A Christmas Accident

A Festive Fix

Pressing her head to the closed door, Sang fought for breath as she listened out for any sign of those footsteps coming back.

Fear held her immobile for long minutes, but when she heard nothing but the harsh breathing of herself and Gabriel behind her, she started to calm down.

Pulling away from the door, she turned around and froze when she caught sight of the dishevelled man in her room. A blush worked its way up her cheeks as she looked everywhere but at him. Spotting her unmade bed, her blush deepened – only made worse by the sight of empty chocolate wrappers and a paused Christmas movie on her laptop.

The light from the screen cast eerily faded light around the room – creating an almost horror like ambience. Shivering, she switched on the battery-operated lamp on her bedside table – a cheap find at the local thrift store.

She was now glad she had purchased that instead of a plug in one as her roommate suggested.

"Sang, are you okay?" Gabriel asked, reluctantly forcing her gaze back to him. Cringing when she clearly saw the blood crusted down his chin, she frowned at the memory of thug two hitting him.

"I-I'm okay." Sang stuttered, her chest still heaving with the effects of running from those men. "Why were those guys hurting you?" She asked, nervously running her hands down her threadbare leggings. Wincing as he shifted, he stepped over to her bed and collapsed on the bedspread.

"It's a bit of a long story." He whispered, rolling his shoulders as he eyed the ropes still around his wrists.

Guilt twisted her insides at the sight of them, and she scoffed internally at herself in disgust for questioning him without even letting him get free first. Turning away, she rummaged through the beside draw for her scissors. Pulling them out, she spun around on her haunches and found Gabriel watching her.

The blush on her cheeks burned hotly at this point, but she ignored it to cut away the remaining ropes around his wrists. Once free, he sighed in relief and rubbed the raw skin with a wince.

Hating the pained expression on his face, Sang pulled out her first aid kit and unzipped it to rifle through the contents.

"We have time." Sang whispered, drawing Gabriel's attention from the bag to her face.

"Time?" He asked.

"Time for the long story as to why those guys had you tied up." Sang hesitated as she spoke, unsure if she wanted to know the story. But she knew she was already in way over her head at this point, and she might as well see it through.

"Oh." He whispered as she ripped open a disinfectant wipe. "I guess we do." Sitting up on her knees, Sang met his eyes and could see the conflict fighting behind the bright blue depths – still darkened with pain.

"Can I?" She asked, holding the wipe up near his face. Gabriel startled, a flush darkening his skin as he nodded, a small twist to his plump lips.

Still she hesitated for a moment, but when he just continued to watch her – she reached forward and gently started cleaning the blood from his angular chin. She was surprised at the softness of his skin, and she fought to keep her focus on her task, and not on admiring the lean, strong angles of his face.

As she cleaned the remaining blood away, she noticed how badly her hands were still shaking. She knew it was from the high of adrenaline still pumping through her veins, and once she started to relax the after-effects would hit her hard, probably taking her down for the count. For now though, she focused on keeping her breaths slow and even as she focused on what she was doing.