Wren

Part 7

The storm had broken a little before dawn, but it was damp and dark. The sunrise was hidden behind the thick gray clouds. Wren was curled into himself, mashed up against the railing and shaking like a leaf. Water ran from his body and pooled beneath him, mixing with the rain already on the tile. It was morning, so when would someone come get him? He was absolutely miserable.

He'd been tugging the skin of wrist with his teeth all night, as a distraction and self soothing action, and when he looked down, he realized he'd gnawed bloody holes into his flesh. It hurt, but the pain kept him grounded. Otherwise, he felt like he'd lose his mind. 

He saw the curtains rustling on the other side of the glass, and then they were whisked to the side. Leo stood there, Dace beside him, a shocked look on both of their faces. They quickly unlocked the glass door and rushed to Wren's side.

"When he left, he told us you were out here, but we didn't really think--"

"What happened to you? You've been beaten since I last treated you. Did Matteo do this?" Leo interrupted Dace.

Wren couldn't respond. His head was too heavy to shake, and his throat was sore and dry. It'd been a long time since he'd drank anything. Dace worked on unlocking the cuff with the key Matteo had given him, while Leo tried to comfort Wren and look at his wounds. 

But he didn't want to be touched. Every part of his body hurt, not to mention he was mentally scarred. Every time he'd been touched in his life, it was painful. By his father, bullies he'd had at school, and now these people. Even though Dace and Leo hadn't hurt him, he didn't trust them not to. 

He pushed away Leo's gentle hands, shaking his head. He curled up against the railing even though the chain was undone, refusing to move. He whimpered and turned his head away every time they reached out to try to help or comfort him. They backed away and discussed what to do.

"We need to get him inside. He's injured, and I'm worried about pneumonia." Leo said.

"I know. But we're the only ones that haven't hurt the kid. If we do something to damage that, he'll have no one to help him. I don't know how to get him in without scaring him, . . He clearly can't walk on his own. . ." Dace trailed off as he got an idea. "You know how when you've got a scared animal, if you need to grab it, you can wrap it in a towel or blanket or something?"

Leo got the hint. He didn't like it, but it was their best shot. "Okay. Run inside and grab a blanket from the closet, and we'll try that."

Leo inched closer to Wren as Dace went to fetch the blanket. 

Wren was absolutely terrified. "Don't touch me-- Please don't hurt--" He stammered as he jammed himself into the rail, trying as hard as he could to get away from Leo.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, Wren, and neither is Dace. We're trying to take you inside, and get you fixed up, okay? It's okay. All you have to do is relax." He spoke like he was soothing a wild animal, which he kind of was. Dace returned and slowly approached. 

Wren seemed to comprehend what Leo had said, but didn't believe him. He struggled as they wrapped the blanket around him like a swaddle, and Dace scooped him up and quickly carried him inside. He set him in his corner as Leo followed and closed the door, pulling the curtains shut. The room was dim. Leo produced a rag from his medical bag, and a small glass bottle. He poured some of the liquid onto the rag as he began to speak softly to Wren.

"This is just gonna help you relax. There's no reason to worry, okay? It won't put you to sleep. . . Just take a deep breath--"

Wren winced away as Leo gently placed the rag over his mouth and nose. He held his breath until he couldn't. A noxiously sweet scent hit him as he sucked drugged air into he burning lungs, immediately feeling his tight body relax and his mind go cloudy. 

Leo pulled the rag away after only two breaths. He wanted Wren awake while they helped him, to gain his trust if possible.

Wren lay limply in Dace's arms, his hazy eyes drifting from one of their faces to the other. 

"Alright, Wren. We're gonna get you cleaned up, okay? Just take deep breaths. We're not gonna hurt you." 

They gently unwrapped Wren from the fluffy gray blanket, and laid him across the floor with his upper body in Dace's lap. They talked as they worked.

"We need to get him warm, first of all. It's cold in here and he's been wet all night. Just look at how bad he's shivering!" 

"I know," Dace replied. "I'm the one holding him." 

They decided to take him to the bathroom and get him into some warm water. His skin was like ice. They took off the soaked sweatpants, leaving him in his underwear as they laid him in the tub. He was whiny and uncomfortable, moaning unintelligible things. Dace brushed the wet hair from his forehead as Leo turned on the warm water. 

"Shhh," He whispered, his heart hurting for the boy. "It's okay, Wren. It's just some warm water. It's gonna help chase away the chill, okay?" 

Wren settled, his glassy brown eyes fixed somewhere in the corner. Leo turned the water off after only a few inches was in the bottom. 

"If we put him in hot water too quickly, he could go into shock after being so cold for so long. We'll have to squeeze out rags over him, to acclimate his body." He adjusted his wire-rim glasses with a wet hand as he picked up a washrag he'd gotten from the bathroom closet. He dunked it into the water, then wrung it out over Wren's belly. Dace nodded at the demonstration and did the same. Wren's shivering stopped after a while, and the two men smiled at each other. 

Once he stopped shaking and his skin was actually flesh temperature again, they decided to get him out before the water turned cold. Dace pulled him up and wrapped his upper body in a warm towel, looking on as Leo turned his head to dry his bottom half and swap his underwear for a dry, identical pair of black boxers. Everything had been taken from this boy, they could at least try to give him some privacy. 

Dace scooped him up once again and carried him to his corner. He sat and held Wren in his arms. Leo followed and settled in front of them, preparing to treat his wounds. 

Wren moaned and snuggled into Dace's chest, the warm towel and strong arms pulling him to sleep after his long night. He was exhausted. Dace and Leo shared a glance, smiles breaking out on their faces. 

"He's like a baby," Dace whispered as Leo gently pulled Wren's left wrist from the folds of fluffy towel. 

His smile faded as he examined the bite shaped holes where Wren had chewed on himself. "How could Matteo do this to him?" He applied iodine, blowing on it when Wren flinched in his sleep. 

"I know," Dace whispered back. They'd asked this question before, but they just couldn't get over Matteo's cruelty. He used to be such a nice, loving person before that woman left him. The three of them had grown up together in the mafia, like brothers. Leo's dad had been the previous doctor, before he passed away a few years ago, leaving his son to take over his role. Dace had been taken in by Boss at a young age, and was raised being trained as a bodyguard. He was now one of the best. And Matteo was obviously the next in line for the Boss's position. 

They cleaned and bandaged until Wren was patched up, then they just sat talking, Dace rocking Wren in his arms. They wanted him to rest as much as he could before they had to wake him to get some food and water into his depleted body. They knew that was going to be a challenge.

                            Part Eight Coming Soon