Falling for the Broken

13: Heartbreaking Pain

"Where do broken hearts go?" -One Direction

"Who did this to you?" My hand traced his forehead which made him flinch back in pain.

"The other guy looks worse, believe me." He replied, his hand clutching his stomach.

Without thinking, I lifted his t-shirt up a little and my jaw dropped when I saw the massive bruise which was covering his abs. Not the six pack. Anything but that.

"You look like you're about to cry." He let out a stiffled chuckle despite his apparent agony.

Those poor, poor abs...

"Shut up." I snapped myself out of my daze.

"It'll heal. Don't worry, crazy girl." He waved it off. "You can still stare and drool."

He was pretending like everything was okay but I could tell it was the complete opposite. I was no stranger when it came to covering up feelings so I knew exactly what he was doing.

"Tell me what happened." I demanded.

"Nothing. It's not a big deal." He lied.

"Look, just let me help, okay? You've helped me and now I want to return the favour." I spoke.

He studied me for a moment as if weighing up the pros and cons of telling me. He probably didn't want to burden me considering I had just had a miscarriage and was an emotional wreck, but the truth was: I was fine.

"Okay." He sighed in defeat.

"But first, you're hurt." I grabbed his hand, leading him to the bathroom where I sat him down on the closed toilet seat.

I got out the first aid kit from the cabinet and opened it, sitting on a stool beside Aaron. I was no stranger to a first aid kit, I was used to tending to wounds (specifically, mine). I could probably pass off as a qualified first aider but the medical field sparked no interest in me; I despised science with every bone in my scrawny little body.

"You know, fighting isn't the solution to everything." I told him as I lightly wiped his forehead, clearing it of any blood. I then applied some cream to it softly, however I could tell that- no matter how delicate I was being- Aaron was in slight agony.

"I'd usually say the same." Aaron admitted.

"Then why'd you get into a fight?" I asked considering it was blatantly obvious he'd gotten into a vicious brawl with another person.

"Would you believe me if I said I took up boxing?" He attempted to raise an eyebrow but failed. "I thought it might help maintain my six pack considering you adore it so much and I've been neglecting my exercising regime lately."

I just scowled at his feeble attempt to humour me and continued to clear up his cuts. My eyes trained onto his lips where there was a fairly large cut yet somehow they still managed to look kissable. Gross, I know. That would be one blood tasting kiss but I'm just getting off topic now.

A few moments of silence passed as I rubbed his lip with a cold compress. Throughout it all, Aaron's gaze never left me and I felt a little insecure.

"Stop staring at me." I spoke up.

"Your tongue sticks out a little to the side of your mouth when you concentrate." He observed quietly. "I've noticed."

"Quit moving your mouth." I ordered and finished wiping his cut, not thinking anything of his comment.

"Sorry, I just find it cute." He smirked.

"Creep." I commented which made his smirk grow.

Quietness overcame us again and my fingers assessed his knuckles which looked like they'd recently collided with something significantly strong.