Odd Job Ollie
by David Heulfryn

 

Chapter 16: On The Verge

It had been a hard day’s work, and I was relieved when Arthur came to pick me up in his electric buggy. He didn’t exactly compliment me, but from the look on his face, he was impressed with the progress I’d made.

But when he dropped me off at my old VW Caddy van, he was dismissive and told me to make sure I was early again next Wednesday.

I was driving home, along the country roads, when I saw a large van coming the opposite way. As we got closer, the van moved to the centre of the road. I flashed my lights to draw his attention to his position on the road, but instead of moving aside, it seemed to speed up.

We got closer and closer. They must see me and realise they’re on the wrong side of the road. I kept going but slowed down a little.

“Move out of the way, you bastard!” I shouted, but the van accelerated again. We were close. I couldn’t stop because he would still hit me. I slammed my brakes on and swerved onto the grass verge and down a deep ditch at the side of the road.

My van hit the ditch, crumpling the front and causing the bonnet to fly up and hit the windscreen. The airbag failed to deploy, and my head hit the steering wheel, knocking me unconscious. My bleeding head rested on the steering wheel, blood running down and dripping to the floor. Unlike the clichéd car accidents you see in film, the horn wasn’t continually sounding.

 

“He’s coming around.” I heard someone shout. “I’m just putting a collar around your neck so we can move you. Try to stay still, we’ll do everything.”

“What happened?” I croaked.

They put an oxygen mask on me. “Try not to speak, we’ve given you a shot of morphine for the pain.

Everything was hazy. The morphine fogged my brain. The paramedic worked around me, and it played out like an immersive dream. I felt no pain, I felt nothing much. They put some ear defenders on me and a safety blanket. Then an almighty noise pierced my brain. The Fire Department were cutting the roof and doors of my small van.

“Don’t,” I mumbled, “it can be fixed.” I didn’t want them to destroy my van. But soon I felt the evening sun on my face. My poor van was ruined. If I were in my right mind, I would have known it was a write-off the moment I crashed.

I was carefully moved out of the van and placed on a trolley, but I experienced excruciating pain in my right arm and leg. More stuff was placed around my head to immobilise it further. My T-shirt was being cut off, and my body was examined.

I passed out from the pain and woke up in the back of an ambulance.

“We’re taking you to the hospital,” the paramedic with me noticed my eyes flicker.

I tried to speak, but nothing intelligible came out.

“Your van came off the road. You have a broken arm and leg, along with a concussion. We need to check for internal bleeding, but we don’t think there is any. We have given you some more morphine for the pain.”

At least I knew what was happening, although I wouldn’t remember later. They tried to get information from me, including my name and date of birth. But all I mumbled was ‘Odd Job Ollie’. Thankfully, that was enough for them to get my medical records and inform my parents.

On arrival, I was wheeled into a cubicle, and the medics got to work. I was pushed around, from X-Ray to CT Scan and lastly an MRI on my head.

I was naked on the trolley, the medics having cut all my clothes away to examine me. They had draped a blanket over me for modesty.

I was stable enough to be left in my cubicle. Outside, I could make out familiar voices above the hum of a busy Emergency Department.

“Why is he in the ED department?” It was Louis’s voice. “He doesn’t have any problems getting hard. I should know, he was flaunting his hard cock in our room just yesterday.”

“Don’t be a prat, Louis.” Dad huffed, “It’s the Emergency Department, not the Erectile Dysfunction Department. If you have that, you’d be seen in the Urology Department.”

“Is that where you go, Dad?” Louis giggled.

“It’s not the time to be silly, Louis.” I could tell Mum was crying.

The curtains to my cubicle opened, and Mum rushed over to me. I winced and grunted as she hugged me, causing pain in my arm and ribs.

“Sorry, Ollie.” She released me. “Are you okay? What happened? What’s broken?” She bombarded me with questions.

“I’m fine, Mum. They say I have a concussion, a broken arm and leg and a couple of broken ribs. I also have whiplash.” Mum held my hand. I felt better now that she was here.

Dad came around the other side of the bed. “Do you remember what happened, Ollie?”

“It’s all a fog at the moment. They’ve pumped me so full of morphine, you could all be figments of my imagination. I know Louis is.” I grimaced when I tried to smile. It seemed that any joy or laughter was not good for my ribs.

Louis stood by the curtain, letting Mum and Dad monopolise me. I raised my good arm, “Louis.” I croaked, and he came over. Dad moved out of the way, and Louis grabbed my hand. It was my good arm, so it didn’t cause any pain.

“I’ll be fine, Louis,” I swear that I saw his eyes become glassy.

“We thought the worst when Security called. I thought you’d died.” Louis sniffed away a tear. For all his bravado, I always knew he cared about me.

“I’m sorry.” I could only manage a whisper.

“Don’t do it again, you bastard.” Louis ran out; he didn’t want to cry in front of his family.

I was taken to a surgical ward as they needed to prep me. My tibia was broken; thankfully, it was a clean shear break, at least that’s what the surgeon said. My forearm was only fractured, but needed to be realigned before it was braced and immobilised.

The surgeon and the anaesthetist visited me to explain what would happen, and I was soon whisked into the operating theatre.

