A thousand bad times - Post Malone

Six

He leans down and looks at the bruise carefully. It's her worse and most painful injury. What was only a slight bruise when she climbed into his car is now a dark black and red bruise covering her whole side. He runs his fingers over the bruise lightly and stops on the rib she is sure is cracked and then he pushes down gently.

The simple push from him sends a shot of pain down her whole body and she can't stop the yelp she releases at the pain. He draws his hand back instantly and stands up.

"Your rib is cracked."

Holi nods.

"I want you to see a doctor."

"No."

"Holiday."

"You asked to look after me. Don't hand me over to someone else. I will not go."

Austin watches her carefully for a moment then nods. He walks out of the bathroom and comes back a few moments later with a t-shirt and shorts. He places them down on the cabinet next to her. He turns on the shower and the steam from the hot water starts to soothe her before she even moves. He then helps her down from the cabinet.

"Shower, change into these clothes," he says with her still his arms. She feels torn, she wants to shower, to let the hot water soak into her skin and wash away her week. but she does not want Austin to remove his hands from her body, she nods but leans into him. He too stays with his hands on her for a beat longer than needed then steps back.

She wants to cry at the loss she feels. It makes her feel empty and hollow.

"When you are done, come find me...I will be in the kitchen."

With that, he leaves her be. She peels off her tiny shorts and dirty tank top then steps into the shower. It's hot and it burns her skin, it feels good and she can see the dirt and grime from the past week wash down the drain. She scrubs her whole body till it feels raw and sensitive then she turns the shower off and gets out.

She dries herself with one of the towels Austin had left out with the clothing then slips the t-shirt on, it's really big and she looks like she is swimming in it. The sleeves reach past her elbows and the hem of the shirt sits almost at her knees. She does not bother with the shorts knowing that there is no chance that they will sit on her hips.

So she leaves them, choosing to rather go back to her room and grab a pair of underwear from her bag. Then she makes her way down to the kitchen. Austin is busy making what smells like a nasty broth on the stove and he turns to face her when she walks in.

His eyebrows shoot up a little when he sees her then he drops them quickly.  The broth starts to boil over on the stove making a hissing sound so he quickly turns back to it and pulls it off the hot plate then pours it into a mug and turns back to her.

He places the mug in front of one of the kitchen island chairs and motions for her to sit. Then he picks up a tub of cream and starts unscrewing the lid.

"When I was a little boy I watched football with my dad and I would go on so much about playing the game myself that my father eventually got me all the gear I needed to practice with him at home until I was old enough to join the school team...may I?" he indicates to the area where her chest bruise is with a dollop of cream on his finger. Holi nods and he pulls her t-shirt down a little and starts rubbing the cream on her bruise softly, "my father spent all his time and energy researching what the best gear for me was. He wanted to make sure I was safe while playing such a heavy contact sport," he stops again and points to where her side bruise is. Holi puts down the mug of hot broth she was sipping and lifts the t-shirt enough to expose the now even blacker bruise. Austins bends and starts applying the cream to it, "but my mother...well, she was all about the after treatment, caring for the broken bones and big black bruises that would decorate my body after every game in my early days. She never found anything she liked so she researched and made this cream," he stands then rubs a little on her cheekbone, "it is amazing stuff, practically erases bruises overnight."