The North Star | COMPLETED ✔️

Chapter 12 ~ Fight it

^^ Stranger above

Chapter 12

I sat with my back to the wall and watched the hill he'd disappeared over through heavy eyes. Minutes turned to hours until I doubted he'd be back. That should have been a blessing, but the blood had soaked through the bandana over an hour before, and no amount of pressure seemed to be enough to stop it. Not to mention, sleep wasn't an option when I knew a strange man planned to come find me.

When he finally crested the hill and scuffled down the slope, my heart jolted against my rib cage. I hobbled to my feet, stepped just out from under the bridge and slid back down with my back against the wall. The whole while, trying to feign interest in somewhere other than him.

I looked up, and his eyes locked with mine as if they'd been waiting to do so. He held a metal container, the words first aid printed in red across its surface. It rattled as it hit the ground by my feet, and he lowered himself cross legged in front of me. "I checked back in at the bar." His voice was low, back to smooth. He opened the case, then reached out and took my hand without asking. His lips pursed when his fingers made contact with the wet fabric, and he shook his head at the wound. "The men were on vacation." His eyes met mine. "Doctors and lawyers looking for freedom."

I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

He watched my reaction as if reading the pages of a book, then held my hand out to the side and poured a heavy stream of alcohol over it.

I grit my teeth. Mother fucker, that stings.

"You're either very tough," he paused to close the bottle and put it back, then pull out a pack of gauze and a threaded needle. "Or you're used to pain." He looked at me, probing, searching.

"It's a mystery."

"It is." He poised the point at the top of the cut, then met my gaze as of checking for permission.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not like the needle will surprise me. I hadn't expected you to heal it with magic."

His lip twitched, the slightest of movements on his otherwise stoic face. He pushed the needle in and laced it through to the other side.

I looked away, off into the distance. I focused on the lights still twinkling down Main Street, the occasional passing headlight above the hill.

"Will you come back to the bar," he asked after a lengthy silence.

"Not a chance in hell." I looked back at him. "It was stupid for me to go in there in the first place."

He nodded, still focused on his task. His fingers moved with precision, too nimble given their thick, work-worn appearance.

I watched him do three more stitches as shock arrived to numb the sting. "I guess this is goodbye then, Captain Wilderness."

He looked up at me. "The bar will be far less exciting without you in it."

I snorted. "It didn't look exciting before, and the only thing exciting about me is the danger I bring."

His eyes sharpened. "And what danger is that, Tequila?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "That is none of your business, and Tequila is not my name. Why do you keep calling me that?"