As the foot steps drew closer, the beating of my heart quickened. I reached over and turned the TV off quickly, seeing one last flash of the boys before the screen went black. The footsteps were just yards away from the doorway and I didn’t have much time at all. I reached for Amanda, grabbing her wrist and tugging her off the couch. She landed on her stomach with a thud and I winced as she let out a soft moan of despair. I crouched with her behind the couch, clasping my hand over her mouth incase she made any more sounds as the footsteps walked in.
They were gentle and I peaked around to see a young girl who wore a kitchen uniform. She grabbed the food cart and then rolled it out of the room. I waited a few minutes before allowing myself to breathe normally again. I looked over to Amanda, hoping her eyes were open, but she was continuously out. I sighed and dragged her back onto the couch and stood up, looking at the blood that was thickly making its way down to my elbow. I made my way to the kitchen and walked to the sink.
I sucked in my cheeks as I reached for the faucet when sudden footsteps appeared behind me and I whipped around, my eyes wide open while my mind went wild. This was it. We were caught. And in the worst state, me with my wound and then Amanda with her… sensitivity… I guess. My hair whipped against my cheeks, I’d turned so fast and as I brushed the strands out of my eyes, I was relieved to see four teenage boys standing there. I grinned at them, but their eyes were glancing between my bloody arm and Amanda’s knocked out state.
"Um… what happened?" Michael spoke for all of them as they silently took in the scene. I bit down on my lip and glanced with them at the scenario. The blood flowed with gravity downward, turning my palm into a bloody mess. Then there was Amanda, passed out on the couch, as if I had punched her.
"Okay, it’s not what it looks like," I said and lifted my hand as the boys stood in shock. "I was on my phone and the glass cut my thumb. It started to bleed and Amanda passed out cause she hates blood," I stated and they nodded carefully.
"Well then… let’s split up. Ashton and I can help you, and Calum and Michael can help your friend," Luke said, pointed over to the couch where Amanda was still passed out. I nodded gently and Ashton and Luke walked over to me. I started running water on my wound, hissing as the cold water burned my torn skin. Luke searched for a first aid kit while Ashton helped me clean my cut.
"I think it’s gonna need stitches," Ashton said, staring down at my thumb and I bit my lip nervously, bringing it closer to my face and frowning before nodding in agreement.
"Yeah," I said as Luke came with a white a white box and a red cross in the center. He set it on the counter and opened it up, revealing a bunch of condoms. All three of us stared at the box’s containments and glanced at each other in surprise before Luke slowly shut the lid and latched it.
"That’s not gonna help us," he said softly and put it back. "I mean, unless we roll one over her thumb to keep bacteria out," he suggested and I shook my head nervously. No way was I going out in public with a condom over my thumb. "Yeah you’re right," Luke said as he tucked it the rest of the way. "How’s it going over there with Amanda?" Luke called.
Calum looked up from where he was kneeling beside the couch, gently tapping Amanda’s side. “Not even a mumble,” Calum said as he stood up, looking disappointed. Michael followed and I moved to help, but Luke held my shoulders, keeping me in place in front of the sink.
"No. Keep your cut under the water. It’ll temporarily stop the bleeding," he said and then he and Ashton walked over to Amanda and tapped her, mumbling about what they could do to wake her up. I glanced over at a cup near the sink and put it between the faucet and my hand, filling it up and then muttering out a fake cough. Michael looked over and smiled, walking over to me and taking the cup before walking back and gently drizzling some on her forehead. When she didn’t startle, he just dumped the whole cup upside down on her face.
Amanda gasped and sat up sputtering, her eyes shut tightly. She reached up and felt her now soaked face, raising a brow in confusion before looking up at the four boys surrounding her. “Where’s Thalia?” she asked frantically and looked around. When she saw me at the sink, she breathed out. “Are you alright?” she questioned.
I nodded lightly and looked down at the skin. I moved it out of the water and immediately as I did so, it burned. I whined and saw more blood appear and thrusted the thumb back under the gently flowing water, biting down hard on my lip.
"I think she’s gonna need stitches," Ashton said to the others and I looked back up at them.
"Don’t you have a show?" I asked. "Wait, why aren’t you out there now?" I was actually very curious as to why they weren’t performing.
"We’re done," Calum said, plopping down next to Amanda. "If we need to, we can leave," he said and I frowned a little.
"You don’t have to," I said, not wanting them to leave their concert all because of me. I mean, what if someone needed them? And what about Mr. Shepherd? That was a good question, so I decided to speak it verbally. Mentions of the man brought unsure tension and they glanced around.
"We can just… go. I mean, you do need us. Your thumbs bleeding pretty bad, and that’d be a mess to drive with. Your friend here can’t drive, cause if she sees it, she’s out," Michael stated and I thought about it for a moment before shrugging.
"Alright," I said softly. "If you can get us out of here, we’ll go."