Mum, Dad and Louis were still waiting for me when I was wheeled back to the ward. I had come around from the general anaesthetic, but I was still drowsy. The nurse who accompanied the porter spoke to them and explained that everything went to plan, and they would need to keep under observation, especially after a severe concussion. Mum, Dad and Louis sat around my bed. The nurse came over and told them they needed to go, as it was getting late. They would ring if there were any changes in my condition. Louis had to be virtually dragged out by Dad.

 

Mum and Dad arrived early the following morning, explaining that they had left Louis asleep. I knew he was upset and probably didn’t sleep well. When two security officers arrived, they asked my parents to leave so they could talk to me alone. They explained that I was an adult and thought it best to speak in private.

They sat by my bedside and asked me loads of questions. I remembered being fucked by Arthur that morning, although I didn’t tell them that. I remember working on the dilapidated cabin and driving naked out of the gate. That’s where my memory ended. I didn’t remember anything else before waking up in the hospital and being wheeled between departments for tests. Any memory of the incident was missing. It must be in there somewhere, but I couldn’t access those memories.

The senior officer said that they were investigating the crash site. They saw skid marks from my van, weaving and leading to the ditch. There were no other skid marks at the scene. He explained that they have taken my van to be examined for any faults that may have caused the incident.

“It’s serviced and checked very regularly.” I protested and clutched my ribs with my left hand. Any excitable movements caused pain.

“We know. We’ve checked the records. On the face of it, your van was in good working order. But we must discount the possibility of a mechanical failure.”

The two men stood and said they would return in a few days. “Please try to remember. Any little thing could be important.”

“I’ll try,” I told them, not confident that I would remember anything.

As they left, Mum and Dad returned.

My morphine had worn off, and I felt a little pain, but not much. The severe pain occurred when I laughed or my arm or leg was knocked.

The fog had lifted, and I started to think about my work. I became agitated. “I have jobs to do today!”

Mum held my hand, “Don’t worry about them.”

“They are my livelihood, Mum. If they don’t get done, I don’t get paid.”

“I found your calendar and have called those people and explained what happened. They all understand and said to contact them when you are back on your feet. Mrs Lovecock seemed particularly concerned.”

I smiled. Old Lady Lovecock was my very first customer.

“I’m fucked, Dad.” I became emotional. “I’ve been self-employed for only a few weeks, and I’ve fucked it up already. There is no way I can work for several weeks, probably months. My business is over before it ever began.” It was now time for my eyes to become glassy.

I felt Dad grab my hand. He gently squeezed it. “It will be fine, Ollie. All your domestic customers will wait and will have you back the moment you get up and running again.”

“Thanks, Dad.” I felt a knot in my stomach. “But what about the others? Cremaster and Vos? They are my biggest customers.”

Dad stroked my hand with his thumb while still holding it. “Leave it with me, Ollie. Let me think. We’ll talk about them tomorrow. In the meantime, concentrate on getting well.

Dad left at lunchtime, leaving Mum alone with me. It was not ideal as my right arm and leg were in a cast, and all my bodily functions happened while I was in my bed. I had to ask Mum to leave while the nurse brought me a bedpan or came over to give me a bed bath. After the first few times, you get over the embarrassment and just let the nurses do their job.

Mum had gone down to the foyer to get a coffee and a sandwich, a nurse had pulled the curtains around me and had placed my cock in a disposable urine bottle, when Louis burst through the curtains. He saw the base of my cock and heard me pee in the bottle. He quickly turned back and waited outside the curtains.

The nurse emerged through the curtains, carrying the urine bottle, “You can go in now.” She smiled at Louis and pulled the curtains back.

“Sorry, Ollie. I didn’t mean to.” He mumbled with embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, you’ve seen it many times.”

“Those bastards didn’t wake me. I woke at lunchtime to an empty house. I thought something had happened to you.”

“I’m fine, Louis. Mum is getting a coffee and lunch, and Dad has gone home. Security was here this morning, but I honestly can’t remember anything about the accident. It’s like those moments are locked in here.” I tapped my head with my left hand. “Do you know how difficult it is to use your left hand instead of your right?” I lifted my right arm, which was encased in a heavy cast.

“Well, I suppose it will prevent you wanking.” Louis laughed.

“Trust me, Louis. When you’ve been through what I’ve been through, wanking is the last thing on your mind.”

Mum appeared and blushed. She didn’t like to hear about her two sons wanking.

Louis kept trying to make me laugh. He thought it was funny when I flinched in pain as I chuckled. A nurse noticed and came over. She told him to stop doing that unless he wanted me to puncture a lung. I’m not sure how true it is, but she told him that a broken rib might become dislodged and stab my lung. Louis was quiet after that. I felt sorry for him. I called him over.

“I’m sure she was joking.”

“I slept in your bed last night,” Louis admitted. “I didn’t at first. But I couldn’t hear you breathing. The room was too quiet without you sleeping in it. I promise never to complain when you snore after having a few drinks.”

“I’ll hold you to that. The first thing I’m going to do when I get out of here is get rat-arsed.” I smiled.

“I thought you annoyed him intensely,” Mum said, “but this has made me realise how much he loves you.”

“Muum!” Louis whined, “He does annoy me intensely.”

“He is really annoying, Mum.” I smiled.

Mum smiled between us. I’m not sure she truly understood the nature of brotherly relationships.

 

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