WORLD'S WEIGHT ▹ tfatws

[ 015 ] chapter fifteen

"Ow!" The blonde groaned, it did hurt her tailbone. The man who hit her immediately rushed back in surprise. "Sorry! Oh god-"

Blood from her hand stained the lower portion of her jacket, the man froze in his steps upon seeing it. "Oh, no. No this isn't you." Czarina tried convincing him but he seemingly had panicked and still didn't move to help her up. Until another pair of hands held on her arms to lift up the girl from the sprawled position.

"Here, here. Let me help you." A guy, probably a little older than Czarina, carefully pulled her at the elevated gutter where he was standing. Fresh crimson dripped from the tip of her fingers, splattering some at a person assisting her. At his feet is a rusty trolley stacked with bigger brown boxes that are opened and half empty.

"What happened to you?" He asked as his widened eyes looked like Czarina from head to toe. "Come on, sit here." The guy pulled a small foldable chair towards and let her rest on it.

"Thank you...," The blonde girl trailed off and pulled her cut hand in her chest. "Hey, it's okay. We have first aid here. Hey Anja! Take care of the rest of the line, I'll patch her up." He turned to his company who only nodded and proceeded to assist the next person in line. While the guy crouched down beside the new girl.

"I'm Nico, by the way." The guy introduced to himself, suppressing a small smile. "Nadia." Czarina replied and held out her bleeding palm with quiet reluctance. She watched in silence as he carefully took her hand, brought out the medical supplies and started cleaning up the deep gash.

"How long have you had this?" Nico asked, pouring out from a newly opened water bottle to clean up the dried blood in her arms and the wound itself.

"Just a while ago." Czarina answered with a half lie. "Listen, you don't have to do all this. You have work to do, I can just- "

"Hey, you can't just walk around with a bleeding hand." He looked up at her and started dabbing a cotton swab on the cut. "And I don't think any ER would accept us."

Czarina's eyes narrowed in the last sentence, which Nico must have noticed and paused to explain himself. "Oh I just- you didn't have the accent from here. And you look like- I thought you're from the shelters."

"I am." She confirmed without any hesitation. He was already convinced she's among the displaced population in the community that the Flagsmashers have been helping. He didn't doubt for a second to help and include her in their seemingly discreet crowd by the underpass.

"Oh, so did you get this from where you're staying?"

"No. No, I...," Czarina shook her head. "I was trying to go back to my old apartment to get some things but the new owner saw me.... So I climbed out the broken window."

A soft sigh sounded from Nico, shaking his head a little. "Let me guess, shelter's short staffed and supplies are running out again?"

She only nodded as the sides of her mouth curved downward, Nico finally finished cleaning the wound and wrapped her hand with a slightly thick gauze. "You're all done, Nadia." He smiled once more. "Listen uh, if you need clothes or supplies don't come back to your old apartment. Go around here instead, we're in this corner when the rounding police aren't."

"Okay, I will." Czarina smiled with a nod and took her hand back from Nico. She slowly stood up from her seat. "I just didn't think that it'll be the same after what happened to Donya. It felt like most of those she helped, fell in a rough patch."

Nico's expression fell flat and sulk upon the mention of the woman's name. He didn't say anything for a second but when he did it was what Czarina had been aiming to hear. "Later's gonna be her last day of the funeral. You're free to come. A lot of people in the community are gonna be there."