Evermore

Chapter Eleven

Aurelia 

I sat on the curb in the gas station parking lot. I hugged my knees to my chest as if trying to make myself as small as possible. 

Cade came back with a first aid kit he had retrieved from his car and kneeled down beside me. "Hey," he said softly. 

"Hey," I mumbled. 

I tried to touch my forehead very gingerly to see if I was still bleeding, but he quickly stopped me by wrapping his hand around my wrist. 

"Woah there," he said. "Try not to touch the wound, alright?" 

"Sorry," I whispered, dropping my hand to my lap. "Does it look bad?" 

"It's not deep, but needs to be kept clean," he told me as he snapped on a pair of blue gloves. "You most likely have a concussion too, judging by the way the bright lights inside were bothering you." 

"Oh, you noticed." 

"Mind telling me what happened?" 

"I-I fell," I said, avoiding his eye contact. "Tripped and hit my head on the coffee table." 

He studied me for a moment. "You fell?" 

"Y-yeah, all the lights were off and it was dark. I'm super clumsy," I muttered with a small laugh. 

I couldn't let him find out the truth. If he knew what really happened, he would report it and then I'd have to leave my foster home. 

Despite everything, it was still a roof over my head. I couldn't risk having nowhere to stay. 

"You ready?" 

"Yeah, go ahead." 

He grabbed some antiseptic wipes and as soon as they touched the wound, it stung badly even though his touch was surprisingly gentle. 

I winced and tried to push his gloved hands away, but he wouldn't budge. 

"I know it hurts sweetheart," he said softly. "You're doing really well." 

I squeezed my eyes shut. "This is so bad." 

"You're almost done. Just a little more, okay?" 

"O-okay," I breathed out. 

He finished cleaning the wound and applied some antibiotic ointment to prevent infection. "And lastly, I'm just going to place a sterile bandage over it," he explained. 

"All done?" I asked. 

"Yeah," he replied. "You're very brave." 

"I-I don't feel brave," I murmured. 

He gave a small smile. "Well, perhaps you're stronger than you think." 

I twisted the rings on my fingers. "Thank you for your help, Cade." 

"No problem," he replied. "You know, you haven't told me your name yet." 

The lights caught the faintest glimmer in his eyes. "I'm Aurelia," I said quietly. 

"Aurelia," he repeated. His voice was smooth and warm, lingering on each syllable. 

His kindness made gratitude fill my heart. 

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A/N

Hope you like this chapter! :)