IF I FALL - #Wattys2016

INVISIBLE SCARS | LYA

I was surprised with his attitude. Something clearly happened yet he didn't say a word. He was just holding me as tight as he could.

I was freaking out a little. There was so much blood on his clothes and his hand seemed seriously wounded. Did he have an accident? I quickly glanced at his car that seemed intact. A fight then? His silence was scaring me.

When he finally spoke, he only repeated he hated me, leaving me shocked. I immediately realized that something was wrong and that something was connected to me. He didn't hate me. He never did. I knew that much at least. But these words still hurt.

But then he said something else. Something I thought I would never hear again. Some words that mattered more to me than anything else. Some words that recalled me to my best memories as well as to my worst ones.

I couldn't process them and instantly felt tears forming in my eyes. Now was not the time to cry. His whole behavior was strange, he was wounded and here I was getting all emotional when he needed my help.

I took the keys out of his pocket and opened the door. Once in the elevator, I took the white handkerchief from my purse and wrapped his bleeding hand in it.

He flinched at the pain. Yeah, it seemed deep. He was probably hurting really bad.

I opened his apartment door and immediately took him to the bathroom where I opened the faucet and put his hand under the water, immediately making him moan with pain.

"Sorry..." I said, painfully immagining how bad it must have felt. "Where do you put your rubbing alcohol and band aids?"

He nodded toward the little cabinet. I picked some gauze, rubbing alcohol and bandages.

I sofly took his hand in mine to check how bad it was.

It was rather serious. a whole part of the skin on his knuckles was scrapped and bruised. He was going to hate me for the pain I was about to make him feel.

I poured some alcohol on the wound without warning him, which made him scream.

"Fuck!!! You crazy?" He yelled at me, mad at me not letting him know about what I was about to do beforehand.

"Sorry... Bear with it for just a few minutes"

I kept on pouring alcohol until he stopped screaming and finally banded his hand the best I could.

"You should go to the hospital to make sure you didn't break anything"

"I'm alright" he sighed while looking at the bandage.

"Hey... What happened Tom?"

He raised his head to me and looked at me for a few endless seconds without saying a word.

Why? What happened? Why didn't he want to tell me?...

Why did he say he hate me? Why did he say he love me? Which is it? What was going on?

My emotion contained up until then released themselves all at once. When I saw him with all this blood on him, I seriously thought something bad happened to him and for a minute, I freaked out.

Tears started falling on their own without I could even try to contain them.

He put his valid hand on my cheek and wiped off the tears with his thumb.

"I was so scared..." I managed to say in a whisper.

He knocked his forehead against mine in a sigh.

"I'm OK... So don't cry..."

He softly kissed my lips first. I immediately kissed him back. And from then on he we didn't stop kissing all night.