Magnet Love

14. First Aid

LILY POV:
The taxi pulled up and I took Alex's hand, ushering him into the backseat beside me and shutting the door behind us. Alex was drunk and looked like he could fall asleep at any moment, despite his injuries.

"Where to?" The driver spoke, catching my gaze in the rear view mirror.
"Alex" I tapped him on the shoulder, trying to catch his attention. "Is anyone at your house?"

He rubbed his bloody lip and shook his head "No it's just me tonight" he replied. He managed to speak clearly and still held a firm demeanour; explaining why he held such a strong fight despite his intoxicated mental state.

He told the driver his address and rested his head on the window as the taxi drove away from the club scenes and towards his home. He was muttering to himself - I couldn't distinguish the words but he was swearing and I heard a few names in the mix that I didn't recognise, plus my own name a couple of times.

I pulled out my phone to text Mom since she was expecting me home by now. It was past midnight and she would be worried.

To: Mom
Hey, I've called in to see Maddie since she was up. I know it's late but I'm okay. I have a key so you can go to bed and I'll see you in the morning. Love you x

I then proceeded to text Maddie to ask her to cover for me if necessary and that I would explain why tomorrow.
We pulled up to what I assumed to be Alex's house and paid the driver for the journey. Alex got out of the car immediately after I paid before giving him a chance, and stormed up to the large mahogany door, struggling to unlock it with his shaking hand - obviously a side effect of the drink.

The door swung open and Alex stormed into the kitchen at the end of the hallway. I took my head into my hands and thought for a moment. I couldn't decide what to do, but I didn't want to leave Alex like this. He was so concerned when he first caught sight of me in the alley way, and since then he has deteriorated and is storming around in anger. What if he takes his rage out on me? Nobody even knows where I am! I've already lied to my mother to stay and help him, I can't leave now.

I take a deep breath and walk into the kitchen to see Alex leant against the wall, sipping from a glass of water. He studied my body, from head to toe before shaking his head and closing his eyes.

"He deserved that Lily. He's a fuc-fuckíng príck. Hell, the scum bag deserved far more than he got" he stuttered. I'd never seen him like this, but he was in no state to be alone and his face was still bleeding.

"Where is your first aid kit" I asked, forcing myself to be brave and do something useful.
"Bathroom" he replied, before pushing himself off the wall and walking up the stairs. I followed him upstairs and through a door leading to a pitch black room and then another door revealing a small en-suite bathroom, almost knocking into him as he stopped to regain his balance. I gently pushed his shoulders down, sitting him on the toilet seat as he searched the cupboards, finding the green first aid box on the top shelf.

I took out a rag and dampened it under the tap before gently pressing it to Alex's eyebrow. He flinched at the contact as I wiped the blood away, assessing the damage properly.

The cut was nasty, but not deep enough to need stitches - being the daughter of two doctors meant that I had been trained in basic first aid from a young age. I used an alcohol disinfectant which caused Alex to groan loudly and rubbed some soothing cream over the area to avoid bruising and help it heal overnight.

I continued this procedure over the rest of the cuts on his face, including his jaw and taking extra care on his plump lip.
"Alex can I see to the bruises on your chest please?" I asked, my voice shaking. I wanted to make sure he would suffer as little as possible in the morning. He nodded and stretched his arms above his head and ripping the white blood stained t-shirt off completely.

I took in a quick breath at the sight of his bare chest. I was surprised to see a tattoo of a caged bird on his left bicep and three free birds on the right side. His muscles were sharp and defined, obviously the result of considerable gym work, but purple and red bruises were apparent on his shoulders and ribs.

I took a second to get myself together and then proceeded to rub cream gently into every bruise I could find, even turning Alex around to address the marks on his back. Touching his bare skin sent fireworks through my fingers, but Alex was blissfully unaware. I doubt he will remember any of this in the morning.

Once I was content that I'd done as much as possible. I walked back through to the dark room and turned on the light, revealing what I assume to be Alex's bedroom.

It was tidy, with white and brown walls and a large king sized bed in the centre. He had a flatscreen TV on the wall in front of his bed with a chest of draws beneath. A desk complete with an Apple computer and a large wooden wardrobe on the far wall and finally a two seater sofa under his window on the other wall adjacent to his bed.

The noise of Alex's retches caught my attention as I ran back into the bathroom to see him wearing only his boxers, vomiting into the toilet. Since he had no long hair to hold back, I rubbed his back reassuringly and got some tissue to wipe his face once he stopped being sick.

"Thank you" he whispered, rubbing his head with his eyes closed.
"Come on, let's get you into bed" I replied, taking his hand and pulling him up to his feet, before guiding him into the bedroom and pulling the duvet back for him. Alex crawled into the bed and groaned loudly as his head hit the pillow.

He started coughing again and as I wiped his mouth with a tissue like a baby, I saw some small splatters of blood. 'It's just from the punches. He is okay'. I told myself, but even so I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave him alone tonight. What if he coughed up a considerable amount of blood? Or choked on sick? I was going to have to stay and make sure he will be okay.

I looked back over to Alex and he was fast asleep, mouth slightly open and breathing heavily so I could smell the reek of alcohol from his breath.

I left Alex momentarily as I went downstairs to lock the front door with the keys he left hanging and then into the kitchen to pour him a glass of water; bringing it upstairs and placing it on the table beside his bed for when he woke up. I then took two pain killers from the pack I had in my bag and put them beside the water to help with his headache when he woke.

I pulled the duvet up over his bruised body and stroked a bead of sweat away from his forehead as I gazed upon his beautiful, peaceful looking sleeping state. I kissed his forehead gently before wrapping myself in the blanket bunched up at the foot of his bed.

Cocooned in the warmth of the blanket, I turned off the light in the room and lay on the sofa under his window, closing the door and curtains. I text Mom to say that I was now sleeping over at Maddie's, just incase I wasn't home when she woke up and then shut my phone off and put it on the floor beside me.

I wanted to stay awake, so that I would be there when Alex woke up and incase he needed me during the night, but it was past 2 in the morning and I was exhausted; physically and mentally. I closed my eyes momentarily - just to rest. But before I could stop it, I drifted off to sleep in darkness.