Piercing Needles

Memories and Tattoo Cream

As promised, I got my chinese. At Percy's house, Sally doted over me. Cleaning all my wounds, numbing my lip and cheek and giving me slow, practiced stitches. Carefully she cleaned the scabs, cleaned the makeup caked over them. She's humming lightly under her breath, trying to hide how shocked she is and restrain from asking questions.

"You seem oddly good at this for a book author," I laugh, desperately trying to break the tension. "Did you learn this while working on a novel?"

It worked, a smile cracked her face. "I learned this having Perseus as a son. He was always getting into fights or falling off something and getting hurt." Her smile faltered. 

"And from the old stepfather?" She looked like a deer in headlights, her mouth opening but nothing coming out. "This was my father. Well, and my mother too. I'm happy you guys are safe now, Paul is awesome. And what you did... I wish someone would do that for me." 

"You don't." her jaw tightened and the anger behind her eyes scared me. "You don't want that. You want to be happy and safe. You want to never have to see them again most likely. You want them to never hurt someone like they hurt you. You want to stop fighting on your own." she stands up and turns around, rinsing her rag in the sink. 

Without turning back the anger leaves her body, her shoulders drop, head hangs a little lower. "You don't want that Jason. You don't want those memories to haunt you like they haunt him. I only did that because if I didn't we'd both be dead. Murdered and hidden, never to be seen again. No closure for any friends or distant family."

She comes back to me, dabbing and the blood that started dripping from my cheekbone again when she stops and lets her hand drop, her wrist resting on my knee. 

She looks at me, her blue eyes meeting mine like a mirror. "You asked how i learned this. How I'm so good. and I got it from practice. but no matter how many stitches I do, no matter how many bandages I place, I can't sew him back together after that. I can't fix what broke inside. But God Damnit I will do my best to try. And I will do the same for you."

We finished in silence, her stitching me back together and not caring about the blood drying on her nails or dripping onto the lenilium floor. She put all her tools and the piece of jewlery she pulled out of my lip in a metal bowl filled with rubbing alcohol. 

"Let me go get something that will help with the pain ok?" I nod. Looking behind myself I realize Percy has wandered off again. That boy can never stay still and him coming and going was better than him pacing back and forth throughout the kitchen.  

Sally comes back in with an orange bottle and a white tube in her hands, along with a mug I can only assume Percy left in the bathroom. setting the supplies on the table and the mug in the sink she grabs a new mug out of the cabinet. 

"What would you like to take your pills with? They are slightly larger than an advil and you need two."

"Is there anything carbonated? Its one of the only things that helps get them down." Picking up the bottle I read it. "But wait, Sally, these are prescription meds?" 

"They are Tylonal 3's. Stronger than normal Tylonals so they need a prescription but its the same medication. I have them to use as needed for my arm but I haven't needed them for a while now and I don't want them going to waste." She fills the black mug with Diet Coke from a the bottle on the counter. "Plus, you could use it way more than me."

I started to smile but regretted it instantly. Opening the bottle I take out 2 of the decent size round white pills. Handing me the cup I breathe for a few seconds, preparing for the medication i know im probably going to gag on.

Tossing them in and chugging the brown liquid, I do gag. some of the brown liquid slipped from my mouth and hit the floor but I didn't stop I kept chugging. soon the mug was empty and the pills were down. 

Reaching down I wipe the floor with my sleeve before she could stop me. "Sorry, if i stop when I gag on them I won't be able to get them down at all. I just have to power through it."

"No need to be sorry, its what you need to do." she picks up the tube and unscrews the cap. "this is topical Lidocaine. its a numbing agent and im going to put some close to your cuts so they dont hurt so bad." she shows me the tube before squiting som on her finger. "It says tattoo on it because it's technically a numbing cream for getting tattoos done, it makes them hurt less. Percy likes to use it in particularly painful places like that big one on his neck."

She applies it in decently thick layers around the worst of the wounds. It was cold which helped.

"Thank you. And... I'm sorry for what I said earlier. It wasn't my place." she just gives me a small smile and ruffles my hair with her fingers. Taking my mug from the table she rinses it and fills it with coffee, handing it to me.

"Go hang out with Percy. hes worried and i think it would help you too." i nod, standing. "Oh Jason?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"Can you tell percy to clean your blood out of his lip rings? And you probably don't want to do that again while you have the cream on your lip. Also, if he wants coffee tell him there's some in the maker." The devilish 'mother-knows-all' smile was plastered on her face. I started to laugh again as my face began to burn, but I instantly stopped, gripping my jaw. 

"Yes ma'am." I muttered out avoiding her gaze and promptly scurried down the hallway.