Polaroid - A Wayhaught Fanfiction

Bruises

"Lift your shirt up."

When Nicole arrived at the Earps' apartment, Waverly told her to sit on the bar stool and wait. The bruises on her chin and cheekbone were gaping and the ones on her abdomen made her squint everytime she tried to breathe. Now Waverly's in front of her, holding a towel-wrapped ice pack, asking her to lift her shirt up.

Nicole did her best to pretend like there's nothing off about the whole situation. She lifted her sweater up, right below her breasts, and glanced down. She flinched and huffed when she saw the horrendous blotches on her thorax and abs. There were two of them, both in the shades of dark purple, with tints of deep red on the edges.

"It's gonna sting a little." Waverly dragged the other bar stool closer, sat in front of her, and gently pressed the cloth against her abdomen. There was something surprising about the way she said it-- almost felt like she'd gotten used to seeing wounds like these. Nicole bit her lip to hold down a groan and looked away instinctively. She could feel Waverly's concerned eyes on her, along with a look of curiosity.

"How long-- is this gonna take?" The older woman's hands crumpled to tight-rolled fists, and she clenched her jaw. It just got more painful over time; the pain was agonizing, and after a while Nicole began to wonder how much longer she could hold it.

"We gotta keep the ice there for about 10 minutes. Hold this for a sec. Don't let go, okay?" Waverly took Nicole's hand and guided it to put a grip on the cold towel. The brunette then left her seat and took fleet-footed steps back to the front of the fridge. She began taking out more ice cubes, and searched for another towel in the cabinet.

"So, what's the story?" Waverly spoke up. She's found another small towel.

"What story?" Nicole looked at her, admiring the curls of her hair and the sweet naívety on her face from across the room as she tried to ignore the sharp pain from the ice on her abdomen.

"Of how you got beat up." Waverly looked away when their eyes met. She walked up to Nicole again, this time with a clump of a smaller towel-wrapped ice. She pressed it against Nicole's cheek, while Nicole hissed with surprise and pain.

Nicole didn't know where to look. It's hard not to stare at her when she's literally right there. Waverly's managing just fine, though. She kept her gaze on the cold towel on Nicole's cheek, though the way she sat and the way she folded her lips revealed just enough of the seemingly-unavoidable tension between them. "You don't owe me anything, just so you know." Nicole said instead, trying to avert the topic.

"You could've left me at the party."

"You could've been raped. I had to do something." Nicole bit her lip, more out of physical discomfort than an emotional one. The ice packs sting so bad.

"So it's about chivalry, and nothing else?"

"Yes." Nicole said, prompting Waverly to look at her, right into her eyes. Nicole smiled sarcastically. Waverly's lips parted. Neither of them bought the lie she just said. Waverly then blinked, and looked away again, reluctant to look at her.

"You still haven't told me the story." Waverly reminded her.

"I also think you were about to tell me something the other day on the phone."

Waverly's eyes widened, but she didn't say a thing.

"We should talk, Waverly." She murmured softly. "Something's going on, isn't there?"

"Did you get beat up because of me? Is that why you don't wanna tell me?" The brunette interjected instead of answering.

"I'll spill if you do."