was removing her own sweater. “Honey, what are you—?” He started to turn back.
    “Brian!” Honey chided and he remained where he was.

    A few seconds later she faced him, sweater neatly back in place. In her hands she held a pale peach piece of fabric, which Brian soon realised was a fine stretchy little tank top.
    “I think I can tear this,” she said, pulling at it for all she was worth. “There’s a tiny hole in the seam.” She gave a light giggle. “It’s a good thing I spend my time doing other people’s mending instead of my own.” It took some time, and considerable effort, for her to tear the garment, but when she had finished, she had a reasonable length of cloth.
    “Lift up your sweater again,” she commanded.
    Smothering a smile, Brian did as he was told. Carefully, Honey wound the fabric around his chest, tying it off with the spaghetti straps.
    “Okay,” she said, pulling his sweater back down. “Is that any better?”
    Brian nodded. “It is, actually. I can breathe a little easier; I'm probably only bruised.”  It might have been his imagination or wishful thinking, but it had helped. He reached over, and in spite of the pain he knew it would cause him, caught her in a hug. “Ow,” he said as he released her.
    “Well, what did you do that for?” Honey asked with a smile.
    “I had to,” Brian said. “Believe me, it was worth it.”
    To hide her blush, Honey busied herself folding their blankets and then slowly started to practise the stretches he had shown her. She got to her feet and continued stretching, feeling slightly awkward.

    “I’m hungry again,” she said after a while.
    “That’s one of the advantages of a good beating,” Brian tried to joke. “You don’t really feel hungry afterwards.”
    Honey attempted a smile but didn’t quite get there. “I’ll never ever get that picture out of my mind.” She shook her golden head. “What they were doing to you.”
    “Well, they didn’t plan on wild Honey Wheeler did they?” he teased, not wanting her to become upset again. “You really did some damage there.”
    “I could have killed him.” Honey met Brian’s slightly surprised look evenly. “I really think I could have. I was so angry, I didn’t think. I didn’t even feel Lee dragging me off Neil.” She shook her head again. “What kind of a person does that make me?”
    “The kind who puts herself in danger for a friend,” Brian said staunchly. “And this is one friend who’ll never forget it, as long he lives.”
    “You’ve saved me heaps of times,” Honey countered.
    “Not like this.” Brian wished he could take a deep breath, he felt as if he needed it. “I’m just glad Ken didn’t use that gun.”
    “He didn’t like what was happening.” Honey said. “And he was kind afterward. He even sort of stood up to Neil. Plus, he has was right about the tea, it really did help.”
    “Well you know—” Brian began and stopped mid-sentence.
    “What?” Honey prompted.
    “We were just talking about that in class the other week.”
    “Do you think that’s important?” Honey asked.
    “I really don’t know.”

    Sometime later the all-too-familiar footsteps sounded in the hallway, the bolt was released and the door opened. Captives faced captors once again.
    Lee ushered Ken through with the tray, and Neil followed them in with a swagger.  
    In spite of his injuries, Brian struggled to his feet so that he could position himself between the others and Honey.
    “You never give up, do you?” Neil said. “He’s not moving too well, is he?” he addressed Honey, and his eyes were full of malice.
    “You don’t look so good yourself,” Honey returned, staring with some satisfaction at the jagged scratches and developing bruises that covered Neil’s own hands and neck.  
    Ken brought the tray over. “Sorry we’re a bit late, there’s a pot of tea, some muffins and some aspirin for Brian.”
    “Aw, knock it off,” Neil said in disgust. “You sound like a nursemaid.”
    But Honey reached out to touch Ken lightly on the arm. “Thank you,” she said simply.

    Lee had remained silent throughout this exchange, now, cradling the gun against his chest, he approached Honey. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson about running away. You’re almost as responsible for the state he’s in as my little…friend here.”
    “You can’t honestly believe that,” Brian said.
    “I don’t care what they believe, what they did was despicable.” Honey made no attempt to disguise her anger.
    “You know…” Lee’s blue eyes narrowed behind their mask. “She is nowhere near as shy and timid as we thought she was.”
    “But she is as pretty,” Neil said. “Not quite as pretty as she was in that candy striper uniform, or that cute green dress she wore to the prom, and certainly not as pretty as she was in that tiny little white bikini.” He leaned back against the wall as he spoke, his expression insolent.
     While he was speaking Honey lost some of her composure, as the accuracy of his descriptions registered. Neil laughed, moved slowly forward drawing several sheets of paper from his jacket pocket, and began to read.
    “Dear Brian,
        How we miss you, it’s just not the same without you, and Jim.”
    Honey stiffened and Brian placed a hand upon her arm, his eyes narrowed. “What are you doing with that?” he demanded.
    Neil ignored him and continued reading.

