𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙚/ c.b

41

"Hey, you're okay now, yeah?"

I warm smile unintentionally grew on me upon hearing his words. I nod, and he smiled, guiding me away from the elevator and through the maze of hallways and rooms. I remembered the way to the infirmary from the last time we had a medical emergency. This one in my opinion was a little less life-endangering, so there wasn't too much of a hurry to be there in my opinion.

But Colby was determined to fix me up as quickly as possible.

Now, I sat on top of the examination table, my legs swinging impatiently as my fingers riddled with each other. Colby was stood across from me, taking things from the cabinet next to us and setting them down next to me. I spotted a curved needle, medical thread, bandages, and disinfectant. Along with a lollipop.

"Lolly?" He offered, extending it out to me.

Despite last nights events telling me no, no
more sweets, I still took it and thanked him, playing it in between my lips and letting the sweet taste of cherry melt on my tongue.

This was the equivalent to the stuffed piglet I would give Cliff when I wanted to make him feel better. I felt saddened by the thought.

Colby first started with cleaning my face, wiping the blood from my cheek, and tossing the napkins and gauze in the trash can next to us. Whenever he got close to the cut, I winced a little, shutting my eyes and focusing on the cherry lollipop as a distraction.

"Sorry, but this is going to seem like nothing compared to when I sterilize it." He apologizes, dapping some of the clear liquid on more gauze. I nodded, preparing for the stinging pain that was to come.

Giving me a reassuring look to prepare for it, I felt the soggy substance press into my open wound. I squeezed my eyes shut, but didn't make so much as a peep no matter how much I wanted to. I knew better than to.

"Not even a sound," Colby said with surprise, continuing to coat it with the liquid to avoid infection.

I nervously smile, holding back from saying, "I've had practice."

"The lollipop helps I guess." I chuckle instead, meeting his gaze. He smiled sadly, continuing to focus his attention on my cut. I watched his concentrated face as he did so, noticing how he was biting his lip nervously while he carefully cleaned the area up. His gentle touch while doing everything was strange to me. He was trying so hard to make this as less painful as he could.

Something I haven't experienced. Not just from him, but from people in general. It's what I used to do for Cliff and the other kids at the orphanage, but what I had to do for myself in private.

It was weird being on the other end of it. Having someone do it for me and try so hard to make me comfortable, not to mention the lollipop and piglet comparison. I barely knew what to say, so I didn't say anything at all. I held back tears at the thought of it all. How someone was so focused on me and only me. It felt good, being cared for. But it felt wrong. Never experiencing it before.

And to think it was Colby doing it meant something to me. It meant so fucking much I don't even know how to put it into words, and if I could how I would express it to him.

"Thank you." I decided on telling him, right away too.

He looked at me with furrowed eyes, "For?" He asked as though he wasn't just making an emotional impact on me. He really didn't know, and that made me frustrated because if he did, he would know why I was thanking him.

"Just.. for helping me," I murmur, finding the urge to cry a lot harder to contain now that I was expressing my gratitude. But imagine how much a mess I would be if he really knew.