Salvation 2035

Chapter 21- Skewed Truth

『Tsuki』

     We arrive at some sort of motel to make a temporary pitstop to patch me up. I'm not sure how long we were driving, and I also have no concept of distance, so I have no idea where we are. We're in a small town of some sort that pretty much only has this motel, a convenience store, and a few other stores and a small residential area. It's the kind of place you wouldn't find on a map.

     The room has two beds, a washroom and a small sitting area out front. There are two floors to this place, but Abel didn't want me trying to climb upstairs. It's not a big deal, to be honest. My knees are just a little banged up and there's a little bit of scraping, but it's nothing I can't power through. I've endured a lot worse, but hey, it's the doctor's orders, so who am I to make a fuss? I hobble on over to one of the beds, while Abel and Keisha contemplate what to do with me.

     "Alright Tsuki, I'm going to need you to take off your pants," Abel instructs me.

     "At least buy him dinner first," Keisha teases.

     "That's not-- ugh," Abel gives a heavy sigh and shakes his head. "What I meant to say is that you should change into shorts or something loose you can roll up so we can clean the wound."

     "Yeah, no problem," I grab my bag and head to the washroom to change. My pants have almost fused with my legs, which as you can imagine, is pretty disgusting. It feels nice to let them breathe a bit. I hate showing my legs, but there's no avoiding this ordeal. Woah, my knees do look kinda gnarly. The red really stands out against the stark white of my skin. Maybe this is for the best after all. I soon return from my trip and flop back onto the bed.

     "I'm going to head to that convenience store we passed by and get some ice and first aid. In the meantime, can you clean his wounds with some warm water, Keisha?" Abel requests.

     "I can do that myself, I'm sure of it!" I cut in to avoid any awkwardness.

     "No, you're going to sit down and rest," Keisha orders me with a playful tone. "You've done more than enough for us."

     "Oh, and make sure to put a pillow under his knees and that he has ample back support," Abel yells as he leaves.

     "Got it!" Keisha affirms. It's just the two of us now. I can't think of anything to say in particular. Keisha goes ahead and props up my knees with a nearby pillow. "Is this good?" she asks.

     "Yeah." I pull the blanket over my slightly exposed thighs.

     "Cool." she heads into the bathroom and emerges with a damp washcloth.

     "Ah, I can do it myself, seriously," I tell her. "There's no need for you to―"

     "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," she pulls back the blanket and begins to gently clean off my wounds with the warm cloth. "You see?"

     "... It's not that," I mumble. 'It's just that I'm kind of in love with you and you're kind of driving me crazy right now' is what I want to say.

     "Then what is it?" she inquires, looking straight into my eyes.

     "Ah... It's... just a little embarrassing to have someone making such a fuss over me as an adult." I hope that's a sufficient excuse. I remember the time when I was about thirteen or so and I passed out. It happens from time to time, but only if I get really sick, which I rarely do. Anyways, Lindy freaked out about it and once she found out that it was because of my low blood pressure, she made me eat all sorts of salty foods and would check up on me for what felt like every two seconds. I felt like such a burden. Yeah, I was pretty scared when it happened, but once you faint once any other time is kinda like 'oh not this again' as opposed to genuine shock. I haven't fainted in a while now.