    “I’m glad you enjoyed your party and I’m glad we got a chance to say goodbye.”
    “That’s so sweet.” The mask that covered his face moved grotesquely as he rifled through the papers. “This one’s cute.
    “We can’t wait to see you I just hope we won’t be too much trouble.
    “And I believe this one is a blast from the past.
    “Dear Brian,
    The streets are very narrow and wind-y. The cars whiz by…
      “Aw, she wishes you were there.” He laughed and held up a homemade card. “And I really like this one.”
    “17 reasons why Brian Belden would make a wonderful doctor
    he’s dependable,
    he’s intelligent,
    he’s tender…”   
    “Stop it!” Honey said. “That’s private.”
    “Too right,” Neil laughed.
    “Oh, Brian, I can still feel your hands on me.”
    “I never wrote that!” Honey was outraged.
    “Ignore him, Honey. He’s not worth it.” Brian awkwardly slipped an arm around her shoulders.
    “No, pure as the driven snow you two are,” Neil sneered. “What a bore. What a waste.”
    “Go away,” Honey said, narrowing her hazel eyes. “Just get out and leave us alone.”
    Lee laughed. “Sounds like our cue to exit, fellas.”
    They were almost at the door when Honey spoke. “Give them back,” she said. “They don’t belong to you.”
    “No,” Brian added, “they’re mine, and Honey’s right, I’d like them back.”
    “Let me see?” Neil said, he pretended to consider their request and tilted his head from side to side. “No, but I’ll bring the photos as well next time.”
    He followed his friends out slamming the door hard behind him.

    “I guess that proves one of our theories,” Brian said, wavering on his feet slightly.
    “That’s not much comfort.” Honey’s expression was defeated.
    “It means they must have had a key and spent some time in our apartment. I had your letters put away.”
    “Are you sure they weren’t just lying around?” Honey asked
    “Of course not,” Brian replied. “What do you do with my letters?”
    “They’re in a folder, in my bureau.” She frowned. “How did they get the letter I sent from England? Do you think they’ve been in our houses at home?”
    “No,” Brian shook his head. “I brought a few things, including that letter, and my seventeenth birthday card you made, with me, Honey. I certainly didn’t just leave them lying around.”
     She gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I think I need to eat.”
    “Well, that is something we can fix.” Brian moved slowly over to the tray, which Ken had placed on the small crate. Honey hurried to help him sit down.
    “I get the feeling this birthday isn’t going to be any better for you than last year.” Honey frowned.
    Brian smiled. “Well, at least I haven’t been poisoned.”
    “That was awful. I was so worried about you, especially when you told Trix and me you didn’t want to be a doctor.” Honey shuddered, not liking the recollection.
    “Yet it all turned out okay, didn’t it?” Brian asked. “And it wasn’t all bad. Neil may have taken that card, Honey, but he can’t take my memory of the day you gave it to me.”
    Honey smiled and nodded, remembering Brian’s reaction to her simple, yet heartfelt gesture after the scare on his seventeenth birthday. “How come you brought my old letters with you?” she asked shyly.
     “I guess I just wanted a piece of home with me,” Brian said. “The new letters are great, but when I read the old ones, it brings up memories and I can hear your voice; it’s nice.”
    “Why does he hate us so much?” Honey asked. “Neil, that is. He’s the one that scares me. I’d hate him to come here on his own. I don’t trust him.”
    “He does seem…unstable. Even his friends seem to think so.”
    “Right, Lee keeps watching him. You know, there is something familiar about him. Lee, I mean. But I can’t figure out what. Maybe I saw him in Sleepyside—they’ve obviously been there. And the way he is with Neil…” Honey trailed off.
    “What?” Brian asked, seeing the expression on her face.
    “‘My little…friend’,” she said. “The way he hesitated when he said that, as if maybe he was going to say something else.”
    “Such as?” Brian’s own expression showed his confusion.
    Honey shrugged. “My little…brother?”
    Brian nodded his dark head. “You know you might have something there. I thought it was an odd expression under the circumstances. Lee and Neil brothers, huh? That’s something to think about.”
    “I don’t know if it helps,” Honey admitted. “But for now, I’m going to have some more tea.”

    Tea and muffins revived both Bob-Whites, and when they had finished, Honey fetched some water and insisted Brian take some aspirin.
    “I’m sorry about your vacation,” Brian said after a while. “One thing that little performance did do was remind me how much you were looking forward to this.”
    “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” Honey was quick to say. “You did everything you could to make it a wonderful vacation.”
     Brian’s laugh was without mirth. “I did a great job.”
    “It could be worse,” Honey said, trying to make him feel better.
     “I’m not sure how.”
     “They could have separated us; they could have starved us.” Honey thought for a moment. “There could have been no bathroom.”
    This time Brian’s laugh was genuine. “All true, Honey, let’s have another cup of tea.”
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Author's notes:  Dana continues to edit brilliantly. In all likelihood, I continue to miss things and muck up my fixes. Honey's card she made for Brian is something I wrote for Hudson River Mystery, a long time ago and will one day make it to 'Brian's Jalopy'
Word count: 2215
    Disclaimer: Trixie et al belong to Random House and not to me. No profit is being made from these scribblings.