Beyond Bloodline - Unbreakable Bonds

seventeen (part two)

"Aries?" Nigel called out as he stepped through the foyer, frowning at the darkness that greeted him and quickly flipped on the light switch. His frown deepened at the sight of the living room that looked as though a storm had ripped through it. Broken furniture, overturned tables and. . . bloodstains? He called out to his friend again, tone filled with urgency.

"Upstairs," was all the response he was given and he rushed up the spiraling staircase, taking the steps two at a time. When he pushed open the door to Aries' room, it was only with the aid of the light that filtered through the open door that he was now able to barely see what was going on in the room.

He had his curtains drawn and lay face down on his bed, legs hanging over the edge.

"What happened?" he asked, leaving the door open behind him and going to pull open the beige curtains to let some more light in. When he turned around, he felt his eyes widening slightly in near horror at the sight of the blood soaking through the light sheets. "You're injured."

"He got drunk and I did try to resist but," he darted his tongue out to wet his lips, shoulder rounding in a shrug. "Well, he had a knife."

Nigel's gaze was dark as he stared at the deep gash at his waist.

Aries' lips tugged in a wobbly smile as he tried to stand, face pallid from blood loss and the strain he put on his waist that instantly had Nigel rushing over to help him out.

"Then I'll take you to a hospital?" Nigel suggested.

"I can't. They'll want to know everything," he mumbled, reaching over to the table at the side of his hair to retrieve a folded cloth brutally stained with blood he quickly held to his still seeping wound. "Anyway, I just can't."

"Why am I here, Aries?"

Aries glanced at his friend, a bout of nervous tension stealing into his nerves. "Because I need you to help me," he said. "Please, Nigel. No one else can."

Nigel knew that was fairly right. Aries wouldn't want anyone else knowing his father ever raised a hand against him. Winona was the only one who'd come close to noticing and within their friend group, Cassandra had no clue while Alfie would no sooner faint at the sight of blood and prove unhelpful.

"What exactly am I helping with if it's not that?" he finally asked.

Aries just stared at him, hoping for him to remain level as he picked up the long needle and held it out to his friend. "It's sterilized already," he said, rattling off at the sight of Nigel turning a bit green in his face. "It doesn't have to be perfect. Just sew across."

"You're crazy," Nigel spat, gaze combusting in flames. "I'm dialling emergency. Then I'm calling the police."

"You can't," Aries said, lunging for his friend and grabbing his wrist before he could finish whipping out his cell phone despite the pain that tore into him. "It was a mistake. And he was drunk."

"He's always fucking drunk!" Nigel flung his wrist free. "That's a stab wound. You're crazy if you think I'll help you with it."

Aries' lips thinned as he met Nigel's unrelenting stare. "Fine then," he said, dropping the needle on the table and then slouching back against the headboard so he wasn't entirely upright or fully lying down. "You can just watch me bleed out."

Nigel's jaw clenched before he picked the needle up. "Get up," he said, taking a seat on the bed as he threaded the needle. His gaze was steely, ignoring the thanks his friend uttered as he focused on sewing up the wound that looked like it wouldn't stop pouring out blood if he continued dallying.

"Nigel," he said, forcing his friend's cold gaze to him. "Thank you. Really. I don't know what I'd do if—"

"This is the last time," he dropped his gaze back to the wound, hands stained red and shaking with slight tremors he ignored to finish the task at hand.