I close my eyes and swallow down the lump in my throat. Taking a deep breath, I go back into the room. "Okay." I look at him, stopping in my tracks. His shirt is already off, and he is taking off his own bandage. "What do we have there?" I say once I’m beside his bed, looking down to see that the stitches are still there but not sure they are all there.
"Nothing," he says. "I’m fine."
"Let me clean it and make sure you didn’t pop a stitch," I say, walking over to the bathroom. The sting of my foot hits me, and I know I should check it out and make sure it doesn’t get infected. He lets me clean it without saying anything to me. His head lies back on the pillows, and his eyes close. After I clean the blood off, I see he isn’t bleeding anymore. "All stitches accounted for." I smile, but he doesn’t look at me. "Must have just irritated them when you fell off the bed," I say, and he just nods his head. "Why didn’t you call me?" I look at him, and he shakes his head.
"It was nothing," he tells me, his voice tight. I look over at him, and I know he’s lying. I know that it was something. I see the fear in his eyes as he looks at me and then back out the window.
"I don’t think you ending up face-first on the floor is nothing," I tell him, turning and walking back into the hall closet to grab a broom. I walk back into the room, ignoring his eyes on me. "Should I call Ethan?" I ask, not looking at him as I sweep up the broken glass.
"I’m fine," he says. "I’ll pay you back for the lamp," he says, and I laugh out bitterly now.
"I don’t want your money," I tell him, turning and walking to the kitchen and dumping the broken glass into the garbage. I put the broom away and walk back to the bedroom. I find him with his head back on the pillows as he looks up at the ceiling. "Do you need anything else?" I ask him and he turns his face to look at me. The fear is all over it.
"What the hell were you thinking?” he says, and I just look at him confused.
"I’m sorry?" I say. Obviously, I’ve misheard him. Surely, he’s not coming at me with this attitude.
"Running in here like a bat out of hell." His eyes fly to mine. "Without thinking twice about it. Coming in here half naked." His words cut me to the core.
I stand straight now, looking at him as he stares at me with his eyes dead. There is nothing in them anymore. It’s like a switch went out in them. "I was sleeping after being awoken and scared shitless,” I tell him, trying to keep my calm instead of really showing him what a bat out of hell looks like. A draft of cold air runs through me, and I can feel the goose bumps all over my bare arms and legs. "When you decided you were too macho to ask for help when you tried to grab a glass of water." His eyes never leave mine. "So excuse me for not grabbing my robe on my way here." I advance on him one more step. "The only thing that went through my head was getting to you in case…"
"In case what?" he says, his voice soft. "In case my father came and finished the job?" He laughs.
I shake my head. "I’m not going to be the one you take your shit out on." My calm leaving me like the air leaves a balloon. "I’ve bent over fucking backward for you. I’ve done shit that I was not comfortable with, and I did them for you." I point at him. "So spin that while you're on your high horse," I say, turning and walking out of the room. Not even caring anymore. I walk to my room and slam the door behind me just to show him. "Asshole."
I walk to my bathroom, kicking off my shoe and seeing the towel soaked in blood. "Shit," I hiss out, walking over to grab the first aid kit from the drawer. The anger in me is making me ignore the pain shooting through me.
My mind replays the scene as I grab the glue. Once I glue the cut back together, I place a bandage on it. Washing off my hands, I walk out of the bathroom, not putting all my pressure on my foot.
I walk toward the bed and then turn suddenly, going to check on him. I try not to make any noise. The hallway is dark, and when I get closer to his bedroom, I see the light is off also. I stand here at the doorway, looking in at him.