Invisible ||~Sillie~||

Chapter 7

They both stood like that for a few seconds, Millie, arm outstretched, pointing a gun at Sadie, who was in complete shock. Both were breathing hard, hearts racing. "Fuck, Sadie, what the hell!? I could have fucking killed you!" shouted Millie angrily, her outstretched arm falling to her side. Sadie just stood there, it was like her cognitive functions had completely seized upon seeing the gun pointed at her. "What the hell are you doing here!?" Millie asked.

"B...bag" Sadie managed, pointing at Millie's bag.

Millie took a big breath, trying to calm down, forgetting about the blood seeping from her leg for now. She put her gun in the waistband of her jeans then ran her hands through her hair. Slumping down on the mattress she put her head in her hands, "why did you have to come here?" she said, in a much smaller, more vulnerable voice.

Upon hearing the desperation in her voice, Sadie snapped out of her shock, realising now that Millie wasn't angry, she was scared. Thinking about their surroundings, how close they were to some of the most desperate people in the city, she understood why she needed the gun, but it still shocked her. To know that someone she went to school with lived like this, clearly alone, fending for themselves amongst the druggies and criminals, and worse, it shook her world to its core. How fucking naïve I am, how sheltered...

"Do...do you live here?" she asked incredulously, not wanting to believe it was true, hoping to god that this was some sort of bolt hole she escaped to every now and then.

"Yes" answered Millie defensively, "this is literally everything I have" she added, gesturing at her meagre possessions. "So...thank you for bringing back my bag, it would take me a long time to replace everything inside."

"Um, you're welcome...I'm sorry, for following you" she said, trying to keep the conversation going, "I was worried, your leg" she explained.

Millie looked down like she'd forgotten all about it, "shit, yeah...damn, that was a good pair of jeans too" she said sighing.

"Has the bleeding stopped" asked Sadie, more concerned about her then her jeans.

"No...it's pretty deep" she answered with a grimace, "I'm sure it'll be fine...it feels ok, like numb" she added, trying to disguise her worry and putting more pressure on the wound.

"Let me see" said Sadie, to which Millie shook her head no. "No, let me see" she said more firmly. Millie saw that she wasn't going to let it drop.

"O-okay, turn around" she said hesitantly. Sadie didn't understand at first, but then realised that Millie would have to take her jeans off one leg at least, so turned around as requested. She heard Millie wincing in pain, then the squeak of old springs, "you can look now."

Turning, she saw Millie sitting on the mattress, leg outstretched with the cloth held over the wound. She'd covered as much of the rest of her exposed legs as possible with the thin blanket, but it didn't stop Sadie seeing other, older injuries and bruises littering her skin. Bringing her gaze back to the task in hand, Sadie gently moved Millie's hand, and the cloth she was using, from the wound. Immediately after she did so blood started oozing out, making her feel a little sick, but not so much as Millie it seemed who had gone very pale and laid backwards. "Millie? ...Millie! are you ok?" asked Sadie, worried.

"Uh-huh...just...feeling light headed...I, uh...is it bad?" she asked shakily.

"It won't stop bleeding...I think you should go to hospital..."

"No! No hospital, no doctors" insisted Millie.

"I can come with..."

"No...please, I can't go to a hospital" she insisted, sitting up to face Sadie, "help me" she said, her brown eyes pleading with Sadie's blue.

She knew it was wrong, that Millie needed proper medical attention, but she couldn't say no, "okay, stay here, keep pressure on it, I'll be back as soon as possible" she said, trying to reassure not just Millie, but herself as well. Millie just nodded, acknowledging her instructions, pressing her hand to her leg and trying to suppress the urge to cry out in pain that was starting to build, the previous numbness dissipating.

Sadie took a deep breath and slipped through the tiny crack in the wall, still finding the environment outside the neat and tidy room shocking. Trying not to draw attention to herself she set off in search of a pharmacy, assuming that there would be one close by considering the demographics of the local denizens. It only took her 5 minutes to find one, spying it across the street she was reluctant to even approach it as groups of shabby looking men, wasted on their methadone prescriptions or whatever other substances they could lay their hands on, lecherously eyed her up and down. She gathered the courage to do so by thinking of Millie, alone in that place, bleeding and in pain, trusting her and only her to help.

Entering the pharmacy, she looked around quickly, not wanting to be there a second longer than necessary. She scooped up gauze, bandages, antiseptics, anything she thought would be useful, and paid. The pharmacist gave her a suspicious look but, through years of experience, knew not to ask awkward questions.

She rushed back to the alleyway, again careful not to draw attention, and slipped back into the room. She gasped when she realised that Millie had passed out on the mattress, she looked pale and a sheen of sweat glistened all over her body. Looking at her leg the wound looked as though it had stopped bleeding, but there seemed to be a significant red stain on the mattress below she's lost a lot of blood Sadie thought, panicking and questioning her decision not to get a doctor at least.

Deciding not to wake her, that she needed to rest, Sadie took the medical supplies that she'd bought and started to work on the wound. She straightened Millie's leg, trying to ignore the many old scars she saw, keeping her mind on the task at hand. Carefully, she cleaned around the wound, using gentle movements so as not to hurt her, but more importantly not reopen the wound. She took a gauze pad that seemed about the right side and laid it over the wound, then started to wrap the bandage firmly around her thigh, ensuring to secure it tightly so it wouldn't come loose. She sat back and allowed herself to feel pleased with her efforts, but, eyes glancing up to Millie's face, she knew she wasn't finished. Using some of the bottled water she moistened a clean cloth and began to wipe away the sweat on her brow, clean the dirt from her arms from the earlier fight.

Satisfied that she could do no more she sat next to her not really sure what to do, when her eyes fell onto the notebook that Millie held so dear. She looked away, knowing that it would be a betrayal of whatever trust they were building to look inside, but after a few minutes the temptation became too great. Rueing her complete lack of self-control, she reached over and picked it up. Turning it over in her hands she noted how unremarkable it seemed on the outside, just a normal notebook one could find at any stationers. Flicking through the pages she caught glimpses of intricate drawings, sketches, quotes, and what looked like poems, all beautifully and lovingly crafted, but when she opened to the most recently worked on page it she couldn't help but marvel at its contents. Around the outside of the page was the most beautiful, elaborate doodle, an intricate frame for the collection of drawings and words within. Her breath hitched in her throat when she realised that many of the drawings on the page were of her, a couple were simple profiles, like the one safely tucked in her own bag, but the one that really caught her attention was in the centre, it was the most amazing likeness of her, she looked happy in the picture, sitting at a small table and holding a drink...thinking back it was of her when Millie took her to the small coffee shop and bought her a coffee. Looking around the room she realised why Millie hadn't bought herself one, she used her all money on Sadie, leaving her with nothing. The smile that had been on her face dropped and she closed the book. Feeling immensely guilty that she'd looked, she carefully put it back, vowing never to look again. Turning to Millie, she watched her sleep, her chest rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm, her lips parted ever so slightly. Leaning forward she closed her eyes and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, stroking her hand through her hair as she did so, missing entirely the small smile that passed over Millie's face while she slept.

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