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“Don’t worry about me, I’ll manage. It’ll be easier for you to feel.”
“You know I’m not a doctor, right? I’m not trained to do this kind of thing.” I whisper, eyeing the wound, wishing it didn’t exist at all.
“I know, Gracie, but you’re perfect for the job. I would do it myself, but I don’t think it’s a very good idea being that I can’t see the wound like you can.”
I suck in a deep breath, trying to calm my erratic heartbeat and ragged breathing before I actually make a move toward sticking my fingers into the wound. I can tell Luke is trying not to show how much this hurts but I can see it clearly. His teeth are clenched, his jaw is tight, and his fists are balled tightly at his sides.
“Sorry…” I grimace. I feel the bullet with my fingertips, but it takes me a few tries to get it out. Sweat beads my forehead as I try one last time. When I finally grasp onto it and start to pull it out I damn near sigh in relief. “I got it.”
Luke’s chest rises and falls rapidly, and a smooth grin pulls at his lips.
“Good, now I need you to sew me up.”
“I don’t know how to do that.” I state, shaking my head.
“It’s just like sewing fabric, except it’s skin. It’s really easy, I promise. You can do this. Just rinse the wound out again and clean everything around it. The biggest danger is getting an infection. We don’t want that, so just make sure it’s really clean.”
I do what he tells me to and clean the wound, then I sew him up. I’m a lot slower than a nurse would be, but I get it done. Then I cover it with a large piece of gauze. By the time I’m done securing the gauze with some tape, I realize that Luke is nodding off, his eyes barely open, his breathing evening out.
For a second, I think about leaving. I could get away right now with him being hurt, but the thought evaporates before it can take root. I could never leave him like this, he needs me. I’ll have to stay at least until he’s better. I stare at him for a long time, my gaze roaming over his exposed skin. There are various scars, and a few tattoos that cover the right side of his chest, and part of his arm. I never would’ve taken him to be a tattoo guy, then again, I didn’t ever expect him to kill someone right in front of me.
Shaking my head, I clean up all the medical stuff, placing the bag back in the bathroom before I crawl into bed beside him. He is already asleep when I pull the blanket over both of us and snuggle into his side. As I close my eyes, I think of what I need to do next. Leaving won’t be easy but I can’t stay here. I can’t live this life. I’m too fragile for all of this. I want a simple life. I want to go to college, get a good job, and later get married and have kids.
My gaze moves to Luke’s sleeping face. I want all those things and I know I can’t have them with Luke, but how do I walk away from the only person I’ve ever loved? Even knowing what Luke does, the things he’s done, I can’t stop my heart from loving him.
“Kill him, Luke,” Joseph demands. At his father’s command Luke moves toward Adam, a man I’ve known for most of my life. Adam is already cowering on the floor, beaten and hurt, unable to protect himself.
“Don’t do this, Luke,” I plead, but it’s almost like he doesn’t hear me right now. The darkness in his eyes threatening to swallow me whole. “Luke, this is not you, please stop.”
“Stupid… so stupid and naive…” Joseph sneers. “This is him. This is the real Luke.”
“No…” I croak, barely getting the word past my lips. Luke steps past Adam and toward me, making me take a few steps back until my back bumps into the brick wall. Without saying a word, he steps into my space, crowding me, caging me in with his body as his lifts his arms and grabs my throat with bruising force.
“It was always going to end this way, Gracie, always.” His voice is cold, his once blue eyes darker than the midnight sky.
“LUKE!” I try to scream, but the words won’t come. I’m drowning, dying, his hands wrapped around my throat, a sick twisted smile on his lips.
“Gracie…” I shoot up in bed, my skin sticky with sweat, my gaze sweeping wildly around the room. I feel eyes on me, and immediately turn finding Luke’s pale blue gaze filled with concern. He reaches for me, and my eyes go straight to his hands.
