A Tough Moment

Chapter Thirty One

I could feel Ethan's eyes on me as I walked away from him and into the bathroom, but I didn't care. There was a time when I would run to him for comfort, but not anymore. He'd lost that right, when he walked out of the house and left me behind. Part of me longed for him to comfort me, but we were beyond that now. The hurt ran to deep.

I leant against the bathroom sink and gazed at my reflection. The stream of blood seemed to have slowed but as I gently cleaned the blood away, I could see that the gash was deep. I sighed and gently removed the blood, wincing slightly as my hand accidentally brushed against the wound. I jumped as the bathroom door opened. My surprise quickly turned to anger when I saw Ethan standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" I asked shortly.

"Checking on you." he stated.

"I don't need you to check up on me, I'm fine." I snapped.

"And besides, you shouldn't be in the ladies bathroom." I quickly added.

"You should sit down." he pestered me, as I continued cleaning myself up.

"I said I'm fine." I repeated.

"You could be suffering from shock." he tried, sounding slightly frustrated that I wasn't cooperating.

"I'm not in shock!" I insisted, becoming more and more angry with him. It wasn't his responsibility to take care of me anymore, so why couldn't he just go away and leave me alone.

"Don't you have patients to treat?" I sighed, trying to drop the hint that I wanted him to leave.

"Yes, but I need to check your wound first." he stated.

"It might need stitches." he added.

I eventually locked eyes with him in the mirror and knew that he wouldn't leave me alone until he'd inspected the wound. It seemed better to allow him to look at it, so that he would eventually leave me alone.

I nodded slowly and watched as he stood in front of me. I hadn't been this close to him in a while, just being able to smell his familiar scent was making me feel emotional. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as his fingers gently brushed against my neck as he examined the wound. Even after everything I still felt weak under his touch. I flinched slightly as he grazed the wound.

"Sorry." he muttered.

I nodded and sighed slightly in disappointment as he eventually moved his hand away.

"It's going to need stitches." he said quietly.

"Great." I said sarcastically.

"It should close with butterfly stitches." he stated.

"I'll fetch some." he added.

As soon as he left the room I put my head in my hands and sighed. Being in his presence reminded me of all the good times, I could barely remember a time when I hadn't been in love with him. Loving someone that you couldn't be with was a painful experience. Even though I felt something for Caleb, I would have done anything to get Ethan back. But we were beyond that now, there was to much water under the bridge.

Eventually Ethan returned carrying a first aid kit. I jumped up onto the counter and watched as he stood beside me.

"This is going to sting." he warned me, as he placed surgical spirit onto a swab.

I nodded slowly, wincing slightly as he gently applied the swab, as an attempt to prevent infection. I watched him closely as he took out some forceps and gently placed the stitches on my neck. As I glanced at him, his eyes quickly darted away, his cheeks flushing.

"Are you doing okay being at Kirstie's?" I asked him impulsively, unable to stand the silence any longer.
"Yeah it's fine." he answered quietly.

"How's Georgia?" he asked me.

"She's fine, she's staying at my Dad's tonight." I told him.

He nodded slowly, his brow furrowing as he concentrated on the stitching.

"Can I see her tomorrow?" he asked, sounding slightly nervous.

"If you want too." I replied, smiling slightly. Even though he was no longer my husband, I still felt a surge of pride that he cared so much about our daughter. She meant a lot to him and I was pleased that she would always have him in her life. Although we were going through some tough times, she was still his priority and I was proud of that.

"Okay, it's done." he stated eventually.
To my surprise I felt a sense of disappointment when he moved away from me. After all the time that I spent keeping away from him, I'd finally lowered my defences and allowed him into my personal space, only now did I realise how much I'd missed this. Being close to him, having his soft fingers brush against my neck reminded me of how things used to be.

He watched me out of the corner of his eye as I slowly climbed down from the counter. Once again silence had fallen between us.

"Thanks." I said quietly, as I quickly walked away.