𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐲𝐧┃𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐰𝐨

106. 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑒 & 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

Iris

I looked around the dark park in boredom as I aimlessly moved on the swing. I suggested the park because it was closest to me, but I didn't think it'd be this creepy. I held the money in my pocket tightly and blew out a breath to watch the smoke come out.

"Boo!" I heard someone say as they grabbed me from behind. I screamed and instinctively swung in defense and they groaned loudly. "Fuck, Iris. It's me."

My eyes widened as I saw Cain and I held my hands over my mouth. Panic began to seep into my skin in a vivid shade of orange and I looked up at him. "I'm so sorry."

"No," he said as he looked up and held a hand over his nose. "It's my fault."

"I know."

"What?"

"No, I mean-..." I said as I looked around for an answer. When I couldn't come up with one I winced and told him the truth. "You don't scare a person in the middle of the night out of nowhere."

"I wanted to surprise you," he groaned.

"You did," I said honestly. He laughed and I stood on the top of my toes to try to see the injury. "You're bleeding."

"Noooo, it's just another red liquid that's coming out of my fucking nose," he said.

"There's no need to be rude," I said softly. "Let's go to a hospital. It looks broken."

"Nah, my nose is always this crooked," he said sarcastically.

"Funny," I said dryly.

"No, but seriously, you have a good arm. It's hard to believe that I was the one spanking you, instead of the other way around."

My skin heated from his words once again but I paid no attention to it and gently grabbed his arm. "I'll take you to the hospital."

"You have a car?" I asked.

"Nope, but the bus is coming in about three minutes. After that, we'll need to take one more, but we'll eventually get there."

"No," he whined as I carefully guided his steps. "There are only crackheads on the bus this late."

"Then you'll fit right in."

"Wowww," he said as he stopped walking.

"What is it?" I asked worriedly.

"Did our contract being terminated suddenly give you balls, Iris?"

"The balls have always been here," I said. "Just tucked for a long time."

"Don't say that," he said as he burst into laughter until he winced. "Ow ow."

"Come on," I whispered as I guided him to the bus stop. I carefully sat him down on the seat and looked down at the empty streets. "Hopefully it will be here soon."

I sat down beside him on the bench and he glanced at me. "You're not leaving? It's getting late and I'm sure I can make it there myself."

"It's fine," I said. "I'm the one who punched you anyway."

"That's true," he laughed.

I noticed that he was still profusely bleeding out and I opened my purse for something to help him. I had a small packet of wet wipes but that wouldn't necessarily help him stop the bleeding.

I looked around for an alternative, but when I saw none, I stood up. I zipped my jacket up and had my back to Cain as I removed my t-shirt underneath.

"What are you doing?"

I didn't answer his question until I pulled the shirt through the opening in my hoodie and passed it to him. "Here, use this."