Displaced

Wicken - Twenty-Seven

I fell asleep again after an hour of watching some more TV. One of the guys had changed the station to some old sport game. When I woke up, the TV was off, and I was alone. Or so I thought. Sitting in a chair across from me was a teenage girl, looking an awful lot like she belonged in a horror movie. Her dark hair was disheveled and covering most of her face, and she stared at me unblinking the entire time.

Shifting, and wincing, until I was in a sitting position, I stared back at her. After a few moments of silence, she finally blinked.

"I win," I said quietly. "Can I help you?"

She shook her head. "I'm here to help you."

"You...are?"

"Yes, Patriarch told me to be your assistant for the next couple of days so you could continue to rest. The less you have to do, the faster you'll get better."

Right, Justice had mentioned one of Rose's girls offering me some help. I didn't realize he'd meant as soon as possible.

She moved closer, sitting on the edge of the couch, right next to me. "Take off your shirt."

"Huh?"

"Take off your shirt. I have a cream that's going to help you," she snapped. She pushed her hair out of her face before reaching into a small bag. In her hand, she had a small metal container. I was so fixed on what she was doing, I'd forgotten I was supposed to strip. Her impatient glare got me moving rather quickly.

I carefully lifted off my shirt, mindful of the bandages on my back. "Okay, there."

"Lay on your stomach, unless you'd rather stand." Her gaze briefly wandered over my body, before she shook her head.

Being on my stomach sounded a lot more comfortable to me than standing. I was already halfway up, however. If I lay down again, I might not get up again anytime soon. Yeah, pretty sure there was something else in the pain medicine because I felt groggy and kind of like my head was in a cloud. I kept my back to her, whoever she was.

I sucked in a deep breath when she removed my bandages. It stung, a lot, when the air hit my stripes. Tears filled my eyes as she touched them with her fingers. The cooling of the cream was nice, but it also hurt like no other. I quickly wiped the tears away and focused on breathing. Good air in, bad air out.

"What's your name?" I asked as she took her good sweet time, dressing my wounds.

"Lilly, and you're Wick?"

"Yeah." I think that's what they had decided to call me. That conversation already felt like a lifetime ago.

She was quiet, clearly focused, as she worked. "Nice to meet you."

"Same." I held back a whimper as sharp pain coursed through my back.

"I'm almost done."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "Okay."

Breathe, just breathe. That's all I had to do. It would be over soon, and I would be better for letting her take care of me in the first place.

"I could go for a couple more of those magic pills Justice has been giving me," I muttered.

"I can give you one of those too, but let me escort you back to your room first. Sleeping out here isn't something I recommend."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

She finished placing new bandages over my skin. "The Achlivans don't care, but one of the other women might try to take advantage of you."

"What? Why?"

"A baby is usually a ticket for some women to get onto the Surface."

"Wow." That was wild. "So how did you get placed down here? You don't seem weird or shady to me."

Lilly gave my shirt a sharp tug down. "I'm your nurse, not your friend. My life is not your business."

"It was just a question, geez."

"And that is my answer. You're welcome, and have a nice night."