CHAPTER 33

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TW: Blood

JACK'S POV:

"Katharine, can you unbutton her shirt?" Davey asks. Katharine nods and does her job, taking off Alex's shirt. I see the blood soaked bandage and my stomach turns. Davey unties the bandage and pulls it off, and then I see the full injury. All of us gasp in some way. "We need to clean and stitch this now." Davey grabs the first aid kit and pulls out some bandages, a needle, and some thread. "Jack. This is going to hurt her. I need you to hold her hand and keep her calm. If she moves too much, she could hurt herself more." I take a seat next to the bed and grab Alex's hand, squeezing it once to let her know I'm there.

Davey uncaps the whiskey and puts the bottle to Alex's mouth. "This will help numb the pain a bit." Alex weakly swallows, coughing a bit. "Okay. This is going to sting." Davey tips the bottle, pouring the alcohol over the gash. Alex jerks up and screams, tears welling in her eyes. "Shh, I'm right here sweetheart. You're okay." I gently stroke her hair with my free hand. She calms down a bit, but her chest heaves with sobs.

"I'm going to try and be as fast as I can, but this is going to hurt her." Davey threads the needle. I turn my head away so I don't have to see him sew the cut closed. Alex shrieks, trying to move away from the needle. "Hold her still!" Davey orders. I do my best, putting my free hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be over soon, I promise. Just hold on." I squeeze her hand again, and she grips it tight.

A minute or so later, Davey finishes and ties it off. Katharine hands him a bandage and he ties it on. He pulls the covers up over her. "Katharine, can you telephone her parents? Tell them what happened, ask for a change of clothes?" Katharine nods and leaves the room. I wipe the tears off of Alex's cheeks with my thumb.

"I should have protected her." I feel a tear run down my cheek. The woman I love is laying here hurt and close to death. I should have gotten her out sooner, I should have gone back for her. "Jack. This isn't your fault. Stop blaming yourself. Alex wouldn't want you to do that." I know he's right but I can't stop my thoughts. "I started the fight. If I hadn't, she and Race would never have ended up there in the first place.

"Jack. Stop. Your mind is tricking you. You didn't do anything wrong. Bad things happen to good people, and there's nothing you can do about it. If you carry all this on your shoulders, it will crush you. Let go of all of that blame. It won't do any good. Let's let Alex get some rest, and maybe Race can explain what happened."

I nod and stand up, releasing Alex's hand. I kiss her forehead before leaving. She looks so weak and pale, nothing like the girl I know or the girl I drew. Those shining eyes are closed and her smile is nowhere to be found. The woman in front of me is a stranger, a shell of a person I once knew. I know that the real Alex is in there. We just need to find her.

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