⤜---⤛ 𝔽𝕀𝕊𝕊𝕌ℝ𝔼 ⤜---⤛ ▬▬ 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤 ∗ 𝕛𝕛 ▬▬

⤛ 𝕒 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕪 ⤜

Talia breathed a sigh of relief as the two figures disappeared over the beach entrance. "Are you okay?" Kiara asked as she helped Talia to her feet, and Talia nodded, wincing at the pain that shot through her body.

Sarah stared with her jaw dropped at the red patch on her shoulder and the blood that was dripping down her arm. "He's a psychopath," she breathed.

Jogging over, Noa's face was etched with concern. "That looks like it hurts," he said, eyeing Talia's wound.

From the ground, JJ moaned loudly, "This hurts more..." Pope had wrapped his sweater around JJ's abdomen to slow the bleeding, and John B came over to help the two of them lift JJ to his feet, wrapping his arms around them to take most of his weight.

"We need to get him to a hospital," Pope said, the concern in his voice evident.

Kiara shot back, "We can't, they'll arrest him."

Noa quickly offered a solution, "I have a first aid kit in my car," before sprinting away towards the house.

Upon reaching the Chateau, Talia and Sarah cleared the couch for them to place JJ onto. The boys hoisted him up, and he groaned again as they lay him down, less than gracefully. Kiara shot them a look, clearly irritated with their lack of care for JJ's injuries.

Sarah slowly lifted JJ's shirt, the sound of the cloth pulling from his skin causing discomfort among them. Bruises covered nearly every inch of his body, some fresh, some bleeding, and some that had clearly been there for a very long time. The group grimaced at the sight of the wound: a five-inch gash that started under his armpit and ran over to his back. Thankfully, it didn't look too deep.

"Okay," Sarah breathed, looking up as Noa burst through the door with a first aid kit. She took it from him and gestured to the group. "John B, I need wet towels. Pope, hot water." She pulled out a gauze and handed it to Talia. "Apply pressure here, don't let off until I say so, okay?"

Talia obeyed, pressing the cloth over the wound, and Kiara looked on with worry as JJ let out a small yelp from the contact.

"Hey!" JJ raised his arm to swat Talia's hand away, but stopped himself when she glared at him.

"John B!" Sarah called urgently. There was a thumping sound from the other room, as if things were falling off shelves, and he scrambled back to them, out of breath. He handed the towels to Sarah and she turned to call for Pope, but he had already arrived with a jug of water. She lifted the gauze, checking if the bleeding had stopped. Sighing in relief, she whispered to herself, "Good. That's good."

Sarah signalled Pope to pour some of the water over the wound, instructing him not to overdo it, and began softly dabbing the now damp towels around the gash to clean it.  After being requested to grab a bottle from the first aid kit and about two meters of gauze bandage, Noa wet the gauze and cut it to size before handing it over to Sarah.

"JJ..." Sarah paused, her expression sympathetic. "This is going to hurt a little, okay?" she said softly. JJ only had time to mumble a reply before Sarah placed the sterilised bandage along the gash. His body jerked, and he swore under his breath. She nodded at the group to hold him still. Finally, with Noa's help in rolling him over, she managed to wrap the bandage around him and sealed it with medical tape.

JJ groaned again, blinking his eyes before turning his head to look at Sarah dramatically. "Am I gonna die, Dr. Cameron?"

Sarah rolled her eyes and pointed at him, her tone resembling that of a concerned mother. "You'll be fine, just please don't move around too much. We don't want it opening up again."

He sighed in relief but grimaced as he immediately sat up. "Yes ma'am."

"Nurse Cameron, huh?" John B wrapped his arms around her from behind, turning her for a kiss.