enemy to doctor - the hating game

3 - headwounds and examinations

I feel a finger under my chin as he pushes my face up to meet his eyes.

"It's better if you don't look at these. I know they look like torture instruments."

"Those look like you're about to perform surgery on me, not clean up a wound."

"I know but again, I've done this more times than I can count. So relax Luce, I'm not gonna kill you."
I sigh and close my eyes for a minute or two, for the numbing to kick in. Then he slides a hand to my head.

"Does this hurt?"
I feel a slight pain but nothing compared to the prior one.

"Just a little bit. Manageable."

He doesn't react and takes his hand back, now turning his attention towards the instruments.

"Any prior illnesses? Diabetes?"

"No, nothing."
I let my eyes drift to the instruments again.

"Do you take any medicine or pills?"

"Only birth control."
His hand stills for a second before he just nods his head not bothering to answer.

"Close your eyes. I'll let you know when I'm done."
And then he starts. There's about a minute of slight pinching and occasional pain and then I hear the sound of something falling into the metal tray. I release a breath.

"That wasn't as easy as I thought it was but good news is I think I can stop the bleeding. No stitching required until now."
I open my eyes and see Josh above me. So concentrated and at the same so attractive- wait what.
I erase that thought from my head and watch as he takes his hand of my forehead to grab something that looks like tape.
There's blood on his fingers and my stomach turns around.

"Josh I think I'm gonna-"
But he already has a bowl and holds it in front of my face while I throw up again and again. There's nothing left in my stomach by now and I'm just dry heaving, waiting for it to stop.

"I ca-can't a-anymore i-it hu-hurts Josh-"
Sobs escape my mouth.

He's holding me and I put my whole weight into his touch because if he wouldn't be holding me, I'd already be laying face first inside of that beautiful bowl.

"We gotta get some fluid into your body. I'm done with your head but that doesn't mean that you're okay. Clearly there's more than just that wound robbing the energy from your body."
He again lays me down onto the pillows and I am so so exhausted.

"It started on the field today while we were in the paintball fight, you know.  My vision was constantly blurring and it was incredibly hot and my head was aching."
I think back to the team bonding exercise that had been organized from our bosses. It had been fun at first until a few shots had hit me in the stomach and the nausea and sickness had started.

"I realized that."
He takes off the bloody glove and let's it fall into the metal tray.

"You were trembling and on the bus ride you were radiating heat like a bonfire."
I laugh and immediately regret it as it sends sharp pains through my head.

What a fucked up situation.

"Lucy, I think I gotta examine you now."

I can't decide on whether that just sounded scary or like straight out of a bad porn.

"I'm fine Josh. Honestly thanks for taking care of my head but I think-"

"Bullshit Lucy, you know that's not true. You just threw up blood. Again."

I swallow. Again.

"Don't you see that I am helping you? I'm doing everything possible to keep the pain from you and get you healthy but cleaning a wound won't do that, you know."
I hear anger seeking through his words.