Worlds Apart

Absolution

"Son of a bitch!" I hiss, my hands immediately going for the drain as I yank it by its chain to release it.

I fumble for a position over Eadric's pulse point, sliding my free hand between the back of his neck to spare it from the unforgiving metal just beneath it and use tight pressure so as to momentarily halt the bleeding. Shit, his pulse is thready once I have located it, no, it is weak, slightly improved when I apply a bit more pleasure, but the volume is still arguably low.

"Shit. Eadric? Eadric, can you hear me?" I call distractedly as I pull back his eyelids. I watch as the pupils immediately start to contract again the candle light, releasing a sharp exhale of relief when a cough suddenly draws my attention back to him. "Eadric?"

He begins blinking against the harsh lighting of the candle chandelier above him, his lips eventually coming to part as he takes a deep breath. "What just happened?" He groans, his teeth gritting with a wince towards the pain at the back of his neck. He begins to pull his hand back towards the injury still seeping crimson liquid between the seams of my fingers when I remove my hand from over his pulse point to catch his wrist.

"Don't do that. You just suffered an episode of Hypotension. It occurs from low blood pressure that could result from a range of enormities." I conclude as I observe his drowsy state and clammy skin, pale from where his blood must have pooled to his feet. "But I'll admit I'm a little confused as to the why you did, and how you managed to take down this much shit on your way out." I note as my eyes scan the broken glass bottles once filled with various soaps and oils and such littering the smooth floor.

"Wait, what did you say happened to me?" He questions impatiently, his brows furrowing as he tries to grasp an understanding over my elaborate vocabulary.

"You passed out." I tell him bluntly. "And managed to bust up the back of your neck pretty bad in the process." I tighten my hand beneath his head as he sighs, letting his head fall. My face twitches in displeasure as my hand abruptly comes into contact with the copper surface, but luckily my gloves absorb the majority of the impact, only my knuckles getting slightly cut up due to their positioning. I look to the water level in the tub to see there's barely half a foot left in there. "Here, put your feet up against the other side of the tub and bend your knees."

"Why would I do that?" Eadric asks stupidly.

"Because you need to get blood and oxygen back to your brain. This quickens the process." I tell him easily enough.

"The tub's too big even for me to reach the end of it with bent legs." He retorts as he motions to the other side of the large surface.

"That's fine considering I need your head flat against the floor of the tub. Your feet need to be above your head for this to work. Just take it slow, I'll follow you."

"What about the wound?" He asks as his eyes flit to my arm still bracing his head.

"Getting you fully conscious is my top priority right now. I'll bandage up the wound immediately after, alright?"

Eadric studies me closely for a moment, as though doubting the truth behind my words as he glances back warily to my arm once again.

I raise my eyebrows challengingly towards him by the time his eyes meet my own because seriously, is he really doing this right now?

He releases a heavy exhale at my condescending expression. "Alright." He relents, and proceeds to follow my instructions until he is in the exact position I direct him to move to. Soon enough a deep flush rushes back to his cheeks, his pale lips finally retaining their usual baby pink shade. His under eye circles and discolored skin surrounding them still alarms me, though, and there appears to be a sunken in quality to his cheeks despite his heavier mass.