His Choice - Rafe Cameron

9. He Needs Help

"Oh my god JJ. I know you despise him and sure he has done some terrible things, but don't just assume that he did this to me. Rafe actually helped me."

He snickers, not believing me. "I'm sorry, Rafe helped you? Are we talking about the same person here?"

"Hugh dived on me when I went for the ball which resulted in my finger bending in the opposite direction. My finger was dislocated and Rafe clicked it back into place for me."

"Yeah, I bet that scumbag enjoyed feeling your bones crack in his hands."

I don't have the patience to deal with JJ's opinions right now. I know that I am being defensive of Rafe, but he deserves it after what he did for me today. Like I said, he was the only one who helped me. 

I walk inside the house and hear JJ mutter the words, "I've got to call the guys and tell them this one."

I walk into my room and close the door. I lay down on the bed and place my hand on my stomach to rest it. I don't move when I sleep. The position I fall asleep in is the same position that I wake up in. So I am able to sleep safely knowing that I won't roll on my hand and dislocate my finger again. 

The pain is uncomfortable, but bearable. Pain is something that I have grown accustomed to. After copping beating after beating, I learnt to tolerate the feeling of my bones crumbling, my skin splitting apart and feeling like a tonne of bricks had fallen onto my ribs. I have also become quite the nurse too. I've learnt the right amount of pressure to apply to a wound, the angle to position your head so that you stop the bleeding without the blood trickling down your throat and I can clean up a cut in a record amount of time. 

I've had a lot of practice on myself over the years. 

I can't sleep, I feel too dirty. After all, I literally dived through the dirt. I take a shower and the water stings the graze on my head and arm. I hadn't even noticed the one on my arm yet. Again, the pain is bearable. 

I wrap the towel around my body and walk into the kitchen. I see JJ, Pope and Kiara sitting out on the hammock by the tree. John B and Sarah are standing at the pier near the dingy. 

"JJ, where's the medical kit?" I call out to him while leaning against the cupboard door, staring around the interior. I don't see any first aid kits in here. Just many cans of beans. I pick up one of the cans and look at the expiration date. 08/06/19.

It's two years out of date. I toss it straight in the bin. 

"Hey Scarlett." 

"Hi Pope."

"At the very bottom behind the oven trays." JJ tells me. 

I bend down and push the oven trays out of the way. When I do so, the trays begin to topple over. I manage to catch the first one, but the next two fall to the floor. I drop the top tray and leave them on the floor. I'll fix them later. I grab the first aid kit out and take it to my room. 

After cleaning my wounds and taping my fingers together, like Rafe had instructed, I place the medical kit back in the cupboard and fix the oven trays. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and walk out to join the others. They're all sitting around the small bonfire. 

"JJ told us what happened, are you okay?" John B asks me when I take a seat beside him. I can feel him staring at the graze on the side of my head. 

I take a sip from my bottle of water before closing the cap. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"I also heard that my brother helped you." Sarah pipes in, clearly surprised by her brothers gesture. 

I nod my head. "He did."