Knightly in Shining Armor

Lourdes

The drive back to my apartment was silent for the most part, only broken by sharp exhales from Lukas. I didn't get a full assessment of his injuries, but I was hoping they would be minor.

"Are you sure you're doing okay?" I asked after a particularly sharp groan.

"How do you think?" He spat, twisting in his seat to find a more comfortable position. I rolled my eyes as the apartment came into view.

"I was just asking," I shrugged. "I'd hate to have to bring you into the clinic."

"Yes, like that's oh so difficult." He winced and turned to the window. I pulled into the parking ramp and parked the car. I hurried around the car to his side as he began to exit the car. His knees buckled and he fell halfway into my arms. I steadied him.

"Thanks," he spoke gruffly. I shook my head and wrapped his arm around my shoulder once again. I helped him limp to the elevator. He leaned against the wall as we went up to our floor. I helped him to the door and led him inside.

I helped him lower himself to the couch, accented by hisses of pain and discomfort. He settled in and I assessed what I could see. There was bleeding coming from a few different places, staining his clothing. I nodded and went to retrieve my first aid kit.

"I'm gonna need to see the damage." I pulled out some antiseptic and cotton pads. He nodded, pulling off his shirt. I bit my lip as I assessed the damage. An ugly-looking bruise marked up his ribs, and another was coloring on his stomach. His muscles tensed, trying to limit the pain.

Alongside the bruises, there were scrapes and cuts across his left side. There was also a nasty-looking cut on his right shoulder near his neck. His hands were bloodied and torn, and his back was covered in scrapes as well. I figured I'd get to his legs later.

I had him sit up on a towel so there wouldn't be blood and first aid supplies everywhere. I poured the antiseptic onto a cotton pad and looked up at him. He spared a weak smile.

"This is gonna sting a bit," I warned him. He clenched his teeth as I got to work. I pressed the cotton pad to one of the scrapes on his side. He flinched back, almost pulling away. I placed a hand on his leg in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. He nodded to me, trying to stay still as I worked through the cuts.

His back was in worse shape than his side, with nicks and cuts all across it. I cleaned away the blood and grime to sterilize the cuts. I bandaged what I could, trying to ignore the shaking of his body as he tried to ignore the pain.

When I got to his shoulder I froze. "Lukas, what did they do to you?" The cut was deeper than the rest, in a clean line towards his neck. Blood was seeping out of the wound and down his front. I wiped away what I could before turning my attention to the cut.

"I don't know," He breathed. "I was pinned down, and there was a knife, and..." He choked. His eyes brimmed with unshed tears as I went around the wound, wiping away the dirt and blood. A stray tear crept down his cheek. I resisted the urge to wipe it away, considering he had beat me to the punch anyway. However, he did streak blood across his face from his untreated hands.

I reached forward and wiped away the blood. He avoided my gaze, turning his attention to the windows instead. I continued to tend to his injuries, ignoring his ragged breathing and occasional wiping of his eyes. I cleaned out the knife wound and bandaged it.

"Luckily there's no need for stitches," I murmured to myself. I took his hand into my own and began to clean it out. I removed the bits of rock and dirt that had wedged into his scrapes and cleaned the blood away. I wrapped his hand and did the same to the other.

I grabbed his bloodstained shirt and put it in the sink with some cold water and hydrogen peroxide. I then walked into Lukas's room and retrieved a soft tee shirt and some basketball shorts. I brought them out to him, drawing him out of his thoughts.