Skylocked

Chapter Four - Confrontation

Ember hissed, eyes tightly shut as he felt a wide blade of glass carefully get extracted from his shoulder. Though the slow pace of this removal was necessary, it only extended the pilot's pain, causing him to sharply exhale through gritted teeth as a result.

"You're okay... just keep breathing." Enzo whispered, eyes glued on the wound upon the back of Ember's shoulder.

With the glass now extracted, Enzo wasted no time prodding the wound with alcohol covered gauze, wiping away the blood now trickling from the wound. This caused a shaken gasp to escape Ember, whimpering as tears pricked the corner of his eyes.

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I'm done there." Enzo reassured in a quiet tone, placing a fresh patch of gauze upon the wound before wrapping medical tape around the shoulder to hold the bandage in place.

Ember was silent for a moment as he sat upon the table in Enzo's garage, slowly opening his eyes as he stared down at his lap. He could feel Enzo begin to pull at a smaller piece of glass lodged underneath his shoulder blade, the pain beginning to become more manageable after the repeated treatment.

"What the hell was that about?" Ember asked flatly, still staring down as Enzo tended to his wounds.

Enzo frowned, his eyes flickering to the boy facing away from him. He was silent a moment, sighing softly as he wiggled the glass out and then set the bloodied piece of windshield on the table.

"I think it's my fault..." Enzo confessed, a wave of guilt flushing over him.

"How so?"

"I shouldn't have brought him."

"That doesn't answer the question."

Enzo's eyes swayed downward, biting at his lower lip.

"I think it has something to do with me, you know... dating him at one point."

Ember glanced behind himself to meet Enzo's gaze, eyes narrowing slightly as a beat of silence passed through the air.

"And now that's going to be my problem, right?"

"Listen, I didn't know that he was going to try and-"

"Kill me?"

Enzo's frown deepened, his eyes breaking away from Ember's as he turned, growing frustrated.

"I don't know what you want me to say. All I can do is promise that I'll make sure he never does that again."

Ember rolled his eyes, standing and grabbing a bandage, pressing it against the wound that had just been treated.

"You're damn right, cause I'm telling Leech."

Enzo's eyes widened, the man shaking his head as he reached out, putting a hand on Ember's shoulder.

"Ember you can't,  we could all lose our jobs!"

Ember growled, slapping Enzo's hand away and turning to face the other, his hands balled into fists.

"Yeah, that's right! We would lose our jobs! And I'm the idiot for choosing to waste my time with some meathead who is quite literally known for hopping from one pilot's bed to the next like they're rentals!" Ember snapped.