Entry #12050104001305

Just Put A Band-Aid On It

With the haze of sleep still clouding his mind, Jay rolled his stiff body over and cracked his eyes open. The room was shrouded in complete darkness, the only source of light being the dim orange glow of the numbers from the alarm clock. Though the time was two forty six in the morning, the time didn't matter. It could have been two forty six in the afternoon and Jay still would have felt sleep deprived. Wait, 2:46 am? I guess I was more tired than I thought.

In the darkness, it was difficult to make out the figure standing in the doorway but when he did, Jay was quick to apologize.

"Sorry," Jay groaned out, his voice rough with sleep. "You should have told me to move." Pushing himself up and swinging his legs over the side of the mattress, Jay rose to unsteady feet. His eyes hadn't completely adjusted to the dark so Jay felt toward the doorway with his hands. When they bumped into the man, Jay apologized again.

"Sorry Tim." Tim said nothing nor did he move to give Jay room to exit.

"Tim, move," Jay said, lightly pushing his shoulder in an attempt to move him enough so that he could squeeze through the doorway. Not only did he remain stationary, he remained silent as well. Pushing the palms of his hands into his eyes to rub the sleep from them, Jay huffed.

"Tim, why won't you-" His complaint died in his throat as he removed his hands, his eyes adjusted enough to the darkness to let him know that the man before him wasn't Tim. Backing away from him, Jay kept his eyes trained on the unpredictable stranger in the doorway as his knees hit the mattress and he fell back on it. For a long, uncomfortable moment, the man remained completely still. Even his chest seemed still. But that couldn't be. He still had to breathe. Right?

Pure fear was what kept Jay pinned in place on the mattress as the man finally moved. Unlike the other times they had met, the masked man slowly shuffled a single step forward before holding still again. He seems uncomfortable, Jay thought, like he needs something but can't ask for it. Eyes fully adjusted to the dark, Jay slowly let his eyes drift over him, examining him for something, anything that could hint to what he wanted. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for.

Just below the knee, his left leg was at a slightly odd angle. From the way he held himself, it was obvious he was favouring his right leg. Though the injury looked painful, it was hard to gauge exactly how painful it was, considering the man's face was hidden behind thin white plastic and the injury itself was hidden by the fabric of his jeans. Eyes finally landing back on the stranger's mask, Jay drew in a shaky breath.

Finding enough courage to speak, Jay mumbled a pathetic, "You're hurt." It was a dumb, obvious statement and Jay internally cringed at himself but the man seemed indifferent. Nothing about his appearance changed in the slightest to hint that he had even heard Jay, though Jay was sure he had. Even though it was too dark to see his eyes through the cutouts in the mask, Jay knew they were trained on him.

"Do you...?" Jay wasn't sure what to offer. He had never in a million years imagined that he would be stuck in such an absurd position. "Do you wanna go to the hospital?" In the silence, Jay could make out an almost inaudible huff behind the plastic.

"Okay, no hospital." Jay wasn't sure what else to offer. He only knew the most basic first aid and setting a broken bone wasn't among that knowledge. "Can I...?" Jay stopped again. Why was it so hard to talk to him? "Can I see it?"

At first, the man made no move to come closer. Jay was about to rethink what else to offer when the figure finally shifted. A slow step forward on his bad leg made it shake unsteadily before he quickly shifted back to his good leg. A few steps later, the man was sitting on the edge of the bed. As much space as possible remained between Jay and the man but Jay knew he would have to get closer to see the wound.