The Loner's Journey

Chapter 14

Archer's POV
As I'm put on the couch, I groan a little in pain. Though this is nothing compared to some of the times dad as wailed on me. I try to focus and look around to find Danny but my vision is kinda blurry and it hurts to try to focus on anything. I start to hear shuffling around me and get nervous. My breathing picks up and I try to scoot further back on the couch. "Hey, it's just me. My dad needs me to lift your shirt. Is that ok?" I hear Danny say. I nod a little and hear him move over next to me. I feel my shirt be lifted and hear a couple gasps. They must be seeing all the evidence of my life. I feel something cold touch me and jolt a little. "It's ok. I'm just checking your breathing and heart rate." I hear an older voice say. Probably Danny's dad. I relax slightly and let him examine whatever he needs to. About 10 minutes later the cold thing goes away and is replaced by hands. I start to get a little uncomfortable and announce this by whimpering and pushing into the couch more. The hands go away and I hear some whispering before Danny comes back over. My eyes are starting to adjust now. "We need to touch you to be able to make sure nothings broken. Would you feel better if dad told me what to look for and I did it?" He asks softly. I think about it for a second and decide i might be able to handle that. I nod. He walks back over to his dad and tells him what's going on. A few minutes later he comes back with his dad and he starts to run his hands over my chest and ribs. I shudder when he touches one of the larger bruises. He looks at me to make sure I'm ok and then continues before telling his dad he hadn't found anything. I release a breath I didn't know I was holding when I hear that. Once again I hear shuffling, but it's not Danny. He's still right next to me. The shuffling stops and I hear things being moved around then it starts again but this time moving closer. I wince when my head throbs painfully. Danny looks down at me worried but I just give him a slight smile to say I was ok. Once his dad got back over to us he gave Danny a bunch of bandages and some kind of ointment for my bruises. Danny begins to apply them as gently as he can. Eventually he has to have his dad help sit me up so he can get to my back. The movement makes me yelp and scrunch my eyes up. Danny apologizes softly but continues to take care of me. Once he secured the last pieces of the bandage, I'm laid back onto the couch. I whimper a bit from my head hurting. Danny asks if I'm ok and when I don't reply he looks down at me. Noticing my pained expression he calls his dad back and they start checking me over. As Danny goes to lift my head I yelp again and he stops. I see him look at his dad worriedly through the corner of my eye. "Where does your head hurt?" I hear his dad ask. "Mostly the back and my temples. But my neck hurts too." I reply raspy and slowly. He touches the back of my head gently and I wince. When he moves his hand there's a bit of dried blood on his hand. Danny's eyes go wide and he looks at me incredulously. "How did you not notice your head was bleeding?!" He asks urgently. I shrug my shoulders. He huffs and looks back at his dad. "You have whiplash and a concussion." He finally states after observing me. "What about the blood?" Danny asks. "He'll just need to carefully take a shower. It's dried so at least he's not still bleeding." His dad says calmly. Danny sighs and nods then turns back to me. "I'm not trying to be a perv or anything but do you think you could shower on your own?" He asks. I think about it and decide that with my ankle-. "Danny, what about my ankle?" I ask. He looks confused for a second before remembering my ankle was injured. He walks over to his dad and tells him what he remembered. They walk back over and his dad crouches down at my feet. "Which ankle is it that hurts?" He asks, softly. "The left." I say. He nods and begins to examine it. After a few minutes and a couple winces from me, he lays my foot back down. "It looks like a sprain. Just keep ice on it for a couple days and it'll be good as new." He says. I nod and turn to Danny. He seems relieved it wasn't broken or fractured. "Still gonna offer help for that shower?" I ask, with a teasing grin. He laughs and nods.