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“You’re okay, Aaron. It’s just me,” I say, gently keeping him from rubbing the wound. “Henry attacked you, but it’s fine.”

“Am I dying?” he whimpers, trying to sit up, and considering his cut is barely a scratch, it’s pretty funny.

He’s so drunk.

I shake my head and squeeze his thigh, angry that I lost sight of him for so long. What if Henry had attempted to lead him away through the front door, where I couldn’t have seen them? “No, it’s just a scratch. We’ll clean it and patch you up.”

He’s deathly pale when he takes in the slit in his sweater, and thankfully I predict what’s about to happen a split second before he pukes. I manage to divert his face to the bedspread.

This was not on my bucket list for tonight, and I have to hold back my own nausea, but he looks so miserable all I want to do is take care of him.

Yasmin chooses this moment to walk in with a first aid kit. She pauses, and I can see the displeasure painted all over her face, but we’ve all been there, so she doesn’t make Aaron feel bad for throwing up.

“Is he okay?” she asks and approaches.

Aaron lifts his hand as if to say yes. “I’m so… sorry,” he mutters but then pukes again.

“You said you’d watch him,” she complains, placing the first aid kit on the side table, and I exhale, staring back at her with a scowl.

“Can we talk about this tomorrow?” I ask, already tired. “Is Henry out?”

She folds her arms on her chest. “Yeah. Will I have police knocking on my door in ten minutes?”

It’s a valid question, for someone who grew up around normal people, so I shrug. “No. He wouldn’t talk to the cops.”

Yasmin's shoulders fall. “Good. I can handle the people downstairs. You just take care of him. I’ll bring you fresh sheets.” She sighs and turns on her heel.

Aaron is trembling as he sits up and apologizes again.

I try not to look at the mess and focus on him instead. “It’s okay. Just tell me if you’re done for now.”

When he nods, I pat his cheek and gather the dirty bedspread. Thankfully, nothing has soaked through, so I carry it to the bathroom and toss it into the laundry basket, all bundled up. I’ll personally take it to the washing machine tomorrow, to spare Yasmin the disgusting job. After all, Aaron is my guest.

Aaron is trying to get up when I walk back so I quickly grab him for support. “I don’t usually… I know how to hold my drink. I just… the wine and whiskey. And I don’t react well to blood. I struggle looking at it.”

So I push his chin up when he tries to glance down again.

Poor baby. He’s still pale but no longer green, so I grab a tissue from a coffin-shaped box and wipe his mouth with it.

“Never mix. And why did you have booze in the first place?” I ask, tossing the crumpled tissue into a small trash can.

He stalls, his head lolling from side to side so I make sure to hold him in case he stumbles. “It’s… a party?”

“And you are only twenty,” I say, taking hold of his slender hand. It’s so graceful I want to lick it, but at this point I know what this cutie needs is care. “Bath?”

He nods with a sigh. “Do you think she has a spare toothbrush? And… how bad is it?” he points to his chest. “I don’t wanna look.”

I chuckle and pull off his sweater for him. “He only grazed you. I’m sorry,” I add after a moment. “That shithead’s my cousin, but he wasn’t meant to be here.” I grab the first aid kit and guide him to the bathroom where he promptly looks away from the mirror and his breathing speeds up.

“He was saying you don’t keep in touch with your family?”

Not a topic I enjoy discussing, but at least it’s a distraction for Aaron.

“That’s right. I wish they could just forget I exist,” I say, seating Aaron on the edge of the bathtub. The first aid kit doesn’t offer a large selection of tools, but then again, the cut is nothing to worry about, so I spray it with disinfectant and since it’s no longer bleeding, choose not to put on any dressings. It’ll heal faster that way.

He looks up at me with full seriousness despite his state. “That bad?"

I grab a hand towel and wet it so I can clean his face, but his hair has a sticky streak in it too, so we might as well get some use out of the bathtub.