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Far out.
I exhale and stand. “Fine, you can do it, but I swear to god if I lose a leg ...”
“You won’t lose a leg. You really hate hospitals that much that you’d rather I stitch it?”
“You have no idea.”
“Come on then, let’s go to the main house and I’ll get everything we need.”
“Can’t wait,” I mutter.
He helps me up and we make our way to the main house. When we get there, Enzo goes into some medicine cabinet and pulls out all this stuff. I suppose they probably do this a lot, especially to each other, they don’t seem like the kind of men who go to hospitals unless they have to. I watch as Rhett lines up everything he needs, then he scrubs his hands and puts on some gloves before sitting me in a chair and putting my leg up.
“This is goin’ to hurt, but only for a second. I’m washing it first.”
I nod, feeling incredibly uneasy.
Maybe I should have just gone to the hospital.
Is this even legal?
God.
Rhett washes my leg with a container full of stuff Enzo brings over. I have no idea what’s in it, but it stings like all hell. I grit my teeth and watch as they clear off all the blood and dirt. Once it’s clean, he uses something else to spray into the wound to clean out anything that might be stuck in there. That hurts like hell, and I cry out, jerking my leg away. He holds it tightly, looking up at me. “You gotta stay still, Lei.”
I bite my tongue, eyes watering, but I nod.
He does it a few more times, until he’s satisfied it is clean. Then, Enzo prepares the string and the needle.
I watch in horror, not sure I’m ready for what’s about to happen. I glance nervously at Rhett, and he pauses for a minute before reaching over and taking a bottle of whiskey. He hands it to me. “As I push the needle through, take a long hard sip of this. I only need to do two stitches.”
I nod.
Enzo hands him the needle and string. I close my eyes, holding the bottle of whiskey in my hand and waiting in anticipation. I should have just gone to the hospital; we’re not in a third world country, there is zero need for this to be happening. They’d numb it, give me pain relief, this would all be easy breezy. What the hell is wrong with me?
What ...
Rhett pushes the needle through my skin.
I squeal, tossing the whiskey bottle, so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn’t even realize that he was about to do it. Enzo catches the bottle, Rhett pushes the needle through the other side and pulls the string through. I’m still gasping from the stinging pain, so Enzo hands me the bottle again and orders me to drink. I suck on that whiskey bottle until Rhett is done, and he was right, the burn of the whiskey going down my throat was a good distraction.
I put the bottle down, coughing and spluttering, tears running down my cheeks—a combination of both whiskey and pain. I swipe them away as the pain subsides. Rhett finishes up cleaning my freshly stitched leg and then covers it. “Good as new, and you didn’t have to wait hours at emergency. You can thank me later.”
I stare at him. I won’t be thanking him for a damn thing.
Not right now.
I get up, a little wobbly from the alcohol.
“Whoa, slow down, you don’t need to run out of here,” Rhett murmurs, reaching for my arm.
“Don’t I?” I snap.
I don’t know why I’m so angry at him, I think it’s because I’m overwhelmed, pissed off someone took the phone and angry that I hurt myself. I’m just ... I’m just done.
“That’s my cue,” Enzo murmurs, walking out of the room.
“What’s goin’ on with you?” Rhett asks, crossing his big arms and staring at me.
“You can’t be serious?”
He looks confused.
“You speak to me like shit because you’re in a bad mood. You took my fucking virginity and we’re due to leave in a matter of weeks and I have no idea what that means for us, for this, for anything. My friend is dead, someone knows I’m onto them, and I just got my damned leg stitched in a house, by a rancher!”
He blinks, slowly. “I didn’t take your virginity for fun, Lei. If that’s what you’re thinkin’, stop.”
I scoff. “Of course that’s all you took out of that.”
“You haven’t asked if I want somethin’ after this retreat, you haven’t even had the fuckin’ conversation with me yet you’re here, throwin’ down because you don’t know what it all means. How about use your damned words and find out.”
Oh.
Well shit.
I can’t even argue with that.
“Not right now. Right now, I just need some air.”
