AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The door swings open, and Queen walks in, looking physically sick. “Hey sweetie, you okay?”
“I need a fucking drink.” He grabs at King’s beer, chugging a massive mouthful. “Shit, I need something stronger.”
“What's wrong?” I rest my hand on his shoulder.
“I saw Ray in the showers, naked…” he trails off.
“I take it back. Clearly, a pair of tits and vag have traumatised him!” King laughs, but Queen shoots him a glare.
“Not fucking funny, man. She’s carved to fuck, and I mean seriously. I know we were told her brother kidnapped her and held her, but dude, he fucking tortured her. She’s a fucking mess. I know her face looked bad, but fuck!”
I storm out of there and head to the bathroom. As I shove my way in. I can hear the shower still running, and as I get closer, she’s hugging herself on the floor of the shower cubicle, pools of red running around her. I drop to my knees. “Shit, Ray, what did you do?”
Her eyes flick to mine, and she shakes her head, “Nothing, I didn't do anything. They just haven't healed properly yet. They keep opening up. I just need to keep them clean. They're fine.”
“Fuck, Ray, they’re not fine. Stand up.” I take hold of her hands to pull her up. That’s when I see her nails, or lack of them. I look at her feet, and they’re the same pink, crumpled skin where nails should be, and as she stands, I notice the carved patch on her hip and over her heart. I rub my thumb across her hip. “What the fuck happened to you, Ray?”
“Bas happened, Elijah, Bas happened.”
She’s covered in scars and cuts every single piece of skin that isn't tattooed is carved, stabbed, punctured or damaged in some way. I wrap a towel around her and lead her into her room. “Knight, I need medical assistance,” I shout down the corridor, and he comes rushing out of the kitchen with the first aid box in his hands.
“Shit,” he utters under his breath when she drops the towel and stands there in front of him, blood seeping from her wounds.
“Sexy, huh.” She shrugs. But I can see the discomfort at having us there looking at her. She’s clenching her fists by her side, and I look at Knight. He nods.
“Ray?” he says, using the softest voice I’ve ever heard him use, and I’m thankful for that. “Can I come closer and take a look?” She closes her eyes and clenches her fists tighter. She lets out a shaky breath. “Just don’t touch, okay? I can sort it myself.”
“Ray, some of these need restitching.” He says, stepping towards her but stopping and resting the first aid kit on the bed.
“I can do it.” Her eyes open, and she finds both our gazes. “It's fine, I can do it.”
“Ray, just let me help you, okay?” Knight takes another step, and she flinches.
So I stride straight over to her and take her hand in mine. She initially flinches but then relaxes. “You trust me, right?” She looks between us and then nods. “And I trust Knight, okay? I need you to trust us, can you do that? Let us look after you, please, Ray. Let me help you.”
Knight goes over to her bags. “Don’t.” She rushes over and snatches the duffle handles out of his hands. “Not those.” She goes to the drawers and pulls out some underwear and a T-shirt.
We both look at each other again and nod. I take her hand and lead her back to the bed. “Slide them on carefully.” I nod to her underwear as I lay the towel down and pat it. “Let's get you fixed up, and I can get you some food.” She nods, and I kneel beside her and take her hand in mine. “It's gonna be okay. I’ve got you.” She stares at my hands and her eyes well. Her lip trembles, but she never takes her eyes off my hands engulfing hers.
As Knight touches her skin, she grimaces. “Did I hurt you?”
She shakes her head, “I don't like being touched.” Knight nods, removing everything he needs and cleaning and dressing the wounds with as little contact as possible. Once he's done the front, he gets her to roll onto her side and tends to the wounds on the back of her leg. We glance at each other over her, so much destruction on every inch of bare skin but not a single mark on her tattoos. Knight patches her up and goes to leave.
“Knight, thank you.” He nods and leaves the room.
“Here, put this on.” I hand her the T-shirt, and she pulls it on, sitting up and crossing her legs. She sighs.
“Let me grab you some food, okay?” I pull the covers back, and she slides in. I head to the kitchen, slide straight into a chair, take a deep, shaky breath, and scrub the palms of my hands into my eyes.
Queen rubs my shoulders, “You okay?”
“Fuck, man, she’s a mess.”
“Hey, she’s strong. You know that better than anyone. It's early days, but she’s gonna be okay.” Queen rubs at my shoulders some more before taking a step back. “Has she eaten?”
“No, I was gonna make her a sandwich.” I stand and take a shaky breath before I make my way to the kitchen. I make her a sandwich in silence and then take it to her. When I open the door, she pretends to be asleep, but I can tell she’s crying, so I turn the light off and crawl into bed at the side of her.
“What are you doing?”
