He’d never believe it wasalla coincidence.
But I could have stalled, bought some time to come up with something.
Except I’d promised to never lie to him again. Something I never should have done because it had painted me into a corner.
With a heavy sigh, I went to the small supply cupboard in the hallway and pulled down my heavy-duty makeshift first aid kit. I’d had to improvise, seeing as how, on occasion, I needed more than what a standard first aid kit could provide. I took it back over to Aiden’s prone body and laid out the supplies I needed.
After I settled on the floor next to him, I took the scissors and cut off his shirt so I’d have easy access to his wound. Once that was out of the way, I got the gauze and disinfectant and was thankful he was already passed out as I wiped the wound.
The tricky part was going to be the stitches.
Subconsciously, my hand went to Aiden’s other side, and my fingers traced the faint lines of the scar that was sure to match the one he’d get once tonight’s wound healed. I shuddered at the thought.
With the needle and thread in hand, I set out to stitch the wound. It was harder than one would think, since I didn’t have anyone to help. It made the work difficult and uneven. Though it was much easier than stitching my own wounds.
Another person to hold the skin together would have been ideal while I worked on him. But there was no one else. There never was. That was the way I liked my life. It was what I’d strived for.
Though, I supposed I could have called Christian, but there wasn’t time for him to get to the house. The stitches needed to be done as soon as possible. Aiden couldn’t wait.
Shit. Christian.
By the time I sewed him back up, he had thirty-seven stitches in total. It wasn’t a record by any means, but there were more pressing matters calling my name.
Once I had the wound taped and covered, I gave Aiden ashot of painkiller. There was no doubt he’d be in agonizing pain, and I wanted to do whatever I could to help ease his suffering when he woke up. Even if I couldn’t do that for him in the long term.
I got up and cleaned myself off and reached for the phone. The thought struck me that maybe Aiden had changed me, because a part of me felt guilty for upending and potentially ruining the other man’s life. Especially since he had become a friend, and more. Though, not in the sense of a lover like Aiden, even though we had that history.
Waiting for the call to connect, I wondered what I was going to tell him. But I didn’t have to wait long.
“Nathan?” Christian sounded like he had been asleep and I snuck a glance at the clock and winced when I realized it was the middle of the night.
“Hey. Sorry for calling so late.” I rubbed the back of my neck as I tried to find the words that I still struggled with.
“Fuck. What happened?” He sounded more alert, near panicked, and I could hear rustling on the end of the phone. A door slammed and I wondered if he hadn’t been alone.
My gaze wandered to where Aiden’s prone body lay on the floor and I shuddered as the thoughts of what could have been flooded my mind. “He knows, Christian. Everything. Aiden knows it’s me.”
There was a long pause on the other end and I wondered if we got disconnected before I heard Christian swear.
“Fucking hell, Nathan. How did that happen? What did he say?” Then another pause. “How are you calling me now?”
I let out a chuckle that I didn’t feel. “Well, he sort of caught me in the middle of a kill.”
“What?” Christian practically shouted. “Jesus Christ.”
The panic in his voice was evident. And I wasn’t sure anything I could say would ease it. Because we were totally fucked.
“Yeah, it definitely wasn’t ideal.” There was a throbbing that had started in my temples and I rubbed it, trying to ease the pain, despite the fact I knew it wouldn’t do any good.
Christian’s voice was a low hush when he spoke next, as though he were afraid of the answer. I couldn’t blame him. I would have been too, if I were in his shoes. “What did you do to him?”
Guilt struck me as I glanced back over at him again and I sighed. “I stabbed him.”
Once again, silence stretched out over the line. “Fuck, Nathan. Tell me you didn’t kill a police officer.”
“I didn’t kill a police officer.”
He made a sound like he didn’t believe me. Again, not that I could blame him.
