A 'Brilliant Future'

Chapter 3; "Alex"

I walked down to the nearest bathroom for some supplies to tend to her woundings. I would need a towel, a bowl of water, tweezers and bandages. She'd hurt herself pretty badly falling through the french window. Luckily, she managed to avoid wounds deep enough to cause scarring or needing stitches. To be truthful, I was a small bit annoyed at her. That, and afraid. She just had a full mental breakdown, it seemed. Who did she think she was? Hell, who did I think she was? She hasn't even told me her name yet.

Anyway, her wounds. Those must hurt. Scarlet stripes all over her body, showing that they did bleed. They needed tending. She was already pretty frail and this should not help her recover from her fever any faster. Since when was it a good idea to go out exploring when you had a fever and probably not a small one either. That reminds me, I should check her temperature. Better take that thermometer too.

Having gathered the materials I walked back up again to the bed she was laying down in. At least, if she wasn't as idiotic as trying to get out of it again. Truly, what was she thinking. If you haven't yet noticed, I am truly miffed.

Knocking on the oak door that was on the inside, at least, painted in a hideous shade of orange I waited for her to call me in. What if she were to be indecent? While I wouldn't mind seeing that again, however I doubt she'd appreciate me seeing that again.

"What?!" She yelled. Wow. Truly mannered. Just lovely.

"May I enter? Are you decent? Are you okay?"

"I'm as decent as I'll ever be in my situation, so just enter already. It's not like you haven't seen anything, so it doesn't matter." She made a fair point and ignored my other question. I entered the room. There she was, lying in the bed looking a bit odd. Flushed, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Did you try to escape? It might be hard to understand but I truly mean no harm." That was when I noted the large pieces of glass, with bloodstains and all, lying scattered on the floor.

"You did, didn't you? Don't try and hide it. I'll let you go whenever you wish AFTER YOUR WOUNDS ARE HEALED." I tried to hide my anger. I truly did. However, she just kept on hurting herself. Did she truly think she could just waltz right out of here? Yes, to be honest, she did. The guilty look on her face gave her away.

"Can I tend to your wounds now, making sure they are PROPERLY healed?" I hoped she understood this, I was so mad this was more a growl than a sentence.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead." At least I got a go-ahead out of it. This did calm me down a bit, however, I was still truly pissed. Dipping the towel I brought in some warm water I cleaned around the wounds so I could see what I was going to do with the tweezers. Making sure I never touched the wounds I cleaned her arms and legs as best I could.

"Can't you be a bit more careful? It stings," she complained. Fuck. So I did hit the wounds.

"Sorry. I try to be as careful as possible but I don't exactly have a fucking medical degree. I barely have an idea what to do." Wrong thing to say. I just admitted I don't know something. What effect does she have on me, really?

"Then give me the damned towel, I can nurse my own wounds," she said, sticking out her hand to grasp the towel from my hands. Agreeing to her request, I gave her the towel. However, under one condition.

"As long as you'll let me get the bits of glass out. You can barely see what the fuck you are doing." Hoping she'd agree to this condition I patiently waited for an answer.

"Really, I don't need your help. I've had cuts from glass many times before." This was a concerning bit of news. Seriously, how fucked up was her childhood? Miss I-have-had-cuts-like-this-before may not need my help but I'd sure as hell offer it. More a command than an offer, but it was an offer as it was phrased like one. That's how it works, right?