It was noon the next day when Aaron awoke, and the pain was what he registered first. He groaned and coughed, feeling absolutely miserable. Every part of him hurt and his limbs felt like lead weights. Each pain he noticed brought the previous night more to the front of his mind, and soon he found himself weeping softly as he lay helpless in his bed, filthy and used.
All pride was gone, and he struggled to reach his cellphone, which lay on the nightstand. He managed to get a hold of it and used the voice feature to call the emergency service. "I need an ambulance," he mumbled when he heard a female voice come over the line. His voice sounded foreign to him, hoarse and broken. Even speaking hurt.
The operator tried to ask what the emergency was, but he just repeated that he needed an ambulance and gave his home address.
He heard the sirens, heard someone beating on his door, then silence. He waited, then heard a key in the door; the EMTs had gone to get a maintenence personale to let them in. He knew how they would find him - naked and with very obvious signs of what had happened to him the night before, but he was too hurt and afraid to care a the moment. The EMTs tried to question him, but he stayed silent and drifted in and out of consciousness as they bundled him up and took him from the apartment.
The next few hours were a blur. He was taken to the emergency room where he was examined and treated. He was given a potent painkiller, which dulled his mind even more. He welcomed it and basked in drug-induced oblivion for a while. Shortly after he regained most of his awareness, he was half-sitting up in a bed peering at a doctor.
"Son, do you want to tell me what happened?" the older man asked in as gentle and encouraging voice as he could muster. It was soothing, but Aaron was not going to be easily soothed right now.
Aaron looked down and away. He shook his head.
The doctor gave a soft, almost inaudible sigh. "Alright. Well, we'll hold onto the examination records just in case you change your mind. Is there someone you can call to come get you?"
Aaron had to think about this for a little while. Almost everyone he knew was out of town, and those that remained, he didn't exactly trust. One name floated to the front of his mind, and it made his stomach knot up. Of all the times he would need to resort to asking him for help.
"...Yes..." he finally mumbled, already feeling dread. The dcotor nodded solemnly and handed Aaron's cell phone to him. Numbly, Aaron scrolled through his contacts, found the person he was looking for, and held the device to his ear. "...Raphael..."
"Well, well, well, if it isn't little Aaron! I knew you'd call eventually. Changed your mind?"
Aaron swallowed hard; his throat was still sore, and it was audible in his voice. "No, Raphael. Look, I... I'm at the hospital and I... I was hoping you could come pick me up... a-and if I could... stay at your place tonight." He cringed as the man on the other line started to laugh.
"No one else was around, I take it? Sure, I'll give you a bed for the night, little guy. Maybe it'll even be my bed." The grin could be heard.
Aaron felt his throat tighten and his eyes burn. "Raphael, please..." he begged, so much pain in his voice. "Please don't do this... Not today... I just... I just need somewhere I feel safe... I... I can't go home right now..."
Raphael seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and sobered somewhat. He sighed. "Alright, kid, I'll be there to get you soon. You need to run by your apartment to get some stuff?"
The thought of going back to his apartment at all was terrifying, but Aaron kept telling himself that he would be safe during the day, especially with Raphael there. He never felt that odd presence during the day, and said odd presence had to be... He shuddered. "Y-yes, if you don't mind. I have nothing with me."
And so it was that Aaron climbed gingerly into his ex-boyfriend's car. Raphael was Spanish with a Mediterranean complexion. He was thirty years of age and built like a wrestler. He looked critically at Aaron, a frown on his lips though he opted not to say anything. They swung by Aaron's apartment, he hastily packed an overnight bag, and then he found himself stepping into a house he had never again thought to visit. Raphael scared him. He had begun to fear that Raphael would take advantage of him the way that shadow had the previous night and had ended their relationship before that could happen, but now he seemed the lesser of two evils.