Coffee, tea? Or me?

BLOOD IN THE CUT- Part I

BLOOD IN THE CUT

Take my arm, break it in half

Say something, do it soon

It's too quiet in this room

I need noise, I need the buzz of a sub

Need the crack of a whip, need some blood in the cut.

I

Lucy opened the door of James' flat and as an unfamiliar voice came from inside, she stopped in her tracks and stood just outside, listening.

"Look at you James, what the hell? First that lad a month ago and now this? What's going on? I thought you had your issues under control!"

James' feeble, tired voice came back.

"No one's gonna pursue anyone..."

The other man raised his voice. "That's not the issue here, that we can take care of! I worry about you! Are you struggling again?"

James didn't reply and Lucy took advantage of that moment of silence to walk into the flat, James was sitting on the sofa with his back to her and a good looking man in his fifties was sitting on the coffee table in front of him. The lights in the flat were off and they looked somewhat distant in the cold blue light of dawn. As the door locked behind Lucy the man looked up, only then noticing the girl staring at them. He observed her for a moment and if the face he had seen in pictures wasn't enough, her uniform gave her away.

"You must be Lucy," he said and walked to her and shook her hand.

 "I'm Ian, James' agent."

James didn't turn around nor moved. Lucy reciprocated the handshake.

"Nice to meet you," she said distracted, her eyes focused on her boyfriend. "What's going on?" She asked then to the man in front of her.

He shook his head. "I better leave you two alone," he said, grabbing his jacket from the hook on the wall. "James needs to rest, I'll call him later today." He added and after giving Lucy a gentle pat on the shoulder he left.

Lucy removed her uniform coat and placed it on a high stool near the kitchen counter, then walked around the sofa and as she saw James she gasped, her hand to her mouth 

.James' face was tired with dark circles under his eyes, a bloody cut ran from his left eyebrow down to the top of his cheekbone and reddish-purple bruises were forming around it. Another cut split the skin of his nose and some coagulated blood rested right under his nostrils, his lower lip was also broken and a cut ruined the plump flash. A purplish bruise was forming on his left jaw and red scratches covered his right hand, with cuts on his middle and index finger knuckles. Dried up blood stained his grey shirt. After the initial shock, Lucy sat beside him.

"Oh my God James, what the hell happened?" As the girl talked James seemed to wake up from his trance and he looked at her.

"I'm OK." He said, his voice tired.

"Did you go to the A&E? Have you been checked?"

James shook his head."No, Lucy but I'm good."

"You don't look good!" Lucy walked to the kitchen and took a can of beer off the fridge, then she went back to the sofa and handed it to James. "It's obviously too late but put this on your face, please?"

James distractedly took the can and put it on his knuckles instead, Lucy brushed away a strand of hair from his forehead. "James..."

"Maybe we should go to bed? Talk about this later? You must be exhausted..." James cut her off.