"You weren't worried that I might kill you?" Esther asked.
"I hoped you wouldn't." AnnMarie said. "And if you did, then... oh well."
-‐------------------------------‐-------------------------
Esther LaGrange never stays in one place too long...
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Esther made it back to Annie’s house a few hours later. She stumbled through the kitchen door, clutching her stomach.
"Annie!"
Her first instinct was to yell for the girl, though she knew there wasn't really much she could do for her.
Blood had soaked her shirt by now, lukewarm and thick, and was dripping on the linoleum floor. She grasped the counter to steady herself as she tried to make her way to the bathroom.
She heard AnnMarie walking down the hall, and the kitchen light clicked on, the sudden light irritating her eyes.
"Esther?" AnnMarie blinked sleepily, her eyes growing wide as she took Esther's blood soaked appearance in. "Esther! Oh my God!"
The young woman ran forward and grabbed her arm, helping her stand up straighter.
"Oh my God, you're bleeding!" She gasped. "Esther, what do I do? Should I call an ambulance?"
"Don't be silly." Esther grunted. "They can't do anything for me. I just need some time to heal. Can you help me get to the bathroom?"
AnnMarie nodded fervently and lent her a shoulder.
Esther clutched the bullet wound tightly as they slowly made their way to the bathroom, trying to stop the bleeding as much as possible. She didn't want to make a mess.
"I'm sorry. I'm getting blood on your floor." Esther said.
"It's fine." Annmarie said. Her brow was drawn into a hard line, and her eyes were glassy.
When they made it to the bathroom, Esther broke away from AnnMarie and hauled herself into the bathtub. She peeled off her ruined shirt, and laid it across the edge of the tub.
She turned the water on, and poured it over her stomach, watching as it turned pink and swirled down the drain.
"What happened to you?" AnnMarie asked.
"I gave a hunter the shock of his life." Esther said through clenched teeth. "And he returned the favor by promptly shooting me in the stomach."
"What do I need to do?" AnnMarie asked. Her voice sounded strained.
"Do you have anything I can bandage it with? I don't want to lose any more blood. The more I lose the longer it'll take me to heal."
Annmarie nodded and stumbled over to her medicine cabinet, where she pulled out a first aid kit. She returned to Esther with a washcloth and some gauze tape.
AnnMarie pressed the washcloth over her stomach and started to wrap the gauze tape around her.
"You're going to get my blood on you." Esther said, grabbing her wrist to stop her. "Don't you think it's disgusting?"
